Our food habits have changed over the years, with our diets becoming almost distorted when compared to those of our ancestors. The way food is prepared and eaten has seen a dramatic change in recent years.
While convenience is a huge selling point, our eating habits, preferences, and attitudes have changed. Factors like income, food prices, individual preferences and beliefs, and cultural traditions have all influenced changes in our food patterns. Modern-day fast food or convenience foods, along with dine-out, are increasingly becoming popular all over the world.
Many people even started thinking that convenience food would become prevalent and eventually replace traditional foods and their traditional methods of preparation. They argue that traditional food is a generational issue because food taste, technique, and availability evolve.
However, for me, traditional food brings out a sense of comfort and belonging. I say it because every bite of it carries a story. It talks in volume about the people who created them! It’s not just about taste but about love, care, and tradition that have been passed down through generations. It brings people together and makes celebrations special!
I still remember the joy of gathering around the table, especially during festivals or special occasions. The aroma and taste of those dishes, the laughter, and the chatter are memories that stay with me forever. Traditional food is not just about eating; it’s about celebrating togetherness.
Furthermore, traditional food is often closely tied to the local environment and the resources available in a specific region, representing a connection to the land, the seasons, and the natural resources that sustain a community.
The food that we used to eat was well-balanced and loaded with a good proportion of healthy fat, carbs, and fiber in good quantity, as compared to the food eaten now. We should not forget the fact that most modern-day diseases relate to our food habits.
Unfortunately, many of those traditional foods are disappearing from our food tables! Even the recipes passed down through generations and served as a way to preserve and celebrate cultural identity are missing today!
Till a few decades ago, the lifestyles of humans were primarily focused on growing vegetables, crops, and hunting animals and consuming them in accordance with their needs. They used to toil a lot, which kept their bodies running, and therefore they were healthy and rarely encountered any disease.
With modernisation, things have changed. Humans began to employ machines to do most of the work while he could just sit comfortably and command them to do it. This alluring lifestyle comes with its own perils, the biggest of which is health.
Today's fast life can't afford to spare much time for cooking. Today’s young generation asks why they should bother spending hours cooking when they can head to the supermarket and buy everything ready-made.
But one thing they forget is the nutrient value of traditional foods. It cannot be compared with ready-to-eat food, even though many of these processed foods are similar in appearance and flavor to those of the traditional diet.
So, let’s start learning to cook in an attempt to preserve our traditional recipes. Let’s also cherish it, let’s savor it, and most importantly, let’s pass it on to the next generation.
After all, traditional food is a delicious link to our past, a joyful celebration of our present, and a precious legacy for our future!
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