Jonathan Meades :: Fast Food
December 17th, 2007 2 comments link to (permalink) posted by david
If you want a more erudite look at the same topic as Fast Food Nation or Supersize me, look no further. And if you watch till the end you will get to see the legendary deep frying of a Mars Bar.
Another Jonathan Meades classic, whereupon he looks at fast food from its mid 19th Century origins when Sephardic Jews in the East End of London took the tradition of deep frying in olive oil to what became the first fried fast food: fish and chips.
The problem was that in the UK, only animal fats rather than high temperature olive oil were available, leading to the tradition of soggy, dangerous, Anglo Saxon food that now plagues the US. The combination of primogeniture (land ownership passed to the first born) and flattish landscape created conditions where farming was the dominion of the few and therefore there was no tradition of peasant food production or ultimately cooking and gastronomy through Protestant meanness. Again this is something which has come to a head in recent years in the US, where the farming population has reduced to an insignificant amount in the last few decades.
The food we eat today is the food of amusement parks, MSM (Mechanically Separated Meat) hot dogs and burgers cooked at high temperature to kill the bacteria from the excrement. Food is something we consume on our lap while watching celebrity pseudo chefs show how to do something most of us don’t intend to practice – cook.
The most telling point in this film is where he asks young children where meat comes from, and none of them know. This is documentary making at its best. A political subject is shown artistically and in historical context, with simultaneous passion, wit and logic rather than alienating rage.
Link
2 responses so far »
anonymous : Dec 17, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Meades had a point, but simultaneously came off as incredibly snobby. The kinds of foods which grow in england arent exactly exciting and exotic, so it makes sense that in the years when importing was expensive- or in the case of the wars- impossible- that the average joe did not have much of an imagination when it came to food.
Post-war poverty can also excuse the rise of fast food. A mechanically recovered sausage is far cheaper than a delicious rump steak, even if the quality suffers. The majority of us stuff our faces with rubbish because it is all we can afford. The real, good food is expensive, and unlike preservative-laden ready meals and frozen chips- goes off after a while.
That is not to say i’m arguing on the side of the industry- i hate ready meals and fast food too- however it is the popular mindset that not all of us can afford to be good chefs.
admin : Dec 21, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Actually, you’re dead right.
I like Meades, but on this issue, perhaps the real story is that healthy organic food is about as affordable to many as an antique Rolex.
Leave a Comment