We are what we eat

We are what we eat. What we take into our bodies, literally, becomes who we are. Our decisions about food actually, materially, shape our bones and our bellies; they give us strength and vitality, and so shape our personalities. What we put in our mouths is who we are. ‘We literally take the environment into ourselves and merge with it ... Because it utilizes the senses, eating, more than any other human experience, brings us to our fullest and most intimate relationship with the environment’ (Kimbrell 2010: 24). Whether we choose to eat a home-cooked meal or McDonald's, whether we eat local, organic vegetables, or we indulge in imported Beluga caviar, our thoughts and choices about food create our cells, the texture of our skin, the shine of our hair, and the sparkle in our eyes. We make meaning of the world around us through the community that is fed around the table. Conversations, prayers, arguments, rituals and celebrations that both teach and create culture, family stories, politics, and our understanding of our families and friends take place with and around food.