Comparing Bourdieu's Time, Sugar, And Sweeteners

On another note, the craving of foods by individuals underlies a certain association connected to its use and function, which are able to shift over time. With this, there is a relationship between what foods mean to those who consume it. Sidney Mintz in “Time, Sugar, and Sweeteners” investigated what foods mean to those who consume them, specifically focusing on the versatile substance of sugar. Over the past centuries, sugar and its usage have undergone vast transformation from being a costly, prized medicine for royalty to a commonplace staple in nearly every household. She states, that “sugar gradually changed from a medicine for royalty into a preservative and confectionary ingredient and, finally, into a basic commodity” (94). This substance
When walking the street of any big city today, one can find a vast array of restaurants, from one dollar hot dog shops, to 5 star Michelin restaurants. The reason individuals consume food is often associated with their social class. Whereas lower income individuals tend to see food as a way to fuel one’s body for the hard work they have to put their body through, higher class individuals tend to see food as a way to present their status and a way to socialize and enjoy themselves. Pierre Bourdieu in “Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste” demonstrates how food has had different meanings based on its usage. People have adjusted their eating habits over time depending on their lifestyles and needs, with this, there is the “taste of luxury and the taste of necessity” (1). Whereas the working class associated food primarily as a way to fuel one’s body for the hard work ahead an therefore characterized by being abundant and nourishing, Bourgeoisie primarily associated food with the the effect that it has on ones body as well as a way to present the social aspect of food, including strict sequences, rigorous rules, and form to prove their status. One’s taste with this marks one social class. This taste within society has become to be seen as legitimate and natural, and with this creates an actively distancing of social classes. These predisposition to certain kinds of foods are taught and instilled to children, which specific tastes then guide the children to their approbate social positions. The children internalize the preferences suitable for their given social class, and create an aversion toward the preferred food of other social classes. The internalization of such ideas leads to it being very difficulty too challenge the social conditioning of certain foods. The foods one eats then identify a person as having originated in a certain social class.