The hidden agenda behind the pervasiveness of "sucrose"

         Reading the first section of Sweetness and Power, I realized how we take certain aspects of our lives for granted it and do not question the socially constructed practices that have been occupied and enticed our being. One of these social practices are our daily diet.  We are aware that every culture has their own unique cuisine. However, we rarely question the fact that some food supplements exist almost in every culture. Those main supplements include sugar and salt, for example. We often justify that we use salt because it taste good or otherwise the food would be tasteless. Similarly, we use sugar because we crave for it. We rarely pay attention to the hidden agenda of universalizing these food supplements. It is worth questioning what really contributed to the pervasiveness of sugar and salt? Sugar has been around for millennia but what has changed in these two last centuries that they became one of the significant and main ingredients of our diet? Mintz (1985) provides answer to all these questions through an intellectually stimulating and thought provocative thesis. He reveals that how European and American exploited the slave crops by transforming sugar, a rare substance, to an ordinary and basic food of modern society that soon became part of individuals daily diet. The larger the demand grew, the bigger the exploitation got.  The new crave and thirst for sugar motivated the supply and demand chain further and transformed the history of capitalism and industry. Mintz argues that we might feel we have an innate crave for sugar. However, it is not as simple as it seems. The West played a significant role dragging this sweet supplement into our lives.

Mintz artfully explains the role of culture influencing our food habit. However, he also complains about changing food habits. He explicates, "We appear to be capable of eating (and liking) just about anything that is not immediately toxic". I think what he really referring is the dynamic change of world since globalization and flow of migration.  People are exposed to different food. For example, from the place I am coming from I would have never touched if I saw "Guacamole" back home with the way it appears and the way it tastes. However, being in a country where everybody loves it makes it more appetizing. In fact, it turned out to be one of my favourite sauces. I totally agree with Mintz as he talks about good food bing social than biological matter. If it was not social, we wouldn't be able to adapt a new dietary into our meal schedule. However, I would like to also point out that in today's modern life though sugar is largely used and is our favourite; there is some restrictions to its use. For example, the modern life also emphasize on body shape and health. When we talk about sugar, there are certain things that we need to address. For example, obesity, diabetes, teeth decay and a popular demand for the skinny body, especially for women are the topics that are mainly attached to sugar. Some of these are also the legacy of capitalism. I look forward to discussing these issues in class.