Taking a Look at Local Produce

America’s vast food supply has increased. Foods that were once hard to come by can be found in almost all the grocery stores across the nation. In the article “What’s Eating America”, by Michael Pollan, who is a professor of journalism, explains how the bounty of food came about. He writes about the creation of synthetic fertilizer and how it was used to fertilize crops and essentially make all the foods today. He writes about the harmful effects that are occurring as a result of the chemically made fertilizer. In another article called written by Katherine Spriggs, a student from Stanford University, she writes about the benefits of buying local versus becoming dependent on the import of food. She feels that buying from local farms

The book called The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan talks about 4 different food chains and their pros and cons. The Local sustainable farms let the animals roam free and feed them what the animals are supposed to eat. The food from the local sustainable farms are all natural with no pesticides or artificial fertilizer etc. The local sustainable food chain has the potential to feed all the people of America because it’s healthier for the consumer, animals eat what they are supposed to, and it’s healthier for the environment.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2011 Consumer Expenditure Survey, each year millions of americans visit grocery stores, spending an average of $8,315, buying food to feed themselves and their families. However, how many of these americans stop to think of the where this food came from, how it was produced, or the impact that this food has on our environment? On Buying Local, is a persuasive essay written by Kathrine Spriggs, that explores some of these questions, and addresses many points of interest regarding the ideas and benefits of buying locally produced food.

Have you ever walked down the grocery store aisle and wondered where your chicken comes from? Or if the ham you just bought is healthier for your family, than the other brand of ham you saw? In “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, Michael Pollan states that there are four different food chains. They’re the industrial, the industrial organic, the local sustainable, and the hunter-gatherer food chains. I believe that the best food chain for everyone in the United States would be the local sustainable. The local sustainable food chain is the best for the United States because it is better for the animal, and better for the environment. Although the local sustainable food chain would take a long time to get used to, it would be the best option for the United States.

In order to change the way the United States food system is operating at the moment, a change needs to be made in the education that people are receiving about the way their food is produced, manufactured, distributed and consumed. The U.S. food system has become increasingly reliant on mass production factories and multinational retail corporations while local farms and family owned food markets diminish. Economies of scale and opportunity costs represent barriers to change of the current food system because of the many different paths available, each creating different outcomes for consumers, sellers, large corporations and small farms, determining their profit, prices, capital and value. Educating the American people about the benefits of local food production and the downsides of large scale food production, such as nutritional value, disease and safety concerns, and economic advantages, will help to move our food system from “point A” to “point B”.

I will be telling you today how plant-based foods are healthier for you, how it will help improve your mental health, and how eating plant based foods is cheaper.

Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma explains the problems of different kinds of food. His books explores different kinds of food chains, some good, some bad. The article, The Economic Impact of Killing 'Pink Slime." By Sandhya Dirks also explains the economic impacts of industrial food chains. Both of these texts explains how industrial food chains and how they can negatively effect our world. The world is filled with different food choices. Some good and some bad. Smaller farms tend to make less money However, people have the choice to choose which foods they eat. The foods people eat impact animals, the economy, and the heath of people.

In the book ‘The Omnivore’s Dilemma’, by Michael Pollan, he inquires into the secrets within the four food chains; Industrial, Industrial Organic, Local Sustainable, and Hunter-Gatherer. Pollan lists the pros and cons of these four food chains. Industrial food is your Wendy’s, your McDonalds, your Burger King. There are multifarious benefits to this food chain. A major benefit for sure is the fact that it is inexpensive.

I chose the topic “food” because is a very essential factor of the human life. The United States surrounds itself with a variety of fast food chains that causes obesity and death. In order to prevent the negative health risks, there must be amends made. Finley suggested that growing your own food benefits you, your health, your health, and even your children.

research and after countless hours of thought, I narrowed down the areas to food safety, women

Food politics, one of the most complicated discussions of all. Four authors, four articles, and four opinions. The first article is “The Pleasures of Eating”, by Wendell Berry, is about health. His article is not only about our health, but our foods health. Berry speaks of blind eating and clueless purchasing, that we don’t know what we are eating. Some questions asked by Wendell Berry were “How fresh is it? How pure or clean is it, how free of dangerous chemicals? How far was it transported, and what did transportation add to the cost? How much did manufacturing or packaging or advertising add to the cost? When the food product has been manufactured or "processed" or "precooked," how has that affected its quality or price or nutritional value?”

Right now overproduction of bad foods is becoming a problem not only for the environment but also for the people consuming them. Bittman said that hundreds of years ago everyone cooked their own meals with local ingredients, nothing shipped around the world and nothing was processed. However as time went on more ready foods were being made, more restaurants opened, family farms were shrinking all because it was more efficient this way and convenient. Most people now were buying prepackaged food and food shipped from around the world and less people were eating home cooked meals.

When it comes to the topic of the local food movement, Stephen Budiansky will readily argue that it is actually better to nationally transport nourishments and expend produce from agriculture fields U.S have than it is to buy food that is grown locally. Where this argument usually ends, however, is on the question of which is the better way to eat? Whereas some are convinced that eating organically is the way to be, Budiansky maintain otherwise.

(Trewavas, 2001, p.409). This evidence shows that the use of the synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, is beneficial from a food safety point of view, as they decrease the possibility of getting ill from the consumption of this food. Therefore, conventionally grown food is safer than organically grown food, which does not use these chemicals.

In this reference work by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Community Outreach & Education Program, I gathered information mostly about pesticides used in conventional farming techniques. With their concentration on pesticides the EHP gave information about the different effects of pesticides on organic and conventional foods. Providing even