Perhaps TV Dinner is now replaced by Gadget dinner. Just look around. I have seen (In Indonesia) where children watch cartoons through the cell phone, while being fed.
Do you have TV dinner or ever heard of this term? Its Dinner that you eat while watching TV. And you do not cook it. It is mostly processed food that is heated and then eaten. According to this essay by Jaanam Jaswani,this is linked to industrial capitalism.
She further wrote that processed foods have been shown to increase levels of obesity, diabetes, cancers, and a myriad of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Yet, instead of alleviating the source of these health complications, the (food) industry has found a way to profit from it; eating away at the average American’s wages by further encouragement to ingest diet pills and medication. There is considerable evidence that TV dinners and similar foods cause substantial repercussions to mental health.
Jaswani’s Survey is based on the American Lifestyle. But it is catching up in many parts of the world. I have seen many families that do not cook meals at home. They do not eat processed food, but cooked food bought from the myriad food stalls in Indonesia. The impact may be similar yet different. The food is less processed but cooked using sauces and condiments that are made with additives such as preservative, monosodium glutamate, added sugar and colour. The health impacts are similar.
It is interesting to look further into the impact of industrial capitalism on how families cook and eat (or no longer do so), on the physical and mental health impacts.
Perhaps TV Dinner is now replaced by Gadget dinner. Just look around. I have seen (In Indonesia) where children watch cartoons through the cell phone, while being fed. And everyone is busy watching their gadget while eating out as a family in a restaurant.
In Indonesia, gadget dinner is not always frozen food, but food bought from small food stalls or warung. While it is healthier, it still carries food additives and unsafe oils. The freshness is also questionable. Ordering food from restaurants and warungs is now made easier with the online transportation. Just a click away. While this is helpful when one is busy working, if done on a regular basis, we might have a health problem soon. And, the culture of cooking may be jeopardized. A family that cooks together will remain healthy.
TV-Dinners-and-Industrial-Capitalism-in-the-USA
