Food, culture and hospitality

Food is more than a collection of nutrients. A common need to meet certain fundamental conditions for survival is shared by human beings all round the world. One of these needs is securing an adequate diet, which will provide energy and the various nutrients necessary for metabolic functioning. To meet these nutritional requirements thousands of different foodstuffs and combinations are used to achieve the same end-that of survival. Food, not only is had to satisfy …

…for individual survival. Maslow himself says: 'for the man who is extremely and dangerously hungry, no other interests exist, but food. He dreams of food, he remembers food, he thinks foods; he emotes only about food, he perceives only food, he wants only food'. Food can be nutritious but not satisfying and is a part of a cultural economy in which material consideration like survival and security are meditated by a philosophical or moral framework.