Family, the street, work, the loneliness of man and animals,
food is a preciously all-encompassing element.
Be it necessity or pleasure, sociability or compulsive consumption,
it is not just about the body, but also nourishment for the soul.
It marks belonging to a group, to a social class, to a geographical area.
Over the centuries food has changed its shape, substance, role, without every
straying too far from its origins of a primal instinct, becoming today,
in its various forms, an increasingly cumbersome presence
that cannot be ignored.

Foodies

Family, the street, work, the loneliness of man
and animals, food is a preciously all-encompassing
element. Be it necessity or pleasure, sociability or
compulsive consumption, it is not just about
the body, but also nourishment for the soul.
It marks belonging to a group, to a social class,
to a geographical area.
Over the centuries food has changed its shape,
substance, role, without every straying too far from
its origins of a primal instinct, becoming today,
in its various forms, an increasingly
cumbersome presence that cannot be ignored.

"In short, if your trolley is empty and the others full,
you can stand up to a certain point: then envy takes over,
anguish, and you can't resist any more. So Marcovaldo, having recommended
to his wife and children not to touch anything, quickly turned to an aisle between
the shelves, vanished from view of his family and,
having taken a box of dates from a shelf, placed it in his cart.
He just wanted to experience the pleasure of carrying it around for ten minutes,
flaunting his purchases just like the others did, before putting the item back again.
This box, and a red bottle of hot sauce, a bag of coffee, and a blue packet
of spaghetti.
Marcovaldo was sure that, in doing so gently, for at least fifteen minutes
he could savour the joy of people who know how to choose their items,
without having to pay any money. But who betide him if the kids saw it!
Soon, they would start to imitate him and who knows what a mess
would have been created!".

(Italo Calvino, Marcovaldo at the supermarket

"In short, if your trolley is empty
and the others full, you can stand up
to a certain point: then envy takes over, anguish,
and you can't resist any more.
So Marcovaldo, having recommended to his wife
and children not to touch anything, quickly turned
to an aisle between the shelves, vanished from view
of his family and, having taken a box of dates
from a shelf, placed it in his cart.
He just wanted to experience the pleasure
of carrying it around for ten minutes,
flaunting his purchases just like the others did,
before putting the item back again.
This box, and a red bottle of hot sauce, a bag
of coffee, and a blue packet of spaghetti.
Marcovaldo was sure that, in doing so gently,
for at least fifteen minutes he could savour the joy
of people who know how to choose their items,
without having to pay any money.
But who betide him if the kids saw it!
Soon, they would start to imitate him
and who knows what a mess would have been created!".

Where will it all end?
Is there any communication or entertainment or social format that
has not yet been commandeered by the ravenous gastrimarge
for his own gluttonous purpose?
Does our cultural "food madness", as the New York Times columnist Frank Rich
suggests, tip into "food psychosis"?
Might it not, after all, be a good idea to worry more about what we put into
our minds than what we put into our mouths?

(Steven Poole, The Guardian)

Where will it all end?
Is there any communication or entertainment or
social format that has not yet been commandeered
by the ravenous gastrimarge
for his own gluttonous purpose?
Does our cultural "food madness",
as the New York Times columnist Frank Rich
suggests, tip into "food psychosis"?
Might it not, after all, be a good idea to worry more
about what we put into our minds
than what we put into our mouths?