Difference between revisions of "Atheism and food science"

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According to WebMD, cigarette smoking alters taste buds and impairs a person's sense of taste.<ref>[https://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20090821/cigarette-smoke-dulls-taste-buds Cigarette Smoking Dulls Taste], WebMD</ref>
 
According to WebMD, cigarette smoking alters taste buds and impairs a person's sense of taste.<ref>[https://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20090821/cigarette-smoke-dulls-taste-buds Cigarette Smoking Dulls Taste], WebMD</ref>
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So not only are the irreligious, smokers eating bland food in irreligious cultures, but their food is even blander due to their taste buds being adversely affected by smoking.
  
 
== Atheism, culinary arts, inspiration, innovation and science ==
 
== Atheism, culinary arts, inspiration, innovation and science ==

Revision as of 20:08, September 10, 2019

A food science laboratory

The Institute of Food Technologists defines food science as "the discipline in which the engineering, biological, and physical sciences are used to study the nature of foods, the causes of deterioration, the principles underlying food processing, and the improvement of foods for the consuming public".[1]

As can be seen below, despite the efforts of food scientists in irreligious cultures to develop more flavorful food, there have been a significant amount of irreligious cultures with bland food that is not exciting from a culinary point of view (See also: Atheism and science).

Soviet Union and bland food

Claude Lewis wrote in The Philadelphia Inquirer about the food is the former Soviet Union which had militant state atheism: "Many people in the Soviet Union have grown tired of institutionalized food in state-run cafeterias found at state-run cafeterias such as Stolovaya No. 22 and Stolovaya No. 23 where the menus seldom change and often lack variety. Most food in the Soviet Union is unimaginative, tasteless and bland."[2]

Irreligious Nordic countries and bland food

Sweden is one of the most atheistic countries in the world.[3]

Nordic food is often depicted as being bland.[4]

Nordic countries have high atheist/agnostic populations within them (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden).

Sweden is one of the most atheistic countries in the world and in secular Europe. The website adherents.com reported that in 2005 46 - 85% of Swedes were agnostics/atheists/non-believers in God.[5] Sweden also has the 3rd highest rate of belief in evolution as far as Western World nations.[6] Since World War II a majority of the most prominent and vocal defenders of the evolutionary position which employs methodological naturalism have been atheists and agnostics.[7]

Denmark has the highest rate of belief in evolution in the Western World.[8] In addition, in 2005 Denmark was ranked the third most atheistic country in the world and the website adherents.com reported that in 2005 43 - 80% of Danes are agnostics/atheists/non-believers in God.[9]

Finland was ranked the 7th most atheistic country in the world in 2005.[10] Finland has the 17th highest rate of belief in evolution in the Western World.[11]

Iceland is one of the most irreligious countries in the world according to Gallup International.[12] A Gallup International poll conducted in 2012 reported that 57% of Icelanders considered themselves "a religious person", 31% considered themselves "a non religious person", while 10% defined themselves as "a convinced atheist", which places Iceland in the top 10 atheist populations in the world.[13]

Nordic food is often depicted as being bland.[14]

Irreligious Britain and bland food

See also: British atheism

The Britain born new atheists Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins. The late Christopher Hitchens was known for his heavy drinking.[15] Please notice the utter lack of plates filled with tasty food on the table. See also: Britain and alcoholism

A Eurobarometer poll in 2010 reported that 37% of UK citizens "believed there is a God", 33% believe there is "some sort of spirit or life force" and 25% answered "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".[16] See also: British atheism

International food authority Andrew Zimmern said of Britain's food: “Twenty years ago the food of the British Isles was universally considered to be among the world’s worst—boring, bland and boiled.”[17]

(In the last 20 years, Britain has seen a large influx of immigrants many of whom eat spicier food. No doubt that is why Zimmern said "twenty years ago".)

See also: Why Does British Food Get Such A Bad Rap? We Examine

Irreligious Germany and bland food

Germany is one of the most atheistic countries in the world and the website adherents.com reported that 41-49% of Germans are agnostics/atheists/non-believers in God.[18]

Germany is one of the most atheistic countries in the world and the website adherents.com reports that 41-49% of Germans are agnostics/atheists/non-believers in God.[19]

Parlour Magazine reported about German food:

“ From a young age the German palate is adapted to enjoy the simple flavors of salt, wurst (sausage) and breadcrumbs, shunning anything too sweet, too spicy or too complex.

...I do occasionally enjoy a bit of spice and this is the dilemma. I grew up in a West Indian household led by my grandfather who was a chef, to say I was spoiled in terms of flavorful food would be an understatement. The pepper, the curry, the jerk – all flavors that fueled my youth and make me feel at home. How I survive in Germany, the land of bland, is a mystery to most who know me.[20]

”

Irreligion, Eastern Europe and flavorless food

Eastern Europe was under about 70 years of atheistic, Soviet communist rule (see also: Atheism and communism). For example, Albania was an atheist state from 1967 to 1991.

The Czech Republic, Estonia, and East Germany have some of the lowest levels of religious belief in secular Europe.

In 2005, the Czech Republic placed second in the world in alcohol consumption.[21] See also: Atheism and alcoholism

From a historical perspective, the Czechs have been characterised as "tolerant and even indifferent towards religion".[22] According to the 2011 census, 34.2% of the Czech population declared they had no religion, 10.3% was Roman Catholic and 10.2% followed other forms of religion both denominational and nondenominational. Furthermore, 45.2% of the population did not answer the question about religion.[23] From 1991 to 2001 and further to 2011 the adherence to Roman Catholicism decreased from 39.0% to 26.8% and then subsequently to 10.3%.[24]

Estonia is one of the least religious areas in the world. Merely 14% of the population declared religion an important part of their daily lives.[25]

The Guardian reported in 2012 about Eastern Germany:

“ A recent study called Beliefs About God Across Time and Countries found that 52.1% of people asked whether they believed in God identified themselves as atheists. This compared with only 10.3% in western Germany. Indeed, the survey was unable to find a single person under the age of 28 in eastern Germany who believed in God.[26] ”

The Maverick Traveler reports:

“ Eastern Europe isn’t known for its variety of exquisite dishes. Most of the dishes are a combination of three ingredients: bread, potatoes and meat. While it’s very hearty, it’s also very flavorless. If you’re there on a short trip or in the beginning of a more extended sojourn, you might find the food interesting and even exotic, but I can guarantee that you’ll quickly get tired of it.

Once you get tired of going out and eating bland local food, you’ll have two options: go to restaurants that serve international cuisine or cook your own food. The problem with the first option is that the international restaurant scene is rather limited in Eastern Europe.[27]

”

In recent years, Eastern/Central Europe have been experiencing desecularization (see: Central and Eastern Europe and desecularization).

Irreligion, smoking, altered taste buds and an impaired sense of taste

The irreligious are more frequently smokers (see: Irreligion and smoking).

According to WebMD, cigarette smoking alters taste buds and impairs a person's sense of taste.[28]

So not only are the irreligious, smokers eating bland food in irreligious cultures, but their food is even blander due to their taste buds being adversely affected by smoking.

Atheism, culinary arts, inspiration, innovation and science

See also: Atheism, culinary arts, inspiration, innovation and food science

ECPI University on the culinary arts and inspiration, innovation and science

John Updike wrote: "Among the repulsions of atheism for me has been its drastic un-interestingness as an intellectual position. Where was the ingenuity, the ambiguity, the humanity...of saying that the universe just happened to happen and that when we're dead we're dead?".[29] See: Atheism and inspiration

ECPI University in their article Inspiring Culinary Quotes for Future Chefs states: "When you’re studying the culinary arts there are going to be long hours and lots of time on your feet. If you need some inspiration while you work, here are some quotes from famous chefs about food, cooking, and the love of the kitchen." [30]

Below are some of the quotes from the ECPI University article[31]:

"This is my advice to people: Learn how to cook, try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun." Julia Child, who hosted a well-known television cooking show[32]

"The kitchen's a laboratory, and everything that happens there has to do with science. It's biology, chemistry, physics. Yes, there's history. Yes, there's artistry. Yes, to all of that. But what happened there, what actually happens to the food is all science." - Alton Brown

"I think the most effective way to run a kitchen is to teach, not to just yell." - Tom Colicchio

"Cooking is like fashion. Always, I like to try to change. If I'm traveling in a different country - to Australia, the Bahamas, Budapest, Moscow - and I see a new ingredient, I like to try it in a new dish." - Nobu Matsuhisa

"My grandfather gave me inspiration to cook, and love food and flavors. My Aunt Raffie, gave me creativity and the inspiration to create new things. My mother inspires me to find simplicity in food." - Giada De Laurentiis

Atheism and inspiration/innovation/science

Below are articles relation to atheism and the topics of: inspiration, innovation, the ability to get along with others and science:

Atheism and inspiration/innovation/ability to get along with others

Atheist Jerry Coyne said about atheist meetings: "But to me the speakers and talks have often seemed repetitive: the same crew of jet-set skeptics giving the same talks."[33] Coyne also said about the atheist meetings which he attended that quite a few of the talks were lame.[34]

Atheism and science

French food

See also: French atheism

On July 14, 1789, the Bastille was stormed by a mob and its prisoners freed, which is regarded as the start of the French Revolution.

Due to its past, namely the anti-clerical French Revolution and its after effects, in 2005 France had the 8th highest rate of atheism in the world with 43–54% of the population being atheists/agnostics/non-believers in God.[35] In 2010, in a Eurobarometer poll,[36] 27% of French respondents answered "I believe there is a God", 27% answered "I believe there is some sort of spirit or life force", and 40% answered "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".

The French are well-known for their culinary achievements.[37]

The website Cultural Front notes:

“ In chapter 6 of Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell highlights cultural legacies. He opens with disturbing descriptions of how longstanding cultural patterns and beliefs influenced violent conflicts among generations of families in Kentucky during the 19th century.

The compelling research findings concerning long-term and deeply held values led Gladwell to the conclusion that cultural legacies are powerful forces. They have deep roots and long lives. They persist, generation after generation, virtually intact, even as the economic and social demographic conditions that spawned them have vanished, and they play such a role in directing attitudes and behavior that we cannot make sense of our world without them. He goes on to note the possibilities of “taking cultural legacies seriously” in order to learn “why people succeed and how to make people better.”[38]

”

The French Revolution occurred in 1789.

A compelling argument can be made that France had a longstanding culinary tradition before it became significantly irreligious. And cultural changes happen slow.

French cooking, religious immigrants and French cuisine

French scholars say, evangelicalism is likely the fastest-growing religion in France – defying all stereotypes about one of Europe's most secular nations. In 2011 alone, the number of evangelical churches increased from 769 to 2,068.[39]

See also: Desecularization and Growth of global desecularization

France has had a significant amount of Islamic and evangelical immigrants in recent years. Many of France's immigrants are from former French colonies in Africa and Asia. According the Seattle Times article French cuisine, shaped by the immigrant experience, immigration is having an influence on French cuisine.[40]

In April 2010, the British academic and agnostic Eric Kaufmann declared that "the rate of secularisation has flattened to zero in most of Protestant Europe and France."[41]

On July 12, 2012, the Christian Science Monitor reported:

“ French scholars say, evangelicalism is likely the fastest-growing religion in France – defying all stereotypes about Europe’s most secular nation...

Daniel Liechti, vice-president of the French National Evangelical Council, found that since 1970, a new evangelical church has opened in France every 10 days. The number of churches increased from 769 to 2,068 last year.[42]

”

Recent improvement in France's dining experiences

Paris street photo of a man smoking.

The irreligious are more frequently smokers (see: Irreligion and smoking).

Many people feel that smoking in restaurents detracts from the dining experience.

Tourists visiting France often cite smoking as the first culture shock they experience.[43] A survey by travel website Tripadvisor reported that users found that France was by far the "smokiest" country in the world.[44] During the French Revolution, smoke filled Paris cafés turned into centers of lively political discussion and activity, often led by members of the Revolutionary clubs.[45][46]

In 2006, France banned smoking in public places.[47]

Chinese cuisine

Chinese food is popular in many countries and there are a lot of Chinese people who emmigrated to other countries and established Chinese restaurants (although the food found in many Chinese restaurants outside of China is altered in order to adopt to their local patrons palates).

The Chinese civilization has existed for thousands of years and has both a history of religion/irreligion (see: Religion in China). State atheism did not occur in China until 1949. Much of what was written about French cuisine above in terms of cultural change could be applied to Chinese cuisine.

China has been experiencing an explosive growth of Christianity (see: Growth of Christianity in China).

Irreligious countries with bland food and a religious past

Mexican chefs preparing a meal

See also: Atheism and arrogance and Atheism and intelligence

Atheists have a reputation for arrogance (see: Atheism and arrogance). For example, many atheists have given themselves pretentious monikers such as freethinker, rationalist and "bright" (see: Atheists and pretentious monikers and Brights Movement). In addition, many atheists also engage in scientism and don't recognize the limitations of science.

Given how many atheists/"freethinkers" claim how "free" and how intelligent they are, the lack of more flavorful food in irreligious cultures certainly cannot be blamed on their religious ancestors - especially given all the progress made by food scientists and chefs in recent years when it comes to creating excellent culinary experiences. For example, while British atheists are settling for bland and unimaginative food, there are religious, Mexican chefs creating wonderful dining experiences.

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Heldman, Dennis R. "IFT and the Food Science Profession." Food Technology. October 2006. p. 11.
  2. ↑ Making A Beef About Soviet Food
  3. ↑ Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics(Zuckerman, 2005)
  4. ↑ http://www.npr.org/2013/11/13/244600582/new-nordics-cool-but-old-scandinavian-food-holds-its-own
  5. ↑ Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics(Zuckerman, 2005)
  6. ↑ Photo: Evolution Less Accepted in U.S. Than Other Western Countries, Study Finds
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ Photo: Evolution Less Accepted in U.S. Than Other Western Countries, Study Finds
  9. ↑ Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics(Zuckerman, 2005)
  10. ↑ Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics(Zuckerman, 2005)
  11. ↑ Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics(Zuckerman, 2005)
  12. ↑ "Iceland Ranks High on World Atheist List". Iceland Review. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  13. ↑ "GLOBAL INDEX OF RELIGION AND ATHEISM" (PDF).
  14. ↑ http://www.npr.org/2013/11/13/244600582/new-nordics-cool-but-old-scandinavian-food-holds-its-own
  15. ↑ Christopher Hitchens: Despite Cancer, I'd Drink & Smoke Again
  16. ↑ Special Eurobarometer, biotechnology, p. 204". Fieldwork: Jan-Feb 2010.
  17. ↑ Five myths about British food
  18. ↑ Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics(Zuckerman, 2005)
  19. ↑ Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics(Zuckerman, 2005)
  20. ↑ Black in Berlin: Surviving Germany’s Food Culture, Parlour Magazine
  21. ↑ Czech alcohol consumption figures highlight rising number of problem drinkers, 23-02-2011 16:29 | Chris Johnstone
  22. ↑ Richard Felix Staar, Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, Issue 269, p. 90
  23. ↑ Richard Felix Staar, Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, Issue 269, p. 90
  24. ↑ Population by denomination and sex: as measured by 1921, 1930, 1950, 1991 and 2001 censuses (Czech and English). Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved on 2010-03-09.
  25. ↑ Estonians least religious in the world. EU Observer (11 February 2009). Retrieved on 9 January 2014.
  26. ↑ Eastern Germany: the most godless place on Earth
  27. ↑ 13 Things They Don’t Tell You About Eastern Europe by James Maverick, Maverick Treveler
  28. ↑ Cigarette Smoking Dulls Taste, WebMD
  29. ↑ Updike, John (1989). Self-Consciousness: Memoirs (New York, NY: Knopf), ch. 4.
  30. ↑ Inspiring Culinary Quotes for Future Chefs, ECPI University
  31. ↑ Inspiring Culinary Quotes for Future Chefs, ECPI University
  32. ↑ Inspiring Culinary Quotes for Future Chefs, ECPI University
  33. ↑ Are there too many atheist meetings? by Jerry Coyne
  34. ↑ Are there too many atheist meetings? by Jerry Coyne
  35. ↑ Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics(Zuckerman, 2005)
  36. ↑ Eurobarometer report on Biotechnology (2010). Archived from the original on 15 December 2010.
  37. ↑ A Brief Introduction to French Food and Cooking BY Rebecca Franklin
  38. ↑ Outliers & Cultural Legacies
  39. ↑ In a France suspicious of religion, evangelicalism's message strikes a chord
  40. ↑ French cuisine, shaped by the immigrant experience, Seattle Times
  41. ↑ British academic Eric Kaufmann says "the rate of secularisation has flattened to zero in most of Protestant Europe and France". Also, Kaufmann writes that secularism "appears exhausted and lacking in confidence"
  42. ↑ In a France suspicious of religion, evangelicalism's message strikes a chord
  43. ↑ The French and smoking: Is France really 'Europe's chimney'
  44. ↑ The French and smoking: Is France really 'Europe's chimney'
  45. ↑ Fierro, Alfred (1996). Histoire et dictionnaire de Paris. Robert Laffont. p. 743. ISBN 2-221-07862-4.
  46. ↑ French revolution in cafe society
  47. ↑ What You Need to Know About Smoking in France
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