Back in August, before the semester started, my sister posed a question, “What is your favorite food?” By this she meant, what region of the world’s food is your favorite? I had to take into consideration the degree to which she understood the difference in cuisines of the world, as they may be represented here in the Finger Lakes. While I don’t mean to say that there is not enough diversity here to be representative of some very delicious plates, it is also not uncommon for local restaurants to have a stark deviation from authentic dishes, not quite grasping the true essence of foreign culinary originality. I had to think about my sister’s question for a moment. Almost to my own surprise, the answer slid out, “Here!”
Now, I absolutely enjoy trying food from elsewhere in the world. In fact, if ever I had the resources, it would not be beyond me to visit a far off place solely to experience food in its own kitchens of origin. However, did you know that New York grows about 60 different fruits and vegetables annually? That number is only representative of the produce that is grown in significant quantities and shipped off to other places. That number does not include the less well-known crops, wild fruits and vegetables not normally domesticated, grains, mushrooms, herbs, lettuces, legumes, nuts, animals, honey, maple, and more. We are talking hundreds of options right in our back-yard. To this, my sister responded, “I never really thought about that. I guess because most people don’t really know how to prepare them.” Yes! And therein lies the topic I would really like to discuss.
To be clear, this discussion is more of an invitation to look at our relationship with food from a distinctly behavioral perspective. Keeping in mind 1 Corinthians 8:8, “But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.” Take a minute to consider what drives your food decisions. Are the decisions based purely on preference, on pleasure, convenience, or simple familiarity? Biology has peered deep into the delicate relationship between nutrients and our bodies. Our bodies function best when absorbing the full range of macro and micronutrients. To oversimplify it, taste the rainbow – I’m not talking about Skittles. Fundamentally, eating is one aspect of our relationship with Creation. It is a way in which we participate in the entire ecology of the world. The attitude with which we approach our relationship with Creation matters: the wisdom of Proverbs 15:17 instructs us, “Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred.”
That bounty stretching the terrane of our back-yard reveals something about our Father, and about His world. Every edible thing is a unique manifestation of the holistic Creation, each bearing just a taste of the richness our Father has provided through diversity. God did not pack all the nutrients we needed to sustain and maintain our physical bodies in one organic vehicle. He spread them out and delivers them in ways that increase the breadth, width, and depth of how we experience His world. We see this blessing in Genesis 1:29, “Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.”
I know what you are thinking – but that taste, that texture, and its appearance. You might be surprised to find out that taste sensations only take a matter of weeks to adjust to change. If you have studied any biopsychology, you may have learned how misleading and yet perfectly fantastic the sensory system can be. What is preference anyway? Good, bad, or indifferent, we make decisions about food multiple times a day. Behind those decisions lie an attitude that, on a practical level, defines part of our personality merely based on its daily practice. Once an attitude becomes a habit, how many other areas of our lives do you think it pervades? How much more of the richness in diversity are we deprived? Just as the whole of Creation is not separate from its elements, so Scripture speaks of unity and diversity in the body, “in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.”
Daniel is a senior majoring in psychology.