The special of the day.....

This blog takes a look at how urbanization has changed the diets of many urban dwellers. It looks deeper into the preference of fast food and all the other aspects that arise from this "urban diet."

1) Picture of KFC outlet: taken February 5th 2014
 One has to wonder if Colonel Sanders ever thought, while selling chicken in his roadside outlet in Kentucky, that his secret recipe of 11 well blended herbs and spices would be so "finger licking" irresistible to many today. In this picture we see a small group of young men enjoying a KFC meal of crispy fried chicken, french fries and sweet carbonated drinks . In the background we also see a small family of a different ethnicity doing just the same. It is also an insight into a lifestyle. A lifestyle created as an end product of urbanization, gripping many urbanites in Trinidad today. In this photo we see the iconic face of the colonel taking the place of "nana , gran gran or mummy" in the kitchen. One of the many new chefs recommended as a result of our urban lifestyle. In this picture I see globalization, economics, health and family values all being transformed as a result of our changing urbanized diets. A glimpse of the future can be seen, as children are maturing in this time of civilization where urban food is given preference over a plate of home cooked meal

According to Hall and Barrett (2012) we are living an in urbanized world. Today, most of the world's populace are urban dwellers, with immense and continuous growth seen within the global south. In 2010 a total of 14% of Trinidad's total population lived in urban areas with an estimated annual increase of 3% (Barrientos and Soria 2013). This increased population has seen the transformation of Port of Spain and its surrounding environs, as the central hub for economic activity and commerce. Urbanization in Trinidad has fueled a  new lifestyle, an urban lifestyle where trinis are no longer apart of the city, but rather the city has become the creation of our expression. With all these factors coming into play it is becoming rarer to find family members creating memories in the kitchen, chattering away about how their day went, or the hottest "comess" of the day over a slow cooked home meal. With our fast pace lives evolving from urbanization, the way we eat has also altered with an increasing intake of fast food. We are seeing the emergence of "an urban diet".

Urbanization has changed the way we eat, the type of foods we consume.With increased disposable income due to increased economic development, the hustle and bustle of "maxi wars" and endless strings of traffic on the highway, Trinidadians are now turning to fast food. There are 53 KFC outlets in Trinidad alone (kfc 2013). We have moved away from the so called traditional "old school" ways of meal preparation and have moved into an era where efficiency is key. 

But what are the implications for countries such as Trinidad? Is increased urbanization simply going to make us carbon copies of the "ideal type city"? Will future generations still love and embrace their trini flavors? Or, as postmodern urbanization is ever changing will we return to stirring the pot ourselves?

References

Barrientos, Miguel and Claudia Soria. 2013. "Index Mundi." Accessed February 3, 2013. http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/trinidad-and-tobago/urban-population.

Hall, Tim and Heather Barrett. 2012. Urban Geography. USA: Routledge.

kfc. 2013. "kfc so good." Accessed February 2, 2013. http://kfc-tt.com/.