People need to stop messing with the ingredients in the food. Many food that many people eat today has been so genetically modified, scientists do not know the future effects it has on the human body. The food the public has to eat now cannot possibly end. The product “Soylent” cannot solve the world’s problems. Rob Rhinehart, the entrepreneur of this product says Soylent is a drink that is composed of thirty-five essential nutrients necessary for human-survival and that these nutrients are grinded up and mixed in with water. How can a random tech entrepreneur who barely has any science degree background prove and say that Soylent may be the product that may end or replace all foods? He does not establish any ethos in biochemical sciences yet …show more content…
It conjures up the visions of a world devoid of pizza parlors and taco stands-our kitchens stocked with beige powder instead of banana bread, our spaghetti nights and ice-cream social replaced by evenings sipping sludge” (Widdicombe). Rhinehart is trying to suggest that the drink Soylent are used as daily meals; it cannot replace all of the food being eaten. The nightmare comes in when people see how the daily food and traditions of having pizza on Friday nights might be swept away if Soylent is to replace the food that many people love to eat. But Rhinehart tries to say that there is a significant difference between using Soylent as a substitute for daily meals and also when using food for socialization with friends and family, “He imagines that, in the future, ‘we’ll see a separation between our meals for utility and function, and our meals for experience and socialization.’ Soylent isn’t coming for our Sunday potlucks. It’s coming for our frozen quesadillas” (Widdicombe). The thought provoking idea that Soylent might be replacing precious time with our family is scary. Having big feasts and getting together as a family or with friends to eat is a tradition and is a good way for people to reconnect with each other. As society grows, time becomes more precious and bringing Soylent in may help exclude the time spent with friends of significant
The book begins with the question of “What should we have for dinner?” and stands to answer that question the rest of the way. Speaking directly of Americans, Pollan explains in-depth how the Nation tends to jump from fad to fad, first being afraid of carbohydrates, and then switching to fats, and so on. He goes on to explain where this thought process might have come from with the history of the Carter administration in 1977, as dietary goals were issued and the red meat lovers of America were warned to cut back. From that time on it has been an ever-changing lipo-, carbo-, phobia, with a cycle of weight loss and gain. With this question at hand, Michael Pollan begins to dive de...
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.
When we think of our national health we wonder why Americans end up obese, heart disease filled, and diabetic. Michael Pollan’s “ Escape from the Western Diet” suggest that everything we eat has been processed some food to the point where most of could not tell what went into what we ate. Pollan thinks that if America thought more about our “Western diets” of constantly modified foods and begin to shift away from it to a more home grown of mostly plant based diet it could create a more pleasing eating culture. He calls for us to “Eat food, Not too much, Mostly plants.” However, Mary Maxfield’s “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating”, argues differently she has the point of view that people simply eat in the wrong amounts. She recommends for others to “Trust yourself. Trust your body. Meet your needs.” The skewed perception of eating will cause you all kinds of health issues, while not eating at all and going skinny will mean that you will remain healthy rather than be anorexic. Then, as Maxfield points out, “We hear go out and Cram your face with Twinkies!”(Maxfield 446) when all that was said was eating as much as you need.
In Lizzie Widdicombe’s article “The End of Food”, Widdicombe interviews Soylent’s chief executive, Rob Rhinehart. Throughout the article Rhinehart puts forth compelling arguments for the merits of a diet sustained mainly by synthetic substances like Soylent, citing nutritional benefits as well as hopes for future humanitarian uses. Soylent’s extremely affordable price and claims of better nutrition aimed at busy people make it a breakthrough product for many. The obvious nightmare of drinking pureed humans aside, it is still in debate how surviving on a diet for utility could affect cultural and social customs long linked to traditional meals. Also currently unknown is whether Soylent can really provide all of the nutrients found in real food,
As Rhinehart claims, “agriculture’s one of the most dangerous and dirty jobs out there, and it’s traditionally done by the underclass. There’s so much walking and manual labor, counting and measuring. Surely it should be automated.” Our job market is changing. Menial labor and services used to be a larger part of what Americans would do for a living, but in the future all of these jobs will no longer exist because of technological advancements. If synthetic foods begin to replace traditional food, traditional manual agricultural labor will disappear. In fact Rhinehart is trying to begin production of omega-3 oil that comes from algae. The Soylent team is hopeful that they can create a “Soylent-producing ‘superorganism’: a single strain of alga that pumps out Soylent all day.” By completely automating agricultural production, we are solving world hunger, lowering chances of resource wars, therefore making the world a better place.
In “The End of Food” by Lizzie Widdicombe, a new food substitute, Soylent, is claimed to be able to completely push traditional, solid foods out of the picture. The author quotes Ethan Brown saying, “The main challenge with food tech is cultural.” The difficulties food tech companies face in getting people to get outside of their comfort zone and try new foods made me recall an experience I had when I was younger. I grew up as a picky eater and an introvert; I rarely ever tried food which was not in my normal diet, and I never met new people. Looking back at my youth, I realize much of my cultural ignorance at the time tied directly into me not wanting to get outside of my comfort zone. In the 8th grade, I went on a trip to Washington D. C.
Science-fiction novels have imagined thousands societal advancements, with many of which taking form in reality. A recent addition to the ranks of the helicopter and submarine is a substitute for food called Soylent. Soylent is a drink crafted from the base nutrients we require from food, theoretically meaning that someone who drinks Soylent does not need regular food. Creator Rob Rhinehart has stated that he wishes for Soylent to replace most meals, causing increased efficiency for all people, while reforming the food industry. This does not mean Soylent would ever replace meals as a cultural centerpoint, but that it may replace meals that serve no social or cultural purpose.
Genetically modified food is a significant issue that America is currently dealing with; it has affected millions around the world. Genetically modified food is crops, plants, and animals whose DNA has been altered for agricultural and nutritional reasons. In the Alltime Conspiracies video, “How Dangerous Are GMO Food” he argues that GMOs can have budding effect on humans, and the more we consume the more damage that is being done to our DNA cells. The author Alltime Conspiracy begins building his credibility with personal facts plus highly regarded sources, citing credible facts and statistics,
Burgers, shakes, and fries. The lines at fast-food restaurants are absurdly long. There have been bountiful instances of families suing these businesses for selling unhealthy meals to the youths whose parents are outrageously angry. “Isn 't that like middle-aged men suing Porsche for making them get speeding tickets?” Stated Zinczenko in his published essay “Don 't Blame the Eater.” The youth still continues buying these toxic Happy Meals even after the prices increase. These unhealthy meals are the only way to consuming something affordable. Zinczenko’s words appeal to his audience, the youth or young adults, by explaining why nutrition facts are important, moreover, when informed of the facts it can prevent diseases, alike Diabetes.
The 2009 movie Food Inc. describes the major role that food production plays within many lives. This movie revealed that there is a very small variety of companies that consumers purchase their food from. These few companies actually control what is out on the shelves and what we put into our bodies. These companies have changed food production into a food production business. Many of these companies experiment with ways to create large quantities of food at low production costs to result in an enormous amount of profit for themselves. Some of the production cost cuts also result in less healthy food for the population. Instead of worrying about the health of the population, the companies are worried about what will make them the most money.
In the article by Wendell Berry titled “The Pleasures of Eating” he tries to persuade the readers of the necessity and importance of critical thinking and approach to choosing meals and owning responsibility for the quality of the food cooked. He states that people who are not conscious enough while consuming products, and those who do not connect the concept of food with agricultural products, as people whose denial or avoidance prevents them from eating healthy and natural food. Berry tries to make people think about what they eat, and how this food they eat is produced. He points to the aspects, some which may not be recognized by people, of ethical, financial and
Genetically modified food’s, or GMOs, goal is to feed the world's malnourished and undernourished population. Exploring the positive side to GMOs paints a wondrous picture for our planet’s future, although careful steps must be taken to ensure that destruction of our ecosystems do not occur. When GMOs were first introduced into the consumer market they claimed that they would help eliminate the world’s food crisis by providing plants that produced more and were resistant to elemental impacts like droughts and bacterial contaminants, however, production isn’t the only cause for the world’s food crisis. Which is a cause for concern because the population on the earth is growing and our land and ways of agriculture will not be enough to feed everyone sufficiently. No simple solutions can be found or applied when there are so many lives involved. Those who are hungry and those who are over fed, alike, have to consider the consequences of Genetically Modified Organisms. Food should not be treated like a commodity it is a human necessity on the most basic of levels. When egos, hidden agendas, and personal gains are folded into people's food sources no one wins. As in many things of life, there is no true right way or wrong way to handle either of the arguments and so many factors are involved that a ‘simple’ solution is simply not an option.
In Wendell Berry’s “The Pleasures of Eating,” this farmer tells eaters how their separation from food production has turned them into “passive consumers” who know nothing about the food they eat, or their part in the agricultural process (3). They are blindsided by a food industry that does not help them understand. Berry argues that the average consumer buys available food without any questions. He states consumers that think they are distanced from agriculture because they can easily buy food, making them ignorant of cruel conditions it went through to get on the shelf. Humans have become controlled by the food industry, and regard eating as just something required for their survival. Berry wants this to change as people realize they should get an enjoyment from eating that can only come from becoming responsible for their food choices and learning more about what they eat. While describing the average consumer’s ignorance and the food industry’s deceit, he effectively uses appeals to emotion, logic, and values to persuade people to take charge, and change how they think about eating.
“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.
Food—it is that precious substance our bodies need to survive. Whether it brings feelings of nostalgia and comfort, or unites families together, we can all agree that food is a vital source of nourishment. However, our definition of food has changed drastically with the advent of modern technology, which has given rise countless food trends. The desire for the cheap mass-production of food has induced an unspoken transition from slow cooked chicken and steamed veggies to frozen tv-dinners disguised to look like actual food worthy of consumption. Hence, food trends and technology effects the way we produce, purchase, and consume food in the United States.