Living and Eating in a Multicultural Society

During the 20th century, humankind went through the most significant changes in history, from industrial and agricultural revolutions to the invention of the personal computers and the internet, and changes continue to come at an even faster rate. One of notable change is emerging multicultural societies. People tended to live in a monocultural society and new cultures were infused in controlled and confined manners, however, people now live and eat in a continuously changing multicultural society Multicultural societies are emerged from the translocation of people (immigration) and, in a larger sense, globalization. Immigrants are faced with various and different cultures from their own, resulting in excitements and agonies in finding balance among many cultures. People who have not translocated themselves must also deal with various imported foreign cultures from fastfood restaurants to food beliefs. This lecture will use Korean Americans as an example to discuss how immigrants navigate different cultures and environments and how acculturation, the process of adaptation, affects their diet and health. In addition, how globalization has changed people's eatery will be briefly discussed. Understanding impacts of living and eating in a multicultural society is meaningful and useful to find effective approaches to promote healthy lifestyles to people in this fast changing times.