Your food is your identity

The word 'food' is one of the most daily used words in the world. In a simple definition, food is any substance eaten or consumed to provide nutrients for the body. Sources of food are from animals or plants. It's significance cannot be emphasized considering the fact that it is the main source of human existence.
Food is a strong factor when comparing the cultures of human race. In the world today, the state of nutrition in each county is relevant and important to other countries. It is one of the parameters used for determining the wealth of a nation.
It therefore means that no culture can be meaningful without considering food. Through food we learn the way of life of other people in the world. In some cases, one man's food is another man's poison. A Chinese man may use a certain specie of frog to prepare a recipe but an African man may see it as a taboo.
As a powerful symbol cultural identity, food is more than a product to be bought for routine inclusion in daily life. Cultural food patterns are known by what, when, how and with whom food is eaten. Ethnic and racial groups differ in how they identify foods and how they prepare them, the condiment they use, the timing and frequency of meals. Food plays important role in religious and social events of people in many countries.Cultural food practices are dynamic and ever-changing, with many traditions persisting with acculturation. There is always need for travelers to understand the cultural food practices of host countries before embarking on such journey.
Food in some cases serves as a good source of healing to ailment in different racial groups. Each culture has attitudes, beliefs, practices and values about good health and disease prevention. It's pertinent to seek advice from health professionals of the host country.
Understanding culture through food is another way of creating unity, knowledge and beliefs among racial groups. It shows cultural co-existence among individual countries with peace of mind.