THE AL'CHEMY OF EMOTIONS - GLUTTONY

We have been captured by food and it is driving us to do something that is arguably not good for us

How has the world’s view on gluttony changed over the years?

Views on gluttony have changed dramatically. If you go back 500 years, when the church, at least in the western world, played a dominant role, then gluttony is one of the seven sins. The church said that you might enjoy being a glutton while you are alive, but when you are dead, you will be punished. We have these paintings of gluttons in the depths of hell being consumed by other creatures. This was during a time when most people could not be gluttonous for the simple reason that they faced shortage of food.

If you go back in the eastern world, the Buddha experimented with this and tried to put himself on a very minimal diet. And in the end, he drew the conclusion that the proper thing to do is not eat too much, not too little—just the right amount.

If you go back far enough, to the savannas of Africa, people lived a day-to-day existence. You did not have a refrigerator, you could not even store food because you would have to carry it by hand to wherever you were going. So, whenever there were opportunities and when food was there, you ate a lot with the expectation that it was going to be a long stretch before you got access to food again.

But, of course, we have transformed into this incredible world where you can get what you want, whenever you want, and in abundance. However, there are still places where starvation is a problem.

Someone living on a really low income can also be a glutton. They tend to focus their attention on highly processed foods. They are going to find things that are cheap and eat a whole bunch of those because that momentary pleasure of eating that tasted good.