The Psychology of Food and Belonging

Neo, P. (2019). [Photograph of halal certification label]. FoodNavigator-Asia. https://www.foodnavigator-asia.com

Out of all the things that I thought would challenge me in a new country, such as the accent or the weather, food was not one of them, but it surprised me.

Back home in Dubai, halal food was not a “category” in a supermarket, but rather the default. There was no decision-making involved, no second guessing and no reading the ingredients. Except for avoiding pork, of course. Whether it was a food shop or eating out with my friends, there was a certain comfort in knowing that everything around me aligned with my cultural and religious values. That kind of comfort was not something I knew I needed. 

In Scotland, that routine flipped overnight. I found myself in Tesco, actively searching for a halal sticker and hoping not to find gelatine written on the ingredients list. It surprised me how much this influenced me. Food is not solely for sustenance. For me, it is a combination of routine, comfort, and familiarity. Generally, when you move somewhere new, you expect the usual changes to your lifestyle such as language, culture, and climate. However, from my personal experience, it was the tiny things that made the biggest difference. It took stepping slightly out of my usual routine to realise that the cultural disruption I had experienced resulted with more sacrifices than I had initially expected. Trust me, as a picky eater, it was rough. 

As Whitt (2011) argues, food does not only reflect personal identity; it also embodies cultural boundaries and a sense of belonging. Certain flavours act as sensory anchors that gives a sense of comfort that makes us feel “at home.” Losing access to these foods, might feel like leaving a part of yourself in the past. The dishes that were once staples for me in Dubai now feel like sweeter imitations. The flavour palette I grew up with have been replaced with gentler spices and flavours, and that shift alone had shifted the comfort and cultural grounding I had always associated with eating. It was not just about finding access to halal food; it was the little adjustments such as an entirely different flavour palette. 

We often imagine the behavioural adjustments from another culture — known as psychological acculturation (American Psychological Association, 2018) — as dramatic, noticeable modifications that are, in reality, small routine changes. Something as simple as making choices on what to make for dinner that night, turns into a negotiation between the culture I grew up with and the one I currently live in. In many ways, the memory of the flavours from Dubai became a kind of transitional object - a sensory teddy bear I carried with me. Even when the food itself is not physically present, the memory of those tastes stays with me. Whether it is looking at restaurant menus or standing in a supermarket, I am constantly making decisions that I never had to make before. It wasn’t solely about food; it was about learning how to exist within a space where my usual defaults had suddenly disappeared. 

However, my faith was slowly restored when I saw the halal scene in Scotland grow. 

More options, more restaurants, and more clarity. Even seeing the small halal section in multiple supermarkets felt like a nod of recognition - it reminded me that I am not the only one who feels this way. And over time, I found my own reliable spots: Farm Foods for quite the flavourful halal finds! Their frozen selections understood exactly what I meant by “proper spices.” Small shops and halal restaurants became tiny anchors in my journey of adjustment — familiar flavours in an unfamiliar environment. 

Beyond the availability these adjustments also explain why these cultural differences shape everyday experiences in subtle but effective ways. For example, even portion sizes initially came as a shock to me - a large here feels like a medium back in Dubai, and vice versa. It’s a tiny detail, but it highlights how our norms are shaped by the environments we are surrounded by when growing up. And it is not just my adjustment I have seen. My parents still travel nearly two hours to Glasgow every so often because that’s the closest place where they can find a Middle Eastern food shop that matches all the flavours and spices we were used to in Dubai.

It has become part of their routine - a way of holding onto familiarity in a place where our defaults have been shifted and we are still trying to make sense of the culture we moved to. These small routines may seem simple, but they are incredibly effective when it comes to cultural adjustment. They allow us to hold onto parts of the culture we grew up with without feeling as though we must give up everything at once. We work harder to keep those parts alive, and that feels far better than losing our sense of identity altogether.

Below are some of the places that became part of my new routine :

Recommended Halal Meat / Food Shops

• Farm Foods

• Supermarket halal section (e.g. Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s )

• Local halal butchers 

• Strawberry Garden (Middle Eastern food shopping)

  
  

Recommended Halal Restaurants

• Bread Meets Bread — comfort food without any guessing game.

• Gost — a bit on the pricier side, but halal steak options make it even more worthwhile.

• Namak Mandi — proper spices, feels much closer to thee flavours that I grew up with.

• Beirut Star – Reliable and tasty Middle Eastern comfort food for when I want a taste of home.

  
  

I felt less alone. It’s not the comfort of what I grew up with but it’s a start. It is something, and that is better than nothing. It’s looking at a glass of water and believing it to be half full instead of half empty. Although, I still must give a reasoning as to why I am a part-time vegetarian. Bittersweet.

What this experience taught me was that cultural adjustment is not just about the big, dramatic picture, but the subtle negotiations that follow. The routines, the access, the flavours, are all contributors to help me navigate a different culture and adjust to the norms.

My changing relationship with halal food became my very own way of understanding the psychological aspects of acculturation - the adjustment: the adjustment, the compromises, and the joy I feel when finding new favourite halal food spots. As the halal scenery in Scotland grows wider, so does my sense of belonging in a new cultural environment. It may take some time, but it will be worthwhile. To which I thank Tesco for getting me through the roughest parts of this journey.  

References

Getting Halal Certified in Indonesia: LPPOM MUI Offers Advice on ... (2019). In www.foodnavigator-asia.com. Pearly Neo. 

American Psychological Association. (2018). APA dictionary of psychology. Dictionary.apa.org. 

Whitt, J. B. (2011). An appetite for metaphor: Food imagery and cultural identity in Indian fiction. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses.