Food as Communication

Perhaps it should come as no surprise then that food has been a medium for the nation's defining struggles, whether at the Boston Tea Party or the sit-ins at Southern lunch counters. It is integral to our concepts of health and even morality whether one refrains from alcohol for religious reasons or evades meat for political ideals . But strong opinions have not brought certainty . Americans are ambivalent about what they put in their mouths. We have become suspicious of our foods, especially as we learn more about what they contain. The ritual of food is still prosperous in American consciousness. It's no coincidence, then, that the first Thanksgiving holds the American imagination in such bondage. It's what we eat-and how we share it with friends, family, and strangers-that help define America as a community today.