In our capitalist society there exists a constant struggle between the interests of big businesses and consumers, a war that sees some of its fiercest battles in the food industry. The “consequential question” that Michael Pollan raises of “to cook or not to cook” is very relevant to our efforts to maintain some degree of personal autonomy within modern society (Pollan 22). While by cooking our own food we can achieve some degree of independence from the nutrition-industrial complex, complete…
Haerens, Margaret. Ed. Sherri Libberman. American Food by the Decades: 1950s. Santa Barbara: Greenwood, 2011. Print. Précis In her section “1950’s” (2011), Margaret Haerens, author and editor, suggests that television became influential to the way Americans eat. Haerens supports her claim by showing different types of examples of how television advertising has influenced Americans’ way of eating because advertising pushed the ideas of convenience. Her purpose is to allow readers to acknowledge…
The food we are eating today may look like it is good for you, but chances are the food is harming you more than it is helping you. Before all foods were processed, people actually ate fresh food, which was good for our health. Food was not processed, but naturally grown without chemicals. Today, industrial agriculture has taken over our food supply (Industrial Food). The food industry is trying to feed more people in an easier, productive way. Since they are trying to make it easier for them,…
chemicals and many ingredients put into food. She also gives an unsettling image about how companies tout simple ingredients, with chemically transforming them so they come in consistent shapes and sizes, last for years and shelves, and have all their natural nutrition stripped away. Warner’s points are disturbing; as she puts out, because of a combination of genetic modifications. Commercial farming practices, and the abuse the meat sustains to become frozen food, most processed chicken meals…
The unsweet truth is that in 1822, the average American consumed 45 grams of sugar every five days; we now consume this in just one can of soda. In 2012, Americans consumed 765 grams of sugar every five days, 17 times more than in 1822 (Nursing Your Sweet Tooth). Through lobbying and the use of propaganda, the food industry has been marketing junk food as health food, distorting facts, and deceiving the public as a means to increase sale and profits. At the same time, the obesity epidemic,…
keeping the producers in business. The producers are cutting cost by finding loopholes in how they manufacture our food, loopholes like employing and exploiting illegal immigrants, feeding our beef, corn, and using ammonium hydroxide in the food processing system. Another player in this documentary is the political figures or our government. These political players are making the loopholes legal for the producers. Essentially, they make these loop holes legal by writing laws…
In the whirlwind of the 21st century, hundreds of new and odd inventions have popped up. A medley of new technology and innovation has made it’s debut in the past 16 years. Right in the middle of it all is of course food. Food is a base for human life and humans are ever creative in inventing new and crazy ways of making and distributing it; including robotic cookers, hot food vending machines, and 3D printers for food. Along with the advancements come the expense, and any entrepreneur will tell…
Within the last thirty years, the rise obesity has become a major topic of concern in the United States. While many argue that this increase in size is due to disruptions in the “energy balance model,” which states that the obesity is due to a combination of eating too many calories and not exercising enough (Smith & Cummins, 2009), Julie Guthman argues in her book Weighing In that this definition focuses too much on the individual’s actions without looking at the broader health consequences…
biggest and most difficult problems the world faces today. The high demand in trending products, as well as food, has led to more challenging problems. Naomi Klein in her book, No Logo, talks about the poor treatment workers receive at the Export Processing Zones (EPZs), which is where brand companies produce all their products in a much cheaper way. Besides workers at EPZs, there are also people who work at the slaughterhouses and are mistreated as well. Eric Schlosser in his book, Fast Food…
believer in socialism‘s basic idea of the nationalization of natural resources and utilities along with state ownership and an even distribution of wealth. More importantly, he believed in socialism’s classless society of people. His view of capitalism was…