Importance Of Food And Society

The Improtance of Food and Society

By: Amanda Dittmer

There was a time when I was able to walk in a grocery store, brows through the items. Without even thinking twice I would, like most, purchase the best priced items of what it was I needed. Now it seems when I walk into the store, my mind set has changed. I am noticing that I am putting price second, and gathering information on that product before I purchase it. Being a collage student it still leaves for most items to be purchased at the cheapest price possible, and in that case I would choose the best choice out of that category. I am noticing that I am looking at the labels to see the advertisement catches they use to lure in their customers, as well as looking at the information part on the item to see if anything I'm ingesting has GMO's. The only reason why I am taking all of this into consideration is because of taking Food and Society. Food and Society has opened my eyes to how my food is produced, how it is manufactured, and the marketing techniques used to sell particular products. It also has given me insight on the different types of Farmers the types of Farms and how through time their technique to produce, harvest and manage their food has changed.

To know there is an array of farms out there is amazing, and the different types are mind boggling. I think ever since the mad cow disease became present, it has brought light back onto some Farms, yet that did not prepare me for the other controversies revolving around the meat packing industries, and why it was they found it easier to simply feed the cows the processed cows who had died. These scraps that the farmers use now have to be recycled which is causing most farmers to become upset as it means that is more money is put into recycling the products instead of just grinding it up and reusing it. Less waste is better in the farmer's eyes. Foods and society not only gave the farmers views on their way of running their farms but this class also showed how the government had a place in some of the decision making process, as well as the view points of consumers and protesters alike.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of this course was realizing how much the marketing and advertising of a product plays a part. I am all too guilty of choosing an item because the label looks good, or because I saw it advertised on TV and the advertisement seemed appealing. While reading Nature's Perfect Food I gained insight on to how the advertising techniques have changed as society has changed. The marketing techniques seem to pertain to what the customers are going to like. Now a days most farms, when advertising their milk products, will use a label with a factory in view or men in white jackets, making it seem that science is much better than what nature itself has to offer. Yet in the older days the picture used to be of a young Milkmaid milking a healthy cow. Back then this was comforting to many as it was appealing to the eye, it signified purity in a way, and was very comforting. Then it moved to the bird, the bird was a sight of freedom of no limits, serenity surrounded the bird as it was in flight. This advertisement was to tell consumers that milk or any product for that matter was good and what ever nature itself had to offer was the best choice.

Fast Food Nation was a book that knocked me off my feet. Ever since reading that book I have not touched a burger produced by any fast food restaurants. I never really thought when eating their food where it came from or why it was that there was never really any indication to how many calories you were taking into your body. To find that McDonalds is now after so many years, placing a nutrition label on their burgers is saddening. To know they went so long without it shows that they aren't proud of what this food can do to ones body. The main push for the nutrition label has to be the recent movie that was produced "Super Size Me". "Super size Me" was a very disturbing movie, showing a man who was in great health and how one simple experiment