We Are What We Eat

Just as our eyes are the doors to our hearts, our refrigerators can act as the doors not only to our stomachs but also to our lifestyles. So, I must wonder: what do they tell about the consumers of today’s society? Mark Menjivar asked himself the same question and decided to begin a photography project in order to answer it and the result is a multi-page spread in the current issue of Orion magazine. The spread features refrigerators owned by a wide variety of American consumers, including bachelors, businessmen, families, and even a midwife and teacher. The refrigerators reveal many things about their owners’ diets and ways of living and shed light on our American culture and modern-day cuisine. They suggest that many of us often eat out of cartons and Styrofoam to-go containers because of either our laziness or busy lifestyles. However, they also illustrate the recent tendency toward local and organic eating, meaning that despite the fact that our society has gotten itself stuck in the rut of industrialism and convenience, many of us are attempting to dig ourselves out of it. Before even reading the brief captions underneath Menjivar’s photographs, I merely looked at them and could guess at what type of person owned each refrigerator and for the most part I was right. So, this leads me to the personal question of what does my family’s refrigerator and kitchen in general reveal? Well, first one would notice the various juices (orange, apple, and usually some berry mix) and inevitable gallon container of 1% milk in the right door shelf. Below them, one would then find the condiments on the next shelf (fat-free/low cal dressings, jellies, and many salsas. Further inside, one would most likely notice the large variety of salad ingredients and items for making sandwiches (deli meat, sliced cheese). Moving on to the freezer behind the left side door, one would immediately discover my family’s obsession with Dryer’s Light Ice Cream and the shelf of my sister’s diet frozen meals (Lean Cuisines and Weight Watchers products). If one wanted to know even more about how my family eats, one could merely open the pantry behind the door right beside the fridge. There, one would instantly notice both the absence of snack foods and the abundant selection of cereal. Oh, and don’t forget the 99% fat free popcorn. And to complete the journey to discover my family’s habits, one need only open the cabinet next to the kitchen sink to find our sore spot: tea. Chamomile tea, herbal tea, flavored tea, black tea, green tea, and even white tea (along with the choice of caffeinated or non-caffeinated). So, needless to say, one could learn many things about my family by the items in our kitchen. And now I must ask the question to everyone: what does your refrigerator reveal about how you live? I urge you to take the time to analyze this because it most likely will lead to great insight into who you are as an individual. At least, it did for me.