Social Role of Food in Human Societies

2. Social Role of Food in Human Societies

Managed in the same way as hierarchical animal societies, in highly industrial societies food is also used as a loaded symbol to express notions of equality. The principle is the same as above, but its expression is reversed. Inviting someone to your table is a sign of friendship. This perception should not be misconstrued, it is driven by the same fundamental characteristics as dietary hierarchization in the dog. In the soldiers mess for example, diners are separated according to their rank. At wedding banquets, the seating plan is very important. Placements at the table usually respect hierarchical precedence. Just witness the embarrassment when a group of people sit down to eat after a work meeting when there is no seating plan.

On the other hand, it is good manners for employers to share a drink or a bite to eat with their employees to make it clear that there is not a huge social barrier.

In humans as in dogs, feeding has been ritualized to become a symbol of power or social glue.

Gifts are also a means of power. The person that receives is in debt and the acceptance of a gift is a gesture that can have great social significance. What woman would accept flowers or jewelry from just anyone who offered it, without feeling embarrassed? The gift binds the person who accepts it. One of the ways to possess the animal is to offer it a gift. The gift of food is often the scourge of zoo keepers who are unable to dissuade visitors from trying to give food to the animals they like. For animals, the gift is inevitably food and the stakes are non-acceptance.