Reading the quote “One should eat to live, not live to eat” (Benjamin Franklin) got me thinking how can one eat to live? Simple, just eat when you are hungry. Right? But do we? Rather it has become a norm to indulge our food. We eat and eat until our seams are bursting, but is that what religion teaches us? Throughout this blog I will be exploring different online resources and commenting on various issues regarding the role of food within religion.
Food plays an important part in any religion. To eat and what not to eat becomes the paving path for the followers of different beliefs. We hear of many religious terms associated with rituals, festivals and last but not least with food. For example when it comes to terms such as ‘HalaI’, we automatically assume food in Islam. Likewise with the term ‘Kosher’ we think of food in Judaism. The question is why is food so important in religion? Is it because;
· Food is religion? Or
· You are what you eat? (meaning what you eat defines you and becomes an integral
part of your identity)
As time has passed and society has evolved many things have changed. Similarly with food, the original meaning and purpose has been lost, clouding the difference between appetite and tradition. We don’t simply eat when we need nourishment for our bodies, but we find ourselves forever consuming morsels of indulgent comfort foods, without knowing when to stop. Like the famous proverb ‘Too many cooks spoil the broth’, it is as though too many additions have spoilt the original purpose of food.
I must admit there is nothing wrong with eating nice/fine foods, however in moderation. Many may say ‘change is good’ or ‘change is a sign that we are moving forward’. Look at the changes of Food. First it was a long time consuming process of collecting firewood to fuel our food. But, in today’s day and age with a click of a button and Hey Presto! a steaming ready made meal is at our front door.
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