Why are we so obsessed with food?

[aaronsmummy]

Please enlighten me, I just don't get it.

I don't think there is anything much more important than making sure we have enough food of a good enough quality. It's sort of the mainstay of human existence, in fact of life on earth. What is more important than what you choose to put in your body? You can't function without it and it has profound and long lasting effects on your health and mood.

I understand we need it, of course but I am fed up of people droning on about it. There are more important issues, like the child playing in the park who gets shot by a nutter, global warming, suicide bombers, finding a cure for cancer, meeting the day to day needs of a child with special needs. Surely giving a toss about what other people eat is of less importance. I am sure most of us do the best we can when feeding our families. But why have endless discussions about it.

That's all, just one person's opinion. Everytime I come on mn recently there is yet another food topic, I just think get a life.

other important issues... like finding a cure for cancer... more and more research is coming out about diet being absolutely crucial in the prevention/ alleviation of loads of diseases.

Like F&Z says, it's a mainstay of all our existence. Of course it's interesting.

See i don't think its a "shall I think about suicide bombers or shall I think about figs in chocolate" situation. You can think about both. Believe me, I do.

Don't think the answer to the fact that there is a lot of bad things going on in the world is to eat poor quality food. I think eating good food improves people's quality of life, and that has to be a good thing.

These countries we keep bombing the cr*p out of all have great food cultures. I have never, not once, been to assist an asylum seeking family in their home and not been offered something very delicious. No party rings there! (pace, franny)

Here here aaronsmummy and 2shoes. My kids will eat the occasional McDonalds and even a Fruit Shoot every now and then. My ds even asks for sausage roll at lunch time but we still eat plenty of fruit and veg and all sit at the table at dinner time to talk over the days events. But does it have to be such an obsession? As long as the food is hot,well cooked and pretty nutricious what does it matter? We all have to do it but as my Mum says wed all be alot richer if we didnt!
Oh and riddleywalker I remember when they said about bringing out a meal pill. Wonder if that where the idea of slimming pills come from!

I'm with F&Z and Hunker on this. If we don't eat, we die.

aaronsmummy aggree
every one is banging on about some stupid women and chips
there are more scarey things going on than that yet they don't get a mention
here for starters
Oh sorry no one can slag of the working classes with that topic

www - but we dont have to keep banging on about it.

fluffy - yes interesting - but people are admitting on here to judging the content of other peoples shopping trollies fgs

gingeme and 2shoes - thank god i am not the only one

and i hardly think food quality will be important when we have all blown each other up.

but am...

I care deeply deeply about issues around SN kids. I have spent my adult life trying to get benefits for kids with disabilities (and kids on low incomes), I have worked as a carer, etc etc. It is one of my things that I feel strongly about and I frequently lurk on the SN board without posting because I want to educate myself better.

I think I am pretty well read and politically aware, though I don't actually think we are going to blow each other up any time soon.

I am an evironmental bore and need only 1.3 planets to sustain my lifestyle.

Yet I still like figs in chocolate and like to talk about food. What is the problem here? Just don't get it!

shopping trolley stuff is low though.

unless it is full of polystyrene chips and you are wheeling it across a graveyard dressed in a bin liner.

but don't you feel we are going into overload
I love food(especialy chocolate)
but the whole of mn seems to be taken over by it

i agree with your 1127 post 2shoes, it's boorring

i've bored myself now just talking about it so I think I will go and eat chocolate

nice with figs, 2shoes...

do you really think so?

I can't stand those "is Britney about to split with Kermit" threads, and the style threads mainly bore me...and as for the cross-stitchers... but its fine, its just chitchat and it doesn't happen to interest me.

i suppose because the threads go on and on and on.

"Absence of war". We can obsess about how healthily or otherwise we and others feed our children because those of use who are posting on these topics don't have to worry about a)finding money or food to feed them with - we have enough and b)bombs dropping on their head.

I bet middle-class mums in Beirut recently haven't been worrying about the merits of Fruit Shoots versus Innocent Smoothies.

OK thinking about the actual question, why are we obsessed with food.

I've just remembered saying similar to this on another thread, but I think I might be seen as obsessive about food, because in our culture, eating shit is the norm. Anyone who deviates from that culture, is, therefore, slightly more noteworthy than the norm and is therefore seen as obsessive.

I'm actually not obsessive. I strongly believe that children and people in general should eat mostly real food, not processed food prepared in a factory with lots of additives, salt and sugar. Because of this, I guess a large number of people would see me as obsessive. But actually, I could ask them why they're obsessively buying biscuits, crisps, sweets, chocolates etc., every week in their shopping trolley. They would be very surprised to be described as obsessive for buying what they see as "normal" food. Whereas for me, it's not normal at all, it's stuff I'd buy for a children's party, not everyday use. And because of that, they'd call me obsessive...

So I guess what I'm saying, is that I disagree with the premise of the original OP. One mother's obsessive is another person's norm.