Thoughts about Food

In America’s current society, only the elite and a few individuals who choose to eat healthier can afford organic or local food. This food or lifestyle is very expensive. Some people wonder if the price of organic food is worth the extra costs compared to buying value products at a local grocery store. Even though some people think food is timeless and food can last forever, it cannot. Mass-production saves time and money. World War II helped move America into a society that mass-produced nearly all food. Even though mass-producing foods saves money, energy, and time, the process no longer works and is harming people more than helping them.
During our great and great-great grandparents’ time, people were not able to pick up a pre-made sandwich and they would not have been able to buy small packets of something called Go-Gurts: a small, freeze-able packet of so-called yogurt. After and during the impact of World War II, the meaning of time changed. Because of the war, transportation became faster and technology greatly improved. Thus creating ways that immensely helped extend a food's shelf life. After World War II food was cheaper and objects that were once treated as once-in-a-while luxuries, such as oranges or tomatoes were now available to be eaten as often as wanted.
At the time and after the war, mass-producing food appeared to be a great idea. During the war, mass-producing allowed people to save time and money on the food they both ate and sent to the solders. A few generations later, small and local farms were shut down because the farmers could not afford the top machinery and chemicals that were now required across the country. These chemicals protected the plants from bugs and parasites, but they also removed some of the nutrients from the food. When genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) were introduced, the farmers who could not afford to keep producing “whole”, not-modified foods were forced to change their farms into monoculture farming. This means farming one particular thing instead of a few different products at a time. Supermarkets also changed. Factories now wanted people to package foods and send them around the country instead sending them only to nearby stores.
Grocery stores are a large part of America's identity. Because of the price difference between the products and the location they come from, many lower-class individuals only shop at convenient stores such as King Soopers or Walmart.