The Americanization of the Thai Diet

My first taste of Thai food was a couple of years ago when a restaurant aptly named the Thai Elephant moved into my town. I can’t quite explain why it was that I had never had it before, or why I even decided to try it. I have always loved Chinese food, so I figured it would be similar and eventually ended up having dinner there with some friends after an exhausting shopping trip. It was just what I needed to perk me up. Noodles and rice (basically my favorite carb foods) combined with a little bit of sweetness and a little spiciness. I decided on the Pad Thai purely on the description, but substituted chicken for tofu, as tofu has never really appealed to me. It was not entirely what I expected, but nonetheless it was delicious, and the first of many meals there.

When I received notice that my roommate for Early Fall Start was from Thailand, I was excited but extremely nervous at the same time. I was already going to have to share a space with someone I hardly knew, but on top of it, English wasn’t going to be her first language. I needn’t have been worried though, Kasana (who goes by her nickname since birth, Ja) Chutiraka is one of the sweetest, most endearing people I have ever met, and it was a joy to share a dormitory with her.

One of the first things we talked about was our love of food, and seeing as we were sharing a fridge and microwave, it became a topic that often came up. She shared with me her love of American food (or what she believes it to be— lots and lots of whipped cream, and hot fries!) and I shared with her my love of Thai food (or what I believe to be—rice and Pad Thai!) But she also shared with me her fear of gaining weight while in America because of all the unhealthy food, easy access to it, and lack of exercise. I shared some tips with her: cutting back on the whipped cream, making regular trips to the IMA fitness center, and not frequenting Mc Donald’s (which surprisingly isn’t all that common around campus). Since I had such easy access to an interview subject, I thought it would be interesting to research the common diet in Thailand and the affect that American culture and restaurants have had on their cuisine in the recent years.

 Rice, in almost all regions of Thailand (as it is a fairly small country) consists of the main part of most meals. In other words, it is a staple, and is used in many different ways, including in desserts. Thailand is also the world’s largest exporter of rice, and has recently applied tor the EU for protection of Thai Hom Mali (Jasmine rice) which authorities insist is unique to the Thung Kula Ronghai area. Families who are health- conscious as Ja’s family is, typically have brown rice instead of white to acquire more nutrients.

 Different regions have varying twists on the typical Thai diet, the Southern regions having a spicier take on most dishes while the Northeast is influenced by neighboring country, Laos. A traditional northern food that shows up on special occasions is Ksun-Toke, a tray with several dishes, which typically include the following: a pickled vegetable, some sort of meat (usually chicken), a soup, curry, rice, and Thai spicy dip.  Water is the most common drink, as well as coconut water/juice which is naturally healthful and Ja insists, delicious.  As far as desserts go, sweet rice and mangos are popular, as well as sweet coconut milk.

In recent years, American fast food chains have started cropping up all over (McThai, the first McDonald’s opened on March,16 1985, and had 104 McDonald’s restaurants as of January 2003) and have begun infiltrating the Thai diet, disguising themselves as a good and quick alternative to home-cooked meals. Kentucky Fried Chicken is actually more popular than McDonald’s and as of had 305 of them spread throughout Thailand. They similarly capture their customers by enticing them with smells as is explained in Raj Patel’s book Stuffed and Starved, in the chapter on supermarkets and on this website. They waft appealing smells throughout their store (or restaurant) to potentially make their customer purchase more.

The most shocking thing that Ja informed me of, was that the cost to eat out in Thailand is relatively the same as it is to cook a meal at home. In America, we can usually make a home-cooked meal for cheaper than the cost to dine out. In Thailand it is considered somewhat of a posh thing to eat at a McDonald’s or KFC because it is fairly expensive and American. But ironically it is also a typical hangout for teenagers to eat a snack/meal and do their homework together.

I can’t understand how a people would give up dishes such as the savory Pad Thai in favor of a quarter-pounder at McDonald’s or a bucket of greasy fried chicken at KFC.  But Ja says that taste isn’t the only factor: “I think Thai food is much harder to make than American food. I think people eat out because it’s kind-of cheaper and sometimes we don’t want to prepare the ingredients, and there are many more ingredients in Thai food than American food, I think. Plus making Thai food dirties many kitchen utensils, and we don’t use a dishwasher in Thailand.” Of course, that is only one person’s take on the situation.

The spread of fast-food joints throughout Thailand has led to an Americanization of the regular Thai diet. When there’s easy access, “tasty” food, and the cost is relatively the same as eating at home, it’s hard to argue against going out to eat at the “posh” American restaurants.  But the affect of eating out does more than just take away the home-cooking aspect of the Thai diet—Thai newspapers report that 14% of Thai children are already obese, laying the blame on western fast food joints.  As Raj Patel explains in his book Stuffed and Starved, this isn’t all that surprising as it is happening in other countries as well “ In Mexico, there have also been changes in the foods people eat as a result of NAFTA, particularly in the increased availability and consumption of high-calorie food. This has led to a spike in levels of obesity…”(63) and he continues with “ Not only are Mexicans now consuming more food, the food their eating is different. The consumption of wheat-based instant noodles is now higher than that of beans and rice. Today, Mexicans drink more Coca-Cola than milk. The consequences are more than cosmetic. With nearly one in ten Mexicans living with diabetes, the cost to the country is U.S. $15 billion a year.”(63)

Of course, Thailand and Mexico are not exactly the same (Thailand is not as close in proximity to the U.S. which makes the spike in obesity in all the more alarming), but the principles of influence are extremely similar. It’s easy to see that the future of Thailand could be very similar to that of Mexico if it continues down the path it is on now.

We (as the American consumer) probably won’t see a direct effect, but I worry for Ja each time she returns home to see an even more Americanized Thailand with her friends and family constantly opting for an American restaurant rather than a home-cooked meal.

Works Cited: 

Patel, Raj. Stuffed and Starved. Brooklyn, NY: Melville Housing Publishing, 2007

"Thailand applies for EU protection for jasmine rice" New Europe Careers. 11 August 2008. http://www.neurope.eu/view_news.php?id=89324

Kohler, John. "Coconut Water Information" Living and Raw Foods. n.d. 1998. http://www.living-foods.com/articles/coconutwater.html

http://www/mctahi.co.th/aboutus/INDEZ2.HTM

"KFC in Thailand to Restore Confidence in Its Chicken by Giving Away Pieces" Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. 4 February 2004. http://www.allbusiness.com/food-beverage

Hicks, Mary Nicole."Psychology of Supermarkets" Pick Brains. 12 October 2007. http://www.pickbrains.com/articles/psychology-of-supermarkets

"Is Thailand Getting Fat?" Chris in Asia. 15 November 2007.  http://chris-in-asia.blogspot.com

 

The Perks of Going Greek

On Monday night, my second night in my new sorority, we were lucky enough to have a registered dietician come and speak to us during dinner. When I heard that a dietician was coming, my first thought was, why? Aren't sororities healthier than the dorms, in general? Well, maybe there's more fresh fruit and vegetables available, but the environment isn't necessarily conducive to healthful eating habits. Honestly, living with eighty to ninety girls can be a very pressurized and competitive environment, but that's not to say that it always is. I feel very lucky to have joined a sorority where everyone is very comfortable (or at least seems to be). The dietician provided us with useful information, but not necessarily anything new or profound. 

I thought it would be interesting to ask girls in my pledge class if the food in the sorority (and having a professional chef) was a factor in their decision to go through recruitment. The answers I got varied, but most girls said it was just another perk of living in the Greek community. And while they definitely enjoy it, it didn't necessarily influence their decision as much as say, living in an actual house rather than a dorm, or the fact that they have many social and philanthropic opportunities while living in a sorority. 

Having lived in the dorms for three weeks before joining a sorority, I can honestly say that I like it much better than living and eating in the dorms. For one thing, there's always fresh fruit around. In the past couple of days I have had apples, oranges, grapes, melon, and nectarines which is more than I had combined in the three weeks of living in the dorms. But there is also a downside to living/eating in a sorority. The fact that I don't have an on-campus dining meal might be a bit of an inconvenience during the school year when I want to grab lunch in between classes. I'm paying to be fed in the sorority, so I don't necessarily want to pay extra for lunch. I suppose I might be able to pack my lunch, but I'd have to figure out if that would be allowed and what's available. 

Having a professional chef cook my meals and having fresh fruit around definitely is more than a perk to me!

photo credit: http;//www/uweb.uscb.edu/~anastasia_smith/fruitsalad.jpg

Convenience

Many people have guilty pleasures, whether it's sleeping in till 2 PM, watching a trashy TV show religiously, or even reading romance novels. But almost everyone has a food guilty pleasure. My mom's is popcorn, my dad's is ice cream and I have more than one-- The Old Spaghetti Factory, and candy, lots of candy. However, I know how bad these foods  (if you can even classify them as real foods) are for you. A meal at The Old Spaghetti Factory easily has more than a days worth of calories, and candy is mostly just sugar and empty calories while simultaneously ruining your teeth. 

I often wonder when I'm having a craving, why it's a commodified taste that I'm craving. But honestly, it's pretty obvious. I'm craving the sugar and the salt; it's addicting. An apple just won't suffice. Sure, it's sweet, but it's nothing like a creamy Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. Plain-old pasta won't do either, it's the salty mizithra cheese that I need. My body has been trained to consume this stuff like it's natural, like it's supposed to go into my stomach and my bloodstream and energize me for the day. But it's not supposed to and it doesn't. It satisfies me for maybe twenty minutes, and if I'm lucky the craving will be gone for an hour. But it always returns (unless I've made myself sick by shoveling it in). 

It's almost impossible to get away from commodified taste, especially when it is so convenient. The invention of the microwave makes it feasible for me to make s'mores from the comfort of my kitchen rather than around a campfire, I can grab a bag of chips from the pantry, and I can always reheat my leftovers from The Old Spaghetti Factory. In Roger Haden's "Taste in an Age of Convenience"  he comments on the microwave saying "Even though the 'nuker' would in practice be used less for actual cookery than for the reheating of pre-packaged and processed convenience foods, it was hailed as 'the greatest cooking discovery since fire. In the U.S. 'microwaves' would outsell conventional ovens in 1975, thus turning a 'culinary' fiction into a social fact."  The microwave, in effect has taken convenience to a whole new level. But it's not alone. Restaurants, supermarkets and clever marketing have all played a part in making convenience an accomplice, or rather a catalyst to guilty food pleasures. Yet even though I know all of this, as I sit here writing this blog post, do you know what I'm craving? A big bowl of microwaved popcorn. Yum.

photo credit: http://www.thatsoftwareguy.com/candy.jpg

Kabobs on the Ave.

My first night in a sorority we all decided to go to dinner on the Ave. George (an upperclassman girl by the way) really wanted to go to a kabob place where she said there was a five dollar special. So all who didn't want Thai food or Pita Pit decided to accompany her, myself included, to Kabobs Express. I'm so glad I did. It was amazing. Basically, you get three kabobs with meat of your choice (options included chicken, pork, beef, and maybe some type of fish) which is put on top of a hot pita with lettuce, tomato and whatever type of sauce or paste that you want. The end result is a huge, delicious wrap and a drink of your choice. Fortunately I was starving, so I was amazingly able to finish the whole thing. Had I not been though, I would have wasted a lot of food and money. 

Laura, a girl in my pledge class expressed how she didn't want to waste any food because her college student budget doesn't allow for frequent spending. Which got me thinking how trying to finish your food just because you don't want to waste any money can contribute to the obesity epidemic that I mentioned in previous posts (there are more obese people in the world than there are starving). Obviously stuffing yourself every once in a while won't much damage, but if every time you go out you force yourself to clear your plate just so you won't lose money, then it might be a bit of a problem. 

Of course, there's always the option of packing up the leftovers and storing them in a fridge at home. And while that's a more accessible option when living in a sorority, it's still inconvenient and not always easy to do while living in the dorms (as it usually requires you to have a refrigerator and microwave). Plus, if you're planning on doing activities after your meal, you don't want to be responsible for carrying around a bag of food all night. 

So basically you have three main options: don't finish your food and lose money, finish your food and feel sick, or package your leftovers and carry them around. Option three is probably the best choice, however inconvenient it is. 

photo credit: http://www.kabobsexpress.com/images/menu/pita-large.jpg

The Golden Buckle on the Corn Belt

When one thinks of Iowa, corn fields, cows, and wide-open spaces probably come to mind. But when i think of Iowa, I not only think of those three things but a whole slew of others including, but not limited to: summer, humidity, grandparents, cousins, old people, small towns, swimming pools, golf, cigar smoke, and last but definitely not least—succulent sweet corn. Almost every summer of my life has included a trip to Rockwell city, Iowa, whether by air or by land, we have always made it there. And each year I hoped that we would plan our vacation in August when the sweet corn starts to roll around, and there is always plenty on the supper table at my grandma's house. 

When I opened the Ominvore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan  and read the first section, I was shocked at my ignorance of corn, especially having been to the heart of "corn-land" countless times (and even having visited the Corn Palace in South Dakota). Of course, the corn I consumed on a regular basis in Iowa was not the corn that Michael Pollan specifically talks about, but all the same, it's corn from Iowa. One quote in particular that struck me was: "A case can be made that the corn plant's population explosion in places like Iowa is responsible for pushing out not only other plants but the animals and finally the people, too." (p.38) This quote connected with me because I remember each summer we would return to Iowa my mother and grandmother would remark on how much the town has diminished since my mom was a child there. Maybe five out of the twenty stores that were in business when my mom was young are still there, and the town has downsized to less people than went to my high school (which was about 1500). Nobody moves in anymore, they only move out. Whether or not this has to do specifically with the expansion of corn, I can't really say, but I wouldn't be surprised. 

As shocked as I was by my ignorance, I was curious to find out if my grandparents were as ignorant as I on the subject of corn since they are surrounded by it. Of course, they are not farmers themselves so I wasn't surprised when my grandma didn't really know what I was talking about (it was either that or her hearing is getting worse...). But being the avid learner that my grandmother is, she took it upon herself to send me some articles and websites in the mail to help with my research. 

The information she sent me was basically everything that Pollan talks about in his corn section. How some form of corn is in just about everything on the supermarket shelves, how the bulk of the American diet comes from corn, and the vicious cycle farmers go through when growing corn. She also sent me some information about renewable fuels, which Pollan doesn’t really cover in-depth. Both she and I find it ridiculous how much the American diet relies on corn, and every time I sink my teeth into a juicy cob of sweet corn, I will be thinking about a lot more than just how delicious it is. 

photo credit: http://gliving.tv/new/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/corn.jpg

To Eat or Not to Eat

Having always been an animal lover, reading the section about meat in the Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan made me feel a little disgusted with myself. However, it wasn't enough to stop me from eating meat all together. As much as I love cows, pigs and chickens, and as bad as I feel about eating them, I just can't give up a juicy burger or a chicken kabob when presented with the opportunity. The section about the sow and piglets pulled at my heartstrings, but it didn't stop me from eating bacon while making collard greens in class. I have thought about becoming a vegetarian many times before but I've never been able to really buckle-down and stick with it. I think to completely stop eating meat I need to be truly disgusted, and I don't know that I want that to actually happen. 

Pollan does mention that if you want to become a vegetarian and be completely revolted, you should read Animal Liberation, by Peter Singer, which I might add to my reading list if I decide to become a vegetarian or vegan in the future. 

I'm also a tad nauseated by facts I've learned about milk, although Pollan doesn't go into great detail, I've heard enough to put me almost completely off dairy (even if I wasn't already on a dairy-free diet!). The facts about milk machines, the poor cows, and the bodily fluids that end up in the final gallon of milk truly sicken me. 

All in all, I'm disgusted by the facts presented to me and disgusted with myself for completely overlooking them when I'm presented with a cheeseburger and fries. 

Pop! Goes the memory

Ever since I can remember, popcorn with a diet soda or beer has been my mother's favorite food (she is a actually a very health-conscious person though, so don't get the idea that all she does is eat popcorn and guzzle beer). Sunday nights when she was growing up were popcorn and soda nights. They would have a big Sunday lunch and to give my grandmother a break, have popcorn and soda and gather around the television in the living room or around a table to play a game, a weekly tradition if you will. 

 

So naturally, my mother still loves to have popcorn and soda but now it's on a less regulated schedule. She has passed down her love of the popcorn and soda combination to her children (even to my older brother who is quite the picky eater). Of course, we were only allowed to have pop on the weekends so we never became quite as in love with it as she is. 

Now every time I go to the movie theater, and sniff the scent of processed melted butter or when I simply throw a bag of instant popcorn in the microwave, I think of my mom. Every time the syrupy acidic diet coke burns down my throat, tingles my nose, and makes me burp, I think of my mom. The taste of it reminds me even more so, the drizzled butter complemented with the heavy sprinkle of cheese exploding in my mouth reminding me of my mother with each crunch. 

In Marcel Proust's The Madeleine, he uses a madeleine the shell-shaped, fluffy cookie to symbolize something that triggers a memory. The taste and aroma of the cookie induces a flood of memories. "An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, but individual, detached, with no suggestion of its origin. And at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory- this new sensation having has on me the effect which love has of filling me with a precious essence; or rather this essence was not in me, it was myself. I had ceased to feel mediocre, accidental, mortal." And while eating popcorn doesn't provoke that deep of memories for me (mostly just my mom sitting on the couch in our TV room with a big bowl of popcorn on her lap and me snuggling up against her to steal bites of popcorn) they still are meaningful.

photo credit: http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/49105main_popcorn.jpg

Organic Shmorganic

I always get a little thrill when my mom decides to go grocery shopping at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or New Seasons, knowing that there are so many more options and bigger selection than our local Hank's Thriftway. I'm also filled with an inch of pride knowing that we're choosing to buy "organic" food that is healthier and better for the environment. But is it really?

 

While reading Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, I started to question my pride and my "do good" feelings. Pollan mentions that while organic foods are most likely healthier (or at least healthier than the genetically engineered so-called food, which will be discussed in a future post) they aren't always necessarily better for the environment. In most cases organic foods are delivered the same way industrial farm foods are, and therefore use the same amount of fossil fuels. They also may be labeled as organic, free range etc. but as Pollan explains, you can't really tell unless you're actually at the farm/packaging plant. Basically he's saying you can't always trust what the label tells you, which throws my pride right out the window. 

So local foods are better? Maybe so, but they're also more expensive, harder to come by and aren't necessarily pesticide-free. It seems to me that there's no perfect option, you have to take the good with the bad. You can buy from your chain supermarket for cheap prices but with food that's sprayed with pesticides and imported; you can buy from your local farmer's market to become more sustainable but with high prices; you can buy from Whole Food's to get "organic" food but pay sky-high prices; or you can grow some of your own food but lose the convenience factor. I want to feel good about where my food is coming from and the price I'm paying for it, but there doesn't seem to be a clear winner, so I suppose I'll continue doing a mixture of all of them until one clearly becomes more advantageous all around. 

I've always had the notion that products from Whole Foods and the like, were just plain better than anything that I could get at my local supermarket. Omnivore's Dilemma is showing me just how wrong I was. However, I don't think I'm ready give up the feeling I get from shopping at Whole Foods just yet.

An Apple a Day...Brings the Doctor Running?

When I was younger I remember my parents always reminding me to wash my apple before I ate it, and of course, I did....most of the time. At seven years old the only thing your thinking about is getting that juicy apple into your mouth fast enough, the last thing on your mind is pesticides and especially, whether or not that piece of fruit was genetically engineered. 

After watching The Future of Food, I was genuinely scared that I might get cancer or some sort of disease from having eaten so many pesticides and so much genetically modified food through the years. As the first GM foods were introduced in the early 1990's, and I was born in 1990, I very likely have been consuming GM foods my entire life. But after the affects of the dramatic music wore off, and I was able to think a little clearer, I decided that I wasn't in any immediate danger (or so I hope), and there are ways to change my habits so that I no longer consume large quantities genetically engineered food. The only problem is--I'm a college student. Which translates to--I'm on a stringent budget. Which also translates to--I can't buy organic/local/pesticide free/non-GM food all the time because I don't have the means to spend $5 on a piece of fruit. So what's a girl (or any college student, really) to do?

Well, eliminating non-GM food is a no-go because there are no laws that require labels to be put on foods that are modified. So it's almost impossible for anyone to eliminate those entirely unless they grow all of their own food. However, organic and local foods are easier to come by (especially in Seattle) so I could start shopping around at farmer's markets to substitute possible GM produce with organic, local produce. But also, just being aware of where you're food comes from can be helpful. Rather than wallowing in ignorance, start to actually read the signs that are labeling your produce--choose the Washington apples over the New Zealand ones. Of course, these practices are mostly only available when the budget allows, but it's the thought that counts (which can eventually turn into change, when the pockets are a little deeper). Hopefully, with time and baby-steps, my habits can change so that (hopefully) I won't encounter some new fatal disease when I'm older. 

I'm very curious to see in the coming years, what kind of effect consuming genetically modified foods have on individual people and our society as a whole. Will my generation have higher cancer rates? Will there be an new unknown disease? Will there be new regulations on GM foods? In any case, will eating a genetically modified apple bring the doctor running instead of keeping him away? I sure hope not.  

photo credit: http://foodsafety.blogs.bftf.org/files/2007/07/moddedjpg.jpeg