Welcome to the blog for Colgate University's interdisciplinary course on food. This is the place to keep up with what students in the course are experiencing in their work at Common Thread Community Farm and through their everyday encounters with food.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Food Commercials

I’ve always known advertising is a huge way to elicit consumer consumption. Marketing companies identify a market and capitalize on promoting their product as access to their desires. For example, car commercials seem to have a standardized formula. Silver = expensive. Red = fast. A yellow SUV speeding through muddy terrain? That’s just plain cool.
The real problem, however, is the food industry’s use of advertising to influence our consumption patterns. This is an issue because of the frequency of advertisements and media in our daily lives. With these messages constantly surrounding us, it’s difficult to untangle the promoted message from reality.

We’re talking about a real “all about the benjamins” prescription. Companies often invest millions in researching their market base. If the campaign is successful, however, profits increase tenfold. Examining the wonder bread commercials in class highlighted the way food commercials evolve to meet consumer culture. Michael Pollan corroborated this point by exemplifying the weird claims packaged foods EXCLAIM! And I mean “EXCLAIM!” Because look around the grocery store- do you have to actually pick up the box of cheerios and read the fine print to see that “cheerios lower cholesterol”? Or is this broadcasted in bold print (encased in a red cartoon bubble) the top, right corner ?? “Lowers cholesterol,” “low-fat,” “rich in antioxidants,” “organic;” these claims all cater the current consumer desire to eat healthy and be thin.
So, I have started exploring some food commercials on YouTube to look at the messages presented and (attempt) to ascertain the reasoning behind them. Hey- I’m not procrastinating! I’m adding to my knowledge base.

RedBull clearly exemplifies the ability of food to bring about desired traits.
RedBull

This was an interesting find- Shaq in fast food commercials. Shaq appeared in both Burger King and Taco Bell commercials. First, this points to the idea that simply pairing an A-list celebrity with a food item can increase sales. Second, this series of commercials implies the food item really does not matter. I assume both BK and TB saw an increase in sales and I assume consumers did not mind or even notice the parallel commercial. If it works, it works!
Shaq: Burger King
Shaq: Taco Bell

Pairing Shaq with fast food likely equates Shaq’s athletic ability with fast food. Similarly, pairing a thin, A-list female celebrity can equate her physical appeal to the product. Check out Kelly Clarkson in the Vitamin Water commercial. There is common trend to pair women with more “diet” oriented products. The one that immediately comes to mind is Kristie Alley and Jenny Craig.
Vitamin Water

Ta-Da! Proof! Heidi Klum, the supermodel, featured in a diet coke commercial. Conversely, the advertisements for (regular) coke featured on YouTube are predominated by males.
Diet Coke

In the first-ever diet coke commercial, both men and women are featured, but there is an emphasis on the “Rockette” dancers and glamorous women (and men).
First Diet Coke Commercial

Another:
Coke Light

The hunky male is carrying diet coke, to the pleasure of every female in the office, but he’s also consuming….. Is the commercial focusing on the male drinking diet coke or the females in the office who now equate diet coke with this hunky male?
Diet Coke: Hunky male

So here’s the shift. Sure, Courtney is “in the kitchen” and providing for her husband, but she can drink coke too!
Arquettes Coke

And finally! Perhaps Diet Coke was attempting to expand their consumer market. This “LOL” commercial is titled “Be a Man.”
Diet Coke: Be a Man

This 2006 Nutrigrain commercial markets Nutrigrain bars as a way to “feel great.” However, this commercial is so bizarre and seemingly so unrelated to the point that I nearly forget what is being advertised. So what’s more important? The advertisement or the product?
Nutrigrain 2006

If it’s possible, let’s try to imagine an advertisement-free world. Imagine that technological advancement and the availability of processed food remains the same. Now, as Pollan put it, all foods are “silent.” So who wins???

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Thanksgiving

I come from a family that not only loves to eat but also loves to cook. So, you can imagine how we use every single holiday during the year to come up with an enormous feast. Thanksgiving is no exception.

This year Thanksgiving was at my aunt’s house. My family arrived around four in the evening. As soon as I entered the house, the tremendous aroma of all the foods filled the air and my taste buds began salivating in anticipation for the meal. My great uncle was busy in the kitchen carving the turkey that just emerged from the oven. It was a HUGE one- at least 20 pounds. The adults were helping prepare the last minute courses.

There were hor-d’oeuvres all around- everything from shrimp cocktail to cheese and crackers. I always know I’m in for some great cheese that my great aunt and uncle purchase from a specialty store in Scarsdale - a special cranberry variety, a sweet honey/walnut one, and a mixed herb one.

Once the turkey was carved, we were ready to eat. Normally at family meals the food came out in courses, appetizers followed by the entrée. However, this time, all the food came out at once. We all grasped our plates and stood in line in anticipation of a delicious meal. I immediately reached for the turkey and proceeded to take a huge slab of meat for my plate. Back when I was young, I used to hate white meat- I always went for the big leg. Now, I enjoy white meat a lot, especially when it is roasted to perfection. I went on to fill my plate until it was overflowing array of food (and quite colorful too!). Coupled with gravy, the turkey seemed irresistible. I took a few pieces of the white and dark meat. In less than five minutes, I proceeded to wolf down this massive chunk of turkey.

Stuffing soon followed, as it is always a must on Thanksgiving. My grandma’s recipe never seems to disappoint me. I then moved on to the sweet potato dish with brown sugar and roasted pecans-I could have eaten it all! I next tried the Cranberry sauce, made by my aunt who lives in Vermont and always use the freshest of ingredients. I had tasted Cranberry sauce many times before, but I never tasted it with fresh homegrown berries. The taste was absolutely exquisite. It was full of flavor and quite sharp. After consuming several spoonfuls of cranberry sauce my stomach began to feel very full. However, this was Thanksgiving so I could not settle just yet. I next moved onto the green beans, sautéed in a light sauce, with roasted almonds, and onions. All these different flavors and textures combined created such a delicious meal.

After the main course, we took a little break from all the food and just hung out and caught up. Seeing my younger cousins always brought out the kid in me as they begged me to play ping pong and video games downstairs (Of course I did!)

As soon as the pumpkin pie was removed from the oven, the air was filled with an aroma that can only be described as sensational. I took a slice of the delicious homemade pie and I could tell easily that it was made from only the ripest pumpkins, and that many hours had been spent making it. After working at the farm this semester, I have realized the difference in eating locally grown products and how the taste varies significantly from store bought, pre-packaged items. I definitely feel more connected to the food.

I’m already looking forward to Thanksgiving next year and I bet you guys are all as well.

Friday, December 3, 2010

A Quick Trip Down Nausea Lane

One quick thing I just had to share.

So during a long, winding bout of Googling (mostly for my paper, I swear), I stumbled upon this: canned whole chicken.
If you have accidentally just ingested arsenic or perhaps cyanide and you desperately need to empty your stomach in a hurry, take a gander at this.

Otherwise, don't. Really, you might not eat for days.

Proceed at your own risk.