Back to basics: why do we eat?

Why do we eat? At the risk of stating the obvious, we eat because we are hungry, we eat for energy, we eat to live. But are these the only reasons we eat? In a time where we are surrounded by healthy trends and dietary restrictions of all kinds, it wouldn’t hurt to ask ourselves one more time: why do we eat?

When I wrapped up my food shooting session this morning, it was 1.30 pm. I finally sat down, completely drained and wondered what I would have for lunch. It was kind of late for lunch and I didn’t have the energy to cook one more dish to feed myself (fyi, leftovers were not an option since my photo session was about desserts exclusively).

I grabbed a few things from the fridge, sat down at the kitchen table and ate alone. Then, I wondered: why do I even bother to eat since I’m not really hungry? As I let a flow of questions enter my mind, I started to question the idea of eating: why do we actually eat, how, and what does it mean to us?

1. We eat because it’s convivial

When talking to an American friend the other day, I briefly mentioned that to me food was an act of sharing with others. This random statement did resonate in my friend’s mind more than I would have imagined and she later confessed that it had been an eye-opening statement for her.

This shows how much food is engrained in our eating habits and cultures. Being French, I grew up with family gatherings and impromptu meals every so often. We actually love these lively times together around great food, and during which everyone of us speak out loud, interrupting each other all the time.

In other cultures, the approach is different. In the US for instance, I have noticed that we eat most of the time because food is here, often alone, and/or on-the-go while multitasking (driving, working, etc.). Doing so, we usually don’t really pay attention to our food and eat faster than we should.

In the long run, eating alone and fast usually translates into a lack of interest, while socializing with others tends to improve our relationship to food and relieves stress (true fact!).

2. We eat for the fun of cooking

Again, growing up in France (and in a farm on top of that!), I’ve always been surrounded by people cooking in the house. As a kid, I sometimes helped my mom pour the ingredients or baking a cake. I actually strongly believe in the power of education when it comes to cooking. It doesn’t have to be hard or fancy, but the simple fact of enjoying home-cooked meals is a blessing.

Later on, living in different countries, I realized how much my food education gave me solid roots for life. This helps me fight the bad habits of adult life like eating on the go, ordering take-out again and again (and again!), and buying heavily processed baked-goods too often. Knowing how to cook helps you have a better control of what you eat, the quality of ingredients, and enables you to keep an eye on proportions (seriously, don’t you just want to finish up your pad thai at once when you order take-out?).

Unlike popular belief, cooking is not an exact science. My advice: start somewhere (simple recipes are ok!), experiment, and above all, have fun! Worse case scenario, you can fail a recipe, but that’s lesson learned for next time (and believe me, you will learn a lot along the way).

3. We eat for being “A healthy mind in a healthy body”

Over the last few years, vegetarian and vegan diets increased considerably, alongside a healthy lifestyle. Whether you feel concerned or not, you can’t deny that it slowly reshapes our eating habits. Even restaurants now serve audacious and delicious plant-based dishes and some of my friends who used to be anti-vegetarian start to incorporate veggie meals into their diets.

On an individual level, it also opens our eyes on the importance of choosing high quality ingredients and locally-sourced when possible. Food should be our first medicine, and as such, it’s important to pay attention to the ingredients to ensure we fuel ourselves properly.

That being said, it’s also important to keep all things balanced. Don’t become obsessed with everything healthy or try to resemble to the way-too-skinny-to-be-healthy-bodies you sometimes see on Instagram. In the end, what really matters is for you to remember that we are all unique, with different bodies, different needs. Also, what works for someone doesn’t necessarily work for someone else. So please be kind to yourself and never mind indulging a sweet treat once in a while. Eating healthy is not be a strict discipline but rather a way of life that happens on the long run.

4. We eat the world because we are curious minds

Who never order takeout or a drive-through? Over the last decades, the world has become more and more interconnected and regional foods have clearly spread. Indian, Korean, Italian, Thai… you name it. Street food is everywhere and food trucks too.

We are all curious minds, and we’re also widely influenced by all the culinary shows that makes regional foods spot on. This is now a fact: we also discover the world through our plate and sometimes go the extra mile by combining our culinary traditions with others in our cooking, resulting in a melting pot of flavors and a whole new fusion cuisine. The world cuisine is constantly evolving, don’t be afraid to break the rules!

5. We eat for the photo (yes we do)!

Admit it: have you ever found yourself taking a picture of your dish with your phone? As a food blogger, I have the perfect excuse but I can’t deny that I always feel a little guilty when doing it at the restaurant (not to mention David that usually hides under the table in this moment).

Spontaneously, we would be tempted to think it’s a (very) bad habit to take food photos. But thinking about it, it’s also a way to actually enjoying the dish visually first, rather than rushing things out and eating too fast. I’m not saying it’s a good or a bad thing (it may be somewhere halfway), but one thing is sure: we need to acknowledge that we also eat for the photo.

6. We eat for the planet

I sometimes hear: we eat for the planet. The environmental aspect of food is more and more a matter of concern. This can start with the simple fact of reducing our meat consumption (which is already a beginning!), although we are far from the goal and there is a tremendous effort required to actively work on it together.

In some basic disciplines, such as waste sorting, there is still a lot to do. My experience of living in several countries taught me that there are different levels of concerns in this regard depending on where we are in the world. As such, we need to increase our effort as individual citizens and collectively (food industry also need to take actions in order to help reducing plastic food packaging for instance).

 

On the positive side, we are witnessing an increasing awareness toward eating locally, with “farm-to-table” initiatives growing everywhere. Ultimately, it is up to us to collectively rethink the way we eat and redefine priorities in order to preserve future generations. I am not an expert and definitely not the best example to follow (it’s a learning journey). I’m just here to increase awareness among us all!

What about you?

And what about you now? Do you sometimes wonder why you eat? We all eat to live but it’s far from being the only reason and it never hurts to re-open the debate occasionally to reset our priorities. Feel free to share your experience with me, and remember that eating is an act of sharing and conviviality. Bon appétit!