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Home/Link page
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This is the Home page for three papers associated with Health Education and Food dealing with the relationships between the Educational Catering Service and Home Economics teachers.

The pupils caught between these last two institutions derive part of their present and future gastronomy as parents from the outcome of the poor interaction between the institutions. That gastronomic acquisition is worsened by the lack of parental interest in what children consume and the associated parental delegation of food education to the school.

The entity described by the papers relates to the early 1980s and the next job for Gastronomy as a field of study is to see if progress has been made.

In the meantime, the papers can be read in the context of a certain amount of overlap. Conference organisers and journal editors each have a different emphasis within a specific topic and within similar audiences.

The three papers so far included are found by the links to the left of the page.

"Separate Tables" reminds us that school meals provision was propounded as being unnecessary as we were all so affluent in 1983.

The discusssion is continued in my book which includes Health Education and Food. The link is on the left.

A useful introduction to the question of a national food policy was written in 1987. We are no closer to it in 2009. Click the link on the left.

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The overall website Home page gives a list of those for whom the pages are written. That list is now supplemented.

Those who assert that there is a moral decline of Western society. They may further assert that is has been influenced, in part, by the lack of family unity which comes from everyone eating together on a regular basis. The parent who let this child feed on his own needs gastronomy.

The pace of society has spawned the fast-food revolution. The home has become, for many, a refuelling station with a micro-wave oven. Children are padlocked to the TV with a lap-tray in front of them containing crisps etc.

The family dining table is disappearing. Cutlery may be next as more and more food is in "nugget" form. The family may assemble in the evening with their lap-trays of instant food and converse during the TV commercial. The conversation, gastronomically speaking, may be limited to asking "Where's the ketchup."

The evidence for the assertions needs to be gathered.

The burger-bonanza is enjoyed by millions world-wide but that is not a reason to support it. For the moment, there is more about burgers on the "Gastronomy of Christmas" page.

If the papers from the early 1980s are a fair assessment of the situation then, what progress has been made? Overall, they point to the need for UK Government attention to Health Food Education being more in focus.

Has that happened?

The governmental quotation to the left is from "Getting to grips with grub" concerning 14 - 16 Year olds. There will be more of that type of discussion in the panel below.
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In the meantime, see "Gastronomy News" page, 3 January 2009. The headline concerned a 90% obesity level in 2050.

If France was said earlier * to be ahead in the food-game, one problem in the context of improving a nation's health is everyone being able to read the reports etc in French.
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* see the page - "Brillat-Savarin - the Father of Gastronomy" - top panel


One country which is definitely ahead of Britain is Australia. You only need to look at one aspect of this. How many British children are au fait with the word 'gastronomy', never mind 'gourmet'?

http://www.tasting-australia.com.au/487.htm

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Contact Alan F Harrison -

avrf23@dsl.pipex.com
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