Food can be termed the backbone of life itself because humans cannot survive without putting something in their stomachs. It is a requirement, the n per s, that man needs to eat, but the problem comes in deciding what to eat and why. The question of why is not frequent, as most people indulge in food for the satisfaction and forget its nutritional mandate. Dietary experts suggest that most of this information created y scientists creates an even bigger web of questions for consumers, making the subject somewhat ambiguous. A report by the World Health Organization, however, suggests that most individuals have resorted to understanding what they eat by gauging food on sustainability (World Health Organization 5). While this might be an effort to reduce the rising level of health-related problems, it is commendable since people desire to know the channels taken for food to reach their plates. I believe that the basics of food production have been omitted or forgotten entirely by the common consumer because of the total reliance on fast food products and packaged meals and ingredients that do not accurately reveal the real process taken for their realization.
Pollan structures his book on the idea that human beings are capable of eating both plants and animals, but raises the question of whether they are allowed to settle for just any plant and animal that comes their way. He breaks down meals into four: The McDonald’s meal, the Virginia farm meal, the whole food meal, and the hunter-gatherer meal. The most prevalent phrase in the present day is “organic,” which is used by almost everyone. Pollan writes about two instances:s; in Joe Salatin’s farm and the other when he bought whole food ingredients to cook, where the organic label was used. When he bought the ingredients from the shop in his escapades, he saw the term organic and went ahead to use them for creating a meal. At the time, Pollan did not really understand the process taken for the ingredients to be termed as organic, a scenario that most people find themselves in. A survey conducted by the Boulder Food Group suggested that among the 70% of individuals who opt to buy purported organic food, only 20% of them know what it actually means (Strom par 15).
Food production is categorized into two, namely subsistence and commercial. In subsistence, individuals are aware of the process taken from tilling the land to husbandry practices and ultimately harvesting. Such individuals are dependent on the output from the farm in the form of plants and animals. Commercial production, on the other hand, refers to the agricultural practices aimed at providing ingredients and food for sale. This type of production is one most common in the world today due to the high level of urbanization. So food that is present on most of the retailer shelves comes from this form of production. Since commercial farming is done on a large scale, it is almost certain that organic practices are not followed to the letter (United States Department of Agriculture 2). Such methods involve the use of natural plant supplements such as compost. Herbicides and pesticides are not used, as farmers rely mostly on natural ways of preventing weeds and pests. Therefore, commercial farmers tend to use both organic and inorganic practices to boost their yields. Since such farmers are focused on making profits, they put more emphasis on the quantity of production rather than the quality (Olson par 4). Pollan documents the practices done by Joe on his organic farm, where the food cycle is evident. Salatin, however, only produces for his local community and does not like the thought of doing it commercially.
Recent studies have shown that food in the retailer shops labeled as organic is not genuine. People are lured by the fancy labeling done on the wrappers because commercial producers have understood their demand trends. The wave of obesity and cancer has led people to understand the need for dietary restraint that is being seen in households today. Labels used include “cage-free,” which means that the animals were not confined in cages when they produced end products such as eggs. The Ecolabel wave has also seen things like “sustainable” and “green” present in ingredients and farm products. The two draw from the same foundation of production being facilitated by practices that take into account the environmental issues, such as energy use and pollution, etcetera. The most recent one being gluten-free, which, according to the FDA, means that the food does not have the gluten component that triggers production of harmful antibodies (United States Food and Drug Administration 5).
The book goes further to detail the hunter-gatherer form of meal production. The writer explains the situation of going into the wild and hunting for food, and gathering wild ingredients to prepare food. Even though he recounts the experience as exciting, it is tiresome and unsustainable. Individuals might understand the path taken for food to reach their mouths, but it might be untenable if everyone is doing it. So it boils down to whether the practices can be done perpetually and in an environmentally friendly manner that assures the sustainability of both flora and fauna.
The society today is dependent on fast foods and ready-to-eat packaged meals because they are convenient, given the time allocated for meals in a day. This preference, however, has some backdrops to it according to the USDA, which claims that one out of 4 Americans eats some type of fast food every day (USDA par 3). The commission suggests that eating food away from home has both benefits to individuals as well as adverse effects. Additionally, the whole foods present in retail shops have some traces of inorganic elements regardless of eco-labels. It means that Americans have a blend of healthy and unhealthy ingredients in their diets. When diet experts advise on taking balanced diets, individuals are merely alternating calorie-dense foods with vegetables. Packed foods are being consumed because they come in different varieties and bear the eco-labels. As a result, the focus drops from understanding the process of food production to the presence of eco-labels. This, however, cannot be blamed on the ordinary citizen because it takes into account lengthy research that can be cumbersome.
In conclusion, humans consume what they can consume rather than what they are supposed to consume. This means that man is only concerned about the final product more than the process. While this might come as a pardonable problem, it serves as the missing link in having proper meals. Individuals are attracted to labels that claim the products are either green, sustainable, or gluten-free without understanding what they mean. Fast food restaurants are accessible in every section of the country because economic demand somehow increases supply. At-home meals, according to the food research commission, are healthier than fast food, but not entirely accurate when critical scrutiny is applied. So we eat what the process provides us with without having to care about the process at all.
Works Cited
Olson, Samantha. "Americans Buy Organic, Non-GMO Food Without Knowing What It Means, Thanks To Marketing Ploys." 20 November 2014. Medical Daily. 25 October 2017.
Strom, Stephanie. "Foodies Know: Boulder has become a hub for new producers." 4 February 2017. The New York Times. 25 October 2017.
United States Department of Agriculture. USDA Coexistence Fact Sheets: Organic Farming. Washington. DC: Office of Communication, 2015.
United States Food and Drug Administration. Health Hazard Assessment for Gluten Exposure in Individuals with Celiac Disease: Determination of Tolerable Daily Intake. Washington, DC: Office of Food Safety, 2011.
USDA. Food-Away-from-Home. Washington, DC: USDA, 2017.
World Health Organization. Sustainable food systems, biodiversity, and health. Paris: WHO, 2016.
