Food the orginal social network

Whether we are in South East Asia sitting around a table outside, or in Siberia, huddled in a cabin around a fire, there is a good chance groups of people will be sitting around a meal. Food is at the heart of what drives human experience and evolution. Food is at the center of community, food creates community. Without food there is no community, there’s no population growth. Think about how many times you’ve been invited to a social gathering with friends, at the center of that gathering is usually food. Most major holidays center around food. Birthdays, thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, all are about food.

Ancestrally food has been the heartbeat of community. In hunter gatherer populations food becomes the main objective and everything else about culture, relationships, art, and family structure arises from food. Food is the original social network, it brings people together in celebrations, times of hardship, and in daily life. Food has started wars and ended wars, and will continue to drive the human species in a multitude of ways into perpetuity. No one wants to go to a dinner party that’s serving TV dinners, that takes zero thought, preparation, or skill. People want to go to a dinner that requires work, it shows that consideration was taken and love was put into the meal. Think about a Michelin Star restaurant, people go there because the chef is creating meaningful dishes that make a lasting impression on the patrons. Before mass agriculture and fast food, people had to put skill and time into food. You couldn’t make dinner an afterthought, and put something into the microwave at the end of a long day. Food bonds us together, it is the glue that holds community, and the further we stray from real food and meals, and move into a world of ultra processed meal kits and 3D printed food, the more our society breaks down.

Food is a cerebral physiological experience unlike anything else in our world, don’t fall victim to time saving convenience, it will only harm in the long term community structure of not only the immediate family structure, but society at large. Not to mention lack of nutrition driving poor health outcomes that further degrade society. Real unadulterated food, void of technological advancements is at the center of our 300,000 year human evolution. Remember it, feel it, use it, to connect back in to what makes us uniquely human. Use it to create meaningful relationships with family, friends, or foes.