American Cuisine?

On:
Mintz, Sidney. (2002). “Eating American,” pp. 23-33 in C. Counihan Food in the USA.

This section of writing focuses on the question of American Cuisine. By "American" the author refers to inhabitants of the United States specifically and asks the questions does America have a Cuisine, what has shaped the eating habits of people in the US and what are the consequences of our habits and how might they change in the future?
While most countries identify with a certain type of food, cooking style or tradition surrounding food, the US seems to be a culmination of outsider food traditions that have accompanied immigrants over the years, and have been altered to meet our standards of convenience. The diverse make up of our population has resulted not so much in a shared appreciation for one type of cooking but rather in many regional cuisines defined by the ancestral traditions of the founding groups and local availability of products. The author then points to the decrease in regional cuisines due to commercialization and depletion of local resources. She claims, and I would have to agree that the US is much more susceptible to a commercialized food chain because there is no national cuisine to fall back on, nothing to keep people from the allure of well-marketed, convenient and appealing junk. One could argue that America's "cuisine" could be characterized by hotdogs, hamburgers,soft drinks and apple pie but the author is skeptical that those foods can really be defined as such. America seems to run more according to food fads (Organic, vegetarian, McDonalds, etc...) than tradition, or what we know to be good for us and to us. A person's diet can change dramatically year to year depending on the current popularized food items, but is mostly controlled by what is made available to them in the supermarket. The percent household income that is spent on food is at an all time low, but this doesn't suggest that people are eating less, but that they are spending their money on cheap products that lend nearly no nutritional value. Because (most) Americans live on a strict time schedule, they have become accustomed to buying cheap products that are produced specifically for multi-tasking (hamburgers on the run, coffee in a throw away cup etc...) The author points to the serious health implications of the typical American's diet (which is now well known), but how strikingly, the population as a whole has shown almost no concern about their diets, though the health risks are evident and obvious on an every day basis. As we see the population expanding exponentially, what will this habit of consumption lead to? Will people have to change their habits and if so, will it be voluntary or forced by some major change in the food industry? Will people consider the risks of continuing to consume such "food" and will America ever have or have they ever had a true cuisine that is wholesome and can give the country a way to identify with food culture as others do?