Sociology essay on authenticity

Tofu stir-fry: the proof of inner authenticity

 

 

 

We all have that one vegetarian friend. Or, hang on, that whole vegetarian group of friends. On second thoughts, which one of my friends isn’t a vegetarian or otherwise following an in some way restrictive diet?

Perhaps I attract them; I’ve often been told that I have the ‘vegetarian (malnourished?) look’ and people are surprised when I reveal that I do, in fact, eat meat. But it isn’t mere coincidence: an increasing part of the population is becoming concerned with the wellbeing of the planet, animals and above all, themselves.

 

Let’s take butter as a quick example of our changing mindset. The origins of butter go back to when our ancestors first started domesticating animals.  In India, ghee (clarified butter) is a symbol of purity and a staple food. It has been offered to the gods in religious ceremonies for more than 3000 years.                     For thousands of years, people have prized butter for its health benefits. Suddenly, however, butter began to be labeled as the primary source of health-damaging saturated fats: the major obstacle between us and our good health. Concerned mothers of baby boomers, believing the advice of margarine manufacturers, started to replace butter with the man-made oils. An interesting side-note is that research has actually proven the contrary: organic butter, in moderation, is far healthier than its man-made counterpart.

 

We are all suddenly becoming more aware of the potentially animal, environmental and health-harming by-products of food: magazines, television programs and food-labels provide extensive information that is bombarded at us daily. A lot of money is put into the investigation of the above mentioned.

Rather than just being a result of advances in scientific research however, there seems to be something more fundamental at hand in our increased awareness: the need to rely on one’s inner authenticity.         In other words, in a world that is experienced as unstable and constantly changing, it is becoming increasingly important to be grounded in oneself. And you are what you eat, after all.

In Weber’s thinking about post modernity in Kenneth Allan’s Classical Sociological Theory, the shift from emancipatory politics to life politics is mentioned. Life politics are based on personal lifestyle choices and create a kind of grounding in oneself; a framework of trust by means of which your life can be understood as a unity against the backdrop of changing social events.

 

Understood in this way, being a vegetarian, vegan or in any other way actively expressing certain principles by restricting or being more aware of food-intake can be seen as a lifestyle that brings harmony between the inner and outer world.

Looking at it from Weber’s chief characteristic of modernization, rationalization, one could say that this interference with one’s diet is a reflection of how less spontaneous people are becoming. Gone is intuitive eating or truly enjoying our food. Our minds have become calculators of calories, fat and sugar and are making judgments (this chicken has probably suffered, spaghetti carbonara will make me fat, non-organic apple-skin is loaded with pesticides) at a terrific speed.  We no longer trust the wisdom of past generations or how our own body reacts to certain foods. Rather, the only trustworthy information out there has become the opinion of experts. We let our decisions (whether we include dairy or soy milk in our healthy diets, for instance – temporarily forgetting the differences between low-fat, semi-skimmed or full-fat) depend on the knowledge of experts (soy milk has no cholesterol and is better for the environment).

Life is being brought back to the individual. Keeping your body healthy or developing certain principles related to what goes into your body is becoming a way of retaining control over our unreliable world.

This is where the concept of individualism, discussed by Simmel, comes in. As a result of modernity, individuals become increasingly separated from the collective and more independent from social circles which had a big impact on their lives before: family, the church and the village. Ultimately, you rely on yourself, is the conviction. Anything that strengthens the notion of being a unique separate entity, such as a well- thought out set of principles, a way of dressing, eating, etc. is gladly grasped.

 

The issue at hand can also be linked to domestication and alienation, something Marx talks about. Domestication refers to the degree to which people control their biological and natural environment. The use of fire, agriculture and natural energy are tools we have used over the years to develop a greater control of the world. Globalization, capitalism, the development of transportation methods and a good infrastructure have led to a mass-production and distribution of food (control) all over the world.

We have become increasingly separated from the production process of food; most of us don’t have a clue where the food on our plate comes from. That food is becoming increasingly processed doesn’t exactly help either. An interesting reference is that to Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. In the TV-program, he holds up several vegetables to children, asking them what they are called. Most of them aren’t even able to identify a tomato, let alone a cauliflower. A first glimpse at a small piece of fried chicken, however, unleashes the immediate cry:  ‘chicken nugget!’

According to Marx, that which makes us distinctly human is creative production. We become aware of our humanity as our nature is reflected back to us by what we produce. If we become alienated from the production process in the modern world, being a vegetarian, vegan, etc. can be a way of regaining control and knowledge. We can’t control how our food is made or where it comes from, but we can derive inner authenticity and power by the choices we make.

 

In Durkheim’s theory of modernity, he mentions how, as the division of labour increases and with it the level of structural differentiation, people become different from one another. This creates pressures for a more generalized culture and value system.

Although vegetarians and vegans often make their authenticity more pronounced, ‘staying true to yourself’, ‘following your heart’, ‘finding your calling’ and not ‘following the herd’ are important principles for everyone nowadays. Being an authentic individual is something that transcends social groups and is universally valued in modern society.

 

In short, the four dimensions of modernization (differentiation, rationalization, individualization, domestication) as discussed by Durkheim, Weber, Simmel and Marx provide an interesting backdrop against a closer look at different aspects that are tied to closely monitoring one’s diet. Just like our clothes, our likes and dislikes and our beliefs that make up parts of the complicated structure that form our identity, following a special diet can be seen as a ‘security blanket’ of some sort, providing us with the relief  that aside from the confusing outside world, there is some comfort and stability to be gained from one’s own person. Inner authenticity has become our rock in a sea of chaos.