Jean Anthelme Brillat

“Tell me what kind of food you eat, and I will tell you what kind of man you are,” or more simply “you are what you eat” is an aphorism by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin and his view on food as an expression of identity (Brillat-Savarin 68). Through what you eat, or do not, it symbolizes a person’s upbringing and customs. Food choices help create a culture that can be passed down for generations, inspiring peoples thoughts, ideas, customs, religions, and habits. Things that we say make us unique. Questlove, a musician and food enthusiast, is someone who sees his identity expressed through the history of food. He interviews New Orleans-based Chef Donald Link about his journey navigating through his food identity—how he views culture through …show more content…
He asks Link “there must be places where food isn’t really woven into the fabric of everyday life” (Questlove 101). Link realizes growing up he recognizing a food culture at home, but did not see it as a food business construction yet. His reference to the food industry brings in America’s lack of a stable food culture. Since both Link and Questlove have a strong identification to food, they can only assume other American, particular white Americans, do not because of their lack of an indefinable food culture. In particular, it is through the lacking culture of food that they believe the food industry is able to exploit white citizens, who see food as just a tool for survival. Journalist Michael Pollan in his book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, agrees with Link’s and Questlove’s judgment, adding that it also leaves them “vulnerable to the blandishment of the food scientist and the marketer for whom the omnivore’s dilemma is not so much a dilemma as an opportunity” (5). Since there is no food culture, certain American’s do not identify their identity by what they eat. As well as their lack of tradition and customs, makes them enable to feel inauthentic, creating many issues of appropriation and failure to understand the struggle Link and Wong face with

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