Despite the common knowledge that food is produced on farms, most urban shoppers had little idea on the entire production process food had to go through. In other words, food had become an “abstract idea” for consumers, as postulated by Wendell Berry (322) in his article, “The Pleasures from Eating” (Berry 321-327). In this article, Berry discussed the apparent problem that carries deep implications hidden within the producer-to-consumer system of food production and proposed an ethical solution to the said problem. His claims focused on his so-called “consumer ignorance” (Berry 321) and its deeper meaning about the modern society.
In his article, Berry (321) began with a discussion on the idea that eating is an agricultural act, ending the …show more content…
Still, I agree with all of the presented arguments.
Based on personal observation, it is true that people have become more “passive” as consumers. But over the years, I have observed several changes in the trending food choice and eating habits. Recently, more people are becoming aware of the food production techniques of producers, hence the stricter laws and policies regarding food production. In fact, more people are complaining about the unethical food production techniques, including animal cruelty and usage of toxic chemicals and substances. However, there still are hidden issues within the story of food production.
For instance, passive consumerism and the persuasion of food industrialists obstruct the industrial food production conditions. Supporting this argument, Margaret Gray has described the hidden stories of farmworkers and farms in the Hudson Valley in her article. Indeed, labor economy has been largely neglected, as indicated by the exploitation of immigrant workers (Gray 2). Note that immigrant workers are paid cheaper than regular non-foreign workers, and since the ideology of industrialism is to focus on increasing the profit while reducing the costs, most food industrialists tend to employ immigrant farmworkers. Therefore, a major issue of this ideology is the injustice suffered by the
In his article, Berry (321) began with a discussion on the idea that eating is an agricultural act, ending the …show more content…
Still, I agree with all of the presented arguments.
Based on personal observation, it is true that people have become more “passive” as consumers. But over the years, I have observed several changes in the trending food choice and eating habits. Recently, more people are becoming aware of the food production techniques of producers, hence the stricter laws and policies regarding food production. In fact, more people are complaining about the unethical food production techniques, including animal cruelty and usage of toxic chemicals and substances. However, there still are hidden issues within the story of food production.
For instance, passive consumerism and the persuasion of food industrialists obstruct the industrial food production conditions. Supporting this argument, Margaret Gray has described the hidden stories of farmworkers and farms in the Hudson Valley in her article. Indeed, labor economy has been largely neglected, as indicated by the exploitation of immigrant workers (Gray 2). Note that immigrant workers are paid cheaper than regular non-foreign workers, and since the ideology of industrialism is to focus on increasing the profit while reducing the costs, most food industrialists tend to employ immigrant farmworkers. Therefore, a major issue of this ideology is the injustice suffered by the