What if food was never used for Entertainment?

[Ur Dead]

I for one can't go any length of time without food.
Mostly US type food and Japanese types along with
Americanized chinese food.
Certain eastern/central European dishes are OK.
But fried grasshoppers are definitely off my palate.
Or any other bug...

My ancestors didn't rise to the top of the food chain so I could only eat
plants.

[Skyweir]

Oh god no .. I have an ex colleague whos on post in Thailand and she travels to Malaysia and is such a weirdo .. she eats all their authentic food .. bugs, offelly foods, ewwwww

And she is always wanting me to go visit .. and Im like if I come Im not eating any of that shit ..

[peter]

oddly enough, i find myself for the first time in my life in this position. As a result of a recent atack of gastritis I now can eat only wery small servings of the most bland food - white fish and rice, thin soup, no spices or fat of any description. I eat at the minimum level to sustain life and activity, and with very little scope for actual enjoyment except within the limits of what I can get away with. it's a strange experience - and not entierly to my liking as i'm a person for whom the pleasure of eating has always been a big part of my life. Oh - no booze either........

[Skyweir]

That totally sounds sucky Pete .. the suckiest Maybe your system will improve and youll be able to enjoy life again .. with food, flavour and a little booze Heres hoping

[Sorus]

That's not good, Peter. Have you seen a doctor?

[peter]

Yeah - spent a night writhing in agony on a hospital gurney followed by shed loads of tests and x-rays. Got a few more to do yet but it's possible it's just a plain old gastritis caused by ...whatever? I've not been kind to my body over the years and I guess it's just time to pay the Piper.

[Skyweir]

Lets wait to see how the tests pan out .. even if it is gastritis .. theyll likely put you on proton inhibitors and then youll at least be able to eat again. Heres hoping anyway

[Avatar]

Definitely a far cry from food as entertainment...

--A

[peter]

Lets wait to see how the tests pan out .. even if it is gastritis .. theyll likely put you on proton inhibitors and then youll at least be able to eat again. Heres hoping anyway

Alas, been on the inhibitors for two years already an am on the upper end of the dose range as we speak. On the plus side it is forcing me to eat a way healthier (if minimal) diet and also demanding more 'creative thought' about what I'm putting on a plate. There are millions worse of than me and I've eaten and drunk enough for ten lifetimes! When the tally is taken I'm still way out in front!

[Avatar]

Small comfort I fear.

--A

[peter]

You got it Av. My pleasures have always come from indulgence of my senses - be it music, art or (big time) food. My greatest pleasure is in a restaurant (or indeed at home) serving the best food you can eat and drinking (within my budget) the best wine. It's what helped me get through the week in a gruellingly down-market work environment. It's difficult to see how to replace this at this point.

[Avatar]

Drugs Peter.



--A

[peter]

Have seriously considered it Av! Think I'll go with art and music as a first option though. Read somewhere that one of the world's 'big' philosophers said that music could take one to a higher level of experience than any other method available; would't mind some of that at the moment! I've always wanted to 'do' Wagner's Ring Cycle - I mean total immersion over an extended period. A friend once said the only way to tackle it is in repeated listening's to half hour chunks to get complete familiarity with it, and then only once this is achieved try to take a whole opera at one swallow. Apparently, like Shakespeare, it is impossible to plumb it's depths - it just keeps on revealing.

Settle myself down with a good recording, a well illuminated artwork to rest my eyes on and see you in a decade......

[Avatar]

I would rather do drugs thanks.

--A

[Skyweir]

Have seriously considered it Av! Think I'll go with art and music as a first option though. Read somewhere that one of the world's 'big' philosophers said that music could take one to a higher level of experience than any other method available; would't mind some of that at the moment! I've always wanted to 'do' Wagner's Ring Cycle - I mean total immersion over an extended period. A friend once said the only way to tackle it is in repeated listening's to half hour chunks to get complete familiarity with it, and then only once this is achieved try to take a whole opera at one swallow. Apparently, like Shakespeare, it is impossible to plumb it's depths - it just keeps on revealing.

Settle myself down with a good recording, a well illuminated artwork to rest my eyes on and see you in a decade......

Yep let us know how you go with all that

Im with Av .. smoke a little pot .. it just takes the edge off and gives you that nice little chill and pick me up.

I do like my alcohol though .. and enjoy that slight inebriation that comes with a few nice drinks .. hopefully you can return to your once healthy self.

Though as a word of encouragement I had chronic gastritis for years .. and 2 stomach ulcers. And I worked in a high stress job for most of my working life. My life is super chilled in comparison as a retired small business owner.

I was on somac for years for the gastritis and ulcers .. but when I decided to take myself off all medication .. I was on 7 twice daily different things .. for blood pressure, anticonvulscents, blood sugar, ulcers shit, other shit etc.. I took myself off somac as well. And the good thing is that as you get older the acidic levels in your stomach naturally decline .. and now I eat whatever I want and drink whatever I want.

So it might also work for you .. with and without meds depending on how old you are. Im turning 57 in a few months .. and I think its working for me, the whole aging thing.

[aTOMiC]

I find it fascinating and a little disappointing that no one has been interested in commenting much on the point of this topic. Almost from the beginning the conversation focused on how the proposed scenario wouldn't have been possible given human societal development and what an important part food plays into our overall contentment. Which is all relevant to the topic of the importance of food in our current lives.

But I still have to wonder what it would be like if food was never the thing it has become.

[Skyweir]

Yes we have gotten off topic .. apologies aTOMic .. you know that humans do wander off topic and occasionally get lost in tangents.

What if food never developed into a form of entertainment?

Suppose thousands of years ago humans developed a basic singular food that met all the nutritional requirements of the body and was never thought of as anything but generic sustenance the way air is viewed in order to breathe?

Suppose, culturally, no one on Earth developed a need to eat or drink any more than was required, ever. No humans ever became overweight by excessive intake. It simply never became a thing.

Imagine the state of modern medicine if it wasn't clogged with treatments and cures for ailments produced by diet as everyone had been eating exactly the same thing for millennia and healthcare was left to focus exclusively on injuries and non diet related diseases.

Imagine the human condition if historically our genetics had not been potentially altered by the consumption foods and drink that exceed the basic requirements.
What would the human race be like without obesity? Possibly heart disease?

One can accurately argue that "it is what it is" and we humans developed our eating habits by necessity. That the supply of edible food and potable water had to be incredibly diverse to be resistant against famine and radical natural climate change.
But what if that wasn't an issue?

Suppose we were able to release the basic nutritional requirements for life into the atmosphere the way we add fluoride into the water supply and all we had to do was breathe in order to receive sustenance? No one on Earth would ever die of hunger so long as the supply was kept up.

Just a thought born from a conversation I had recently.

All your observations are absolutely accurate. If human relationship with food had evolved differently .. western nations particularly wouldnt be facing the raft of conditions that are quite often causatively linked to diet, ie diabetes, heart issues, obesity etc.

Its hard to argue what was not. So yeah .. it is what it is regrettably. Though not all live their lives through the medium of their diet. Food isnt central to all human existence despite those who eat and drink to excess.

Its also telling I think how this phenomena that you describe is more of an issue for the west. And its not just developed nations in the west .. look at Japan as a developed nation albeit Asian .. they dont have the same incidents of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

So theres that .. also when looking at obesity and these other diet linked conditions .. it is interesting that there is in some studies a correlation between less educated, lower socioeconomic demographic and poor diet, obesity etc.

[Sorus]

I tried to frame an on-topic post when the thread was first started, but it became a little overwhelming.

On the one hand, we would have had more time to devote to art and science and whatnot, which would suggest a more advanced society.

On the other hand, agriculture and whatnot had a huge effect on society as we know it. I can't really form a clear picture of what modern society would look like with all that removed from history.

Even basic family structure - would people have more kids or not? Mortality rates in general would be lower throughout history, but people might not be as close to one another.

[Skyweir]

I agree Sorus and good point .. our industrialised societies evolved on the back of agricultural advancements. Given that alone .. how different could 21 Century health be today?

I think thats quite a kicker of an observation .. as again .. we are back to .. it is what it is

And yes if humans absorbed all the nutrition they needed through the air and .. some similar process .. then would we ever encounter disease? We certainly wouldnt encounter obesity and consumption excess related conditions.

Would the absence of our food obsession mean that we wouldnt be as close to other humans, in particular our families .. I think that is difficult to say.

Because we would have no need to gather around the table to share a meal together .. we may have replaced this activity with some other social activity. Perhaps a more physical activity .. like sports or games etc. but who can really say how we might have evolved differently than we have?

[Avatar]

I find it fascinating and a little disappointing that no one has been interested in commenting much on the point of this topic.

Maybe you should be posting a bit more often to keep us on track...

Just saying...

--A