Food production has many challenges to address: CO2 emissions, which are projected to increase by two-thirds in the next 20 years, as the global food production increases so does the number of people going hungry, with the number of urban hungry soaring. The environmental issues are not the only ones to face; politics and economic globalization take also the big part in the food world. These days agriculture and food politics has been going through many changes but mostly under the influence of its consumers; back in the days people wanted as little as safety, variety and low costs of food. Now consumers demanding way more – greater freshness, nutritional value, less synthetic chemicals, smaller carbon footprint and less harm to animals. And that’s the time when urban agriculture emerged quite rapidly delivering locally grown and healthy food. Within the political arena, there are a few still in charge of defending the conventional food industries and commercial farms to retain the upper level. Against the hopes of nutrition activists, farm animal welfare defenders, and organic food promoters, the food and agriculture sector is moving towards greater consolidation and better sustainability. Although in social and local terms, food-growing activists know their role is under attack. Caught two words in the middle, is it possible to satisfy both? For economists and politicians, there are a few things that still are not considered, and the missing answers are only piling up; someone always has to win or lose out. Food policies are one of them. Bringing urban agriculture to cities is an incomparable move. When community food growing flourishes, the consumers seem to be healthier and smarter about what they eat, less p... ... middle of paper ... ...ive in economical, sociological and environmental terms. Placed within an urban-scale landscape concept offering the host city a variety of lifestyle advantages and few, if any, unsustainable drawbacks. These city-traversing open spaces are running through the built environment, connecting all kinds of existing inner-city open spaces and relating to the surrounding rural area. Vegetation as well as people is able to flow into the city and out of it, partially helping the city become open and wild. Producing edible landscapes or consuming food where it has just grown establishes a healthy and sustainable balance of production and consumption. It is an effective and practical as well as self-beneficial way of reducing the energy embodied in contemporary food production. So what affects the growth of biophilic cities? Is food politics a global or a local phenomenon?
Food, especially meat is such a central part of human society that it cannot be ignored. Just as big minds came together in the 60’s to make a better chicken, they can come together to solve a crisis that harms every person living in this country. Jonathan Safran Foer’s book gives an important look into what goes on behind the scenes of factory farms, and offers logical solutions. However, it will take more than this, and more than just vegetarian encouragement to make any lasting changes. It will take the votes of consumers both in the supermarket and on ballots to evoke a better system. Take a look at what is on your plate next time you sit down for a meal. Did you vote well?
A major issue that is occurring in America is a phenomena known as “food deserts”, most are located in urban areas and it's difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food. Whereas in the past, food deserts were thought to be solved with just placing a grocery store in the area, but with times it has become an issue that people are not picking the best nutritional option. This issue is not only making grocery store in food deserts are practically useless and not really eliminating the issue of food deserts because even when they are given a better nutritional option, and people are not taking it. In my perspective, it takes more than a grocery store to eliminate ‘food deserts’. It's more about demonstrating the good of picking the nutritional option and how it can help them and their families. For example, “Those who live in these areas are often subject to poor diets as a result and are at a greater risk of becoming obese or developing chronic diseases.”(Corapi, 2014).
A key issue of the locavore movement is the economic effect it has on a community. A positive result of the movement is the growth of local farms. As Pallavi Gogoi said in his business magazine article, “The local food movement has already accomplished something… a revival of small farms” (Source E).
The article highlights and includes the documentary Food, Inc. which exposes the inability of the profit system to provide safe and healthy food for the vast majority of the population. Eric Schlosser investigating journalist quotes, “The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000…now our food is coming from enormous assembly lines where animals and the workers are being abused, and the food has become much more dangerous in ways that are deliberately hidden from us”. Schlosser also quotes, “Birds are now raised and slaughtered in half the time they were 50 years ago, but now they’re twice as big”. He believes they not only changed the chicken, but they changed the farmer implying that capitalism has taken the place for the need of small scale farming. In addition, Michael Pollan also a journalist believes that the vast array of choices which appears in everyday supermarkets is nothing but an “illusion of diversity”. The advancement of technology and how consumers react to products has been further developed and continues to be in this generation. Food scientists are now genetically modifying and engineering products to satisfy and manipulate consumers to desire more of these unhealthy product choices. The biggest advance in recent years has
Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences: Report to Congress. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 2009. Print.
Anupama Joshi is the co-director of the National Farm to School Network, and is based at the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College. She has invested in building and strengthening the Farm to School movement in the U.S., drawing from several years of food systems work in various countries. She has authored several publications and articles and speaks regularly at national and regional conferences. Food Justice is her first book.
Reliable access to nutritious foods is a principal concern for most individuals. Still, even in a prosperous country like the United States, a considerable number of citizens don’t consistently have this access. This problem is especially prevalent in lower-income, urban communities like those in the city of Philadelphia where food deserts, defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as areas “vapid of fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthful whole foods,” are particularly common (). So what can be done to address this problem? Besides palliative measures such as food drives and other charitable endeavors, most people are ignorant of methods that can verily combat food insecurity. While a far-reaching solution can probably only be achieved
Walsh, Bryan. “America’s Food Crisis.” NEXUS. Eds. Kim and Michael Flachmann. Boston: Pearson, 2012. 166 – 173. Print.
The book The No-Nonsense Guide to World Food, by Wayne Roberts introduces us to the concept of “food system”, which has been neglected by many people in today’s fast-changing and fast-developing global food scene. Roberts points out that rather than food system, more people tend to recognize food as a problem or an opportunity. And he believes that instead of considering food as a “problem”, we should think first and foremost about food as an “opportunity”.
Former editor of Us News and World Report and recipient of Guggenheim Award,Stephen Budiansky in his article, “Math Lessons For Locavores”,published in August 19,2012 addresses the topic of locally grown food and argues it as a more sustainable choice in terms of freshness and seasons.I agree with Budiansky for growing food locally,however; with three other reasons: we can reduce food waste,(which will benefit the environment), and obesity(which will help an individual mentally and physically), and improve our economy. The purpose is to illustrate why locally grown foods would be a finer option for an American lifestyle. Budiansky adopts an informative,persuasive,and insightful tone for his audience,readers
Over the years many have studied about the exisene of “Food deserts”. The major concern about food deserets is that there may be insuffienct quanity and quality of food or systematically higher food prices in certain geographic areas. For example, Lewis, Sloane, et al. (2005) find that there are fewer healthy restaurant options in poor Los Angeles neighborhoods when compared to more affluent Los Angeles neighborhoods. Powell, Slater, et al. (2007), using national data, find that poor and minority neighborhoods have fewer chain supermarkets than do more affluent, whiter neighborhoods. Rose and Richards (2004) find that food stamp recipients who live closer to supermarkets consume more fruit and vegetables. White (2007) reviews numerous studies that examine whether food deserts exist in the United Kingdom (UK).
Author Paula Dutko tells us that when one does not have easy access to nutritious food and a place to buy it from, obesity and other health concerns can become an issue (Dutko 1). In order to be considered a “food desert”, people not only have to have low access to food, but also have a “low-income”. (Dutko 1). In order to have low access, 500 people at minimum need to be at least one mile away from a supermarket and in order to have a “low-income”, people need to have an income lower than 80% of the surviving area (Dutko 1). Those that live in food deserts are also prone to having higher poverty rates (Dutko 1). Speaking of Chicago, an urban food desert, Dutko show how many people actually re in food deserts; “The residents here are just a fraction of the 23.5 million Americans living in areas with no easy access to fresh food, according to government estimates” (Dutko,
Poverty all around the world is a threat that is demolishing countries and is spreading daily. Food water and agriculture is what the whole world needs to sustain life on earth without these things there would be nothing. famine in some parts of the world is killing people and is happening more than we think.things like drought is changing how farmers make their money and their families. America 's food problem isn 't as bad as other countries instead they throw away good food that could have been eaten.Maybe the problem is with the food industry and food standards that the FDA put in place. Also why this problem in the usa won 't change because most americans can afford it. With many more years to come the population
This is problematic because those in most need of nutritious meals to sustain health are those unable to access them. A simple change in zip code is the difference between a food desert and a food utopia. This finding furthers the text’s argument that “Place matters. Issues such as housing and income determine quality of life, especially among the low-income residents of urban areas.” Inequity of food selection at the Yale location can, in extreme circumstances, promote the failing health of a certain group- an action that is largely discriminatory in nature. To solve the food crisis, I suggest the implementation of more urban gardens. Similar to what the documentary on food deserts suggests, urban gardens no only create a sense of unity in a common goal, they provide the much-needed fresh and healthy food to those unable to access them. Since transportation to adequate grocery stores is also a barrier to must in food deserts, a free public bus whose purpose is to shuttle people to food availability would be beneficial. As discussed in class, grocery stores are serving to perceivably different populations based on zip code. However, all people shop with the same goal in mind and require the same access to affordable, healthy
In order for us to maintain our lives, we need to consume food to supply nutrient-needs for our bodies. As the global population increased, the demand for food also increased. Increased population led to mass production of foods. However, even with this mass production, in under-developed countries, people are still undernourished. On other hand, in developed and developing countries, people are overfed and suffering from obesity. In addition, the current methods of industrial farming destroy the environment. These problems raised a question to our global food system. Will it be able to sustain our increasing global population and the earth? With this question in my mind, I decided to investigate the sustainability of our current global food system.