Labour

03-10-2011

Cooking is a part of feeding ourselves which is necessary for survival throughout our lives. I believe this is what makes us consider cooking as a form of labour. Green (1968) demonstrates this in what I consider almost a poetic way, stating "the gathering of nourishment, however, it is not only necessary; it is also endless. Once done, it must be done again. Answering as it does to the requirements of life itself, it can only end with the end of life".


When I cook it is both for the need and the want. My flatmates and I need  to eat to survive and therefore there must be a meal provided. The want  then comes with what I decide to cook, we could live off very basic meals however our wants make us purchase and prepare food we cosider desirable.


Another quote from Green (1968) that interests me is "the food gatherer, however, does not live only from day to day. An exact vision of the future is not possible for man, yet they can attain some expectations of things to come." This makes me think of two things in particular:

• One is of being at home on the farm where this is exactly the purpose of farming, to breed stock for future consumption, this demonstrates man thinking ahead and not gathering food purely for 'day to day' consumption.
• Secondly is when I am cooking I will often consider what I may use at the present time but also what I should perhaps be keeping for future consumption. This is planning for the future on a smaller scale to the point above.

This week I made shepherds pie which was new for me as I havn't made this meal before, I needed the help from one of my flatmates as she has made it in the flat before so I knew she was a good source to use. This made me think back to my affordances blog post as the cooking brought about communication and a sense of teamwork between us.

References:
Green, T. (1968). Work, leisure,and the American schools. New York: Random House.