Eating together

Inspired by World Food Day and Blog Action Day, I was wondering why we place so much significance on eating together? All animals need to eat to sustain life but it's a very human compulsion to eat with others. The meal experience is about so much more than food and company - but why?

We all eat - we all have to - but when you share that experience it becomes something more. Key moments in life are marked with shared meals and may even become more of an occasion because of eating together at the same time. Weddings, funerals, Christmas, birthdays, Sunday lunch - they all feature coming together to eat. As a Christian, even the most sacred ceremonies like communion are based around a communal meal.

Michelle & I have recently moved our kitchen table into the living room to allow us to eat together properly and I have noticed that our meal times have become more valuable experiences. It's a small change but it has made a big difference. I can see why it is often said that families not eating together regularly suffer as a result. For me, I don't really feel I have got to know someone until I've shared a meal with them - in fact, I wish I had more opportunity to do this with the people in my life.

Even in countries where food is scarce, shared meals are the norm - particularly when it comes to hospitality. I vividly recall joining my parents, on the township they work in South Africa, for a special kids event - and the families prepared a meal for us as their guests. The idea is incongruous when you consider that I had more spare change in my pockets than these wonderful people would see all year. There's something in this though - in the global village, the one thing we are not good at is sharing our meals with the hungry. Well, not really anyway... Is this the global equivalent of seeing someone in a restaurant you know but wanting to have a quiet meal on your own. What might we learn if we could truly share what we have with others around the world? But this takes effort and sacrifice and let's face it, on a global scale, we're not exactly great at this...

Yes, we're social animals, of course. Perhaps this fact alone explains why we choose to eat together rather than simply doing so because it is necessary? But I can't help but wonder why social food consumption is so crucial - so instinctive - and why we all feel compulsion for hospitality. I'm sure a psychologist could theorise for me - maybe even break it down completely - but perhaps it is better to simply marvel at the power of the shared meal and enjoy it for the life affirming experience it is.