Molly Farris

Response Paper #2
In his article, Me, Myself, and the Others, E.M. Anderson has three main points: food and
identity, food and location, and food and politics. He explains we dont just eat to eat; we eat to
connect with ourselves and the world around us. Enrique Salmon uses a short anecdote from his
past to go farther in depth on the basic thoughts Anderson has discussed. He explains that in his
culture people use food to connect to their roots, to their home and how we are politically
involved.
Andersons first connection is food and identity. He explains that Food as communication finds
most of its applications in the process of defining ones individuality and ones place in society.
Majority of what people eat is found in their culture as displayed by Enrique Salmon. Salmon
stated in his chapter In My Grandmothers Kitchen, The richest memories of my family are
associated with plants. For example, Salmon connects with his identity and his culture through
traditional foods and agriculture connected with his family and tribe. We use food as form of
connecting with out culture and our family. Salmon explains, My identity and culture as a
Mexican is reaffirmed whenever I eat tamales. Just one simple food can make a person feel
more pride for their culture, like Salmon explained with his families tamales.
The second connection is food and location. Anderson2 explains, People identify themselves in
terms of localitywe are consuming geographies. Salmon spends most of his chapter talking
about traditions that is family still has. He connects his food with a location by saying, Of
course, we ate our family version of tacos, tostadas, burritos, and other northern Mexican
cuisine. If you were to ask someone what their favorite food is, one would most likely get the
response of Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Japanese, etc. People connect food with location, as
displayed by Salmon and Anderson.

Molly Farris
The third connection that Anderson makes is food and politics. He explains, Even political
ideologies have their food cultures. Salmon also believes that eating is a political act. He notes,
Through our choices to eat locally or to eat food that has traveled 2,000 miles to reach our
grocers shelves, we support a process. Everyone that eats, support a process to make our food
and get it to our tables. For some it may be more local and family grown like it was for Salmon.
To grow our food there has to be laws followed and inspections done so we are theoretically a
part of a major political act.