The Monopolization of Food Growing food fast and efficiently is key to keeping the world running. Food companies take many shortcuts to allow this to happen, and actively try to keep them a secret. This involves animal cruelty, corporate manipulation, lobbying, and worker mistreatment. Many people use GMOs as a scapegoat for the problems with our food, but there is little evidence to back these claims up. We face many issues in our food industry due to poor conduct by the large food corporations. Many people feel that GMOs are a great evil that food companies will not admit are bad, but this is not the case. "There has been zero indication that genetically modified food poses a danger to human health" (Green). If there was a problem with …show more content…
Whenever this happens, the amount of producers in the market decreases, which interferes with competition. In the organic food industry, this has gotten so bad that there is one major supplier for all organic food providers. "The chain dominates the market because it has no national competitor. Over the past five years its gross sales have increased by half (47 percent) to $11.7 billion, and its net profit quadrupled to $465.6 million" (Karlin 1). The dramatic increase in profit comes from taking away from the profit of smaller companies, as well as raising prices. While it may seem that there are many different brands and companies selling food, all those brands are owned by one of a few corporations. There were dozens of different food producers in the 1970s, and now we are down to only 4 or 5 (Food Inc.). This causes more than just an issue with supply; these large corporations literally own our food. When a company creates a modified crop, they can have a copyright on that strain of the crop. This has caused much controversy from consumers and farmers. The suppliers of a modified crop can sue a farmer if they do not follow their terms with the crop. Farmers can not clean their own seed, or replant their crop again the next year. If they do, they will get sued and be stuck in a legal battle (Food Inc.). Shad Ashcroft, a Government teacher from Deer Valley High School said that he …show more content…
Due to deregulation of big businesses, there are very few laws in place to protect consumers, as well as livestock. Donna Blakeney, chemistry and physics teacher at Deer Valley High School said, that there needs to be more regulation, but "too much government is not good either". Many Americans share this view on governmental control, including those in power. Even if the majority of citizens wanted more regulations, it is unlikely that would happen due to the lobbying taking place. This goes beyond just paying those in government, several of the executives at the FDA, as well as high up members of the federal government, were once executives at Monstanto (Food Inc.). This means that these political officials may have other interests in mind besides the will of The People. Fixing our food supply will be very difficult with the current state of our government. Our food industry has many hidden flaws in it. The food corporations do many things behind the scenes that the consumers do not see; if the consumers knew what is going on, then things would be different. Our food industry has been overrun by large corporations that can control how their products are made, allowing for bad business practices. Companies can create large monopolies, and poorly create their products so they can maximize profit. Our food producers care more about their money than the well being of those who
In order to right the ship that is America’s food industry, we need to recognize the monopolies in the U.S food industry. These massive food conglomerates must be broken up in order to create competition in the market. This will allow the completion to dictate the market. More companies means more competition, and when companies compete, the consumer wins.
I have never had a strong opinion on monopolies in Canada. However, I believe that monopolies can stifle innovation, competition, and affect the prices that the consumer has to pay for a product or service. Since we live in a mixed market economy, Canada has very few monopolies such as the health, airspace, and telecommunications industries. Companies within theses industries are notorious for price fixing, lack of innovation, and competition. These problems are prevalent because of the barriers to entry the new players face such government regulation, the cost of doing business, and infrastructure.
Regulating what the government should control and what they should not was one of the main arguments our founding fathers had to deal with when creating our nation, and to this day this regulation is one of the biggest issues in society. Yet, I doubt our founding fathers thought about the idea that the food industry could one day somewhat control our government, which is what we are now facing. Marion Nestles’ arguments in the book Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health deal with how large food companies and government intertwine with one another. She uses many logical appeals and credible sources to make the audience understand the problem with this intermingling. In The Politics of Food author Geoffrey Cannon further discusses this fault but with more emotional appeals, by use of personal narratives. Together these writers make it dramatically understandable why this combination of the food industry and politics is such a lethal ordeal. However, in The Food Lobbyists, Harold D. Guither makes a different viewpoint on the food industry/government argument. In his text Guither speaks from a median unbiased standpoint, which allows the reader to determine his or her own opinions of the food industries impact on government, and vise versa.
A counter argument to the conclusion that we should not trust nor buy from our food industries could be the obvious reason that food is cheaper than ever before. When times are hard in America, we can always count on the cheap price of our fast food restaurants and their dollar menus. However, these cheap prices come at a high cost. The reason meat or grains, for example, are so cheap, is due to subsidizing the market. While this may be great for consumers, it is actually incredibly harmful to local farmers. Artificially driving down the prices
The technological advances are increasing each year, and electronics are not the only things upgraded. The food eaten in the United States has also been touched by science in the form of GMOs. Although GMOs have been in the US food industry for almost twenty years, consumers should have the right to know what is in our food with mandatory GMO labeling.
Our attitudes toward GMO foods range from hostility to indifference. GMO foods, like pesticide-resistant Roundup Ready soybeans and fast-growing salmon, seem to exist primarily to pad corporate pockets. Most people are not aware that they are eating GMO foods. The greater percentage of the population is just looking at the price tag instead of what is in the food product. This technology has the potential to provide sustainable nutrient rich food sources throughout the ages if the science is not abused for the food industry’s
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.
“If you live in a free market and a free society, shouldn’t you have the right to know what you’re buying? It’s shocking that we don’t and it’s shocking how much is kept from us” (Kenner). For years, the American public has been in the dark about the conditions under which the meat on their plate was produced. The movie, Food Inc. uncovers the harsh truths about the food industry. This shows that muckraking is still an effective means of creating change as shown by Robert Kenner’s movie, Food Inc. and the reforms to the food industry that followed its release.
In the United States, Food is one of the basic needs of life.We tend to spend tons of money every year to buy food. Consuming food reflects America’s culture in the United States. In America, Fast food is a way to enjoy delicious food made with sugar, fat and salt. It’s impossible to back away from eating good tasting food. Unfortunately, this is leading to major destruction. In the human life, food procurement, preparation, and consumption have devoted to an art form.Spite the terms of “America has a food problem,” it shows that our nation is unable to produce and supply safe, nutritious food in a way where it sustains our global population. Health Issues are a result of over consumption, which lead to portion sizes, and food production.
Just as Pollan mentions, the industries profit from people making poor choices. One of which is choosing processed foods over whole foods. Given the environment people live in, it is difficult to make healthier choices because processed foods, such as canned or frozen fruits and vegetables, packaged foods, fortified foods, and easy-to-prepare foods, constitutes of more than 75% of foods in grocery stores. Foods that go through such processing lose many of their nutritional values, while industries themselves believe that by processing food they are actually trying to preserve its nutrients and freshness. The public falls for this
How many of you hear the words “genetically modified food” and immediately think “BAD”? How many of you scorn the idea that genetically modified foods are useful? How many of you have been manipulated by the media to think that all biotechnology is evil? Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms that have been genetically spliced to achieve a certain trait. As the demand for a larger food supply is increasing due to population growth, the benefits that GMO foods provide are being hailed as the only solution to the food crisis. However, many people are making inadequately informed decisions, and are pushing them to the back shelf. I will inform you on why genetically modified organisms may be the only way to a stable, safe future for the less fortunate.
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.
Farmers are essentially the back-bone of the entire food system. Large-scale family farms account for 10% of all farms, but 75% of overall food production, (CSS statistics). Without farmers, there would be no food for us to consume. Big business picked up on this right away and began to control the farmers profits and products. When farmers buy their land, they take out a loan in order to pay for their land and farm house and for the livestock, crops, and machinery that are involved in the farming process. Today, the loans are paid off through contracts with big business corporations. Since big business has such a hold over the farmers, they take advantage of this and capitalize on their crops, commodities, and profits. Farmers are life-long slaves to these b...
Whenever we buy a product, we’re relying on both the company being honest with us about its contents as well as government regulations that do not always have the best interest of the consumer in mind. The first element to be included in my Food Bill of Rights is honesty. There are too many cases where American food has caused people to become sick and even caused fatalities because consumers do not know what they are eating. If you really look into the standards of what can be labeled as particular foods, the knowledge is really shocking. Consider the current policy of the United States Department of Agriculture; only 40% of beef is required for a company to label their products as such (Taco Bell’s Beef Problem). Further research shows the standards for meat in schools is lower than the standards for meat in fast food. Even with these outrageously low standards, there are still places to eat that don’t meet the requirements to label their products. Only a few years ago, Taco Bell was sued because they claimed their beef was 88% beef. However, when their meat was inspected it didn’t even make the required 40% minimum standard set by th...
Another risk involved in this industry is its huge number of competitors. It is a well-known fact that the food industry is one of the most saturated markets that has ever existed, mainly because it has a huge market population and it is a need for the society. The industry tends to get very competitive because of its sheer number of population of consumers, as well as its producers. Evidently it is a very lucrative industry to step in to, that is why a lot of people tend to penetrate the market in an attempt to make a huge profit from