food, food and more food

Just to give a brief introduction about myself; my name is Julia. I am an 18 year old University student studying European studies and Communications at the University of Malta. You might be wondering right now, why food? Well, in all honesty, I am nowhere near qualified about anything having to do with food but it is a topic that interests me and many others. I feel like it is a growing topic that needs to be addressed in today's media and last but not least it is a great hobby of mine.

 I always loved food and always will. I was notoriously known for eating a burger bigger than my face at the age of three or, on a separate occasion, gobbling up my mothers 12 ravioli at a restaurant when she thought two would be more than enough to fill me. I describe food as a passion of mine. I love cooking, tasting the different cuisines but also criticising my creation, giving it space to improve itself.

As I grew older I started realising that food cannot be limited to one definition. The broad definition of food is to "fuel your body", this is what you are taught in school. Yes, I agree that it is the main aim but this is only the tip of the iceberg to what food really is, the definition is actually much much deeper then just this. If I were to create a list to what food is, I would say it delves into three aspects:

1. Biological : Which is the basic definition, "any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink to that plants absorb in order to maintain life and growth"
2. Psychological : The emotion food gives you. It gives you pleasure! You binge eat when you are sad, watching a film, bored, stressed and more. It becomes an emotional addiction that is out of control and can also cause harm. 
3. Cultural : Food is part of ones cultural identity. The ingredients, methods of preparation, preservation techniques, and types of food eaten at different meals vary among cultures. Therefore food tells a story about a culture's history. 

I'm sure there are many other aspects that go into food but I am not an expert, I'm not a food guru, I am only discussing from my own opinions and what I have realised over the years. I will discuss these three in more detail separately in different blogs.