Food and social issues module 6

Family norms and beliefs come from our backgrounds and ancestors. My nationality is Indian and my family beliefs differ from those all around the world. I was a vegetarian and had been one all my life. These beliefs and norms have been with me ever since I was born. When I turned 17 I tried convincing my parents to allow me to change and start eating certain types of meat with a lot of convincing I was finally able to however on certain days of the week, Monday and Thursday, I am not allowed to eat any meat products. I questioned this belief to my parents for a long time and never really got a certain or 100% answer to this question and so I just continued following what I was told. Personally I never really adapted to the taste of meat so I turned vegetarian again. Also health issues were another factor that led me to change back to vegetarian.

 

This module links to my eating habits, societal issues, and the social norms I follow. Along with certain religious beliefs/ values that my family follows health issues and nutrition is a big part to why I follow a vegetarian diet. The module has a health/ food pyramid that shows eating plants and more vegetables compared to meat, eggs, and certain dairy products is a better option. The diet I follow includes vegetables and salads almost on a daily basis apart from ‘cheat days’ where I tend to eat more fats such as cheese and at times fried food. To get a decent amount of protein in my body I eat nuts, tofu, and certain types of cheese. Also after I started eating meat I started seeing videos of animal slaughter and factories where these animals were cut and sent for sale this was another great cause to me changing my habits back to vegetarian diets.

 

Geog 030 module 6

 

3 thoughts on “Food and social issues module 6

  1. Hi Samarth. My name is Sophie. Here is a link to my blog post http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/03/module-6-sophia-greene/. Feel free to check it out.
    While reading your post, I found it really interesting that you wanted to try to add meat to your diet although your parents did not necessarily support the decision. After being allowed to, what I found more interesting is the fact that you ended up not liking meat anyway. I cannot imagine not having meat in my diet, but it just goes to show the different social norms that exist.

  2. Hi Samarth,
    I really enjoyed your post because of the unique perspective. My blog was similar because I also focused on meat. I’ve always eaten a lot and really can’t imagine not having any. It’s interesting how different cultures have such different social norms about food. Your probably better off as a vegetarian, but I know it would be very hard for me. Take a look at my blog if you want.
    http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/03/02/a-diet-centered-around-protein/

  3. Hi my name is Aaliyah. Here is the link to my blog https://sites.psu.edu/geog30/?p=44972&preview=true. In my blog I talked about overeating due to cultural norms. Which kind of relates to your post in that you talk about how beliefs influence you food choices. I come from a family that does not eat pork so I can relate to your situation. I’ve also questioned this belief. I do eat pork sometimes at school because it is the only option but it has not fully grown on me.

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