The Politics of Tweeting Your Lunch: Food History, Family History, and the Generations

Dorothea Lange’s photographs for the Farm Security Administration during the Depression years and life during World War II at Manzanar captured individual's daily lives. She took photographs that documented various aspects of life including food. You can see two such examples on the Treasures of the New York Public Library web page. 

Lange's  photo Lunchtime for the peach pickers doesn’t show us the close-up detail of that long-ago meal packed in metal lunch pails but it does provide important social history nevertheless. Just as Lange captured everyday life so too did other documentary and street photographers of her time. Photographs capturing life generations ago informs our knowledge about the people and time periods we are studying. It’s one thing to read about the Great Depression (and you should) but it’s another to look into the eyes of those who were experiencing it.

Lunchtime for the peach pickers. Muscella, Georgia. Dorothea Lange, photographer. Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa1998021656/PP/)

Today, everyone is a photographer, not a professional photographer and not as talented as Dorothea Lange, but we have easy access to cameras via the mobile device we carry everywhere. Because of this constant ability to take and post photos online, viewing other people's photos can sometimes feel overwhelming. Those posted photos are sometimes criticized/judged and let's face it, the ones that get made fun of the most are the self-indulgent, endless selfies that are taken and posted more often than seems necessary. In fact, it seems a point of pride to announce "I don't know how to take a selfie."  But there is one other type of photograph that seems to draw ire. Photos of food.

You know those photos; maybe you even post some yourself. They are the photos of your lunch when you’re out with friends or your latest creation inspired by that great online cooking tutorial, maybe it’s an old family recipe delicately "posed" on grandma's china. 

There are those  who follow you on social media channels who hate food photos. They don’t want to see photos of your food. They think that you are <insert audible gasp> weird. They proudly announce that they would never post a photo of their dinner.

Food photo posters, I’m one of you. I post photos of food all of the time. I post photos of food I cook, food I eat at restaurants, and the edible creations of family and friends. (That’s probably something you could have guessed since you’re reading my food history blog.)

Two of the great dishes we had at Cafe Sevilla for my parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary

Paella

For those haters of food photos I have a message…food photos are family history.

"FOOD PHOTOS ARE FAMILY HISTORY????!!!" 

Bear with me for just a second. If I went to an antique store and found your grandmother’s recipe box, would you want it? Why? You might be thinking “Of, course! That’s family history!” You would want it because it is something she left behind. It contains recipes that define your family history. There’s her apple pie recipe that no one can duplicate or the oyster stuffing you had every Thanksgiving. Food history is family history.

So why should you care and/or post food photos? If I had photos of what my grandmother ate, it would help document my family history. Photos of the food she canned would tell me what she grew in her garden that year. A look at what she fed her kids as a young widow would tell me how they were doing financially and let me know what food they had access to in her small rural community. A photo of a special dinner at a restaurant would memorialize  a special occasion. Photos at Thanksgiving would let me know who came to dinner, what they ate and remind me of family traditions.

In short, I would be ecstatic  to receive such photos just as I’d love to receive her recipe box or favorite cookbook.

One day you will be someone’s ancestor or beloved long-dead family member. One day, future generations will have access to archives we don’t have access to today, including your tweets. Imagine the story they could piece together about your life and your extended family’s life from those food photos. I think it's fair to say that they will enjoy those way more than the tired/non-sourced meme that depicts a historical figure who really didn't say that quote that you’re tempted to post.

Your food photos are documentary photos in the custom of documentary photographers before us. No, most of us are not destined for exhibits in art museums or a photo credit in an artistic, oversized coffee table book. We are instead documenting our lives for those who come after us, who like us want to study the lives of generations past.

My name is  Gena and I proudly post food photos to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I hope you do as well.