After two months of consuming happily the wealth of amazing food offered at the dining halls scattered around campus it appeared to me I needed to start being a lot more careful with what I consume. This thought process was inspired by reading ‘Salt, Sugar and Fat’ (Moss, 2013) a recommended reading for my Food and Environment class. The book explores the politics, science and corporate aspects of modern processed foods and how many deceptions lay underneath the grey areas of food labelling and processes of production. The book makes a vital point that fat cannot be detected by the receptors on the tongue and there is no tangible taste that can be attributed to it (Moss, 2013). In addition to this, Moss highlights that fat stimulates the brain and is widely enjoyed inviting extensive addition of fat to foods in order to preserve, reduce costs yet still satisfy consumers. Upon adjusting my consumption patterns, opting for less fatty foods, I decided to try one of the appealing salads offered by one of the healthier choices of on campus restaurants. I was rather shocked when I saw that my salad of choice contained 74% of my recommended daily intake of fat and 53% of saturated (figure 1). Putting this into perspective, the night before, I consumed deep fried chicken tenders and curly fries, which contained only 51% and 37% respectively (figure 2). This revelation reminded me of some of the key ideas and experiments undertaken in ‘Salt, Sugar and Fat,’ as fat can be hidden into even the most healthiest of foods, and yet still cant be detected through taste. Not only this, but it sparked interest into the perception of healthy foods. I feel that there needs to be a better understanding of what actually constitutes healthy and nutritious food as many people will happily indulge in a salad like the one I was interested in believing it is nutritious, healthy and almost fat free. This interest led me to the work of Marie-Claude Paquette at the University of Quebec, who did a direct study on the perceptions of healthy eating in Canada and highlighted similar issues (Paquette, 2005). These are some of the deeply interesting debates that I’m covering currently in Food and Environment. I feel through this course I have gained a significant understanding of what food constitutes, where it comes from and the scale of politics that is involved from production to consumption. This is a side to geography I have never really come across in the UK, however it is one that is very interesting and relevant in the context of fears over the obesity crisis (Caballero, 2007) and the monopolisation and privatisation of foods by large companies like Monsanto (Hauter, 2012).
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| Figure 1. Nutritional facts for typical salad |
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| Figure 2. Nutritional facts for fried chicken tenders |
The past 3 weeks have been demanding, mid terms have come to their conclusion and attainment of high grades in all modules has left me very pleased. However, I feel that the way these exams are conducted does not permit the presentation of extensive knowledge over the debates of a certain topic area. Structured in the form of multiple choice, definitions and short essays, specific knowledge is expected, however there is no freedom to explore a subject area in depth and illustrate that one has completed in-depth reading. This is the key difference between the exams I have conducted at UCLA so far and those in the past at UCL.
In the approaching weeks, module selection for the upcoming winter quarter will take place. As with this current quarter there is a wide selection of courses available. A module I am particularly excited for is based on hydrology, taught by Professor Lettenmaier, whom I believe is a friend of one of my favourite lecturers Professor Taylor at UCL. Despite being a physical geographer by nature, I thoroughly enjoyed political geography modules taught in my first and second years at UCL. This upcoming quarter offers a class on political geography taught by John Agnew, a distinguished academic that has featured on many of my reading lists at UCL! My favourite work of his is his critique on International Relations with the ‘Territorial Trap’ (Agnew, 1994). Understandably, enrolling in this course will be difficult due to high demand and limited space however I will try my upmost to become enrolled.
In two weeks time I shall update this blog once more on my experiences of Geography at UCLA.
Agnew, J. (1994). ‘The Territorial Trap: The Geographical Assumptions of International Relations Theory,’ Review of International Political Economy, 1, 1: 53-80.
Caballero B (2007). ‘The global epidemic of obesity: An overview,’ Epidemiology Review 29: 1–5.
Hauter, W. (2012) Foodopoly, The News Press: New York.
Moss, M. (2013). Salt, Sugar and Fat, Random House: New York.
Paquette, M-C. (2005) ‘Perceptions of Healthy Eating: State of Knowledge and Research Gaps’, Canadian Journal of Public Health, 96, 3 15-19.
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