Dietary pattern of different culture religion and philosophy

Submitted by: Joshua S. Pascasio Submitted to: Mrs. Melanie Silva Banaticla

Inuits
The Inuit (Inuktitut: , "People") are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, the United States, and eastern Siberia. Inuit is a plural noun; the singular is "Inuk". The Inuit languages are classified in the Eskimo-Aleut family. In the United States, the term Eskimo is commonly used in reference to these groups, because it includes both of Alaska's Yupik and Inupiat peoples while "Inuit" is not proper or accepted as a term for the Inupiat. No collective term exists for both peoples other than "Eskimo".However, natives in Canada and Greenland view the name as pejorative and "Inuit" has become more common. In Canada, sections 25 and 35 of the Constitution Act of 1982 named the "Inuit" as a distinctive group of aboriginal Canadians who are not included under either the First Nations or the Mtis. he Inuit live throughout most of the Canadian Arctic and subarctic in the territory of Nunavut; "Nunavik" in the northern third of Quebec; "Nunatsiavut" and "Nunatukavut" in Labrador; and in various parts of the Northwest Territories, particularly around the Arctic Ocean. These areas are known in Inuktitut as the [15][16] "Inuit Nunangat". In the United States, Inupiat live on the North Slope in Alaska and on Little Diomede Island. In Russia, they live on Big Diomede Island. The Greenlandic Inuit are the descendants of migrations from Canada and are citizens of Denmark, although not of the European Union.

Inuit consume a diet of foods that are fished, hunted, and gathered locally. This may include walrus, Ringed Seal, Bearded Seal, beluga whale, caribou, polar bear, muskoxen, birds (including their eggs) and fish. While it is not possible to cultivate plants for food in the Arctic the Inuit have traditionally gathered those that are naturally available. Grasses, tubers, roots, stems, berries, fireweed and seaweed (kuanniq or edible seaweed) were collected and preserved depending on the season and the location. According to Edmund Searles in his article "Food and the Making of Modern Inuit Identities," they consume this type of diet because a mostly meat diet is "effective in keeping the body warm, making the body strong, keeping the body fit, and even making that body healthy".

Seals
Seal meat is the most important aspect of an Inuit diet and is often the largest part of an Inuit hunter's diet. Depending on the season, Inuit hunt for different types of seal: Harp Seal, Harbor Seal, and Bearded Seal. Ringed Seals are hunted all year, while Harp Seals are only available during the summer.[7] Because air-breathing seals need to break through the ice to reach air, they form breathing holes with their claws. Through these, Inuit hunters are able to capture seals.[7] When a hunter arrives at these holes, they

set up a seal indicator that alerts the hunter when a seal is coming up for a breath of air. When the seal comes up, the hunter notices movement in the indicator and uses his harpoon to capture the seal in the water. Seals, as saltwater animals, are always considered to be thirsty and therefore are offered a drink of fresh water as it is dying. This is shown as a sign of respect and gratitude toward the seal and its sacrifice. This offering is also done to please the spirit Sedna to ensure food supply.

Walrus
Walrus are often hunted during the winter and spring since hunting them in summer is much more dangerous. A walrus is too large to be controlled by one man, so it cannot be hunted alone. In Uqalurait: An Oral History of Nunavut, an Inuit elder describes the hunt of a walrus in these words: "When a walrus was sighted, the two hunters would run to get close to it and at a short distance it is necessary to stop when the walrus's head was submergedthe walrus would hear you approach. [They] then tried to get in front of the walrus and it was harpooned while its head was submerged. In the meantime, the other person would drive the harpoon into the ice through the harpoon loop to secure it."

Bowhead whale
As one of the largest animals in the world, the bowhead whale is able to feed an entire community for nearly a year from its meat, blubber, and skin. Inuit hunters most often hunt juvenile whales which, compared to adults, are safer to hunt and have tastier skin. Similar to walrus, bowhead whales are captured by harpoon. The hunters use active pursuit to harpoon the whale and follow it during attack. At times, Inuit were known for using a more passive approach when hunting whales. According to John Bennett and Susan Rowley, they would harpoon the whale and instead of pursuing it, would "wait patiently for the winds, currents, and spirits to aid him in bringing the whale to shore.

Caribou
During the majority of the year caribou roam the tundra in small herds, but twice a year large herds of caribou cross the inland regions. Caribou have excellent senses of smell and hearing so that the hunters must be very careful when in pursuit. Often, Inuit hunters set up camp miles away from the caribou crossing and wait until they are in full view to attack.

There are many ways in which the caribou can be captured, including spearing, forcing caribou into the river, using blinders, scaring the caribou, and stalking the caribou. When spearing caribou, hunters put the string of the spear in their mouths and the other end they use to gently spear the animal.[7]

Fish
Inuit consume both salt water and freshwater fish including sculpin, Arctic cod, Arctic char and lake trout. They capture these types of fish by jigging. The hunter cuts a square hole in the ice on the lake and fishes using a fish lure and spear. Instead of using a hook on a line, Inuit use a fake fish attached to the line. They lower it into the water and move it around as if it is real. When the live fish approach it, they spear the fish before it has a chance to eat the fake fish.

Because the climate of the Arctic is ill-suited for agriculture and lacks forageable plant matter for much of the year, the traditional Inuit diet is unusually low in carbohydrates and high in fat and animal protein. In the absence of carbohydrates, protein is broken down in the liver through gluconeogenesisand utilized as an energy source. Inuit studied in the 1970s were found to have abnormally large livers, presumably to assist in this process. Their urine volumes were also high, a result of the excess urea produced by gluconeogenesis. Traditional Inuit diets derive, at most, 35-40% of their calories from protein, with 50-75% of calories preferably coming from fat. This high fat content provides valuable energy and prevents protein poisoning, which historically was sometimes a problem in late winter when game animals grew lean through winter starvation. Because the fats of the Inuit's wild-caught game are largely monounsaturated and rich in omega-3 fatty acids, the diet does not pose the same health risks as a typical Western high-fat diet. Vitamins and minerals which are typically derived from plant sources are nonetheless present in most Inuit diets. Vitamins A and D are present in the oils and livers of cold-water fishes and mammals. Vitamin C is obtained through sources such as caribou liver, kelp, whale skin, and seal brain; because these foods are typically eaten raw or frozen, the vitamin C they contain, which would be destroyed by cooking, is instead preserved.

Islamic food culture

Islamic jurisprudence specifies which foods are all ( "lawful") and which are arm ( "unlawful"). This is derived from commandments found in the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, as well as the Hadith and Sunnah, libraries cataloguing things the Prophet Mohammed is reported to have said and done. Extensions of these rulings are issued, as fatwas, by Mujtahids, with varying degrees of strictness, but they are not always widely held to be authoritative. According to

the Quran, the only foods explicitly forbidden are meat from animals that die of themselves, blood, the meat of swine (porcine animals, pigs), and animals dedicated to other than Allah (either undedicated or dedicated to idols), but a person is not guilty of sin in a situation where the lack of any alternative creates an undesired necessity to consume that which is otherwise unlawful. (Quran 2:173) This is the "law of necessity" in Islamic jurisprudence: "That which is necessary makes the forbidden permissible", which, in the case of dietary laws, allows one to eat pork or carrion, or drink wine or ethanol if one was starving or dying of thirst (although the Shafi'i madhhab differs on the issue of ethanolic drinks). Slaughter Dhabah ( ) is a prescribed method of ritual animal slaughter; it does not apply to most aquatic

animals. The animal must be slaughtered by a Muslim or by one of the People of the Book, generally speaking, a Christian or a Jew, while mentioning the name of God (Allah in Arabic). According to some fatwas, the animal must be slaughtered specifically by a Muslim, however, other fatwas dispute this, ruling that, according to verse 5:5 of the Qur'an, an animal properly slaughtered by People of the Book is halal. Animals for food may not be killed by being boiled or electrocuted, and the carcass should be hung upside down for long enough to be blood-free.All water game is considered halal (although the Hanafi madhhab differs on this): "Lawful to you is game from the sea and its food as provision for you [who are settled] as well as for travellers, although you are forbidden to hunt on land while you are in the state of pilgrimage. And be conscious of God, unto whom you shall be gathered." (Quran 5:96.) There are generally no restrictions on the consumption of vegetarian food as the restrictions pertain to slaughter.

Prohibited food Intoxicants In Islam, any intoxicants are generally forbidden in the Qur'an through several separate verses revealed at different times over a period of years. At first, it was forbidden for Muslims to attend to prayers while intoxicated. O you who believe! do not go near prayer when you are Intoxicated until you know (well) what you say, nor when you are under an obligation to perform a bathunless (you are) travelling on the roaduntil you have washed yourselves; and if you are sick, or on a journey, or one of you come from the privy or you have touched the women, and you cannot find water, betake yourselves to pure earth, then wipe your faces and your hands; surely Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving. Qur'an, Sura 4 (An-Nisa), ayat 43 Then a later verse was revealed which said that alcohol contains some good and some evil, but the evil is greater than the good (In Surah Al-Baqarah: 219, it states:

They ask you about intoxicants and games of chance. Say: In both of them there is a great sin and means of profit for men, and their sin is greater than their profit. And they ask you as to what they should spend. Say: What you can spare. Thus does Allah make clear to you the communications, that you may ponder. Qur'an, Sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayat 219 This was the next step in turning people away from consumption of it. Finally, "intoxicants and games of chance" were called "abominations of Satan's handiwork," intended to turn people away from God and forget about prayer, and Muslims were ordered to avoid. O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), gambling, Al Ansb , and Al Azlm (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaitn's (Satan) handiwork. So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order that you may be successful. Qur'an, Sura 5 (Al-Maidah), ayat 90 In addition to this, most observant Muslims refrain from consuming food products that contain pure vanilla extract or soy sauce if these food products contain alcohol; there is some debate about whether the prohibition extends to dishes in which the alcohol would be cooked off or if it would be practically impossible to consume enough of the food to become intoxicated. The Zaidi andMutazili sects believe that the use of alcohol has always been forbidden and refer to this Qur'an Ayah (4:43) as feeling of sleepiness and not to be awake. Blood Blood and its by-products are forbidden in Islam, in the Qu'ran, surah 5 Al-Maeda, verse 3: Forbidden to you is that which dies of itself, and blood, and flesh of swine, and that on which any other name than that of Allah has been invoked, and the strangled (animal) and that beaten to death, and that killed by a fall and that killed by being smitten with the horn, and that which wild beasts have eaten, except what you slaughter, and what is sacrificed on stones set up (for idols) and that you divide by the arrows; that is a transgression. This day have those who disbelieve despaired of your religion, so fear them not, and fear Me. This day have I perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion; but whoever is compelled by hunger, not inclining willfully to sin, then surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. Qur'an, Sura 5 (Al-Ma'ida ), ayat 3 Pork Consumption of pork and products made from pork is strictly forbidden in Islam. The origin of this belief is derived from the chapter of the Cow (Al Baqara) speaks of this: He has only forbidden you what dies of itself, and blood, and flesh of swine, and that over which any other (name) than (that of) Allah has been invoked; but whoever is driven to necessity, not desiring, nor exceeding the limit, no sin shall be upon him; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. Qur'an, Sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayat 173

JAPANESE FOOD CULTURE The rice-centered food culture of Japan evolved following the introduction of wet rice cultivation from Asia more than 2,000 years ago. The tradition of rice served with seasonal vegetables and fish and other marine products reached a highly sophisticated form in the Edo period (1600-1868) and remains the vibrant core of native Japanese cuisine. In the century and a half since Japan reopened to the West, however, Japan has developed an incredibly rich and varied food culture that includes not only native-Japanese cuisine but also many foreign dishes, some adapted to Japanese tastes and some imported more or less unchanged Origins

Rice
The cultivation and consumption of rice has always played a central role in Japanese food culture. Almost ready for harvesting, this rice field is located near the base of the mountain Iwakisan in Aomori Prefecture.
Aomori prefecture

In the centuries following the introduction of Buddhism to Japan in the 6th century, laws and imperial edicts gradually eliminated the
eating of almost all flesh of animals and fowl. The vegetarian style of cooking known as shojin ryori was later popularized by the Zen sect, and by the 15th century many of the foods and food ingredients eaten by Japanese today had already made their debut, for example, soy sauce (shoyu), miso, tofu, and other products made from soybeans. Around the same time, a formal and elaborate style of banquet cooking developed that was derived from the cuisine of the court aristocracy. Known as honzen ryori, it is one of the three basic styles of Japanese cooking along with chakaiseki ryori (the cuisine of the tea ceremony meal) and kaiseki ryori. With an emphasis on the artistic presentation
Honzen ryori
An example of this formalized cuisine, which is served on legged trays called honzen.
Kodansha

of fresh, seasonal ingredients, the tea meal married the formalities of honzen ryori to the spirit and frugality of Zen. Kaiseki ryori developed in its present form in the early 19th century and is still served at first-class Japanese restaurants known as ryotei and at traditional Japanese inns. While retaining the fresh seasonal ingredients and artful presentation of earlier styles, kaiseki meals have fewer rules of etiquette and a more relaxed atmosphere. Sake is drunk during the meal, and, because the Japanese do not generally eat rice while drinking sake, rice is served at the end. Appetizers, sashimi (sliced raw fish), suimono (clear soup), yakimono (grilled foods), mushimono (steamed foods), nimono (simmered foods), and aemono (dressed salad-like foods) are served first, followed by miso soup, tsukemono (pickles), rice, Japanese sweets, and fruit. Tea concludes the meal. Although most Japanese people have few opportunities to experience full-scale kaiseki dinners, the types and order of foods served in kaiseki ryori are the basis for the contemporary full-course Japanese meal. The sushi that most people are familiar with todayvinegared rice topped or combined with such items as raw fish and shellfishdeveloped in Edo (now Tokyo) in the early 19th century. The sushi of that period was sold from stalls as a snack food, and those stalls were the precursors of todays sushi restaurants. in the mid-19th century, many new cooking and eating customs were introduced, the most important being the eating of meat. Although now considered a Japanese dish, sukiyakibeef, vegetables, tofu, and other ingredients cooked at the table in a broth of soy sauce, mirin (sweet sake), and sugarwas at first served in Western-style restaurants. Another popular native dish developed in this period is tonkatsu, deep-fried breaded pork cutlets. Created in the early 20th century using Indian curry powder imported by way of England, Japanese curry rice (kareraisu) became a very popular dish; it contains vegetables and meat or seafood in a thick curry sauce that is served over rice.

Sushi
Some of the many types of nigirizushi, in which handmolded portions of vinegared rice are topped with slices of raw fish, shellfish, and other ingredients. A small dab of wasabi (Japanese horseradish) is usually placed between the rice and the topping.
Kodansha

Sushi restaurant
Although tables are also available, customers tend to sit at the counter where they can see the fresh fish and other seafood ingredients laid out in the cooled, glasscovered cases. Selections are called out directly to the nearest sushi chef.
Miyagi prefecture

Bento shop Chains of shops like this one sell a variety of Japanese box lunches known as bento. The English name box lunch notwithstanding, bento are often eaten for dinner as well. Many shops are takeout only, but some have tables available.
Kodansha International

Contemporary dinner table

The ingredient choices available at supermarkets and other food stores in all but the most isolated rural districts of Japan are so varied that on any given day a homecooked dinner could contain an incredible variety of dishes of various national origins. Even so, native Japanese food is still the norm, and a Japanese meal at home will generally have white rice, miso soup, and tsukemono pickles. The multiple dishes that accompany these three vary widely depending on the region, the season, and family preferences, but candidates include cooked vegetables, tofu, grilled fish, sashimi, and beef, pork, and chicken cooked in a variety of ways. Popular alternatives to native Japanese fare include Chinese-style stir-fried meat and vegetable dishes and Korean-style grilled beef and pork. More adventurous cooks may try their hand at American, French, Italian, and other ethnic dishes. Selections particularly popular with children include spaghetti, hamburgers, and the curry rice mentioned above. While many families continue to eat homecooked meals every night, the greatest change taking place in eating habits in recent decades has been the replacement of home-cooked dishes with food prepared outside the home. Sushi, Chinese and Japanese noodle dishes, and Japanese-style box lunches (bento) have long been available via home delivery (demae) in towns and cities, and now pizza and many other dishes can also be ordered. In addition, supermarkets have many prepared foods such as sushi, tempura, and fried chicken to purchase and take home, and the spread of convenience stores into all but the most remote areas of Japan has made a wide variety of pre-cooked bento-type meals available to almost everyone

Japanese-inn meal
High-class Japanese inns (ryokan) generally serve sumptuous multiplecourse kaiseki-style meals such as the one shown here.
Fukui prefecture

Okonomiyaki
This pancakelike dish is made with a batter of flour, eggs, water, shredded cabbage, and a variety of other ingredients such as meat or shrimp. Shown here is Hiroshimastyle okonomiyaki.
Hiroshima prefecture

Yakiniku
When eating yakiniku, which literally translates as grilled meat, people cook bitesized pieces of beef, pork, and other meat at the table and then dip the cooked pieces in their preferred sauce.

Ramen
This low-cost Chinesenoodle dish is extremely popular throughout Japan and can be found in a number of regional varieties. Dehydrated and packaged instant ramen, which requires only the addition of boiling water, has become a low-cost favorite worldwide.
Kodansha International

Miyagi prefecture

European Culture
Europe consists of 50 countries, while the European Union, or EU, is made up of 27 member states at the time of publication. Countries in Europe are commonly associated with strong democratic principles, strong centralized governments and strong nationalism rooted in traditions that often can be traced back hundreds of years. As a general rule, countries in close proximity to one another share more traits than those farther away, though there are exceptions. According to the most recent EU quality of life poll. which was administered in 2007, there are significant differences in income across countries, though overall EU residents rate their satisfaction with life and general happiness at 7 and 7.5 out of 10, respectively. About 80 percent of people living in the EU say good health is a "very important" part of their overall quality of life, with 46 percent saying their health was "good" and 21 percent "very good." European Diet as a Whole The relationship between diet and health cannot be overstated; although countries in Europe are different from one another, their diet has become more similar in recent decades. Research published in 2006 in "Public Health Nutrition" looked at the diets of countries in the EU and how those diets changed over time. In the early 1960s, several European countries had a diet more like that of the United States than elsewhere in Europe. Nowadays, diets in Europe have converged and are more like each other. Since 1960, countries in Northern Europe, which had previously shown high consumption of saturated fats and sugar, now consume less of each and more fruits and vegetables. Mediterranean countries, including Spain and Portugal, which in 1960 were eating high amounts of fruits and vegetables, now eat less of each and consume more cholesterol, saturated fat and sugar. The result is a coming together at the middle, so that Europeans reach minimum requirements for each food group, but eat too much overall, especially of saturated fat and cholesterol. France Out of all European countries, France is probably the best known for its food. The image of the French restaurant and bakery, with attention to detail evident in each dish, is a common one in television and cinema. Unfortunately, even France does not appear to be immune to overall trends in the European diet. A 2010 study in the "British Journal of Nutrition" reported on changes to the French diet from 1999 to 2007. There appears to be two separate diets in France, with young adults eating similarly to Americans, focused on snacking and convenience, while only the older generation eats what is thought of as the traditional French diet. Overall, the French have transitioned to eating less dairy, meat, bread, potatoes, pastries and sugar over that time period, while eating more fruits and vegetables, rice and sweets like ice cream and chocolate. Europe and Obesity As Europe as a whole moved toward a more common diet, somewhere between the Northern European diet and the Mediterranean, obesity rose as well. According to European research group Food and

Health Research in Europe, or FAHRE, 10 percent of children and 20 percent of adults in the EU are obese, with those percentages expected to continue to increase. This is a dramatic rise from the turn of the 21st century, when the prevalence of obesity was very low. Numerous policies are attempting to curb the obesity epidemic in Europe, including five year action plans on food and nutrition by the European Office of the World Health Organization, a European Charter on Obesity that has been signed by nearly all 50 countries in Europe, various European and EU initiatives, along with the newly created European Commission Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. Scientific research also is increasing. In 1979 there were about 1,000 studies published related to obesity, whereas in 2009 there were close to 12,000.

The New American food Culture

For the most part, Americans want their food to be quick, convenient, and cheap regardless of whether they buy it at a supermarket or a local fast-food franchise. Americans like things that are fast and easy, requiring minimal personal or economic sacrifice. Americans also value looking good and choose foods that look good. Some are even willing to spend a lot of money for food that makes them look good as when they eat in expensive restaurants. The characteristics of Americas dominant food culture are cost, conven appearance. However, a new American food ethic is emerging to challenge these dominant values. The rapid growth in demand for organic foods, averaging more than 20 percent per year for more than a decade, is but one among several indicators of a new food ethic. Organic foods were neither cheaper nor more attractive than conventional food, nor were they more convenient to acquire. The early organic consumers were more likely to be labeled counter-cultural than as trend setters. Those who chose organic foods obviously were expressing a different food ethic. Farmers markets, community supported agriculture organizations (CSAs), and other means of direct food marketing have experienced growth rates similar to those for organic foods. So, the new food ethic cannot be defined simply as an aversion to agricultural chemicals or genetic engineering. The new American food ethic reflects a desire to build relationships with farmers, and through farmers, with the earth. Certainly, some organic consumers are concerned mainly, if not exclusively, with their own physical well-being. But, many others buy organic foods because the philosophical roots of organics are in stewardship and community, in caring for the earth and its people. Most who buy food at farmers markets, CSAs, etc., seek out farmers who share this new and different American food ethic, regardless of whether their products are certified as organic. The new food culture might seem insignificant, if we look only at sales of alternative food products including, organic, natural, pesticide free, hormone and antibiotic free, free range,

grass-fed, etc. Sales of such products probably amount to less than one percent of total food sales not including foods labeled natural, light, healthy, etc., that are no different in substance from conventional foods. But, a growing number of Americans are expressing doubts and outright dissatisfaction with the current American food system. And, their dissatisfaction is not with cost, convenience, or appearance. They simply dont trust the corporate food manufacturers and distributors, or the government, to ensure the safety and nutritional value of their food. And they certainly dont trust the corporations or government to promote stewardship of land and or the well-being of ordinary people. These Americans are searching for foods that will reflect a different set of ethical values not just in the food itself, but also in how their food is produced and who benefits and suffers as a consequence of its production. This new food culture is but one dimension of a whole new American culture. In their new book, The Cultural Creatives, Paul Ray and Sherry Anderson provide compelling evidence that some fifty million Americans are now leading the way in creating this new American culture. The authors identify three distinct groups within American society, based on some 100,000 responses to surveys concerning basic values and lifestyles, supplemented by numerous focus groups and personal interviews. One group, identified as the cultural creatives, is growing rapidly, and while although still a minority, already makes up roughly one-quarter of the American adult population. The dominant group, the moderns, makes up about half of American society. However, only about half of this group is firmly committed to the dominant American culture of materialistic, economic self-interest. About a quarter of those in the moderns group are too busy trying to get ahead or to make ends meet to think about what they believe. Those in the remaining quarter actually feel alienated by modern society, it isnt working for them, but they go along because they dont see a viable alternative. The final group, the traditionalists, makes up about a quarter of the adult population. The authors describe the traditionalists as wanting the world to be like it used to be but never was. The core moderns, although no larger in number than the cultural creatives, tend to define American culture because they are disproportionately in positions of economic and political power. The values of the moderns are reflected in our apparent national obsession with material success making money, getting ahead, looking good, and living an affluent lifestyle. The moderns care about family, community, and have some concern for the natural environment, but they care far more about their individual material success. In contrast, the traditionalists have strong religious beliefs and hold traditional family values, but they are less concerned about the natural environment than either of the other groups.

The cultural creatives are distinguished from the other two by their strong beliefs in the value of personal relationships, within families, communities, and society as a whole, and by their concern for the integrity and sustainability of the natural environment. They are associated with various movements, including social justice, environmental protection, civil rights, gender rights, and sustainable development. They are less materialistic than either of the other groups and tend to be more spiritual in the sense of believing in something higher, beyond self. The values and lifestyles of the cultural creatives are completely consistent with the principles of sustainable development and sustainable agriculture. They believe that quality of life results from equitably meeting the needs of the present while leaving equal or better opportunities for the future. The sustainability movement arose from a growing realization that economic development alone does not increase overall quality of life, but instead, often leads to its degradation. To be sustainable over time, development activities must be ecologically sound, economically viable, and socially responsible. But equally important, balance and harmony among the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of life must result in a higher quality of life. Thankfully, the ranks of the cultural creatives include thousands of new American farmers. These cultural creating farmers may call themselves organic, biodynamic, alternative, holistic, natural, ecological, practical, or nothing at all; however, they all fit under the conceptual umbrella of sustainable agriculture. The sustainable agriculture movement is a small but critical part of the much larger movement that is creating a new American culture. The sustainable agriculture movement emerged in response to growing concerns about the sustainability of our corporate-controlled, industrial food system. Independent food processors, distributors, and marketers now face the same kinds of challenges, and thus, have the same kinds of opportunities as independent family farmers. Independent food marketers cannot expect to compete with the giant global food chain clusters of today they have too little market power. If there is to be a future for independent food processors, distributors, or marketers, they must join with sustainable farmers, working and living by a new code of ethics to meet the needs of the new American culture. The Hartman Report a respected survey of United States households identified two consumer groups, the true naturals and new green mainstream, which already make up about twenty-eight percent of the population, as prime markets for sustainably produced foods. These groups are very similar in attitudes and magnitude to Ray and Andersons cultural creatives. Organizations such as the Chefs Collaborative, made up of chefs from up-scale restaurants throughout the country, are helping to create this new culture. Their organizational principles include: Sound food choices emphasizing locally grown, seasonally fresh, and whole or minimally processed ingredients. Their other principles are very much in harmony with the development and support of an ecologically sound and socially responsible food system.

The Slow Food movement is a worldwide organization of food eaters. It is committed to promoting the diversity of local and regional quality food, produced and marketed in ways that guarantees farmers a fair price and protects the environment and the natural landscape. Those in the Slow Food movement have a clear understanding of the industrial food system and they realize that a return to local and regional food systems will be necessary for ecological and social sustainability. Slow Food is not an elitist gourmet movement, but instead, encourages good, honest food at reasonable prices and its appreciation and enjoyment to the fullest by all. The cultural creatives didnt exist forty years ago and perhaps accounted for five to ten percent of Americans a decade ago; today they account for a quarter or more of the total population, and they are still growing. Farmers today are serving less than five percent of this new American food market. Slowly but surely, a new American food system is being developed by a coalition of sustainable farmers, marketers, and like-minded eaters. Together, these farmers, marketers, and citizen eaters are creating the new American food culture.