We are one of the largest nations in the world and we have the most serious health issues due to what we eat. It is estimated that by 2064 we will have doubled our population and possibly depleted our arable lands, exhausted our fossil fuels and greatly diminished our water supply. Our diet consists of meats, sugars, fats, and more fats. As a nation we depend on fast food because we have little or no time during our day for cooking. However, most Americans use their time inefficiently which forces them to depend on fast foods which are health damaging yet time conserving. No wonder the question of having an American cuisine remains ambiguous. That's because the only thing we cook is apple pie and Uncle Ben's instant rice. Our focus needs to steer away from fast foods and processed foods and gear more towards healthy foods that we can cook ourselves. If we continue to rely on fast foods then the only future for our culture will be the ethnic cuisines of other people and the McDonald's and Chef-Boyardee of our past. We will never be able to create something original if we keep relying on advertised market goods.
American foods are filled with sugars, and fats. Almost everything we consume is loaded with some type of sugar and fat. From the milks we drink, to the meats we eat, to the desserts we consume, Americans are mass consumers of the most fattening products on this world. No wonder one a third of Americans is overweight. Our society is afflicted with diabetes, heart disease, and hyperactivity. The foods we consume are so filled with sugar and fat that we are slowly digging a grave for our society.
To think of culture in terms of its food ways one must approach this with an emic and etic perspective. If thinking in terms of the etic approach only one would be forced to formulate biases in terms of which culture is civilized and which culture is not. For example, we in America are used to our own culture and if we were to consider the food ways of the French who eat escargot (snails) or the Japanese who eat sushi (raw fish) we must think of their food ways in terms of their culture not just our own.
