The Correlation between the RCI Triangle and the Western Diet

The Correlation between the RCI Triangle and the Western Diet 

According to the RCI Triangle, the three main factors that come up in the decision making process. These three concepts are Identity, Responsibility, and convenience. These three concepts, are always evaluated on some subconscious or conscious level when we make decisions in everyday life. The concept refers to what you like and what you don’t like and this is tied to the invisible decisions that we make everyday without really thinking about it a lot. A big decision that we face everyday is what we choose to put in our bodies to nourish them. The simple decision of eating Global vs. Local is a great example of how concepts such as identity and convenience are incorporated into what you decide to eat and where you get it from. Your identity, whether personal or cultural, can lead you to eating local food from a local farm or market place around your area. Convenience fits in well with how far you need to go to get food, whether you grow it on a farm or you have to drive to a grocery store to buy it, these are all aspects of convenience. Unhealthy food and snack food is cheaper and more portable as well as very convenient whereas healthier alternatives such as vegetables and fish or eggs may take some time to make or heat up or wash off to prepare. Socio-economics and what you can afford and how many people depend on you for food also has a large stake in convenience of food.  Responsibility even goes in there because of what your daily routines and demands dictate or shape the possibilities that you have and These factors are always in our minds on a subconscious level when making a choice on what we eat. So... from what we know about the RCI Triangle and psychological aspects of decision making, how does this tie into the Western Diet? Our diet?

Let us first examine the ideology of the Western diet. Since we live in the United States, we always are exposed to many different cultural foods with a large range of nutritional value. According to the video, “In Defense of Food” with Author and narrator, Micheal Pollan, it describes the Western Diet as made up of lots of  meat, white flour, as well as many highly processed foods. This structure of diet is extremely poor. Eating healthy has always been about balance. Because humans are omnivores we are able to eat a huge variety of grains, meats, dairy, vegetables, fruits, fats, and sugars. All of these nutrients are essential for us to survive, even the fats and sugars. Humans are warm blooded and therefore require a layer of fat to conserve heat and retain body temperature. In the past, there has been a huge controversy surrounding whether or not a fat free or sugar free diet is healthy. Everyday in western society, there are new headlines on diet and health that are marketed by business as well as health care professionals on what is good for you as opposed to what’s not. Surprisingly, from the video, I was shocked to discover that to a large degree, this nutrient-focused market is very biased and very misleading with people buying in to different companies food products when they are in fact not healthy alternatives but just slightly better than what the competitors are selling. For example, Coca Cola  is an extremely sugary and chemically infused drink that leads to a lot of health problems after many years of daily consumption. Meanwhile, many nutritionists and health care professionals point to eating yogurt as healthy choice. Pollan then compared a bottle of Coca Cola as equal to a small carton of Yoplait yogurt. What this shows is that many foods we think are healthy alternatives and who’s companies brand them as “heart healthy” or “tons of fiber” or “whole grains” may not be actually that much different because it is still processed to be appealing and tasty to the consumer. In a country with one of the largest growing economies in the world, we are starting to see how the food industry has progressed to what is convenient and cheap, instead of what is actually good for you. Because of the widespread availability and consumption of fast foods and high calorie and high sugar drinks, the percentage of Americans with Type 2 Diabetes has more than tripled since 1975. 

Let’s take a step back and analyze the origins of processed foods. When bread was first made, thousands of years ago, all of the whole grains were in still in the wheat when it was baked into bread. It was very coarse and tough and hard to chew because many of the seeds with their germs were still incorporated in the bread. To make bread more convenient and able to sell, people eventually were able to process the wheat in a way that would remove the germ seed from the grain as well as whole grains all together. White bread and white flour are a direct result from processed bread. It is more higher in carbohydrates and has less nutritional value and benefit for your body, but it tastes better. Now, because of the convenience factor, businesses are making it their responsibility to provide a new identity to food. Ironically, people have incorporated processed foods as a part of our diet. For example, Wonder Bread is a commonly known American bread. It is a white bread, cheap to buy, and very processed. This brand of bread is advertised for families with children as a fun bread to eat. It is convenient for families to buy because it is so cheap. But, it is very low in nutritional value, and is not a healthy option. Just because something is convenient, it is not always good for you.

Turning to meat and how it is a staple for a large proportion of our diet, we can see that there are a range of benefits and dangers of eating meat. Red Meat and Beef are huge in the market because they are very cheap when they are on a hamburger or a cheese burger or a sandwich. Red meat has a high amount of cholesterol and fat. While cholesterol and fat are still essential to a healthy balance in our diet, in large amounts they can be linked with heart disease and heart attacks. Build ups of Cholesterol in the blood stream and arteries around the heart can be causes for heart problems and clots in blood flow. 

The problem is that these are very easy to buy for people who cannot afford the natural choices. The government gives discounts and often free food to those of Low income. The food they get is often highly processed and has little nutritional value. The food they are receiving is cheap and convenient, but again, not healthy for short-term, or long-term health. 

In conclusion, I believe that the concepts in the RCI Triangle are very essential to understand why we eat what we do. Convenience is a huge part of this because it ties into account what a person will choose to eat as opposed to another based on their daily situations, their socioeconomic background and what they can and cannot afford, as well as the availability of fast food to low income American households. Responsibility dictates that we must eat and we must nourish our bodies in between our daily schedules. This also plays into convenience when we think about the process of getting food. Our identity is this ever changing ideology surrounding what is healthy and what isn’t. Many people have different identities that are made up from upbringing and morals and what they like or don’t like. This is why the RCI Triangle plays into the Western Diet. 

Eric Girton 1,315 word count