The Journey of Food
By Ladka Kurzrock
ou are what you eat! What
distinguishes us as human from
the animal world is our
emotional connection with food. It’s about creating, exploring, discovering, preparing, and changing our food. Food is love, starting from our mother’s milk at the very beginning to our grandmother’s Sunday cake. Through food we connect and share love with others. Food allows us to utilize our multiple senses ( smell, sight, taste ) which creates deep memories of special and meaningful moments in our lives. Food is who we are, it’s our culture where we come from, it’s a part of our identity. Food gives us a sense of belonging to the community, it builds up connections with our family and loved ones.
The United Nations recognized the importance of food in a culture context. It declared it as an intangible culture heritage of humanity which needs to be safeguarded and celebrated. UNESCO values food and its preparation passed on from generation to generation, the interaction with nature, the continuity through the history, it recognizes that food provides us with a sense of identity. It highlights the cultural diversity and a human creativity. There are currently 23 culinary foods protected by UNESCO from around the globe. Let’s name a few.
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