Allergies Quote by Gabrielle Hamilton
““every session I had no fewer than sixteen girls with “allergies” to dairy and wheat—cheese and bread basically—but also to garlic, eggplant, corn, and nuts. They had cleverly developed “allergies,” I believe, to the foods they had seen their own mothers fearing and loathing as diet fads passed through their homes. I could’ve strangled their mothers for saddling these girls with the idea that food is an enemy—some of them only eight years old and already weird about wanting a piece of bread—and I would’ve liked to bludgeon them, too, for forcing me to participate in their young daughters’ fucked-up relationship with food.””
About This Quote
Source Interview: “The Chef’s Table” with Gabrielle Hamilton, 2015
She criticizes how mothers impose diet fads on children, turning food into a source of fear and conflict.
In simple terms: Mothers' diet trends can create unhealthy relationships with food for kids.
Key Takeaway
Question the influence of parental food attitudes.
Themes
parenting
food culture
health
psychology
Mood
frustrated
angry
Type
critical
personal
When to use this quote
- family meals
- diet counseling
- parental education
- food therapy
Key Concepts
nutrition
social conditioning
Questions to Reflect On
- How can parents foster healthy food attitudes?
- What role do media fads play?
A Different Perspective
The quote may generalize all mothers' influence.
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