Wanda Sankey was born in East Lansing in the 1990’s. Her household was primarily of German-Polish decent. At a young age, her mother decided to raise her on a pescitarian diet.
In her early years, she was fed a fairly balanced and healthy diet. She ate large amounts of fruits and vegetables, and received her protein from fish, eggs, and cheese. She ate very few sweets, but all of her food was store-bought and not organic. Her family occasional went to the local food market, but did not see it as a location to routinely buy food.
She was raise Roman Catholic and thus fasted certain days out of the year, and gave up a food item throughout the time of Lent. This alteration of food during this time, led to a sense of community with not only her fellow family members, but also her religious community as a whole; it gave new meaning to food, not as a source of nourishment, but as a cultural practice that allows for connection.
When she was very young her grandfather moved in with her and her mother. From that point in time, the household diet shifted to a more stereotypically “traditional” American diet. There was always some sort of meat, vegetable, and side dish at a meal and milk was served as a drink option. This meal is the type that is portrayed by the American media: a meat and two sides. Growing up with her grandfather, Wanda developed habits that weren’t helpful to her health, including eating less fruits and vegetables, and learning to eat sweets. This was partially due to her grandfather insisting that such foods like fruits and vegetables were expensive, and it was partially because sugary foods were always available in her house because here grandfather preferred him.
Other family members were very opinionated about Wanda’s food habits. From a young age to present, a majority of her family insisted that being a vegetarian was not only cumbersome, but unhealthy. Like many other stereotypical Americans, Wanda’s family thought that animal meat was the best way to get the proper does of protein. They also believed that protein from fish was not good of a source of protein.
As she grew, her household had a shift similarly to the one presented in Shapiro’s “Something from the Oven”. Before the move in from her grandfather, most meals were home cooked, from fresh ingredients that were procured from the grocery store. After her grandfather moved in and her mother’s life got busier, they started to have more frozen meals, although they were considered unhealthy. As her life went on, the family seemed to accept frozen meals and they were no longer looked down upon by the household. This was because her grandfather preferred meat in his meals, while that presented a problem for Wanda. Her mother’s solution was to buy individually packaged meals in order to appease the diverse tastes in the household.
In her young adulthood, Wanda has found that her eating habits have expanded greatly. She was always praised in her house as being a “good little taster” and when she went to college she was open to all different types of food. Growing up she did not see sushi as anything other than raw fish, not to be consumed. When arriving at college, she discovered that she thoroughly enjoyed sushi.
In the summer between her sophomore and junior year Wanda had an experience that drastically altered the way she viewed food. Every year her family took a trip to Canada to fish and camp. Usually the fish were killed and cleaned by Wanda’s grandfather, but due to his deteriorating eyesight, he was unable to properly cut the fish. So for two weeks Wanda, a very empathetic animal lover, had to kill and gut fish. She was highly disturbed and started to contemplate why she ate fish but not other animals. Her mother insisted that it was because Jesus ate fish in the Bible and insisted that Wanda should continue. However, after watching several clips of Food, Inc., she decided that she did not want to promote the killing of fish in the food industry, and she became a full vegetarian.
Throughout her life she was always experiencing new food because her mother traveled frequently and took Wanda with her. She tried a variety of dishes from around the world, but there were a few rules her family adhered to when traveling. Most of these taboos were in keeping with the larger culture in which she grew up, for example her family never ate meat from animals they viewed as pets, they never ate raw meat, and they did not eat still living meat. They did have a few rules that they created themselves, like they didn’t eat meat from young animals (veil, lamb… ext.) because they did not want to be the reason and animal died so young in life, and they didn’t eat meat other than fish on Friday’s during Lent.
A distinct memory that Wanda had was when she ate dinner with her Godfather and Mother in a local Roman restaurant when her family traveled to Italy. She remembered being shocked that the only way they could get water was if they ordered a bottle of it. She also was surprised that most of the dishes on the menu were vegetarian, because in her experience of Americanized Italian food, most dishes had meat sauce. After the meal they got gelato from a local vendor and remarked at how light it tasted compared to ice cream.
Wanda, when thinking about that memory, realizes that food has become a bonding force for her. Food was an experience to be shared with the people closest to her. The comfort of old fashioned Italian food made her think of trips she took with her family. The sugary blend-chicke recipe her grandmother adapted from Poland when she came over reminds her of the large family gatherings at Christmas or family reunions. Food brings back reminders of experiences past. Her deviation between frozen, prepackaged meals and interesting higher end experiences made those meals where time and effort were put in stand out in her memory and reminds her of the people she shared those meals with.
After taking an ISS 310 class, several food culture changes took place. She has found that she drinks less soda and milk, as she no longer sees it as an equal option to water. She has discovered new meaning for her conviction to be a vegetarian, mostly due to the book Eating Animals. She has even affected other members of her family. While her grandfather is too set in his convictions to become a vegetarian, and thus her household will never become fully vegetarian in the near future. However, her mother now buys local eggs, and is personally cutting down on meat consumption. Wanda’s mother has even agreed to try to become a vegetarian after her grandfather has passed.
Wanda also found her fundamental view of food changed after taking the ISS class. She used to focus on her food wants, and not her food needs. She picked her meals based on her desires at that given moment, she didn’t think about what she was nutritionally putting into her body. After taking her class she has noticed that she likes to pick more whole food options, like salads. If she eats non-whole foods, she prefers food where she knows all of the ingredients, like pasta with tomato sauce.
Currently Wanda is a vegetarian, but not a pescitarian. She does not handle most spicy foods well as she does not enjoy the lasting burn of most foods, with the exception of wasabi because the burn doesn’t last as long as some other foods. Some of her favorite foods include Italian based dishes and vegetable beef tips. She finds her diet to consist mostly of processed foods because she is primarily fed through the dorm cafeterias. When she becomes more independent she would like to try to buy more local produce from farmers’ markets.
In Wanda’s life, she has used food to make connections with the people close to her. When eating, she uses her food to remember those experiences. Going forward she hopes to show how vegetarianism is a viable option for environmental and ethical solutions. For her, food needs to find a balance between delicious, memory making meals and a sustainable solution that moves away from processed foods.
In her early years, she was fed a fairly balanced and healthy diet. She ate large amounts of fruits and vegetables, and received her protein from fish, eggs, and cheese. She ate very few sweets, but all of her food was store-bought and not organic. Her family occasional went to the local food market, but did not see it as a location to routinely buy food.
She was raise Roman Catholic and thus fasted certain days out of the year, and gave up a food item throughout the time of Lent. This alteration of food during this time, led to a sense of community with not only her fellow family members, but also her religious community as a whole; it gave new meaning to food, not as a source of nourishment, but as a cultural practice that allows for connection.
When she was very young her grandfather moved in with her and her mother. From that point in time, the household diet shifted to a more stereotypically “traditional” American diet. There was always some sort of meat, vegetable, and side dish at a meal and milk was served as a drink option. This meal is the type that is portrayed by the American media: a meat and two sides. Growing up with her grandfather, Wanda developed habits that weren’t helpful to her health, including eating less fruits and vegetables, and learning to eat sweets. This was partially due to her grandfather insisting that such foods like fruits and vegetables were expensive, and it was partially because sugary foods were always available in her house because here grandfather preferred him.
Other family members were very opinionated about Wanda’s food habits. From a young age to present, a majority of her family insisted that being a vegetarian was not only cumbersome, but unhealthy. Like many other stereotypical Americans, Wanda’s family thought that animal meat was the best way to get the proper does of protein. They also believed that protein from fish was not good of a source of protein.
As she grew, her household had a shift similarly to the one presented in Shapiro’s “Something from the Oven”. Before the move in from her grandfather, most meals were home cooked, from fresh ingredients that were procured from the grocery store. After her grandfather moved in and her mother’s life got busier, they started to have more frozen meals, although they were considered unhealthy. As her life went on, the family seemed to accept frozen meals and they were no longer looked down upon by the household. This was because her grandfather preferred meat in his meals, while that presented a problem for Wanda. Her mother’s solution was to buy individually packaged meals in order to appease the diverse tastes in the household.
In her young adulthood, Wanda has found that her eating habits have expanded greatly. She was always praised in her house as being a “good little taster” and when she went to college she was open to all different types of food. Growing up she did not see sushi as anything other than raw fish, not to be consumed. When arriving at college, she discovered that she thoroughly enjoyed sushi.
In the summer between her sophomore and junior year Wanda had an experience that drastically altered the way she viewed food. Every year her family took a trip to Canada to fish and camp. Usually the fish were killed and cleaned by Wanda’s grandfather, but due to his deteriorating eyesight, he was unable to properly cut the fish. So for two weeks Wanda, a very empathetic animal lover, had to kill and gut fish. She was highly disturbed and started to contemplate why she ate fish but not other animals. Her mother insisted that it was because Jesus ate fish in the Bible and insisted that Wanda should continue. However, after watching several clips of Food, Inc., she decided that she did not want to promote the killing of fish in the food industry, and she became a full vegetarian.
Throughout her life she was always experiencing new food because her mother traveled frequently and took Wanda with her. She tried a variety of dishes from around the world, but there were a few rules her family adhered to when traveling. Most of these taboos were in keeping with the larger culture in which she grew up, for example her family never ate meat from animals they viewed as pets, they never ate raw meat, and they did not eat still living meat. They did have a few rules that they created themselves, like they didn’t eat meat from young animals (veil, lamb… ext.) because they did not want to be the reason and animal died so young in life, and they didn’t eat meat other than fish on Friday’s during Lent.
A distinct memory that Wanda had was when she ate dinner with her Godfather and Mother in a local Roman restaurant when her family traveled to Italy. She remembered being shocked that the only way they could get water was if they ordered a bottle of it. She also was surprised that most of the dishes on the menu were vegetarian, because in her experience of Americanized Italian food, most dishes had meat sauce. After the meal they got gelato from a local vendor and remarked at how light it tasted compared to ice cream.
Wanda, when thinking about that memory, realizes that food has become a bonding force for her. Food was an experience to be shared with the people closest to her. The comfort of old fashioned Italian food made her think of trips she took with her family. The sugary blend-chicke recipe her grandmother adapted from Poland when she came over reminds her of the large family gatherings at Christmas or family reunions. Food brings back reminders of experiences past. Her deviation between frozen, prepackaged meals and interesting higher end experiences made those meals where time and effort were put in stand out in her memory and reminds her of the people she shared those meals with.
After taking an ISS 310 class, several food culture changes took place. She has found that she drinks less soda and milk, as she no longer sees it as an equal option to water. She has discovered new meaning for her conviction to be a vegetarian, mostly due to the book Eating Animals. She has even affected other members of her family. While her grandfather is too set in his convictions to become a vegetarian, and thus her household will never become fully vegetarian in the near future. However, her mother now buys local eggs, and is personally cutting down on meat consumption. Wanda’s mother has even agreed to try to become a vegetarian after her grandfather has passed.
Wanda also found her fundamental view of food changed after taking the ISS class. She used to focus on her food wants, and not her food needs. She picked her meals based on her desires at that given moment, she didn’t think about what she was nutritionally putting into her body. After taking her class she has noticed that she likes to pick more whole food options, like salads. If she eats non-whole foods, she prefers food where she knows all of the ingredients, like pasta with tomato sauce.
Currently Wanda is a vegetarian, but not a pescitarian. She does not handle most spicy foods well as she does not enjoy the lasting burn of most foods, with the exception of wasabi because the burn doesn’t last as long as some other foods. Some of her favorite foods include Italian based dishes and vegetable beef tips. She finds her diet to consist mostly of processed foods because she is primarily fed through the dorm cafeterias. When she becomes more independent she would like to try to buy more local produce from farmers’ markets.
In Wanda’s life, she has used food to make connections with the people close to her. When eating, she uses her food to remember those experiences. Going forward she hopes to show how vegetarianism is a viable option for environmental and ethical solutions. For her, food needs to find a balance between delicious, memory making meals and a sustainable solution that moves away from processed foods.