Our scriptures refer to food as Bhrama (God/the Supreme Being).
Annam bhrameti vyajānāt annena annenaiva imanibhutāni jāyate annenaiva jātāni jivanti Annam Brahmā annam na nindyāt etad vratam
This is further explained below. One must not denigrate food in any circumstances. This is similar to observing a good vow.
All beings are created from food. Parents eat food which turns into blood, fluid, bones, flesh, sperm or ova in the body. It is well known that a new life is created by the combination of the sperm and ova. Hence we are born from food.
Furthermore, food keeps us alive. Our life is dependent on food and water.
This is why we consider food as the form of God and we bow as well as pay our respects to food before eating.
When eating, you may have noticed that Bhramins recite shlokas, or some people eat food quietly and do not talk while eating. However, do not defame the food or talk about other worldly things while eating. This is because the food you are eating is a Yagya. How is this so?
There is a fire within us called Vaishvānar which is the form of God in which you are offering the oblation of food. Both the fire and food are God the forms of God.
This is why it is said in Gita:
Brahmārpaṇam Brahma havir, Brahmāgnau brahamaṇahutam,
Brahmaiva tena gantavyam Brahmakarma samādhina
Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, Verse 24
Meaning: The act of offering is God. The oblation is God. By God it is offered into the Fire of God. God is that which is to be attained by him who performs action pertaining to God.
This fire within us is not the literal fire you see outside. It means the acid which digests your food. Your body is havan kunda (the pit in which fire sacrifice is carried out). Just like you perform fire sacrifice by saying svāhā in a havan kund, similarly, when you put food in your body, which is symbolic of a havan kunda, you should say svāhā, meaning you should eat food as though you are performing a Yagya.
