If our food choices were driven solely on the factors of hunger, and the desire for nutrient, and energy efficient fuel for the body, we as Americans would be a healthier bunch, eating the same foods our great grandmothers could recognize. However this is not the case. So, what are the determining factors shaping what foods we eat? With time, food and technology have progressed, as the food industry has changed the food game completely by having influence on consumer. According to International Food Information Council (IFIC) foundation 2011 food and health survey "Taste and price are the biggest drivers of Americans food choices". Although the economy may impact your finances, and foods high in sugar and salt taste better, make smarter choices, …show more content…
It seems that the economy directly impacts, how much we want to spend on our food. Americans would rather spend less, than buy for nutritional reasons, and from recognizing the ingredients that are in the foods today. If looking at price per nutrient units, purchasing healthier foods, gives you a better deal. For example, one may buy a big bag of potato chips for four to five dollars with minimal to no nutrients or one could buy fruits and vegetables, loaded with nutrients, for just a dollar more. The fact that Americans base the majority of what the eat on costs, makes it a huge market, to which the Fast food chains and food manufacturing companies depend on for studied consumer behaviors, and have found ways to reduce costs, to just cents, to produce foods using biotechnology in a science lab. These methods require additives, chemical compounds, and genetic modification. However, consumer safety is not a motive here. Their goal is to produce more, and sell as much of it as they can. These Lab created products are turned around and sold for just enough to be competitive yet less expensive that other choices. Again to meet the needs of consumers, they will prefer these products based on lower prices. Successfully allocating them to profit huge …show more content…
In today 's fast paced society, time is our most valued asset. For this reason, consumers desire ready-to-serve and quick-to-prepare foods. Manufacturers have responded and continue to respond by expanding new convenience foods. Have we lost our values and importance of foods. It seems so many of us have forgotten the importance of home cooked meals, and making time for the kitchen. Continuing to go for the quick and easy foods, is like taking a short-cut, however the end results are unknown. Many manufactures are not trying to make life easier on us, with our best interests at heart; food industry continues to introduce convenient foods like top ramen, because they believe using a little onion and garlic for flavoring is too costly-they 'd rather use artificial garlic and onion flavors instead. According to _________ "It 's all profit based with no thought for health of the consumer"( ). Though such additives, chemical ingredients, and genetically modified foods, tend to save us some time, and are openly available, there are concerns to whether they are safe. With FDA 's approval they continue to show up on our shelves, with very minimal regulations and no requirement for long term testing. Consumers aren 't clear on what they are eating. Rather than educate Americans, on the biotechnology of processed foods, FDA and corporations like Monsanto, would rather use marketing labels and convenience to keep
Food is an essential part of everyday life without it one could not survive. Every day we make choices on what we put in to our bodies. There are countless varieties of food to choose from to meet the diverse tastes of the increasing population. Almost all food requires a label explaining the ingredients and the nutritional value allowing consumers to make informed decisions on what they are consuming. However, many may not be considering where that food is coming from or how it has been produced. Unfortunately, there is more to food than meets the eye. Since 1992, “ the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled, based on woefully limited data, that genetically modified foods were ‘substantially equivalent’ to their non-GM counterparts” (Why to Support Labeling). GM food advocates have promised to create more nutritious food that will be able to grow in harsh climate conditions and eventually put an end to world hunger in anticipation of the growing population. There is very little evidence to support these claims and study after study has proven just the opposite. GM crops are not only unsafe to consume, but their growing practices are harmful to the environment, and multinational corporations are putting farmers out of business.
Michael Pollan and David Freedman are two reputable authors who have written about different types of food and why they are healthy or why they are damaging to our health. Michael Pollan wrote “Escape from the Western Diet” and David Freedman wrote “How Junk Food Can End Obesity”. Imagine Pollan’s idea of a perfect world. Everything is organic. McDonald’s is serving spinach smoothies and Walmart is supplying consumers with raw milk. The vast majority of food in this world consists of plants grown locally, because almost everyone is a farmer in order to keep up with supply and demand. How much does all this cost? What happened to all the food that is loved just because it tastes good?
This concedes that now America is creating health issues from consuming unhealthy foods. According to, “The battle against fast food beings in the home”, by Daniel Weintraub, “Kids eat unhealthy food and sit in front of the television or computer for hours at a time”. The article states that now obesity has affected many kids in America. Due to obesity affecting many kids in America the argument here is that, parents are not thinking about their child’s health and how it affects their body. Their main worry if the food is cheap and that it’s reasonable to buy for their family; which is understandable. Thus, many kids health are in danger from the lack of a nutritious diet. At the same time, fast food companies believe that it’s not their fault. According to Daniels Weintraub’s article, it states that “ It’s the parents, not the government, not the fast food companies who are responsible for teaching kids unhealthy habits” (Weintraub 1). The argument here is that parents need to try to feed their kids much healthier diets such as vegetables. Feeding them fast food is going to wreck their health. For this reason, fast food companies should try to sell healthier food for a reasonable price. Having produce companies sell more affordable fruits and vegetables will clear this problem. This will allow people who don’t have much money be able to provide a healthy dish
Walsh, Bryan. “America’s Food Crisis.” NEXUS. Eds. Kim and Michael Flachmann. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 166 – 173. Print.
The documentary Food, Inc. goes inside today’s highly enigmatic industrial food system in the United States. Throughout the documentary, it talks about the many environmental and health consequences that arise from cheap and fast food. This documentary also goes into the topic of food access and how it leads to obesity in many Americans. It went into detail about how food in American is grown and processed, which really caught me by surprise in many ways.
America’s food source has altered drastically in the last century and so has the health of many. Americans used to thrive on natural foods for nutritional value, now Americans thrive on processed and manufactured food for just for convenience. Food companies have changed the very way we view nutrition. They have taken chemistry to a whole new level and added what they want it to what we now call food even if that harms our bodies in the long run. Food companies have also caused many hard working farmers to lose their jobs. These food companies have lost insight as to what is truly important in a food product and don’t care if that means taking someone else’s job.
In recent studies, it was discovered that most of the foods that Americans consumed are foods which had gone through so many processes and thereby losing most of its nutritional values. Unhealthy nutrients are also been added to foods as additive during production to either preserve flavor or enhance its taste and appearance. An individual cannot simply trust what he or she is consuming at a fast food restaurant or even a cheap prepared meal at a grocery store. Processed food or western diet needs to be replaced and totally taken out of the American life and diet; this will help the Americans to live a healthier life, and spend less on medical bills.
Fast food in the past 50-60 years has had a major impact on American Culture, and it still has that same impact in present America. It is safe to say that fast food has become an outlet as far as Americans diets are concerned. It, in some cases, has taken over some lives, as some Americans eat fast food on a daily basis. Since the fast food industry has been growing dramatically in the past couple of decades, America as a whole has suffered some setbacks as it pertains to Health and a stable lifestyle. One of those fatty foods that is popular in American Culture is Hamburgers. The first hamburger that was made came in the early 20th century. Hamburgers started to become popular in the 1950s-1960s, due to the fact that as American lifestyles were changing rapidly, and Americans did not have the time to make meals at their home. Hamburger has become one of the most popular foods today in America.
As our society advances and adapts, we continue to come across many social issues. We have just recently abolished slavery, but the after effects of racism still exist, making life difficult for those of color or immigrants in specific areas of the country. Racism is just a small part of the adapting 'American Culture ', there are many other sociological issues; the one I will be discussing is 'Fast Food '. Today 'Fast Food ' has taken over the West, it is literally embedded in the Western Culture and without it many Americans would be confused.
Obesity was considered an epidemic once people started to realize it was the second biggest cause of death in America. Since obesity was considered an epidemic many started to consider if banning fast food restaurants or making fast food restaurants illegal, would help decrease the obesity rate. An unhealthy lifestyle can cause obesity, health problems, and death.
“Genetically modified foods are a "Pandora's box" of known and unknown risks to humans and the environment. They have been forced onto the American public by multinational biotech and agribusiness corporations without adequate oversight and regulation by the United States government (Driscoll, SallyMorley, David C).”Genetically Modified Food is food which has been chemically altered by scientists during the production process to give the food more nutrients, better appearance, and a longer shelf-life (Rich, Alex K.Warhol, Tom). The importance of this issue is that these GMO’s can actually have a negative effect in our society in general. It could mutate in a negative way and cause cancer or other diseases. Genetically modified food should be strictly controlled due to its various detrimental effects on the environment, human health, and potentially insect/animal effects.
Many customers will buy more package food in the future as it is cheaper and more convenience because customers can buy it in high volume and keep it for the long time.
Like I said more than fifty percent of Americans diets are affected by price because healthy foods are so expensive so people buy the cheaper unhealthy foods. Healthy foods are so, for example, take expensive because apple an a can of soda the can of soda is filled with sugar and unwanted chemicals but
American culture is changing dramatically. In some areas it’s a good thing, but in other areas, like our food culture, it can have negative affects. It is almost as if our eating habits are devolving, from a moral and traditional point of view. The great America, the land of the free and brave. The land of great things and being successful, “living the good life.” These attributes highlight some irony, especially in our food culture. Is the American food culture successful? Does it coincide with “good living”? What about fast and processed foods? These industries are flourishing today, making record sales all over the globe. People keep going back for more, time after time. Why? The answer is interestingly simple. Time, or in other words, efficiency. As people are so caught up in their jobs, schooling, sports, or whatever it may be, the fast/processed food industries are rapidly taking over the American food culture, giving people the choice of hot
When an American household questions, “What are we having for dinner?” a conventional American response is simply, “I am not sure.” There are so many delicious and convenient food choices to choose from in America, but that delicious convenience can have detrimental health effects later in life. With today’s technology it is very simple to find a healthy recipe, purchase the healthy ingredients, and enter the kitchen for meal preparation. Notice that whichever choice is made, it requires its own sacrifice. The diversity between fast and healthy food include convenience, cost, and overall health effects. Any individual living in America has crossed this dilemma on more than one occasion.