What ethical issues most concern you as a food consumer?
In the 80’s advertisement had everyone asking “Where’s the beef”. The trouble is, no one was asking how the beef is raised, and who was handling the beef. As a matter of fact, most consumers still aren’t taking interest in the ethical issues of food. On the other hand, several authors in the book “Food Matters; A Bedford Spotlight Reader”, not only take an interest in the issues, but bring the matters into light. Peter Singer writes about the inhumane way animals are raised, and how there is no need to eat meat or use animal made products. Sally Kohn tells of the injustice way food workers are treated. And, finally Eliot Coleman writes about how the word organic has changed because …show more content…
Those workers who grow, raise and serve our food are underpaid, neglected and until Obama Care went without health care. For example, in “Do Foodies Care about Workers?” Sally Kohn sets a sketch were a customer asks a waitress about the well-being of the restaurant’s meat. In response, Sally Kohn says, “And as in reality, the characters in the sketch never ask, ‘Does the poultry worker who killed the chicken get paid sick days?’” (214). In other words, people simply don’t care about the workers or never think of them. This is important to mention because we shouldn’t forget about those who have a hand in our food. Another example of food worker neglect, Sally Kohn says, “… an estimated 79 percent of food-service workers don’t have paid sick days, 52 percent don’t receive health and safety training from their employers, 35 percent experience wage theft on a weekly basis, and 75 percent have never had an opportunity to apply for a better position, maybe it’s time to put down your fork and open your mouth” (216). In other words, Kohn believes we need to stop supporting these abusive companies and speak up in the name of the unappreciated workers. This is important because all employees need a livable wage and do we really want sick people handling our food? Cesar Chavez devoted his life to speaking up for the rights of farm workers. His devotion is chronicled on Wikipedia saying, “When …show more content…
These same food companies that under pay, are great at hiring advertisement firms. Advertisement firms are great at telling consumers what the latest fad is. Food is no exception to these fads. One of the newer fads is organic. But, is it ok to buy food just because everyone else is? Companies are known to change their brand in order the make more sales. Eliot Coleman believes that the word organic has changed in the past 45 years. For example, in Real Food, Real Farming, Eliot Coleman says, “… organic was a way of thinking rather than a “profit center” ” (236). In other words, farmers didn’t growing organically in order to make more money. Farmers grew organic because they felt it was the best way to grow. This is important because it shows that food companies are willing to only do what’s best for profits. Another food fads example is, multigrain and whole grain. They are two different things, but, because whole grain is healthy advertisers attempted to trick consumers into thinking they are the same. Katherine Zeratsky wrote about the difference on mayoclinic.org saying “"Multigrain" and "whole grain" are not interchangeable terms. Whole grain means that all parts of the grain kernel — the bran, germ and endosperm — are used. In contrast, multigrain means that a food contains more than one type of grain,
In the 80’s advertisement had everyone asking “Where’s the beef”. The trouble is, no one was asking how the beef is raised, and who was handling the beef. As a matter of fact, most consumers still aren’t taking interest in the ethical issues of food. On the other hand, several authors in the book “Food Matters; A Bedford Spotlight Reader”, not only take an interest in the issues, but bring the matters into light. Peter Singer writes about the inhumane way animals are raised, and how there is no need to eat meat or use animal made products. Sally Kohn tells of the injustice way food workers are treated. And, finally Eliot Coleman writes about how the word organic has changed because …show more content…
Those workers who grow, raise and serve our food are underpaid, neglected and until Obama Care went without health care. For example, in “Do Foodies Care about Workers?” Sally Kohn sets a sketch were a customer asks a waitress about the well-being of the restaurant’s meat. In response, Sally Kohn says, “And as in reality, the characters in the sketch never ask, ‘Does the poultry worker who killed the chicken get paid sick days?’” (214). In other words, people simply don’t care about the workers or never think of them. This is important to mention because we shouldn’t forget about those who have a hand in our food. Another example of food worker neglect, Sally Kohn says, “… an estimated 79 percent of food-service workers don’t have paid sick days, 52 percent don’t receive health and safety training from their employers, 35 percent experience wage theft on a weekly basis, and 75 percent have never had an opportunity to apply for a better position, maybe it’s time to put down your fork and open your mouth” (216). In other words, Kohn believes we need to stop supporting these abusive companies and speak up in the name of the unappreciated workers. This is important because all employees need a livable wage and do we really want sick people handling our food? Cesar Chavez devoted his life to speaking up for the rights of farm workers. His devotion is chronicled on Wikipedia saying, “When …show more content…
These same food companies that under pay, are great at hiring advertisement firms. Advertisement firms are great at telling consumers what the latest fad is. Food is no exception to these fads. One of the newer fads is organic. But, is it ok to buy food just because everyone else is? Companies are known to change their brand in order the make more sales. Eliot Coleman believes that the word organic has changed in the past 45 years. For example, in Real Food, Real Farming, Eliot Coleman says, “… organic was a way of thinking rather than a “profit center” ” (236). In other words, farmers didn’t growing organically in order to make more money. Farmers grew organic because they felt it was the best way to grow. This is important because it shows that food companies are willing to only do what’s best for profits. Another food fads example is, multigrain and whole grain. They are two different things, but, because whole grain is healthy advertisers attempted to trick consumers into thinking they are the same. Katherine Zeratsky wrote about the difference on mayoclinic.org saying “"Multigrain" and "whole grain" are not interchangeable terms. Whole grain means that all parts of the grain kernel — the bran, germ and endosperm — are used. In contrast, multigrain means that a food contains more than one type of grain,