At the turn of the eighteenth century, agrarian farmers helplessly witnessed the construction of coal-black smokestacks whose gargantuan shadows sharply contrasted the iridescent morning horizon that embraced the rural landscape. As the beasts bellowed, releasing noxious puffs of scorched carbon into the atmosphere, each citizen turned to one another with the stark realization that their natural way of life was about to dramatically change. Indeed, since the revolution of industrialized manufacturing, the discrepancy between natural and synthetic scientific progress is one that has come under heated scientific debate worldwide. Lizzie Widdicombe’s article “The End of Food” chronicles the steady rise of Soylent—an artificial, miracle solution …show more content…
Rhinehart, the creator of Soylent, concocted it in order to diminish the downtime he spent obtaining, consuming, and disposing of meals, thereby effectively augmenting the time he could focus on productive endeavors. As most professions rely on the optimization of time to meet deadlines, Soylent would be ideal to sustain large corporations who require their employees to work perpetually around the clock. By supplying their workers with Soylent, which has all the necessary nourishment, these companies can simultaneously minimize respite and maximize output. Likewise, a similar case could made for students who would obtain more time to study, work, and pursue their interests without interruption. However, without a scheduled break to eagerly look forward to halfway through the workday, psychologically, employees would become apathetic towards their work and may even fall into depression. Widdicombe supports this notion in her article lamenting, “With a bottle of Soylent... time stretches before you, featureless and a little sad”. The unfortunate fact is that while technology is fitted to refine production, people are not designed to labor flawlessly. Psychologist Nathan Kleitman describes the human mind to work on an Ultradian rhythm that devotes the mind’s attention towards a given task for only 90 to 120 minutes before it must take a break. Therefore, removing coffee or lunch breaks from the working world may ironically decrease productivity in the long run. Herein lies one of Soylent’s design flaws; Soylent intends to optimize human beings who are innately
Biotechnology is not just a new fad. Prakash and Conko stated, “And a review of 81 separate research projects conducted over 15 years- all funded by the European Union- found that bioengineered crops and foods are at least as safe for the environment and for human consumption as conventional crops, and in some cases even safer.” (Prakash and Conko 359) This sentence summarizes an important
The world may be in danger of what Monsanto puts on families dinner tables. According to Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele’s article: Monsanto’s harvest of fear “Monsanto’s is the world leader in genetic modification of seeds and has 674 biotechnology patents”. 90% of the GMO’s in the world belong to Monsanto. The world has inherited Monsanto’s GMO’s in North and South America, Asia and Australia. Monsanto will eventually own food if consumers continue purchasing his GM products this reason being that Monsanto modifies its crops in order to make harvesting faster and easier making it more convenient to arrive on your dinner tables faster.
Due to reading “Stuffed and Starved” by Raj Patel this semester, I learned about how foods are produced and impact the world. Ever since I visited the farmer’s market in October, I became more aware of whether or not I am consuming genetically modified crops. Raj Patel revealed some of the many truths about the Green Revolution regarding genetically modified crops that influenced my choice of eating. Prior to reading the section of the book that made me aware of what I am eating, I believed that genetically modified crops were more beneficial than harmful to everyone. Not only did the genetically modified crops produce a higher yield to feed people, but the negative impact of technology outweighed its benefit. For example, Patel states, “domestic
If eco-docs tends to preach to the converted, Kenner presents his findings in such an engaging fashion that Food, Inc. may well reach the very viewers who could benefit from it the most: harried workers who don't have the time or income to read every book and eat non-genetically modified produce every day. Though he covers some of the same ground as Super-Size Me and King Corn, Food Inc. presents a broader picture of the problem, and if Kenner takes an understandably tough stance on particular politicians and corporations, he's just as quick to praise those who are trying to be responsible--even Wal-Mart, which now carries organic
Within recent years there has been an uprising movement to eat organically. Some choose to do this to because of GMO’s while others make this choice because of a want to eat healthier. Locally grown foods do have their pros and cons. While eating locally provides beneficial aspects to society, the locavore movement does not necessarily affect the cost, environmental, and health factors.
“The End of Food” by Paul Roberts was a very interesting book to read and quite frankly a bit frightening. Roberts touches on nutritional issues, governmental issues and environmental issues. It is apparent throughout the book that the food production system is not sustainable. The current food system relies on commercial farming and mass production of products. The mass production of food relies heavily on fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides. All of these practices to produce food at a mass quantity is concerning. Food safety is at risk when fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides are being heavily used as well. Since food is being produced at such a large rate, one would think that food would be cheaper to purchase, but one would be wrong. Roberts touches on un-reasonable food prices as well. Since biofuels are being used at such a large quantity rising energy prices may be another action that leads our food production to crash. There were so many topics talked about in “The End of Food”, that it is impressive Roberts was able to fit all of his views and information on four-hundred pages.
Imagine the world in about twenty years. What’s new? Technology. Medicine. Celebrities. Trends. What about something as simple as food? Will it be the delicious, fragrant,colorful delicacy we’re used to or an odorless and unsavory beige liquid only consumed twice a day? A new product, Soylent, is just that, all the nutrients necessary for survival compiled into a pancake-batter like beverage that replaces food; “a large burden [and]hassle” according to the Soylent creator, Rob Rhinehart. In an article entitled, “The End of Food,” the author, Lizzie Widdicombe discusses the intentions and motivations of Rob Rhinehart as well as her own opinions on Soylent and its effects on consumers and non consumers. To both foodies and common people who
Nina Fedoroff’s and Nancy Marie Brown’s Mendel in the Kitchen: A Scientist’s View of Genetically Modified Foods is a rich narrative describing the history, technology, and science of genetically modified foods and their implications for society today. Along the way, Fedoroff and co-author Brown use illustrative examples to dispel myths and misunderstandings about genetically modified foods. Even those initially unfamiliar with genetically modified foods will leave with a broad yet solid grasp of these complex biological concepts. Fedoroff and Brown use clear and concise language; combined with helpful illustrations, even the most difficult topics (particularly those related to genetics) discussed in the book were made accessible to the general public. Ultimately, Fedoroff argues that the real problem is the general lack of understanding amongst the public about what exactly this plant biotechnology is, causing unwarranted fear and mistrust of genetically modified foods. Genetically modified foods are beneficial to society as a whole and safe for us to consume, and Fedoroff asserts that it is time we embrace these GMOs through Mendel in the Kitchen.
All over the world, people are dying from empty stomachs, empty pockets, and empty hearts. John Robbins from the Huffington Post, in his article, “Can GMO’s Help End World Hunger?” presents the pros and cons taken into account when this touchy topic hits the table. He sheds light on the ugly truth behind biotechnical companies and their real intention concerning GMO’s across the world. Genetically modified organisms could be the end of world hunger however, that is not the goal for the biotech industry. A resolution for this problem will not be reached due to companies like Monsanto’s vision of maximum profit over all else.
Take a good look at what you consume. You will soon realize that it is Monsanto’s creation of “frankenfood”. Frankenfood, also known as genetically modified muck, is extremely hazardous and detrimental to our health. Monsanto, the world’s largest agricultural and agrochemical biotechnology corporation is the modern day version of the worst villain and “the face of corporate evil” (Anderson e.p. 1). This company, made and run by humans, creates foods and other chemical infused products that cause adverse effects on both the environment and humanity. Instead of evolving and bringing about good changes to ourselves and the environment, we are doing the exact opposite. Humans always strive for better, but what we do not realize is that our careless
With surging global population, climatic anomalies, and energy and water reserves approaching depletion - who or what agent will feed the planet? The multinational model of western culture seems eager to oblige in an industrialized response to these deficiencies. Yet, this system ignores the poorest that would ostensibly benefit most; the importation of the western archetype’s low cost, high volume, year-round abundance creates a schema so interdependent and thinly stretched that an outbreak of disease or other catastrophe would disrupt the ability of the system to respond to that stressor. In The End of Food, Paul Roberts, a reporter for Harper’s and author of The End of Oil, attempts to cut the food crisis into three digestible pieces for
This documentary manages to reflect the reality of humanity today, but is hidden before our eyes for us to continue living in a world dedicated to consumerism and "all for the rich - little for the poor." Thus reflect Food Inc. allows human beings, exposing issues like the handling of animals, genetic modifications made daily, indiscriminate overuse of antibiotics, violations that exist immigration laws affecting workers, constant epidemics of diseases and the increasing rate of people suffering from obesity due to their inability to buy healthy food, the little time available because of their work schedules, or simply the variety of engineered foods, which can be extracted very few nutrients. These are just some of the aspects that presents Food, Inc. to demonstrate how corrupt practices in food production are favored daily, passing over the health of consumers and welfare of animals and natural resources.
The first of these is that foods with ingredients that were created synthetically could be labelled as natural because they are identical to natural foods. Another controversy comes over whether synthetic food production will actually save farm space. Because the organisms are modified to ‘think’ that they feed on sugar, the world’s demand for sugar will increase dramatically. If synthetic biology becomes a mainstream process for food production, it would put an enormous amount of pressure on sugar plantations to expand, which could lead to the destruction of many endangered species of trees and creatures (Colwell). Another controversy that arises when talking about synthetic biology, usually synthetic meats, is that most people do not find it comforting to know that they are eating something that was created in a lab. It makes people ask what they are really eating if it is not beef. Along with these social concerns, ethical concerns surround this issue as well, as some people believe that this technology could lead to some sort of mutated organism escaping from a lab and spreading a disease that harms humans (“New”
The End of Food is an competent and comprehensive study on the multiplicity of threats that exist to thwart feeding humans on a global scale. Yet, it is a challenging read due to the repetition of subject matter, moderate voice amidst catastrophic scenarios, and ad hominem attacks on activists. The latter two factors lend to an unprofessional, pejorative and emotive appeal to certain passages, detracting from the urgency of the current and impending crisis. The epilogue creates a “perfect-storm” narrative which begins plausibly but soon overextends into hyperbolic vectors predicting a doomsday scenario (Roberts 301). Given the number of vectors and possibilities, the accuracy of the prediction becomes statistically improbable. Ending his book
Welcome to the age of an agricultural revolution as everyday biotechnology continues to bring innovation to human’s most basic needs – food. Food is essential to any living organism, providing energy for our production and nutrients for our protection. Without this fundamental element, life cannot exist. Our lack to produce our own energy, like plants, causes us to become dependent on others for survival. Humans existence is attributed only to the million years of evolution our food source underwent to sustain our survival. Changing the primary nature of our food source, whether it is plant or animal, directs mankind in a dangerous future if our food dependency is permanently hampered. Welcome to the age of an agricultural devolution