Corinne Frazier

Professor Jesse Miller

English 110

25 February 2022

Society Versus Food

As a college student, food is more of a hassle than an enjoyable experience. However, food can be a useful way to take a break throughout the day. This is an underlying debate in the article, “The End of Food ” from the New Yorker, author Lizzie Widdicombe writes about a revolutionary food substitute called “Soylent.” Society’s emphasis on dieting and productivity has made food a daily hassle, rather than a form of self care.

American culture brainwashes people into believing “dieting” is healthy. Moreover, dieting is a construct developed by corporate organizations into making consumers believe this is “healthy eating”. An article written in the New York Times called, The End of Food by Lizzie Widdicombe discusses the “revolutionary” product soylent. Including the man behind Soylent, Rob Rhinehart who realized that food was a burden in his life. He approached the burden as a problem that needed to be fixed. As a result, Rhinehart developed a nutritional drink that would give one all the required nutrients for a given day. Granted that his goal of Soylent is one would never need a break to eat. Additionally, the nutritional drink is marketed to a population who feel they need more time in the day or want to live a healthier lifestyle. Consumers believe that this drink will solve all their hassles of dieting and preparing meals by putting it all in one bottle. Widdecombe quotes Rhinehart in her article and he states “You need amino acids and lipids, not milk itself…You need carbohydrates, not bread…it seems like a system that’s too complex and too expensive and too fragile.” (1) As shown, Rhinehart believes that you only need the essentials to “survive”. This belief ignores the importance of eating a wholesome meal. Including the fact everyone differs in what nutrients they require. Soylent is a one-size-fits-all approach to dieting which is an unhealthy idea to broadcast to society. Consumers of soylent believe that ‘Oh if I drink this, all my problems with dieting will be solved!’ Popular products, like soylent, affect society’s perspective on healthy eating. Our daily meals should be a time of taking a break from the day and fueling our bodies for the rest of the day. However, our society emphasizes ultimate productivity because it means you will have more time to achieve.

Productivity plays a significant part in American culture. For instance, a product named Soylent was designed to boost productivity during the day by not needing breaks to eat. The idea being one could drink it throughout the day and never get hungry. The product was influenced by its producer Rhinehart, who seeks out ultimate productivity everyday. For instance, Rhinehart switches between two outfits for a couple of months and eventually donates it. All so he doesn’t have to think about what outfit he will wear because it allows him to accomplish more during the day. Widdecombe points out Rhineharts main selling point of productivity in the essay saying “As Rhinehart puts it, you ‘cruise’ through the day. If you’re in a groove at your computer, and feel a hunger pang, you don’t have to stop for lunch. Your energy levels stay consistent: ‘There’s no afternoon crash, no post-burrito coma.” (14) As a college student, I can relate to this feeling. Everyday I ask myself do I continue to study or take a break to eat? Most of the time I choose to study because that’s what is more important to me at the moment. This makes having well balanced meals tough because sometimes I will just snack while I work. Instead of taking a break to recharge and eat a wholesome meal. When I keep studying instead of taking a break to eat I always end up running out of energy and starving.When in the long run eating a wholesome meal will help me be more productive. The thought of taking a break from work when you are in a time crunch is difficult. However, most of the time I actually just need a break to recharge. Taking a moment to eat a meal with friends is one efficient way of self care. That allows you in the long run to be more productive.

A form of self care should be eating daily meals. It can be vital to your mental health because it allows you to take a break from your required daily work. One way of doing this is making sure you eat three meals a day. Making sure you eat three meals a day allows you to catch up with family and friends. It can be as little as grabbing lunch with a friend or having a big gathering with loved ones. To illustrate, every Christmas my family has a big gathering full of food and desserts. In particular, one treat my mom makes every year is a dessert called “wacky cake.” It’s a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, but it’s not your average chocolate cake. As I mentioned in my Favorite Meal Essay, “I put the corner of the cake in my mouth and the frosting melted as soon as it met my tongue. I was greeted with a sharp flavor of chocolate with a background of sugar. As I started to chew the cake was dense like a brownie, but airy like a cake.” Even though wacky cake is not nutritionally excellent, having the indulgence of something sweet can be rewarding. Also, the idea still remains that taking a break to eat is good for your mental state. It forces you to stop, recharge, and collect your thoughts before moving on with your day.

Society’s emphasis on dieting and productivity has made food a daily hassle, rather than a form of self care. Especially as a college student, food can be a useful way to take a break throughout the day. Sometimes all we need is a little boost to be better throughout the day.

Works Cited

Widdicombe, Lizzie. “The End of Food.” The New Yorker, May 2014. www.newyorker.com, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/05/12/the-end-of-food.