1. Factors affecting food choices
& W
Chapter 2

2. Factors affecting food choices
Culture – Beliefs and social customs of a group of people. In the U.S., people have become more health conscious and are more likely to spend their money on exercise equipment
Historical influences – settlers brought foods to America and natives already grew certain foods
Native or not?
Ethnic influences – Racial, national, or religious culture. Ex. - Soul food (chitterlings, ham hocks), Pennsylvania Dutch (sweet and sour)
Food taboos – in most ethnic groups, social customs prohibit the use of certain edible resources as food (i.e. Hindus and beef)

3. Have you tried these foods before…?
Gonna Eat That?!
Is there anything that makes us more squeamish than unusual foods? When we were children, dishes other families ate were “weird.” As our taste buds matured, we added more “gross” foods to our diets, but our culture tended to set boundaries. Most Chinese find cheese disgusting, for example, and rare is the American who relishes the thought of devouring duck’s feet, a delicacy in China.
Here are more foods that American’s eat that others can’t stand:
As the world gets smaller, regional favorites get nearer, less foreign, less “weird.” Some of these far-flung foods could even make their way to your neighborhood grocery store.
Have you tried these foods before…?
Would you ever try these foods….?

4. Balut
This Filipino delicacy is a fertilized egg that is incubated until a duckling develops, and then soft-boiled and eaten.

5. Durian
An acquired taste—and smell—durian is a large, spiny green fruit from South East Asia with a dense skin that protects a creamy center that some swoon over and some find putrid. Durian has such a distinctive odor (sewer-like is the most common description) that it has been banned on public transportation in some countries.

6. Fugu
Dozens of people in Japan die each year from eating this blowfish, which has an organ containing a toxin so deadly that only specially licensed chefs are allowed to prepare it.

7. Haggis
A Scottish favorite made from the chopped heart, lungs, and liver of lamb or beef and mixed with suet (raw fat), oats, onions, herbs, and spices, then stuffed into a sheep’s stomach, haggis is not for the faint of heart nor the weak of stomach.

8. Hu-Hu Grubs
A New Zealand native, the larvae of the hu-hu beetle can be found in rotting logs and eaten raw or cooked. Connoisseurs describe the grubs as tasting nutty or like chicken.

9. Nutria
The nutria is a large semi-aquatic rodent that is indigenous to South America and was imported into Louisiana for the fur industry. Over decades, the critters extensively damaged the state’s coastal wetlands, so officials decided to promote nutria as a cheap and readily available food source.

10. Octopus (Live)
Eaten cut up but still squirming, raw octopus is a South Korean favorite that is often served with a pepper paste.

11. Scrapple
Named for the scrap odds and ends of pig it comprises (lips, snout, organs, etc.), scrapple is an old Pennsylvania-Dutch dish that was typically eaten at breakfast. Scrapple is comprised of a cornmeal mush made with the meat and broth, seasoned with onions, spices and herbs and shaped into loaves for slicing and frying.

12. Ricci di Mare (in Italy)
Uni (in Japan) or
Ricci di Mare (in Italy)
Raw sea urchin roe is popular in both sushi and pasta dishes.

13. Bizarre foods with andrew zimmern
More strange foods in Madagascar

14. Factors cont’d.
Regional Influences – the Southwest has a large Mexican-American population and tortillas, tacos, and tamales reflect this heritage
Religious Influences – Orthodox Jews follow dietary laws based on their interpretation of the Old Testament which forbid the eating of pork and shellfish
Kosher foods – foods prepared
According to Jewish dietary laws

15. Social Influences on Food choices
Family
Friends
The status of foods (caviar)
Media (children in the U.S. view an average of 25,629 commercials a year)

16. Emotions affect food choices
Emotional responses to food - Ever ate a food in the afternoon and felt sick later on? Did you think, “I never want to eat that again!”?
Using food to deal with emotions – a chocolate bar might help cheer you up when you’re depressed
Food used for rewards or punishment – food used to manipulate behaviors – giving a child cookies or candy to encourage good behavior or withholding dessert when a child misbehaves at the dinner table. GOOD OR BAD??
Individual preferences – emotions, genes, experiences