North America

How are you? An American greeting I never quite understood. After almost two and a half years studying in Minnesota for college, I still do not know what constitutes (North) American food. Unfortunately, most people also do not – it is usually seen as a mix of fast food and Chinese take-out.

While it is easy to assume that Americans have no food culture, I think it would be unwise to make such an assumption. I believe that there is one, hidden somewhere. Food culture does not have to be original, and it seems to me that what I find in the US is a mix-and-match food culture taken from the past and present, from all over the world.

The view of food in the United States is largely based on the nutrients, the calories and the “superfoods”. In order to start understanding where and how our food nourishes the environment and ourselves, this view must be made broader – “we do not eat to live, we live to eat.”