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Having just finished “The Dorito Effect” by Mark Schatzker, I am hungry…but a new kind of hungry. I want barred rock chicken. This book is a great read for its tone, and the journey that the author has been on for years (Mark’s first book is entitled “Steak”) trying to uncover the human condition and its relationship with food and flavour.
The Dorito Effect, very simply, is what happens when food gets blander and flavor technology gets better. (Schatzker, 17)
You’d be interested in this book if you’re a foodie (Mark provides an excellent definition of you), or are interested in why you can’t stop eating certain foods. However, I am interested in how it relates to education. You see, there are pieces in this book that address how food impacts one’s mood, one’s ability to think clearly, and feel good about one’s self. In a word, this book is about food’s connection to “wellness”.
Many educators are looking for ways to support the learning of our students, and food is certainly a great place to start. The rules of flavour, according to Mark are:
- Human’s are flavor-seeking animals. The pleasure provided by food, which we experience as flavor, is so powerful that only the most strong willed among us can resist it.
- In nature, there is an intimate connection between flavor and nutrition
- Synthetic flavor technology not only breaks that connection, it also confounds it. (Shatzker, 157)
There is a connection between flavor and nutrition for good reasons: they not only provide the nutrients that we require and crave, but good food, natural food satiates our appetite. After a great meal, which Mark is fortunate above to enjoy more than anyone I know, we feel light, we feel clear headed, and we feel more clear in our thinking.
What interests me here, is that many schools have started to elaborate and strengthen the connection between food and learning. For example, Stephen Ritz is integrating the understanding of food, commerce and entrepreneurship with learning. This is a fascinating Ted Talk to watch.
His work with the Green Bronx Machine is truly outstanding. Its mission:
Healthy children are at the heart of healthy schools, and healthy schools are at the heart of resilient communities.
How else might we integrate the knowledge and understanding of the history of what we eat, and how it impacts us daily, and in the long run, to our students? Is there a connection to Science class? Yes. Is there a connection to Phys Ed.? Yes. Is there a connection to any teacher advisor program? Absolutely. Is there a connection to our how we can better connect the school with home? Yes.
So pick up this book, and stop thinking about education as inside the classroom, and begin to think of it as inside the cafeteria, at the breakfast, lunch and dinner tables.