Isabella Soteldo
Final: Discuss past and present of food. Predict future of food. Reference class notes.
Food is one of the most essential needs humans need to survive. As long as people, animals or plants that need it exist, food is always going to be there. From cave men hunting gathered, to natives hunting gathering as well, to the machines that the industrial food system works with, humans have always tried to get food for survival, or in our case now, just for money or obesity.
The men or women that we know were the first at “collecting” food were cave men by hunting their prey, then as humans developed we have improved our ways on hunting or gathering food in a way that allows us to get more food in a faster way, not minding the consequences. Of course as our technology advances the way we gather food gets even more productive; faster, uses more and more oil. Even though, oil is useful and it is helpful to make food, it does help us in a big way. But when did consuming oil become such a big deal, and when did it become a “crisis” that people talk about? It all started in the Green Revolution.
The Green Revolution is a term used to describe the transformation of agriculture in many developing nations that led to significant increases in agricultural production between the 1940s and 1960s. The Green Revolution introduced many new aspects to industrial agriculture such as : pesticides, irrigation projects, and synthetic nitrogen fertilizer which are used now a day and are also used with the help of oil.In fact, an article by Danielle Murray “Oil and Food” states “ World fertilizer use has increased dramatically since the 1950’s. China is now the top consumer with use rising beyond 40 million tons in 2004”. With the Green Revolution every statistic went up, including the one that says when we will run out of oil. Since then, oil has been a major need in the Industrial Food System.
Every time we eat we are eating oil. According to Danielle Murray the following is the percent of oil used in food production, 21 percent of overal food system energy is used in agricultural production, another 14 goes to food transport, 16 percent to processing, 7 percent to packaging, 4 percent to food retailing, 7 percents to restaurants and caterers, and 32 percent to home refrigeration and preparation.
Right now specially in the United States people are suffering from obesity because of food and how we eat, Michael Pollan said “You are what you grow” and I think that that best describes the relationship our society has right now with food. In Michael Pollan’s article “The way we live now” he states that the most reliable predictor of obesity in the United States today is a person’s wealth. For example there was an experiment conducted by Drewnowski; a researcher in Washington University, that if you go to a supermarket with a dollar, you can buy 1,200 calories of cookies or potato chips, but only 250 calories of carrots.
In the present food has helped and killed our society in many ways, it has always been there ever since the beginning, the only thing that has changed about it is how we grow it, make it, trnsport it and cook it. Also, since there have been many “useless” foods created, such as gummy bears, cookies or any others that are harmful to our health and does not provide us with anything else but pleasure and gluttony.
The way I think food is going to be in our fututre is in either one way or another. The first way, is that people will become aware of how the industrial food system and how people are consuming food affects our environment and that this way of living might not be sustainalbe for our future, in fact there might not even be one. The second way is since a lot of humans specially in this society are very ignorant of what is going on around them and are unaware of anything that is is going on, even though some might be aware but not really care, their ignorance will drive them to a point where is too late to make any changes and when they can not really do anything much about the problem. At that point I feel like the only way to survive is to open their minds and think, but if not there really isn’t another alterantive. Food will end, because humans will end.
In conclusion, Food has always been there ever since the beginning of time, it is still here and hopefully it will be here in the future. The way it has been made, transported and consumed has changed a lot, it has also affected our environment in many ways, and if we really want our food to always be here, there has to be a change about how our society and the Industrial food system does things.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Response to article Oil and Food: A Rising Security by:Danielle Murray
Oil is a huge part in our lives, specially when it comes to food. When we eat, we are literally eating oil. every time population increases the size of the farms warehouses where they make food increases as well, so does the machinery and the amount of oil that is used to make and transport these food.
Three fourths of what we eat is processed food which means it is food that has been grown, harvested, transported and cooked with oil. Instead of eating so much of that we shold start ating more legumes and garins that take less oil to grow and transport. Even packaging the food takes up oil and this is destroying our environment every day.
A way to save more oil is by buying food from the farmer's market which is much better because they don't take as much oil to make food ad other companies. Even though they are only .3 percent of food sales we need to go there more if we want to have a good future with no food scarcity and take more care of where we buy our food.
Three fourths of what we eat is processed food which means it is food that has been grown, harvested, transported and cooked with oil. Instead of eating so much of that we shold start ating more legumes and garins that take less oil to grow and transport. Even packaging the food takes up oil and this is destroying our environment every day.
A way to save more oil is by buying food from the farmer's market which is much better because they don't take as much oil to make food ad other companies. Even though they are only .3 percent of food sales we need to go there more if we want to have a good future with no food scarcity and take more care of where we buy our food.
response to energybulletin.com
In this website it basically explain what is, what it means to us, and that we are not going to be able to use it soon. This worries me, because even though we are learning what to do and how to prevent ourselves from something bad happening to us due to scarsity of oil, other people in the world do not know and will not be ready when the time comes. There should be more people that go out there in the real world and try to inform people about it, because "knowing is power", and we need to learn how to survive, or how to not waste oil in stupidity.
Friday, March 30, 2007
COMMENT ON PABLOS PAGE
This is a good start for you paper, because you are descrining how you see the ifs but you should explain more and how it affects others. Good Job!
cOMMENT ON Elliot's page
YOOO CHIKO! i agree with stanley this is a great first draft but i think that you should talk more about how does the ifs affect the u.s, also what can people do to change it? but i think so far you are doing a good job. KEEP IT UP!
PEACE !
PEACE !
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Final draft More about the IFS
Isabella Soteldo
More about the Industrial Food System
What exactly is the industrial food system? Many people describe it as “The Machine” I think of it as part of the machine, for me the machine is the world we live in which is made up of different components that make it the way it is. One component is the Industrial food system (IFS). The IFS believe it or not affects every living thing on planet Earth, it controls what we eat, if our bodies get sick, or even if we live or die.
Body 1
The IFS is the system that distributes food all over the United States. They kill, make and distribute our food. The way it works is by hiring hundreds of illegal immigrants which get paid less than minimum wage with no insurance or any health help and make them work by killing cows and other animals we consume. The problem is not that they kill cows or chicken or even fish, the problem is the way they do it. According to the book Fast Food Nation, one in every four hamburgers contains cow shit. Most of the food made in these factories is distributed to fast food restaurants like Mc Donald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger king. The reason why there is cow shit in our hamburgers is because when the illegal immigrants come and work at these factories, they are not trained to kill the cow, so they don’t know where to cut what so they make mistakes. Which makes the cow shit get into the meat.
Body 2
The IFS is the primary source of U.S nutrition, because since they distribute their products to one of the most important and known fast food chains in the world, people eat it all the time. Also, eating fast food or eating in fast food restaurants is a part of most American’s lives. There are various problems with the IFS, besides the fact that the meat is “shitty” because the speed of the workers line is too fast and the pay is too little, they also inject hormones to the animals and treat them very badly as well. Even though I do eat meat I think that the animals deserve a better life and shouldn’t be tortured.
Body 3
On the contraire, I believe that there is a part of the IFS that is more “normal”. Since people in the United States do eat meat, u can’t force them to never eat meat again so these animals won’t be tortured. There are also farms and factories where animals are “free range” and are allowed to have a happy life, they aren’t tortured or injected with hormones, but since there is something called the food chain people have to eat meat too (if they choose to) and the only way to eat it is killing cows, fish and chicken. I feel like we are exactly like animals just a little more sophisticated, because we don’t attack our prey by jumping on them and biting the raw meat with our bare mouths. It is part of life, but if the animals and workers are treated like they are treated in the movies that we saw in class, then that does make us savages. Instead of trying to increase the rate at which the people are working in this factories, they should decrease it and also increase the quality of the meat, maybe that way fast food chains will not buy meat and run out of business which is actually a big advantage for every one.
Body 4
Sometimes, people are aware that the food that they are eating is probably not the best for them, but it also has to do with how good of a meat can they afford? I think that in some cases the richer you are the better your health is which is a very big minus since more than half of the population is not rich and for some it is very hard to buy organic or free range food that is much healthier for you than a BIG MAC or 99 cents for four chicken Mcnuggets. Sometimes you can’t just ban the IFS from making shitty hamburgers for a good price unless you have a plan with what you will replace these shitty cheap hamburgers with that will be economic for the middle to lower class customers.
Body 5
This system tells us a lot about our culture, the number one thing that it tells us is that we are ignorant about the things that happen around us, because if more people knew that our hamburgers were “shitty” or how the animals and workers are treated in these factories, I could assure you that Mc Donald’s would not be the most visited place in the United States. The second thing that it shows about our culture (even though it isn’t really my culture, but I am growing up in it.) is that since the United States is one of the most powerful countries in the world, it shows what people can do to be even more powerful, or the lack of compassion that people have for others. Sincerely I don’t think that this way of living will change anytime soon, or maybe never because as time keeps passing by people’s heads get bigger and bigger with ignorance and less compassion towards others. I believe people should be informed of this crisis and try to inform others.
Body 6
In the movie Fast Food Nation one of the characters said “This isn’t good people vs. bad people is about the machine taking over the country” I think that the machine is not taking over the country, the machine is the country, there is no way u can possibly get out of it, because even if you think you do, u still live in it, u still breathe in it, and it will always be there. Even when people try to do drastic acts to prove a point or to change something they disagree in they are still going to be those people everyone hates, because they are against “the machine”, which is still being part of it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I believe that IFS is the primary source of U.S nutrition and what most affects our lives. But I also believe that there has to be at least one thing good about it. It feeds us and keeps us living (to an extent), but it can also destroy us. As for the machine, it is always going to be there, either you agree with it or you don’t you are always going to be part of it. You can’t just plug something in the back of your head and disappear.
More about the Industrial Food System
What exactly is the industrial food system? Many people describe it as “The Machine” I think of it as part of the machine, for me the machine is the world we live in which is made up of different components that make it the way it is. One component is the Industrial food system (IFS). The IFS believe it or not affects every living thing on planet Earth, it controls what we eat, if our bodies get sick, or even if we live or die.
Body 1
The IFS is the system that distributes food all over the United States. They kill, make and distribute our food. The way it works is by hiring hundreds of illegal immigrants which get paid less than minimum wage with no insurance or any health help and make them work by killing cows and other animals we consume. The problem is not that they kill cows or chicken or even fish, the problem is the way they do it. According to the book Fast Food Nation, one in every four hamburgers contains cow shit. Most of the food made in these factories is distributed to fast food restaurants like Mc Donald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger king. The reason why there is cow shit in our hamburgers is because when the illegal immigrants come and work at these factories, they are not trained to kill the cow, so they don’t know where to cut what so they make mistakes. Which makes the cow shit get into the meat.
Body 2
The IFS is the primary source of U.S nutrition, because since they distribute their products to one of the most important and known fast food chains in the world, people eat it all the time. Also, eating fast food or eating in fast food restaurants is a part of most American’s lives. There are various problems with the IFS, besides the fact that the meat is “shitty” because the speed of the workers line is too fast and the pay is too little, they also inject hormones to the animals and treat them very badly as well. Even though I do eat meat I think that the animals deserve a better life and shouldn’t be tortured.
Body 3
On the contraire, I believe that there is a part of the IFS that is more “normal”. Since people in the United States do eat meat, u can’t force them to never eat meat again so these animals won’t be tortured. There are also farms and factories where animals are “free range” and are allowed to have a happy life, they aren’t tortured or injected with hormones, but since there is something called the food chain people have to eat meat too (if they choose to) and the only way to eat it is killing cows, fish and chicken. I feel like we are exactly like animals just a little more sophisticated, because we don’t attack our prey by jumping on them and biting the raw meat with our bare mouths. It is part of life, but if the animals and workers are treated like they are treated in the movies that we saw in class, then that does make us savages. Instead of trying to increase the rate at which the people are working in this factories, they should decrease it and also increase the quality of the meat, maybe that way fast food chains will not buy meat and run out of business which is actually a big advantage for every one.
Body 4
Sometimes, people are aware that the food that they are eating is probably not the best for them, but it also has to do with how good of a meat can they afford? I think that in some cases the richer you are the better your health is which is a very big minus since more than half of the population is not rich and for some it is very hard to buy organic or free range food that is much healthier for you than a BIG MAC or 99 cents for four chicken Mcnuggets. Sometimes you can’t just ban the IFS from making shitty hamburgers for a good price unless you have a plan with what you will replace these shitty cheap hamburgers with that will be economic for the middle to lower class customers.
Body 5
This system tells us a lot about our culture, the number one thing that it tells us is that we are ignorant about the things that happen around us, because if more people knew that our hamburgers were “shitty” or how the animals and workers are treated in these factories, I could assure you that Mc Donald’s would not be the most visited place in the United States. The second thing that it shows about our culture (even though it isn’t really my culture, but I am growing up in it.) is that since the United States is one of the most powerful countries in the world, it shows what people can do to be even more powerful, or the lack of compassion that people have for others. Sincerely I don’t think that this way of living will change anytime soon, or maybe never because as time keeps passing by people’s heads get bigger and bigger with ignorance and less compassion towards others. I believe people should be informed of this crisis and try to inform others.
Body 6
In the movie Fast Food Nation one of the characters said “This isn’t good people vs. bad people is about the machine taking over the country” I think that the machine is not taking over the country, the machine is the country, there is no way u can possibly get out of it, because even if you think you do, u still live in it, u still breathe in it, and it will always be there. Even when people try to do drastic acts to prove a point or to change something they disagree in they are still going to be those people everyone hates, because they are against “the machine”, which is still being part of it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I believe that IFS is the primary source of U.S nutrition and what most affects our lives. But I also believe that there has to be at least one thing good about it. It feeds us and keeps us living (to an extent), but it can also destroy us. As for the machine, it is always going to be there, either you agree with it or you don’t you are always going to be part of it. You can’t just plug something in the back of your head and disappear.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
More about the Industrial Food System
More about the Industrial Food System
What exactly is the industrial food system? Many people describe it as “The Machine” I think of it as part of the machine, for me the machine is the world we live in which is made up of different components that make it the way it is. One component is the Industrial food system (IFS). The IFS believe it or not affects every living thing on planet Earth, it controls what we eat, if our bodies get sick, or even if we live or die.
Body 1
The IFS is the system that distributes food all over the United States. They kill, make and distribute our food. The way it works is by hiring hundreds of illegal immigrants which get paid less than minimum wage with no insurance or any health help and make them work by killing cows and other animals we consume. The problem is not that they kill cows or chicken or even fish, the problem is the way they do it. According to the book Fast Food Nation, one in every four hamburgers contains cow shit. Most of the food made in these factories is distributed to fast food restaurants like Mc Donald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger king. The reason why there is cow shit in our hamburgers is because when the illegal immigrants come and work at these factories, they are not trained to kill the cow, so they don’t know where to cut what so they make mistakes. Which makes the cow shit get into the meat.
Body 2
The IFS is the primary source of U.S nutrition, because since they distribute their products to one of the most important and known fast food chains in the world, people eat it all the time. Also, eating fast food or eating in fast food restaurants is a part of most American’s lives. There are various problems with the IFS, besides the fact that the meat is “shitty” because the speed of the workers line is too fast and the pay is too little, they also inject hormones to the animals and treat them very badly as well. Even though I do eat meat I think that the animals deserve a better life and shouldn’t be tortured.
Body 3
On the contraire, I believe that there is a part of the IFS that is more “normal”. Since people in the United States do eat meat, u can’t force them to never eat meat again so these animals won’t be tortured. There are also farms and factories where animals are “free range” and are allowed to have a happy life, they aren’t tortured or injected with hormones, but since there is something called the food chain people have to eat meat too (if they choose to) and the only way to eat it is killing cows, fish and chicken. I feel like we are exactly like animals just a little more sophisticated, because we don’t attack our prey by jumping on them and biting the raw meat with our bare mouths. It is part of life, but if the animals and workers are treated like they are treated in the movies that we saw in class, then that does make us savages.
Body 4
This system tells us a lot about our culture, the number one thing that it tells us is that we are ignorant about the things that happen around us, because if more people knew that our hamburgers were “shitty” or how the animals and workers are treated in these factories, I could assure you that Mc Donald’s would not be the most visited place in the United States. The second thing that it shows about our culture (even though it isn’t really my culture, but I am growing up in it.) is that since the United States is one of the most powerful countries in the world, it shows what people can do to be even more powerful, or the lack of compassion that people have for others. Sincerely I don’t think that this way of living will change anytime soon, or maybe never because as time keeps passing by people’s heads get bigger and bigger with ignorance and less compassion towards others. I believe people should be informed of this crisis and try to inform others.
Body 5
In the movie Fast Food Nation one of the characters said “This isn’t good people vs. bad people is about the machine taking over the country” I think that the machine is not taking over the country, the machine is the country, there is no way u can possibly get out of it, because even if you think you do, u still live in it, u still breathe in it, and it will always be there. Even when people try to do drastic acts to prove a point or to change something they disagree in they are still going to be those people everyone hates, because they are against “the machine”, which is still being part of it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I believe that IFS is the primary source of U.S nutrition and what most affects our lives. But I also believe that there has to be at least one thing good about it. It feeds us and keeps us living (to an extent), but it can also destroy us. As for the machine, it is always going to be there, either you agree with it or you don’t you are always going to be part of it. You can’t just plug something in the back of your head and disappear.
What exactly is the industrial food system? Many people describe it as “The Machine” I think of it as part of the machine, for me the machine is the world we live in which is made up of different components that make it the way it is. One component is the Industrial food system (IFS). The IFS believe it or not affects every living thing on planet Earth, it controls what we eat, if our bodies get sick, or even if we live or die.
Body 1
The IFS is the system that distributes food all over the United States. They kill, make and distribute our food. The way it works is by hiring hundreds of illegal immigrants which get paid less than minimum wage with no insurance or any health help and make them work by killing cows and other animals we consume. The problem is not that they kill cows or chicken or even fish, the problem is the way they do it. According to the book Fast Food Nation, one in every four hamburgers contains cow shit. Most of the food made in these factories is distributed to fast food restaurants like Mc Donald’s, Wendy’s, and Burger king. The reason why there is cow shit in our hamburgers is because when the illegal immigrants come and work at these factories, they are not trained to kill the cow, so they don’t know where to cut what so they make mistakes. Which makes the cow shit get into the meat.
Body 2
The IFS is the primary source of U.S nutrition, because since they distribute their products to one of the most important and known fast food chains in the world, people eat it all the time. Also, eating fast food or eating in fast food restaurants is a part of most American’s lives. There are various problems with the IFS, besides the fact that the meat is “shitty” because the speed of the workers line is too fast and the pay is too little, they also inject hormones to the animals and treat them very badly as well. Even though I do eat meat I think that the animals deserve a better life and shouldn’t be tortured.
Body 3
On the contraire, I believe that there is a part of the IFS that is more “normal”. Since people in the United States do eat meat, u can’t force them to never eat meat again so these animals won’t be tortured. There are also farms and factories where animals are “free range” and are allowed to have a happy life, they aren’t tortured or injected with hormones, but since there is something called the food chain people have to eat meat too (if they choose to) and the only way to eat it is killing cows, fish and chicken. I feel like we are exactly like animals just a little more sophisticated, because we don’t attack our prey by jumping on them and biting the raw meat with our bare mouths. It is part of life, but if the animals and workers are treated like they are treated in the movies that we saw in class, then that does make us savages.
Body 4
This system tells us a lot about our culture, the number one thing that it tells us is that we are ignorant about the things that happen around us, because if more people knew that our hamburgers were “shitty” or how the animals and workers are treated in these factories, I could assure you that Mc Donald’s would not be the most visited place in the United States. The second thing that it shows about our culture (even though it isn’t really my culture, but I am growing up in it.) is that since the United States is one of the most powerful countries in the world, it shows what people can do to be even more powerful, or the lack of compassion that people have for others. Sincerely I don’t think that this way of living will change anytime soon, or maybe never because as time keeps passing by people’s heads get bigger and bigger with ignorance and less compassion towards others. I believe people should be informed of this crisis and try to inform others.
Body 5
In the movie Fast Food Nation one of the characters said “This isn’t good people vs. bad people is about the machine taking over the country” I think that the machine is not taking over the country, the machine is the country, there is no way u can possibly get out of it, because even if you think you do, u still live in it, u still breathe in it, and it will always be there. Even when people try to do drastic acts to prove a point or to change something they disagree in they are still going to be those people everyone hates, because they are against “the machine”, which is still being part of it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I believe that IFS is the primary source of U.S nutrition and what most affects our lives. But I also believe that there has to be at least one thing good about it. It feeds us and keeps us living (to an extent), but it can also destroy us. As for the machine, it is always going to be there, either you agree with it or you don’t you are always going to be part of it. You can’t just plug something in the back of your head and disappear.
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