Soul Food Nation or Just Plain Food Nation?

Soul Food Nation questioned and explored many of the food, nutrition and health issues African Americans continue to face today. The accounts telling the historical births to these issues were pertinent because I believe many people make negative judgments and assumptions on “soul food” and the way it is prepared but don’t fully understand the roots of these food items. Knowing how these foods were introduced to this group of people and how they were grown and made in the past gives us an entirely new perspective.

A girl in the documentary made a very valid point: her people are not concerned with the problems of the future but focused on the meal that is present. This is the mindset that most Americans have today; we find ourselves giving into restaurants and innutritious foods everyday with intentions of eating better in the future. Although many people may see the problems with our food, they find it very difficult to give things up or very expensive to buy better options. In a way, I think we are all addicted to some of the empty meals and sweets we grew up on, but the price burden some people carry is an entirely different issue.

Many would agree that the mass production of food is needed in order to feed all of our citizens, but I strongly believe that if this production was rethought and refocused we could have a much healthier and more nutritious America. Every level involved in this production, from the farmers and buyers to cooks and consumers, would have to work together, but first, the problem must be addressed. With a nation consumed and busied by the systems of education, work etc, will we ever stop and think long enough about the foods we use to “fuel” us day to day to fully address and change the issue? We are filling our bodies with low-grade gas and already seeing the negative effects of it killing our family members, neighbors and friends.

One point that especially resonated with me was the mention of food deserts all over the nation. Although the documentary focused on the devastation that black communities face in these places, these food deserts affect a much wider range of people. This could be said about the entire documentary; although soul food might be having a negative effect on African Americans, unhealthy food overall is having a negative effect on every American, whether these effects are visibly seen or not.