76 The Meaning of Food
of food as culture in terms of food as religious identity, food as social power,
and food as a symbolic delineation between culture and nature, with an
emphasis on the meaning of meat.
Food as religious identityFood and family meals play a central role in the establishment of religious
identity. For example, Starr Sered (1988) specifically explored cooking behav-
ior among Middle Eastern Jewish women. She argued that many of their
foods embody Jewish symbols and that their rituals of food preparation
create a sense of holiness in their daily domestic work. Further, she argued
that the women see feeding others as representing Jewish identity, tradi-
tion, law, and holiness. Eating food, preparing food, and providing food
for others, therefore, become a medium through which holiness can be
communicated within the family (see figure 4.7).
Food as social powerFood is also a symbol of social status. Powerful individuals eat well and
are fed well by others, and as Wolf (1990) argued, “food is the primal symbol
Figure 4.7 Food and religion. (Source: Advertising Archives.)
Image not available in the electronic edition