72 The Meaning of Food
Food as Social Interaction
The meaning of food has also been explored within the contexts of its
consumption and of its central place in social interaction. In particular, food
is a common tool for communication within the family. The dinner table
is often the only place where the family gets together, and the family meal
can become the forum for sharing experiences of the day. In addition, the types
of foods eaten and the way in which they are cooked can create a sense of group
identity, as in “the birthday party” and “the Sunday lunch.” Some studies
have therefore examined the meaning of the meal as a social interaction.
The meal as loveCharles and Kerr (1987) explored the meaning of the meal and suggested
that sweet foods are often used to pacify children and to maintain family
harmony. They also concluded that healthy and tasty foods are signs of
family love and the determination to please and satisfy the different family
members (see figure 4.5). In line with this, Lawrence argued that “Food is
the medium through which women demonstrate our love and concern for
our children, lovers, husbands and friends” and that “taking care over the
preparation of food is an act of love” (1984, p. 29). Further, DeVault (1997)
argued that the mother’s planning and preparation of meals represent her
love for her family. In a recent longitudinal study, the frequency of family
meals and disordered eating was explored in 2,500 adolescents over a 5-year
period (Neumark-Sztainer et al., 2008). The results indicated a strong pro-
tective role for a higher frequency of family meals. In particular, the results
showed that those adolescents who had family meals 5 times per week or
more were 1.4 times less likely to show extreme weight control behaviors
after 5 years. The authors also argued that this effect was persistent even
when a multitude of other variables was controlled for, including social
class, Body Mass Index (BMI), family connectedness, and even weight
control behaviors at baseline. Therefore, the meal is embedded with a
number of meanings, and the increased number of family meals seems to
be protective against eating pathology.
Health versus pleasureFood as social interaction can also be a forum for conflict. At times this is
a conflict between health and pleasure. For example, Van Otterloo and