Inclusivity vs. Exclusivity in Food
I was recently at a talk on Chinese British food culture (please go and see some of the other talks at the British Library they are incredible) and Helen Tse said something that really stuck with me “there are many things in this world that divides us, but food brings us together”.
It’s taken me a while to pinpoint what it is that I hate — and surprisingly I don’t hate many things, but this is one of them — about the wellness industry. It’s the exclusion.
Brandolini’s Law
I’ll get over this writing when it’s out of my system, turning my focus to what I love which is food and teaching, but I will also write what comes naturally and for now this is it.
My writing in previous jobs has often been debunking myths: a copywriting whack-a-mole. Along with my natured personality this lends itself to a sarcastic style of writing, a loathing tone, that seeps out of the pages and drags you in even though you don’t necessarily want to be there. It’s why I try to intersperse my actual tone in places - the one I have around friends - with a joke to mould that loathing into charming self-deprecation (or so I tell myself).
What I’m trying to say is that tackling Brandolini’s law in writing is exhausting; it’s no fun and it comes across in a writer’s tone. This is common across nutrition debunking. It works well for search engine optimisation (SEO) and climbing the rankings on Google but I’m not sure how much it actually helps.
On the one hand tackling these wayward claims is important for breaking down myths that could negatively impact a person’s life, however by doing so it gives them an air of legitimacy. Debunking can take away from learning about topics that build knowledge up, rather than tearing it down. For all the energy boosting benefits touted in the name of wellness, it’s a draining place to be.
Exclusivity Sells
The wellness industry sells exclusivity. It’s inherently white, middle class and privileged because that’s the only group that has the entitlement to sell exclusivity. You can’t sell something that a lot of people don’t aspire to be.
I think exclusivity is something the fitness industry has broken down effectively in the last few years. The pandemic played a huge role in this, showing that exercises can be done at home, but couch to 5k was started in 1996. Where’s the couch to 5-a-day programme?
The wellness industry has remoulded itself again and again through marketing and products to sell the idea that if you have enough money you can better yourself with product X. If it didn’t work, it’s your fault, you didn’t use it in the right way. Oh actually we’ve just found product X doesn’t work without sunning your butthole and we’re always learning here at Sun Valley Inc.
What this exclusivity allows companies to do is gloss over other, weaker, parts of their product. If the science is looking a little shaky, or the price point is 50% more than competitors that’s okay because exclusivity.
Organic
Let’s take organic foods as an example. They can have lower pesticide residues and higher levels of phytonutrients than conventional foods, but that doesn’t mean they translate to health effects. Organic foods still use pesticides from an approved list; not that you’d know that because what isn’t advertised is as important as what is.
It’s no secret that organic foods cost significantly more. Only certain people are worthy enough to be able to afford the health benefits of organic, despite them being almost non-existent. Having organic foods in your cupboards is a status symbol, it feels nice to talk about at dinner parties. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter if the story given to the pedestalled product is true, it just needs to sound legitimate.
Inclusivity does not
As I said earlier I went to the Food Season at the British Library again this year. I could only attend one talk before I travelled and yet I’m grateful for that. I was able to sit in the same room with Andrew Wong, Angela Hui, Ken Hom, and Helen Tse, put my phone to one side and listen to them talk about food.
After an hour and a half of discussion I spontaneously met Marie from a cooking course I did at Leiths — Kin, her book on Caribbean cooking comes out next year please go and buy it she’s wonderful. And it’s a space that I have chosen to be in, that I want others to be in, which stands in stark contrast to other sections of the food industry who are able to make more money by selling the idea that less people should be included.
So indulge me in some dramatics for a second. I think the single biggest crime in food is exclusion and then monetizing that ostracization.
The idea that you can’t have a good life or full health because you don’t meet certain standards is abhorrent. Food breaks down so many barriers across society and has the ability to bring people closer together and share a common language.
I don’t understand why you would want to dismantle that.