Final Assignment Anthology: Revised Food, Religion and Gender

Food and religion have an inexplicable connection. Each religion entails a different set of rules that either prohibit or encourage the consumption of certain foods, albeit with an explanation as to why the rule is enforced. For example, Hinduism strictly forbids its followers from eating beef, due to the belief that cows are sacred and the slaughter of these animals would be concurrent with disrespecting the religion. Islam, similarly, does not allow the slaughter and ingestion of pork due to the unsanitary conditions in which pigs are bred, and all other meats must be prepared under certain conditions in order to be allowed at the dinner table. On the other end of the spectrum, Jainism and Buddhism believe that all life is equally important, and therefore completely forbid meat from the follower’s diet, including eggs and fish. So, religion can have a big impact on the type of food that is eaten, and in some cases the way its prepared as well.

A much more sensitive topic is the relation of food to gender, and specifically, women. A few hundred years ago, no one questioned the fact that a woman’s job was to cook the food and take care of the family, as this was the social norm. In her essay Introduction: Feeding an Identity-Gender, Food and Survival, Norma Joseph talked about how food is the source of a woman’s power, giving the example of how recipes from past generations are passed down to preserve the culture and share it with the world. She also mentions how the dynamic has changed and women have embraced their role in the kitchen, using simple gestures such as adding a new element (an orange) to the Passover plate in Jewish culture, to show the power they have gained from food.

Food is a very important resource, as it has the power to bring people together, be it through religion and certain festivals such as Eid, or through cultural means, such as a Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas brunch, and women have embodied this resource and made it their own, making them that much more powerful in our daily lives.

Final Assignment Anthology: Revised Personal Essay

Vegetarian. All my life, I have grown up with this word attached to me like a shadow. Being raised in Mumbai, where a large proportion of the population is vegetarian, the disparities in the type of food I ate did not manifest themselves. The wide varieties of food available to me only led me to believe that it was okay to be a vegetarian, and that this 'restrcition' would not affect my social life. However, the truth of the matter became painfully clear the year I moved to Dubai.

 Adjusting to my new life in a predominantly British school was hard; however, having this dietary restriction only made things worse. Having to explain to others that I was a “full vegetarian” and didn't have “cheat days with chicken” became a daily routine, and although this was just friendly banter, it became an arduous task to constantly argue with others over this lifestyle choice. Going out for dinner with friends became a dilemma, and something as simple as inviting friends over for dinner came with the added quandary of ‘Would they like vegetarian food?’

 This predicament soon came to a head on my 12th birthday, the first one I was to have in Dubai. All throughout the planning of my party, the question that gnawed at my mind was, “What terrible disappointment would my friends feel since they would only get vegetarian food?” As these thoughts ran through my head, I walked into the kitchen and saw that my mother had prepared an all-Indian dinner, and panic coursed through me. Not only would my friends have to be vegetarians for the evening, they would also have to eat food they had probably never heard of before! 

 My friends arrived and we had a good time playing football and baseball in the backyard, oblivious to the foreign aromas that permeated the kitchen inside. All too soon, it was dinner time, and we filed into the dining room, dread rising in me at the potential reaction my friends would have to the exotic platter in front of them. I expected gasps of surprise, murmurs and whispers, and I feared the worst. To my surprise, however, my friends silently took their seats as my mother explained to them what each plate contained. The menu consisted of typical Indian food, such as curry and naan bread, other more elaborate dishes such as pav bhaji and biryani, as well as some Indian delicacies to complete the intricate menu that my mother had prepared. The dinner proceeded, and by the end, not a single plate was left with food on it. My friends, who regularly joked about the fact that I was a vegetarian, had cleaned out every morsel of food on the table. They had been vegetarian for the evening, and they had enjoyed it!

That day made me realize that I must not be ashamed of who I am, or where I come from, and that no one should let me question my choices. I will be a vegetarian for the rest of my life, and just like a shadow, it is now a part of me, and something that I am proud of.

Final Assignment Anthology: Revised Buying and Eating Local

Being from Dubai, buying and eating local produce is not something that seems natural for me, especially since not much can be grown in the dry desert. A routine trip to the grocery store would consist of buying apples from Iran, coffee from Brazil, oranges from India, and a pack of chips from the US. Even before Dubai, eating local was never encouraged in Mumbai, where buying food from other countries was a luxury and a status symbol. 

Therefore, after coming to Atlanta, my perception of buying and eating local has completely changed. From the various symbols that denote local produce to the weekly farmer’s market events, I have been convinced that home-grown food is a much better alternative to the genetically modified fruits and vegetables commonly found in supermarkets. There is something about eating a salad with juicy green lettuce and big red tomatoes grown a few miles away that really appeals to me and makes me feel fresh through the day. Even in the food court of Emory University, the salad counter consists of only local produce and it is stated proudly there.

Although I never appreciated the value of buying and eating local, being given the opportunity to try this style of eating after coming to Emory and Atlanta has opened my eyes to the great benefits that can be had from following this lifestyle, and I plan on educating my family about buying local when I go back to Dubai.

Final Assignment Anthology: Revised Genre and Audience

Genre is the type of writing and audience is the “who” of the writing, or in other words the readership of a piece of writing. These two terms are interconnected in many ways. 

The genre of the writing, such as whether to write an article or a personal essay, can be determined by looking at the audience for that particular piece of writing. For example, if the audience for a piece of writing is a professor, or a high ranking official in a firm, then the genre chosen would normally be a formal essay or letter, whereas if it was a younger audience, the genre would more likely be a blog post or a personal essay. 

Some other examples of genre include a blog proposal, or a research log, which comprises of collecting different sources and writing short summaries on each source. 

Genre can also help determine audience. For example, the readership of a scholarly article would comprise mostly of an older audience, whereas a comic strip as a genre would attract a much younger audience.

Final Assignment Anthology: Revised Across the World Pie

Across The World Pie - This is a pie that will incorporate ingredients inspired by different places around the world (hence the name) but will have a primary focus on India, where I am from, and USA, where I currently live.

Ingredients: Apples, (Sweet) Potato, cinnamon, dark swiss chocolate on top, danish pastry as crust

The pie would be a sweet pie based around a hybrid of the traditional apple pie and an Indian potato pie. The center of the pie would be filled with apples and sliced potatoes. Surrounding this would be a crust made from danish pastry and over the pie could be a dark swiss chocolate sauce that adds a little bitterness to the sweet center of the pie.

I chose to create this pie because it represents my Indian background as well as the fact that I now live in the US. The sweetness of the pie comes from all the good parts of living in US but the bitterness of the swiss chocolate is inspired by the slight bitterness of leaving my family and my home in India. This bitterness, however, is overpowered by the sweetness and compliments it. The combination of potatoes and apples in the center reflects the conflicting cultures of both the places, where they do not really make sense when paired together, but weirdly still taste delicious.

Across The World Pie

Across The World Pie - Pie inspired by different parts of the world but focusing on ingredients from India and USA

Ingredients: Apples, (Sweet) Potato, cinnamon, dark swiss chocolate on top, danish pastry as crust

The pie would be a sweet pie based around a hybrid of the traditional apple pie and an Indian potato pie. The center of the pie would be filled with apples and sliced potatoes. Surrounding this would be a crust made from danish pastry and over the pie could be a dark swiss chocolate sauce that adds a little bitterness to the sweet center of the pie.

I chose to create this pie because it represents my Indian background as well as the fact that I now live in the US. The sweetness of the pie comes from all the good parts of living in US but bitterness of chocolate is inspired by the slight bitterness of leaving my family and my home in India. This bitterness, however, is overpowered by the sweetness and compliments it.

Revision: Genre and Audience

Genre is the type of writing and audience is the “who” of the writing, or in other words the readership of a piece of writing. These two terms are interconnected in many ways. 

The genre of the writing, such as whether to write an article or a personal essay, can be determined by looking at the audience for that particular piece of writing. For example, if the audience for a piece of writing is a professor, or a high ranking official in a firm, then the genre chosen would normally be a formal essay or letter, whereas if it was a younger audience, the genre would more likely be a blog post or a personal essay. 

Some other examples of genre include a blog proposal, or a research log, which comprises of collecting different sources and writing short summaries on each source. 

Genre can also help determine audience. For example, the readership of a scholarly article would comprise mostly of an older audience, whereas a comic strip as a genre would attract a much younger audience.