September 17, 2018
In the article, Industrial Food Animal Production, it is made obvious how corrupt the food industry is in regards to the importance of quantity over quality, animal welfare up until they are slaughtered, workers’ rights as well as how the industry impacts the community altogether. When reading about the way the industry engineers animals and modifies their environments as a way to increase how much meat is able to be produced, references to Food Inc. can be made. In the film, there were clips showing chickens being held in small, dark rooms unable to move due to how tightly packed the chickens were in the room. In the article, the way pigs’ tails were cut to avoid being bitten by other pigs and hens’ beaks were removed with hot blades to prevent pecking at each other, relates to the way chickens were practically smothered on farms in the film. Of course these animals will be killed in order to retrieve their meat, but they can be better taken care of prior to death. There should be rights for how animals are kept and treated before they’re killed. With this in mind, Warner mentions how, “images of amber waves of wheat, lush fruit, and happy farm animals beckon from packages, and ads tout 'natural goodness'" (Warner 61). Farmers are no longer worried about how the animals are treated, their only concern is how much meat can be produced as well as how fast, yet labels throw animals smiling with dialogue bubbles on packages indicating happiness which is all for the sake of a company’s brand. Nonetheless, the government needs to be held accountable for well thought out food rights and laws, along with standards regarding animal welfare.
The first few chapters in Pandora’s Lunchbox allows readers to open their minds to the true meaning of processed foods, which happens to be more than foods with the inability to be remade at home with similar ingredients. Warner states, “he believed the excessive consumption of animal products, especially for breakfast, was causing an epidemic of upset stomachs and other digestion-related maladies among those who could afford to eat an abundance of stewed veal and bacon” (Warner 55). She speaks about the founder of the Kellogg Company, W. K. Kellogg and his reasoning for creating the famous whole grained cereal known as cornflakes. As for Americans who believe that meat is the primary portion of every meal, they weren’t as fond of this new breakfast food, but they did grow more comfortable as time progressed. Kellogg chose a health approach to promote their business as a way to convince consumers that consuming so much meat is what causes illness within the stomach rather than mentioning the bland taste of the corn flakes and the failure to include artificial ingredients with any nutrients. America has opened its arms to processed foods like cheese product and cornflakes, therefore it is now up to America to open its eyes and help get rid of these, once accepted, foods.
For more input on industrial food production, click here.
The first few chapters in Pandora’s Lunchbox allows readers to open their minds to the true meaning of processed foods, which happens to be more than foods with the inability to be remade at home with similar ingredients. Warner states, “he believed the excessive consumption of animal products, especially for breakfast, was causing an epidemic of upset stomachs and other digestion-related maladies among those who could afford to eat an abundance of stewed veal and bacon” (Warner 55). She speaks about the founder of the Kellogg Company, W. K. Kellogg and his reasoning for creating the famous whole grained cereal known as cornflakes. As for Americans who believe that meat is the primary portion of every meal, they weren’t as fond of this new breakfast food, but they did grow more comfortable as time progressed. Kellogg chose a health approach to promote their business as a way to convince consumers that consuming so much meat is what causes illness within the stomach rather than mentioning the bland taste of the corn flakes and the failure to include artificial ingredients with any nutrients. America has opened its arms to processed foods like cheese product and cornflakes, therefore it is now up to America to open its eyes and help get rid of these, once accepted, foods.
For more input on industrial food production, click here.
September 26, 2018
In Natalie Kitroeff and Geoffrey Mohan’s article titled, Arizona farm accused of abusing Mexican migrant workers, they reveal unfair labor treatment towards Mexican farmworkers that took place at G Farms in El Mirage, Arizona. The farmworkers were brought to Arizona under the H-2A visa program, a government program that allows U.S growers to bring seasonal laborers from other countries to the U.S for work. Employers are supposed to follow certain requirements in regards to the visa program like paying employees the minimum wage set by the government as well as providing free housing and transportation, but not all of them follow the requirements. In fact, Farms’ owner, Santiago Gonzalez, failed to follow the rules for his own benefit. According to the U.S Department of Labor, Gonzales was paying employees illegally low wages, forcing them to live in school buses and trailers without windows, providing only one toilet in the trailer and giving them access to port-a-potties. When reading over the article, I grew more disgusted with how Gonzales was aware of how unethical this was and how it didn’t abide by the H-2A visa program’s requirements, yet he was more interested in how his business could benefit if he “bent the rules a bit”.
Towards the end of the article, its mentioned how Arizona is ranked eighth nationwide in recruitment of H-2A workers which means that there’s a high chance that G Farms isn’t the only business getting away with manipulating workers and violating federal safety regulations. The government should be required to check up on businesses participating in this program as a way to protect the workers and assure them of receiving fair treatment along with their rights. There should also be a random set of visits arranged so that owners are unable to trick the system. For example, Gonzales moved workers into two hotels after being confronted by the Labor Department but after things seemed to “die down”, they received a call from one of his employees telling that he began charging them rent for the rooms as well as their food and transportation. If the government would act on protecting these workers altogether instead of only when a problem arises in a business causing an investigation to be conducted, cases similar to Gonzales would have a better chance of not happening, or atleast not as often.
For more information on migrant farming, click here.
Towards the end of the article, its mentioned how Arizona is ranked eighth nationwide in recruitment of H-2A workers which means that there’s a high chance that G Farms isn’t the only business getting away with manipulating workers and violating federal safety regulations. The government should be required to check up on businesses participating in this program as a way to protect the workers and assure them of receiving fair treatment along with their rights. There should also be a random set of visits arranged so that owners are unable to trick the system. For example, Gonzales moved workers into two hotels after being confronted by the Labor Department but after things seemed to “die down”, they received a call from one of his employees telling that he began charging them rent for the rooms as well as their food and transportation. If the government would act on protecting these workers altogether instead of only when a problem arises in a business causing an investigation to be conducted, cases similar to Gonzales would have a better chance of not happening, or atleast not as often.
For more information on migrant farming, click here.
October 8, 2018
In Kingsley Purdam’s article, “Bare cupboards and nobody to help buy food: the forgotten welfare gap in older age,” he discusses how older people in the UK having little to no help in caring for their social care needs including food. He interviews older people that use food banks to find out about their situation of poverty and a matter of how they’re receiving the necessary support to shop, cook and eat. He found that there are about 3.8 million people aged 65 and older that live alone in the UK and about one million of those people always or sometimes feels lonely. Because these people feel alone, it causes them to eat less which can lead to “poorer health outcomes, falls, delays in recovery from illness and longer periods in hospital” which can be prevented, if these less fortunate older people have access to what better resources. Although there are some people who go to the food bank for food, there are some who take embarrassment and high pride into consideration which results in them not getting food since its at the food bank. However, there are also some people who go and get their groceries from the food bank just fine. There were also people sacrificing money they’d typically spend on food, for the heat bill that increases during the winter months. The idea of an older person choosing to have a warm house over a meal did not sit well with me because I believe they should have access to both, especially when living alone without help around the house. This article caused me to take interest in poor older people living in the US who might have the same disadvantage, except no one is researching their situation or trying to make it better. Everyone should be able to feed themselves and their family, with that being said, I believe the government is responsible to provide food for the people who are unable to provide it for themselves without the government’s support.
After reading Purdam's article, I referred back to Chen's article, "From 'Junk Food' to Treats" and I found a quote that read, "Cooking at home is often the only affordable option for low-income mothers.." and I remembered agreeing with the statement, except I hadn't thought about those who have low-income and aren't mothers like older people (Chen 160). Not only do older people have the disadvantage of little to no money, but its possible that they can't afford a car for transportation which would only leave them with the public transportation. If I was an older person with a very low income but needed food in my household, I'd have to put my pride to the side to either ride the bus or ask someone for a ride to the food bank. I understand that some people would much rather sacrifice their meals, but it is much healthier to eat and to find some form of resource that will help you find food to gain the proper nutrients, especially for an older person.
For more information on older people in the UK living in poverty without food, click here.
After reading Purdam's article, I referred back to Chen's article, "From 'Junk Food' to Treats" and I found a quote that read, "Cooking at home is often the only affordable option for low-income mothers.." and I remembered agreeing with the statement, except I hadn't thought about those who have low-income and aren't mothers like older people (Chen 160). Not only do older people have the disadvantage of little to no money, but its possible that they can't afford a car for transportation which would only leave them with the public transportation. If I was an older person with a very low income but needed food in my household, I'd have to put my pride to the side to either ride the bus or ask someone for a ride to the food bank. I understand that some people would much rather sacrifice their meals, but it is much healthier to eat and to find some form of resource that will help you find food to gain the proper nutrients, especially for an older person.
For more information on older people in the UK living in poverty without food, click here.
October 24, 2018
In Jeffery Young’s article, “As College Innovation Efforts Grow, So Do Warnings of a ‘McDonaldization’ of Higher Ed” he explains the McDonaldization occurring on college campuses and includes interviews from faculty from different colleges. The point that Young focuses on is how colleges have become more concerned with improving campuses by creating more burger franchises than expanding creativity with centers for learning and research. Along with the personal interviews, he includes information from two books: “The McDonaldization of Higher Education” by Dennis Hayes and Robin Wynyard and “The McDonaldization of Society” by George Ritzer. He specifically mentions these books because not only do they focus on the same topic, but they further explain the principles of McDonaldization, which are efficiency, predictability, calculability and control. As a college student, I was appalled by how faculty members were at the least solely concerned with the academic aspects of their colleges, but instead their attention was on how to improve “business” and satisfaction on campus. Colleges should be focused on academics first, then athletics followed by student satisfaction, but never student satisfaction over academics.
I related Young’s article to the class by considering all points and evidence he emphasized with what George Ritzer stated in his book, “The McDonaldization of Society”. More specifically, he mentions how college cafeterias in today’s society resemble the food courts that are in shopping malls. I found this to be a bit disturbing because at Michigan State, there are a few eateries on campus that follow this concept. Colleges use these food services as a way to increase the money they make and as an attempt to influence their students. Instead of including more healthy food approaches, we have things like pizza bars, burger joints, and Mexican food buffets. McDonaldization has reached everywhere from college campuses to dentist and doctor offices, just about every company wants to be the “McDonald’s” of the product they’re selling.
For more information on the warnings of McDonaldization in higher education, click here.
I related Young’s article to the class by considering all points and evidence he emphasized with what George Ritzer stated in his book, “The McDonaldization of Society”. More specifically, he mentions how college cafeterias in today’s society resemble the food courts that are in shopping malls. I found this to be a bit disturbing because at Michigan State, there are a few eateries on campus that follow this concept. Colleges use these food services as a way to increase the money they make and as an attempt to influence their students. Instead of including more healthy food approaches, we have things like pizza bars, burger joints, and Mexican food buffets. McDonaldization has reached everywhere from college campuses to dentist and doctor offices, just about every company wants to be the “McDonald’s” of the product they’re selling.
For more information on the warnings of McDonaldization in higher education, click here.
October 31, 2018
In Hannah Devlin’s article, “Rising global meat consumption ‘will devastate environment’ she explains the correlation between meat consumption and climate change. Studies have shown that meat consumption plays an important role in increasing carbon emission and reducing biodiversity. Not only has the average amount of meat consumed per person doubled, but total meat production has been growing at a faster rate than growth within the population. Meat consumption has increased so much that some countries see an actual rise in consumption of poultry, beef and pork but others have reached what they refer to as, “peak meat”, which is a fall in meat consumption. Livestock production plays a part in carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions. Livestock farming contributes to the reduction of biodiversity due to the many forests and other sources of agricultural land to grow animal feed. Furthermore, scientists are continuing research in regards to the downsides as well as benefits of consuming less meat along with how it impacts our environment.
In relation to the course, Annick de Witt explains how unaware people still are about the correlation between meat consumption and climate change. In her article, she includes a research study conducted on random representatives who choose to eat less meat, eat local and seasonal produce, or eat organic produce as well as choosing to drive less, save energy at home, or install solar panels. After the study, they concluded that even after recognizing the correlation between the two, this major issue was only clear to a small percent of the population. Towards the end of the article, she mentions the idea of being a “flexitarian”, which would allow consumers to be more flexible with their diets, eating less meat and including more produce. This idea helps solve the issue for those who don’t want to completely stop eating meat and become vegetarian, but to reduce their meat consumption all the while benefitting their health and helping to improve the environment by reducing such harmful carbon emissions.
In relation to the course, Annick de Witt explains how unaware people still are about the correlation between meat consumption and climate change. In her article, she includes a research study conducted on random representatives who choose to eat less meat, eat local and seasonal produce, or eat organic produce as well as choosing to drive less, save energy at home, or install solar panels. After the study, they concluded that even after recognizing the correlation between the two, this major issue was only clear to a small percent of the population. Towards the end of the article, she mentions the idea of being a “flexitarian”, which would allow consumers to be more flexible with their diets, eating less meat and including more produce. This idea helps solve the issue for those who don’t want to completely stop eating meat and become vegetarian, but to reduce their meat consumption all the while benefitting their health and helping to improve the environment by reducing such harmful carbon emissions.
November 26, 2018
In Dr. Stuart Farrimond’s article titled, “The future of food: What we’ll eat in 2028”, he speaks about how Americans have eaten up until the future. He mentions bubblegum in 1928, frozen desserts and soft-serve ice cream from the 1930s, and red bull in the 1930s. These examples allow the reader to follow up with certain food products in the United States overtime and possibly refer back to that time period in order to compare them to what we eat in today’s society. Its believed that by 2028, food will be created to have correlation with our genome. Overtime, we’ve been told how fruits and vegetables help to keep you healthy and is bound to save lives, but now scientists have began modifying foods in a way that will allow us to better understand our genomes in a manner that will benefit our health. More specifically, he includes an experiment complete on participants from Israel where their blood sugar levels were tracked while comparing their biological response to identical foods and results varied. Some people’s blood glucose increased after eating ice cream and others’ blood glucose increased with rice. Because scientists need time to continue running tests, this approach isn’t said to be considered until 2028, but their purpose remains the same, which is personalizing nutrition for people by recognizing their genomes and increasing nutritionally enhanced crops through genetic modification.
Farrimond’s article relates to the future of food because he explains a scientific approach for creating and consuming our food. This article sparked my interest because I’m curious to see how we’ll eat in the future especially after considering the debates on being vegetarian and vegan as well as cutting processed foods out of diet and including more “organic” food products. I also related his article to another article, "A History of Food Guides Told Through Photos" which explains the food guides of the world over time. I believe that with this approach to modify food in a way that involves genomes, it would place a bigger burden on the society and decrease food security. In needing these genetic information, citizens may fail to cooperate or be unable to afford what it takes to participate in this future food practice. As a result, more families could be without food or access to food because groceries aren't being demanded for food the same as before. This change in our food would also affect the food pyramid because now genes would be playing a factor in what we'd choose to eat and citizens wouldn't so much focus on including certain food groups.
For more information on genome influence foods of the future, click here.
Farrimond’s article relates to the future of food because he explains a scientific approach for creating and consuming our food. This article sparked my interest because I’m curious to see how we’ll eat in the future especially after considering the debates on being vegetarian and vegan as well as cutting processed foods out of diet and including more “organic” food products. I also related his article to another article, "A History of Food Guides Told Through Photos" which explains the food guides of the world over time. I believe that with this approach to modify food in a way that involves genomes, it would place a bigger burden on the society and decrease food security. In needing these genetic information, citizens may fail to cooperate or be unable to afford what it takes to participate in this future food practice. As a result, more families could be without food or access to food because groceries aren't being demanded for food the same as before. This change in our food would also affect the food pyramid because now genes would be playing a factor in what we'd choose to eat and citizens wouldn't so much focus on including certain food groups.
For more information on genome influence foods of the future, click here.