This was not designed with intention by anyone, yet it works like a system. The mom pours another spoon before we finish the one in front of us. The party believes that the amount of food we eat decides our respect for the host.
The family function where when we decide to push a food aside, aside it means something about that food. They always told us to eat because if we refuse, we are signaling that something is wrong or broken.
Well, these were some of the things I have seen around, and I also grew up with them. Before I noticed it, food stopped being about hunger. And it became something I reached out to when the news was too heavy, when conversation got difficult. That is not a weakness, though. Though I don't do it to everyone, just close people I know.
And this is exactly what happens when we have been told that eating is how we show approval to those who we love and belong to.
The food industry as well is not left out because they also deserve their own share of criticism. Their branding, the additional sugar that always makes everything feel unnatural. And some of these deeper designs, especially in this country, have outgrown any corporation.
But long before anyone had a marketing budget, it had been built into some kitchens, if not all. Hunger is normal and simple, but those things that surround it are never simple.
Thank you for reading.
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