Food: Connecting to Others (A Communications Theory Analysis)

America has a ruggedly individualistic culture. It has been highlighted very much during the COVID-19 Pandemic where many people have been unwilling to modify their behavior and wear masks or get vaccinated for the greater good. All of us who grew up in this country were exposed to the good old American value of independence and we recognize individualism to be one of the most defining values of our culture. America is unique from many other countries in this regard. Despite this, we still see acts of kindness and communities coming together. One of the ways people in this country build community and communicate is through food.

Food is essential to our survival as humans, but it also is a way for people to communicate identities and cultures. Food becomes another form of “symbolic interactionism” this way. While it is necessary to eat every day, there is no inherent meaning to food alone. Humans assign what it means to eat different foods. For example, turkey is associated with Thanksgiving here in the U.S. When I see frozen turkeys out in grocery stores around October, it is a reminder that Thanksgiving is coming up soon. It’s a reminder that I will be getting together with my family to eat this food and celebrate our holiday. Humans must give food its designated terms and meanings, or else it means essentially nothing and there are no other terms to associate it with. Labels and language give meaning to the food we are eating. Furthermore, it would be hard to create community and culture without using language. We cannot know how food brings us together without language.

Food is a relationship builder and social penetration theory can be connected to our sharing habits. At my old job, I was brought food by my coworkers pretty frequently. I worked with many people from the Philippines. Sometimes I did not know what they were bringing me and I had to ask for the names of the dishes and their contents. This led to greater self-disclosure between us. My coworkers would voluntarily share their culture and identities, which were very important to them, and in return I would do the same. Because they shared food with me, they were also sharing their culture at the same time. This aligns with the law of reciprocity. We began to be more open with each other and form more intimate or personal coworker relationships. In the end, we formed relationships with outcomes that we determined to be worthy because of these types of positive interactions.

Giving food is a virtuous act that we should all appreciate, even if we may not necessarily enjoy the food given to us. What’s important is the intent, how the people are sharing with us their identities and desire to connect on a human level.