I appreciate your thoughtful take on the historical basis for "clean" eating, and on how the current wellness culture might be a repeat/reflection of the same underlying issues. Plus ça change, I guess?
"When normal everyday people’s agency is stripped by larger social institutions, they have a tendency to focus on what they can control."
So true. Even in my small individual life with my small individual problems, I've noticed that times of uncertainty tend to result in a more intense urge to control my diet; detailed meal planning and novel-length grocery lists somehow become self-soothing behaviors. It makes sense that this sort of thing could translate to wider human behavior, wherein whole groups of people become dedicated to things like bland cereal or alkaline water or unpasteurized dairy — and weirdly judgy towards other people about it, too.
Totally!!! Thank you so much for sharing your experience because it is the human condition. I wrote another article about this called “Food Restriction in response to global crisis.” When we feel threatened or in high alert, our brain goes right to taking care of our most basic needs - and often rationing - to feel safe. It is natural and normal but is often preyed upon by diet culture.
So grateful the historical context validated you!!!
I appreciate your thoughtful take on the historical basis for "clean" eating, and on how the current wellness culture might be a repeat/reflection of the same underlying issues. Plus ça change, I guess?
"When normal everyday people’s agency is stripped by larger social institutions, they have a tendency to focus on what they can control."
So true. Even in my small individual life with my small individual problems, I've noticed that times of uncertainty tend to result in a more intense urge to control my diet; detailed meal planning and novel-length grocery lists somehow become self-soothing behaviors. It makes sense that this sort of thing could translate to wider human behavior, wherein whole groups of people become dedicated to things like bland cereal or alkaline water or unpasteurized dairy — and weirdly judgy towards other people about it, too.
Totally!!! Thank you so much for sharing your experience because it is the human condition. I wrote another article about this called “Food Restriction in response to global crisis.” When we feel threatened or in high alert, our brain goes right to taking care of our most basic needs - and often rationing - to feel safe. It is natural and normal but is often preyed upon by diet culture.
So grateful the historical context validated you!!!