Aspects of Identity: Are we what we eat?

Welcome to JUA 2010 Diet and Lifestyle group. Our quest while in Boston is to explore aspects of identity related to human physiology, diet and lifestyle. Some of our activities will include a visit to the Museum of Science to experience an interactive exhibit on Identity, meeting with a clinician who does obesity research at Mass General Hospital, viewing and discussion of the film "Supersize Me" and experiencing various examples of cuisine thought to promote health and some considered to be unhealthy. While on the trip, students will keep a journal that should include a food diary. This journal will be used in the final evaluation that will include a personal dietary assessment and reflection.

Your first assignment is to go to the link for The Museum of Science website, read about the current exhibit on "Identity" and formulate several questions that you would like to answer during your visit to the MOS. Please post your questions on the Blog.

Final Thoughts and Reflections

The time in Boston for JUA was an interesting and educational experience. We tried different cultures foods, learning what they ate in their societies. Some were exotic, including the Chinese food we had, Dim Sum, while others were more Americanized, like the chocolates at Serenade Chocolates.

The first place we ate at was in Chinatown, which was Dim Sum. The food was unique which I hadn't seen before. The waitresses just kept coming out with different assortments of foods, it was quite overwhelming. I almost felt rude not eating all the food they served us. We literally had to tell them we were too full to have anymore. When we were done, we went to a couple of Chinese markets, where they looked at us like we were foreigners. One guy even yelled at us for taking pictures of his live eels.
-Michael B

For JUA, my group looked into the different foods that people of different cultures eat. We went to the Krishna temple, and they basically tried to get us to convert to their vegetarian religion.. The people all had made up names, however they all meant that they were servants of Krishna. Aside from that, the trip was good. It was very sad seeing the soup kitchen, however, you have to learn to accept that there is poverty in the world. Keppler’s restaurant was very good, and so was Kent’s moms chocolate store. Overall I found our JUA experience to be very informative.
-Johnny L

In the food and culture group we were asked to look at cultural and religious influences on diet. The most prominent example was being at the Hare Krishna temple. Hare Krishna is a 5,000 year old religion stemming from India. Like the Western idea of Hinduism, Krishna believes in karma which greatly influences their diet. Karma is an idea that everything people do has a cause and effect. So if you kill an animal, you receive bad karma for harming objects of Krishna (god). As a result, they practice a strict vegetarian diet. Their belief is that harming plants gives you less bad karma than killing animals. This led me to think about the number of people vegetables feed. It isn’t much. Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to kill one yak to feed 100 people than 1000 plants to feed 10 people? I would think so. However 5000 years of belief has to start somewhere. On Tuesday I had lunch at a Tibetan restaurant. We were the only people in the restaurant so we were able to talk to the owner about Tibetan culture. He said that while all Buddhists practice vegetarianism, those in Tibet that live at high altitudes have no choice but to eat meat. Very few plants are able to survive at such altitudes.
-Alex K

For our first appointment we journeyed to the Hare Krishna temple to experience how culture and religion truly effects diet. This was the first and most certainly an eye opening experience for all of the members of our group. It was comforting to know some customs of the religion, as we were briefed by our group leader before departure, and were not going in cold. We were greeted at the door by Vishnu Das where we had to remove our footwear. We sat in the temple room and observed the ornately decorated walls and ceilings as we waited for the presentation to begin.
We were informed of the religious practices of the Hare Krishna and how the practice came to be. After, the diet was explained. The idea of Karma was an overall theme that drove these people to do the everyday actions that they perform. The idea that every action has a reaction and killing is most definitely off limits. When one eats meat they are therefore consuming the pain and suffering the animal endured when it was slaughtered.
Along with Karma came the idea of wasting resources. The Hare Krishna believed that the amount of wasted water and grain used to feed cows and animals used for meat was so abundant that it could be used to feed a great number of starving people.
These ideas made sense to me and persuaded me to stop and think a bit. They were not so grand that they would force me to change my entire lifestyle and become a Krishna, but I can see why some people do. This was a very productive, informative learning block.
-Evan S

Throughout JUA, many things intrigued me, but there was one that stood out to me. On Monday night we went out to dinner at a place called Terre Del Sol. Keppler’s Dad owns this restaurant and the one next to it called L’Espalier. We went and toured L’Espalier to see what the number two restaurants in Boston was like (according to Best of Boston). The manager toured us around both restaurants and brought us into the kitchens. We were told that at L’Espalier, the average person spends two hundred dollars on a meal including tax. This amazed me considering the economy at this time. This just proves how good the food is here because the restaurant was packed. At Terre Del Sol, we had an excellent meal, and I would recommend the restaurant. We were served a complementary dish from L’Espalier and it was excellent.
-Kent W

Our first adventure was great getting the chance to eat dim sum out at this restaurant in Chinatown. Even though, it seemed rushed it was pretty good, most of the food was really in a wrap. Also, it was a great idea to eat at that place first in order for the group to bond a communicate well.

The next adventure was the temple and how there people think it is good for them to be able to be vegetarians. I thought it was great learning about there culture and why it is strictly important they think it is good for them to be vegetarians and help the earth. They believe every cow is holy and that the process of which they are put in to be able to be eaten is not right. But, they did not give us a full detail of why they thought it was not right and how there leader thought it was irrelevant.

Lastly, best experience I had was with the chocolate and how they simply made it into an art. Kent’s mom and her associates made very delicious mixtures of food and chocolate. The best one that I tried while we were there was the marshmallow covered in chocolate. The way they make them at the story is very well made and made me want to eat everything in the store.
In conclusion, the JUA experience was great I had a lot of fun and thought that it was fun while it lasted. I enjoyed my topic learning about the differences of food and why they are made this way and such.
-Edwin N