Food Fads and Fallacies

Food fads and fallacies result from age-old traditional practices that may be cultural, religious, legal or other, such as prohibition against consuming specific foods. These then become habits, food restrictions, preferences and traditions that are adopted unquestioningly, also called taboos, that vary among countries.

Fads - A fad is a popular style, activity or interest that rises slowly but is short-lived, and therefore comes and goes quickly. It can even be termed as a trend, which is a general development or change in a situation or behaviour. The latest fads or trends seen during the pandemic are developing food preparation as a hobby, innovative indoor activities, ethical living and responsible consumerism. Fads are therefore not all negative. The changes in the situation have also brought about greater attention to conscious eating and spending quality time with family amidst restricted social activity. The down side having been excessive use of tv’s, computers and cellphones for all daily work required to be done from home, resulting in less physical activity, stress of working long hours leading to eyestrain, isolation, frustration and often depression.

Fallacies - These are beliefs with respect to food, eating and living behaviour that gets ingrained in people of different communities, regions or even countries. These beliefs are passed down through generations who found them relevant for their time of life, but may turn out to be inapplicable today. This is because of changes in living patterns, environment, situations, education and so on. Thus, all fallacies are both true and or false as viewed and may be termed as misconceptions, that can adversely affect health. Some examples concerned with food and eating behaviour will prove the point.

Starting to eat before everyone is at the table - This does not apply strictly today, since members of a family come in at different times or eat during travel, at workplaces and so on.

Carrying home-cooked food for travel - This was the practice when there were no reliable eating places everywhere, and journeys by train were long and arduous with hardly any pantry facilities. One had to wait for a railway station or junction to even get water or tea. These conditions have changed today and may be thought of as unbelievable or fallacies to be laughed at.

Eating with fingers - This was considered rude in western countries, not in India and some eastern countries. In fact not only was it easier to eat with hand, but one could feel the texture, flavour and temperature of the food consumed. It was also considered hygienic as hands were washed thoroughly before and after meals.

Talking while eating - This was a strict ‘no’ as it could result in choking. It is still a good practice but rarely followed. Reminds me of the incident reported in the press when I was in college, of an Indian general who was having dinner after negotiating a defence deal in another country, and choked to death on a bone while eating meat. I remember commenting “ how sad, it were more acceptable if he had braved the war”.

Chewing food with mouth open - This was highly unacceptable in any community and still is, but can be seen on the streets of cities even today, especially around paan vendors, where customers chew the beetle leaf wrap after meals in public view. Similarly, chewing gum in public considered objectionable, but now accepted as normal among sportspersons, travellers and children to keep their throats moist.

Using chopsticks instead of forks - was laughed at by tourists in Asian nations. Today one finds them interesting and try to practice using them globally.

Forbidden food combinations - Certain food combinations were forbidden in meals, such as mixing fish and milk products, meat and curd, eating water melon at night and so on. It however does not apply strictly today. In the 50’s a Jewish Foods teacher of mine whose parents held the belief about watermelons, decided to test it and ate the fruit at night on her next visit home, to see if the belief could hold. She narrated the incident in class and proved that there were no ill effects and the claim was a fallacy.

One can add to this never ending list but I will leave it the readers of this post to draw from their grandmother’s tales and see if their beliefs are true, acceptable, or false for them today.

DN Jha in his book “The Myth of the Holy Cow” states that its meat formed part of the diet in ancient India. However, in context, Manika Gandhi points out that consistent with other Vedic verses these have been mistranslated in the Monier, William’s Sanskrit-English Dictionary.

Food taboos in India - The word taboo was taken from the Fijian tapu or the Tongan tabu which meant to set apart, forbid, disallow, prohibit or restrict a particular practice or association with a person, place or thing. Captain James Cook learnt about taboos on his exploratory trips through the Pacific in the 18th century, when it was introduced into the English dictionary. A taboo is an implicit ban usually against an utterance or behaviour, that is excessively repulsive or too sacred, and is imposed by social custom as a protective measure. “Breaking a taboo” is usually considered objectionable by society in general, as it is not merely a cultural feature. According to various religious texts taboos fall into three categories, cultural, religious and food. These may arise due to many factors for various reasons such as perceptions regarding health and hygiene, ethics, habitual practices handed down and ignorance.

Cultural - These refer to social customs prohibiting or restricting certain practices, many developed around physical exposure. For example, sexual behaviour in public or handling of food by females during menstruation, being considered an impure period. Thus, it is an action considered inappropriate to practice or even talk about within a cultural group. Taboos and beliefs prevalent during pregnancy have been discussed by K. McNamara (2019).

However, for immigrants taboos present problems since these are neither taught or discussed, making it difficult to guess what would be appropriate behaviour in the new society. For instance, in western cultures asking a woman’s age is discouraged, whereas in Polynesian communities people are forbidden to touch the shadow of a chief. One of the primary ways to learn about a new culture is through food. In bereavement too, certain recognised restrictions apply such as, no food is cooked in the house during the mourning period. VB Meyer-Rochow has aptly described the origins and purposes of food taboos (Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 2009).

Religious - Taboos can be religious dietary restrictions as seen in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and so on. It is a moral or ethical stance such as vegetarianism, environmentalism or health concerns, expressed as avoidance of processed foods in dietaries. The Maori tapu or Hawaiian kapu meaning “sacred” or “holy” is used often in a sense of being restricted or protected by custom or law as in many Jewish and Muslim communities where consumption of pork is forbidden. Some taboos are seen during religious and cultural fasting as in Lent, Ramadan, Krishna Jayanti, Karva chauth and during some specific times in life as during pregnancy, lactation or even menstruation.

The concept of non injury or ahimsa was first observed in the vedas that later found expression in Hindu texts like the Upanishads, considered as the culmination of the vedas concerned with spiritual and ethical topics. Some rules found in scriptures and ancient texts for foods tabooed for human consumption are summarised :

• Rigveda - the text condemns the killing of men, cattle and horses for food.

• Chandogya Upanishad (8.15) - proposes ahimsa as necessary for enlightenment or salvation.

• Shatapatha Brahmana - considers consumption of meat from cows and oxen as being sinful.

• Atharvaveda - mentions rice, barley, bean and sesamum for human consumption.

• Brihadaranyaka Upanishad - mentions meat cooked with rice. In the Mahabharata Rama, Lakshmana and Sita are reported to have eaten such rice with vegetables during their forest sojourn.

• Taittreeya Upanishad - records that a hundred bulls were sacrificed by the sage Agasthya.

Another ancient text, Tirukkural written before 400 CE and called theTamil Veda, states moderation in diet as a virtuous lifestyle, and advises abstinence from flesh foods in its Pulaan Maruthai chapter. Verse 251 questioned how by eating the flesh of other creatures can one possess kindness.

Panini, the grammarian devised a new term, goghna, for cow slaying to honour guests. The Upanishads and Sutra texts of Hinduism however, also discuss moderate diets and proper nutrition as well as dietetics, presenting the concept of self-restraint in matters of food. The Samhitas discuss what and when certain foods are suitable, while moderation finds mention in the Bhagavad Gita (chapter 6). Understanding, and regulating eating, sleeping and recreational habits are also suggested as essential to any yoga practice (6.17).

Many Hindus do not eat any kind of meat, eggs or fish but accept dairy, while some are staunch non-vegetarians. But, even for the latter, killing and eating meat of monkeys or other wild animals is taboo and now even illegal, although rabbit is permitted. The latter was legalised after a representation to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in 2015. In Kerala, rabbit meat is now served as a delicacy (www.indiatoday.in 27 July 2016). The existing taboos as affected by the religious, cultural or ethnic values of different communities are briefly enumerated.

Hindus - Traditionally women in India were largely vegetarian while the men consumed what they hunted, but cooked it on open fires outside the homes as doing so inside was taboo. Many accepted dairy but did not consume flesh foods. The Brahmins are also particular about how their food is prepared and stored or by whom it is cooked and served. They avoid foods believed to hinder spiritual development such as garlic, onion and other stimulants.

Sannyasins avoided preparing their own food relying on harvesting seeds and fruits from forests or on alms to minimize harm to other life and nature. They were basically lacto-vegetarians as they believed that consuming milk was in sync with nature.

Non-vegetarian Hindus ate red meat mainly lamb, goat, buffalo and occasionally pork and wild bear. White meat included poultry, hunted or reared birds and fish in addition to eggs and dairy which they produced through pet birds. For slaughtering, they used the jhatka method meaning “quick death”, as this minimized trauma and suffering to the animal.

Muslims - According to the Quran some foods like pork or its products are strictly prohibited and declared as haram while others are allowed. Fish and eggs are kept strictly separate from meat during preparation.

Christians - Christianity prohibits the eating of meat of animals that do not “chew the cud” or are devoid of cloven hooves such as pigs or horses. The also exclude fish without fins and scales, shellfish like clams shrimp, crabs and oysters, and blood of any animal.

Thus, it is seen that religious, cultural and food taboos are different world wide, some like stealing or cheating being universal others are not, most being specific to countries, regions or community groups.

Current trade laws in India prohibit import or export of beef, meat of cow, oxen or calf or any meat on bone including carcass of buffalo.

Most taboos are thus imposed by social signals that disapprove of certain defined behaviours. Fortunately, this is showing a gradual shift today, largely being the impact of global exposure to countries where the taboo is not practiced. For example, Slovenians enjoy horse meat which Americans or Indians would not even dream of eating. Similarly, in China creepy creatures are sold and eaten in live forms, which would be tabooed in most countries.