Essay Slow Food Movement

Malcolm Gladwell’s article “The Trouble with Fries” is about a very invasive topic. Fast Food is killing us. Can it be fixed? Although his thesis statement isn’t exactly clear, he effectively uses evidence to convince his audience that a nutrition movement is needed especially for fast food. By discussing many factors with supporting evidence that is factual he shows why fast food is struggling to have a nutrition movement.

The graph presents the fact that the production of food products create the large majority of emissions. For example, gas emission released from the transportation of red meat is dwarfed by the amount used in its production. This shows that eating local is not a sufficient way to counter energy use and gas emissions as many would think it to be. McWilliam’s “On My Mind: The Locavore Myth” also provides insight into the movement’s lack of energy use. While discussing the importation of foreign food, the author states “...and you discover that factors other than shipping far outweigh the energy it takes to transport food… transportation accounts for only 11% of food’s carbon footprint” (McWilliams). This shows how insignificant eating locally is for saving energy and cutting down on emissions as transportation doesn’t account for nearly as much as other aspects. Eating locally will not have do a significant job in helping a community save energy.

From then on, Domini describes the Slow Food movement as being short-sighted or elitist. She does so through the use of statistics such as, “In 2007, sales for the 400 largest U.S-based fast-food chains totaled $227 billion,” and “In America, the average person eats it (fast-food) more than 150 times a year,” which portrays the fast-food industry as a powerful machine that can’t easily be replaced. An industry as powerful as the fast-food industry will be nearly impossible to abolish.

Every day the average american can be seen throwing money at things. This is the relationship that can be made between america and food, as seen in “What We Eat”. Eric Schlosser talks about how food in general has made a noticeable difference on the American society. He does this by referencing how the amount of money the average american spends on food has surpassed numbers unimaginable. Schlosser says that the effect of fast food in america has made it so that “On any given day, about one quarter of the adult population visits a fast-food restaurant.”

The movie, “In Defense of Food” is written and created by Michael Pollan. In this movie Pollin addresses the question of the correct way to eat. Additionally, he explains how the food industry gains from the confusion over what is nutritionally correct, an idea created by scientists called nutritionism. Pollan discusses how control over what families ate shifted from cultural factors, such as mothers and traditions, to marketing and the food industry. He concludes that

In reality this movement, while for the time being, is considered a ‘trend’ the movement is growing into a way of life. As stated by Anthony Flaccavento “These are ordinary, middle-income folks who have become really engaged in food and really care where their food comes from.” (Source E) This interest in where food comes from does not mean that they are attempting to be, as Flaccavento so beautifully put it, a “fringe foodie culture”. It is a group of ordinary people that are invested in the origin and the nutritional value of their own food. While for some people just knowing the story of their food makes them more comfortable with what they’re putting into their bodies rather than having to wonder what the food was grown in and what happened to it in the long trip from crop fields to factories to super

The locavore movement encourages people in towns to consume more locally grown food, by society consuming locally grown food transportation is cut down which helps better the environment. Since locally grown food is produce that is cultivated in the community transportation is down to a minimum which is a blessing for the environment. “ Eating local is better for air quality and pollution than eating organic. “ ( Source A ) less transportation use helps lessen the pollution in the air which in turn helps provide the community with cleaner fresher air. “ The move towards local food for all its trendiness highlights one of the problematic pieces of the modern food economy : the increasing reliance on foods shipped halfway round the world. “ ( Source E ) The

People’s ability to assess certain courses of action brings about two distinct paths: it either hinders the person’s ability to gauge their surroundings or it enables them to see and act based on a completely new perspective. It is our seemingly competent nature, as generalists, that has led to the rise of the phenomenon known as the “national eating disorder.” Skewing food culture and trend patterns, we have come to trust in our natural aptitude for survival as a way to pave our way through sustaining nourishment while coming into terms with the opportunity costs that accompany all of our decisions. There is something about food that grabs people; it is the individual tastes and textures, the unique stories of each and every ingredient that is used to make food, and the smell of spices that brings familiarity that

The food industry has a large impact on individuals and will affect wider communities in the future. The rush of today’s society has pushed food production to become more commercialized with prepackaged/premade based foods. For numerous reasons such as time, work and costs of living, people are wanting meals that are cheap, fast, easy and don’t require much effort. This is due to many obligations and priorities in life that are put above

The basic survival needs of human beings include a small list of four things: food, water, clothing, and shelter. After watching an interview with Robert Kenner, the director of Food, Inc., I began to realize that the food humans are eating is actually decreasing are survivability. Within the excerpts from the movie and the dialogue amongst the interviewers, it was made apparent that the food industry has been able to completely deceive the consumers. Instead of choosing food for quality, individuals choose food by lowest price. As Kenner said in the video, “we have skewed our food system to the bad calories” (2:38). Instead of healthy home cooked meals, families are purchasing fast food for its convenience and low cost. However, the video made a very interesting stance in regards to this mentality. Although individuals are paying the lowest price for food in history, the cost of treating diseases caused by unhealthy eating has grown to be higher than ever before (8:04).

In today's generation, healthy and unhealthy food plays a huge role in one's life. Especially when it comes to budgeting your expenses. Comparing the Guatemala and North Carolina family, you can tell many differences by looking at the images. It's obvious that the family from Guatemala eats healthy and the other doesn’t. Fast food has changed the world we live in now. Many years ago, people ate healthily and spent less money on junk food because they spent most of the time cooking their own food. Over the years, the production of fast food has increased tremendously in America. 77.3 percent of industries have taken over the production of fast food. Agriculture is one

have hope that the society’s views will change. Food is what brings people together in this

We live in a world that is in a continuous process of transformation, considering that progress manages to control all the aspects of individual's life. Being part of a society which is always changing makes it essential for people have to adapt to all these aspects. One of the biggest problems for the American society is that it has no time to eat, since it is always on the run. Fast food came as the greatest solution for this problem. Since the process of modernization of the American society is accelerated day by day, the fast food industry has gained its place on the market. Even if individuals are well aware of the problems they can and will encounter if they eat fast food, they are forced by the circumstances to fall back on it.

In the documentary, Food Inc., we get an inside look at the secrets and horrors of the food industry. The director, Robert Kenner, argues that most Americans have no idea where their food comes from or what happens to it before they put it in their bodies. To him, this is a major issue and a great danger to society as a whole. One of the conclusions of this documentary is that we should not blindly trust the food companies, and we should ultimately be more concerned with what we are eating and feeding to our children. Through his investigations, he hopes to lift the veil from the hidden world of food.

Global influences of the fast food industry are shown in the health problems in society today. The cheap production of meat and grains for the fast food industry cause harm to the environment, humans, and animals. The fast food that is consumed is not only bad for the health of people but also for the environment. As food provides more than just sustenance; it increasingly has come to shape and mediate our understanding of ourselves and our culture.