The Food Industry

The American food industry, just think about what you eat for a minute, where do you think it comes from, how do you think it is made, what do you think it is made out of, how many ingredients are in it. Most people would not give it a second thought, mostly because they do not want to know what they are putting in their body. The fact is not if you eat one McDonald's cheeseburger you will die it is that you should at least know what you are putting in your body, then you can make your own choice if you still want to eat it.

How a national food policy could save millions of American lives discusses the lack of a national food policy in America and how the food industry affects people and the world. Examples of issues that a nation food policy could alleviate include Americans access to healthy food and reducing the carbon footprint from food production. The article also discusses how special interests flourish from issues related to the food industry while citizens and the environment suffer.

The problem with food production in America is the mistreatment of livestock, the overproduction of corn in America, and the amount of corn feeded to the animals ; these issues affect consumers’ health because of the amount of diabetes has been increasing over years. Michael Pollan in "When a Crop Becomes King” he explains that the government pays for corn to be grown a lot more then it should be ,David Barboza in the article “If You Pitch it , They will Eat It” the way companies just want to get into kids mind by tricking them into telling their parents to buy them unhealthy food just for the toy it comes with, In “Pleasures of Eating,” Wendell Berry most of the people just rather be eating out then making food. There is uncertainty about the way food is produce because we cannot control people on what they

Fast food industry not only causes illness for people but also create problems to American agriculture since “The fast food chains now stand atop a huge food-industrial complex that has gained control of American agriculture.” (Schlosser). The fast foods companies need to purchase a vast of the agriculture products such as potatoes or cattle, and so they create corporate farms to provide products to their demands. Famer and cattle ranchers are being replaced by giant agribusiness companies which take over their lands. The independent famers are vanishing, and the gap between a small amount of wealthy elites and the large numbers of the working poor is getting bigger. When the fast foods companies control a vast of agriculture products, they also control prices of those products, which has driven down the prices and benefits that are offered to American farmers. According to Eric Scholosser, Nation Magazine Award winner, “In 1980, about thirty-seven cents of every consumer dollar spent on food went to the farmer. Today, only twenty-three cents goes to the farmer -

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”.

The food industry has been a big impact to people's lives by changing the way they feel, the way they are on weight and the appearance they show after eating the unhealthy products. In the article “When a Crop Becomes King” by Michael Pollan there is a quote that explains “To keep it well fed and safe from predators we douse it with chemicals that poison our water and deepen our dependence on foreign oil.” this means that some food products are covered with chemicals so insects won’t be be around it. Pollan let his readers know the truth behind the scenes with unhealthy food products to show that we should not eat at fast food restaurants since it is not real nutrients and healthy to your body. Most people do not know the kind of chemicals there are in the foods at any place you go because they do not research the supplements that are in them, they do not care and just eat what taste good to

Behind all the corn, the processing, and the food that results, is the man in charge: food corporations. Because of food corporations greed for money, processed foods have escalated out of control, causing a serious health epidemic: obesity. Michael Pollan, also author

It was our normal routine during the week, driving through the drive thru to get the kids a bite to eat. One day it could be Jack n the Box, another day it could be Mc Donald’s or Carl’s Jr, which ever fast food was voted on amongst my daughters is where we went. This past summer what seemed to be just another trip through the drive thru became a nightmare after eating hamburgers at our usual Carl’s Jr. Not so long after we ate, my older daughter began with severe abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever, chills, nausea and vomiting. I was immediately concerned and rushed her to the hospital to find out that she had food poisoning. There wasn’t much the doctor could do other than tell her to drink a lot of

The story of the fast food industry and its effect on the world is well told in the book Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. Schlosser makes the claim that, what started out as a special treat for the kids eventually ended up defining a way of life. During a brief period of time, the fast food industry has helped transform not only the American diet, but also our countryside, economy, workforce, and popular culture. The book thoroughly describes how important the two factors of money and power are in today's society. The book clearly establishes the broader thesis that as consumers, we should know what we eat even if it makes us uncomfortable by the knowledge.

The production and consumption of food has had an impact in Americans. According to a "The Washington Post" article, How a national food policy could save millions of American lives, the food industry affects Americans in economic, health and environmental aspects. This problem has not been resolved by the government. Government representatives and officials have spoken about ways to fix it but they have not come to an agreed solution for the damages caused by the food system. Some of the damages are income inequality, obesity, climate change, greenhouse gas emission, diabetes, other chronic diseases, and more. The American government is in conflict. They acknowledge the problems and say they will do something about it, but truly, they

The documentary ‘’Food Inc’’ gives a look into how the food system in America is run. Eric Schlosser a person in the documentary describes the American food system as ‘’ the world deliberately hidden from us.’’ As I watched the documentary called ‘’Food Inc’’ that statement became more and more apparent to me. Big name companies are constantly trying to hide to the consumers on the unruly truth about what we are putting into our food on a daily basis. The companies hide how the animals are not only treated but how they get to our plates. The companies also exaggerate the health level in which we retrieve the food. The American food system is ‘’the world deliberately hidden from us.’’

These powerful alliances requires the consumer to navigate through the confusing food environment and to pay close attention to nutritional facts, labels, and to carefully and consciously be mindful of advertisement of all sorts of media. For farmers, its a crippling business system that destroys their profession. For consumers, who do not make a conscious effort where they shop and what they eat subjects themselves to a lifestyle that can progressively lead to obesity and many other life threatening diseases. The politics of obesity and disease within the food industry is a public health concern.

Food Inc. opens in an American supermarket and draws attention to the unnatural nature of year-round tomatoes and boneless meat. It pulls aside the curtain that is concealing the truth about food from the consumer. After the brief intro, the movie shifts its focus to the topic of fast food and its impact on the meat industries. Fast food virtually started with McDonald’s. When they decided to simplify their menu and hire employees that repeated one task over and over for minimum wage, the result was the fast food phenomenon that swept the United States, and then the world. Today, McDonald’s is the largest purchaser of beef and potatoes in the United States, and is one of the largest purchasers of pork, chicken, tomatoes, and apples. Though

Before watching Food, Inc., my knowledge of the food system was very minimal. I was aware that it was a large industry due to the society’s population but never thought about the harmful effects of it. It was shocking to learn about the horrors of the food industry being that we consume food every day. As seen in the movie, the large multinational companies that control the food system work their hardest to hide the truth about what we are eating. If companies were to reveal what happens behind closed doors, it is most likely consumers such as me would cease eating inorganic products.

Throughout the years, there has been an incredible amount of speculation as to what ingredients are being put into the food we consume. The same food manufactured by major food corporations that can only be approved by the FDA. There are many techniques that these food corporations can use in order to gain consumer loyalty, but the main focus is the way their advertising works. Along with these advertisements, comes a target market as well. The food industry is constantly in speculation because there are always new foods that corporations want approved to sell. Some of these businesses are part of the fast food industry and others are international food companies that sell their products around the world. As adults and parents, we need to