Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Post for comment: T 5:40pm
23 comments:
Andrew Anatala
said...
With so many perceptions, point of views, and beliefs where does one begin conversing about a subject that is effecting our globe? Two thoughts immediately cross my mind: education and ignorance. I will begin by addressing education, or lack of that is, in our country. Its ironic to me how we live in an economy that has such a high regard for education and degrees yet so little is known. Whats truly unfortunate is that the information involving our topic is known but no one believes it nor takes the time to research it. Isn't it baffling that throughout our schooling we took a number of classes labeled "health/physical education" but have the highest ratings of obesity? Do people just not care about themselves? Not only does fast food deteriorate your own body it deteriorates the environment. Again, knowledge that is known and not taken into consideration. Why? Ignorance and personal beliefs (look at how many people smoke cigarettes knowing it will kill them). Throughout my life I have had periods of not eating red meat, or no meat at all but never vegan. I enjoy red meat but very rarely. If I do eat red meat I eat prime, wagyu, or kobe grade from private farms. For many though these qualities are very expensive. This leads me to another point: income. With the decline of jobs and income in this country many people are being forced to eat food that is inexpensive. Oddly enough eating healthy is expensive!! I should know, I only shop at Whole Foods. The vegetables and fruits in the popular markets are also flooded with pesticides and hormones not to mention all the mutations to the genes of the produce. Many will argue that they're always traveling or just too busy to sit down and eat a healthy meal. In the defense of the farmers and fast food companies they have an enormous population that is increasing rapidly and demanding food thats quick. I feel strongly that awareness needs to be thrown into the faces of the public. Education when it comes to health needs to be taken more serious. I remember at the end of the 90's and beginning of the 2,000's health became a trend. Gyms were opening up everywhere, yoga and pilates were popping up, and organic labels were becoming more attractive. Here we are in 2012 and the trend is highly accepted but still looked at with an odd eye. More people need to speak up. This again leads back to education. More physical blunt evidence needs to be made public. People trust in hard evidence rather than believing the lectures of someone who might appear to be "hippy like" or an animal lover. Drastic improvements need to be enforced immediately in our education and quality of raising farm animals along with waste disposal. If not i'm afraid we will begin to see horrific changes to our environment and our children that are going to be born into these conditions.
When we talk about prices, we have to analyze what’s the most valuable possession that we have as individuals. I am sure that everyone thinks that a nice car, a happy marriage, bright children, a rent controlled apartment, or a job that pays the bills is considered some of the valuable possessions that we have. But what I was referring to when I said: what is the most valuable possession that we have as individuals in this world, it’s the most important thing that we have and also neglect: our health.
The price that we pay for fast food is higher that we can ever think of, not only we pay the price but also the animals are slaughter and treated poorly. Most people think that the meat, milk, eggs come from animals that were happy just walking around a farm. Unfortunately this is not the case. Factory farms have high level of disease, which can be spread to the community not only in the food, but also in water, the air, and the bodies of the farmers and their families. For this reason the use of Antibiotics in the animals are a daily routine. Think how this can affect your health every time you eat these animals without checking twice where they come from, which is the case of fast food.
This article should be a wake up call, not to make people stop eating meat or enjoying a delicious ice cream, but to make society aware of what they are doing to their own bodies by ignoring all the warnings of how dangerous fast food really is.
When it comes to cheap food for high prices, the issues exceeds animal cruelty to an economical epidemic. Yes, fast food restaurants have fore filled the needs of the poor’s empty stomach. I include myself in this; someone of is knowledgeable of slather houses and animal cruelty. However, when inflation and unemployment rate is sky high… one would rather not spend all of their $5 at once. For those who are not able to even spend $10 a day on food, fast food places have become their cafeterias. I blame this issue not on Big Fast Food Companies but, on the governments’ regulations. Which, lowers the prices (taxes) on food with higher toxicity portions and higher the price (taxes) on nutritious food. Even though economically obesity increases spending. Health Care for the obese is close to a $200billion issue which, is paid for by tax payers. 20.6% of health care expenditures when one views at the annually entirely of this: obese person spends: $3271 while non-obese person spends: $512. Our nation’s obesity has expanded to a 34% of the population. And when one notices that there are more cases in the hospital due to obesity than smoking. That’s when America’s diet has to change. And rather than putting only commercials about how smoking kills; the truth is… that so do fast food restaurants.
Cheap Food, High Price? Cheap food doesn’t necessarily mean that it comes with a low price. Consumers are often blindsides by the way that the economy really works. Something has to give in order to ensure that we receive things, meaning that something will have a downfall along the line. The marketing industry takes an advantage of the lack of knowledge that the communities possess and if they do try to provide knowledge, it’s of little and it is often hidden between the lines. As you stated previously in class, animals are treated cruel within this process and because the industry only cares about money that don’t mind packing the animals in ways in which they can prevent them from diseases. These things later fall upon the people who buy the products which later on affects our health. I personally am not a vegetarian but I believe animals should be treated with more respect and care and even if we have to eat them just to survive, we should not do it in a burial manner. Everything should be done in a proper manner and the way that animals are currently being preserved for food is not being done in a proper manner. We can try to fix this problem by first becoming aware of the problems at hand. Then we can address the problems with those who have authority as in the congress or anyone with power who would be willing to help. Companies can try to make fast food healthy in a way which may or may not be approachable. But we as people can take a stand for ourselves and pledge to eat right and exercise because things two things can keep us healthy. Fast food may taste good but it is not good for our body and the more knowledge we gain on this issue, the less that we can be abused by the industries producing these foods.
Animals as the word coming from the Latin language animalis meaning having breath therefore having the right to live. We humans are using them for our hunger of laziness and bad habits. Due to this high demand on food in the United States specially fast food; chickens, pigs and cows are being affected in the way they grow and develop, they make chickens grow in months injecting hormones and giving then products. The conceit about the animal’s life is no longer important the hunger for satisfying our demand is higher. Doing so, we are contributing to the degradation of our planet and cutting out our resources contaminating our oceans, rivers, and lakes. In order to solve this problem we need to learn how to take care of our resources eat healthier, have good nutritional habits and knowledge about the food we are eating everyday.
After reading Cheap food? High prices? A lot of different reactions and emotions have crossed my mind. First of all, I must say that the picture is outrageous, chocking and finally disgusting. Seeing these dead animals piled on each other is unfortunately what our society asks for. I truly believe that we live in a society of consumption in which people don’t have the time to take their time. For instance, let’s explore the following scenario: this morning you woke up at six o’clock to go to work and you finish your labor day at five o’clock in the afternoon. Now you have the choice between going to Publix to buy food, then going home to cook. Or, you can go home relax, then simply across the street to go to your nearest fast food. What will you do? Going to the grocery store is time and money consuming while going to McDonald is fast and cheap. Second of all, people like animals, but prefer meat. In other words, most of us like to take our kids to the zoo, looking at all kind of variety of animals our planet is made of. On the other hand, nobody tells our kids that just after the zoo for lunch, the big burger they will enjoy at McDonald comes from the zoo. I bet that if children were aware of the truth about how animals are treated by adults they will become vegetarians. But who is heartless enough to tell a kid that in order to enjoy his favorite dish, innocent animals have to be raised in horrible conditions, “dosed with antibiotics”, then “slaughter”. All this process for his/her gustative pleasure? Let’s be honest. We all know what’s going on, but we don’t care. Julie Neel
Reading this article reminded me of a film released in 2009 that I incidentally watched a week before this class started. It's an independent film named "Home" by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. A moving film that documents the present state of the earth, the climate, and how we as the dominant species living on the planet are slowly, but surely, depleting it of its resources. Its a film that I would highly recommend everyone in this class makes the time to watch.
I believe that the issue of cheap food is something that, at least in this nation, has very much become a part of the fast paced life we live. As someone who personally lacks the ability to cook for myself, I have made the effort to not allow myself to fall into the trap of fast food by buying food at my local supermarket and making what I can with what little skill in food preparation I have. I will admit that I do at least contribute to the problem by consuming something from McDonald's probably once a month. It is however a far cry from the 2-3 visits I used to make a week just four or five years ago.
Part of what made me make the decision to discontinue my consumption of fast food was educating myself on where it comes from. Back when I was still eating regularly at fast food chains, I used to excuse my consumption by ordering only something containing either chiken or fish. It wasn't long after that someone recommended an article to me about where the chicken from fast food restaurants comes from that quickly changed my tune. The three words I always think of whenever I think of fast food chicken any longer that causes me to cringe are "Mechanically Separated Chicken."
At 33 years old I am someone that has made more and more of an effort to take care of my body and what goes into it. So I strongly believe that something like this article, and education about what we're doing with the resources on this planet in general, should be an educational peiece in every household. It also should start at a very young age. We presently live in a society in which I personally fear for our future. The generation of kids growing up are being raised by parents who were in many resepcts a victim of parents raised in an ever increasing fast paced life. This has converted into uneducated parents making the decision to go to the local fast food restaurant with their children in the back seat and ordering meals-on-the-go in order to save some time in making a home cooked meal.
All in all I think the problem starts at home and the lack of critical education about where we're all untilmately headed on this planet if we don't start to make positive changes collectively.
This is a great article, it is very interesting. So many people are eating fast food like burgers, chips, soda, are not really aware of the consequences. I have heard of so many excuses for eating junk food instead of healthy meal; first of all, many people said that fast food is cheaper than a healthy meal, which I disagree. I believe it is less expensive to feed a family of five with a healthy meal than going to a burger place. According to a research I made in which I will explain below.
Those junk foods have so many bad effects like Cardiovascular Problems, which can lead to heart disease, increase your risk of high blood pressure and stroke etc. The average for 5 big mac meals is around $ 30.00, compare to a nice roasted chicken with vegetables along with a simple salad and milk for about $14 should be able to feed family of five to six. a meal of rice and canned beans with bacon, green peppers and onions; is even cheaper for a family of five people and costs about $ 11.00.
Secondly, many people are saying that fast food is an addiction just like smoking cigarette, in some points I believe that can be true, because if you were raised in a family where everybody eats fast food like burgers, chips, drinking soda, and did not really have a good education about how bad those junk foods are, you might have a better chance to end up being just like them.
In conclusion, for me one of the best ways is to start making changes within your families and friends by educate those who did not know, and to remind those who forgot about what junk food are doing to ourselves. We all can start by posting big note in your kitchen that will tell you what junk food can do to you, or at your door, whenever you’re heading out to go buy junk food, just by looking at the note you will be able to make a better choice instead of the junk food.
Cheap Food, High Price…… I have never been a fan of fast food, I actually grew up on homemade meals, but having a family of 6 a full time job and school sometimes I would take the easy way out and purchased either Pollo Tropical or McDonalds for dinner. It was convenient and inexpensive. Recently, a co-worker recommended that I watch the film Food Inc. I can honestly say that it changed my point of view on fast food. It was an eye opener. The film depicts how health and safety is overlooked by the food production companies. Their goal is simply to produce large quantities of food at low direct input, which results in enormous profit. After this rude awakening I have prohibited the consumption of fast food to my family and have started to really look at what we eat, reading all ingredients and purchasing organic products. However I have noticed my grocery bill has doubled if not tripled. Denep Santana
“Lo barato sale caro.” That is a Spanish saying which means that cheap things, at the end are more expensive. Many people trying to save a buck or two, end up buying what’s cheaper in the supermarket. I used to be guilty of doing such thing. But after reading so many articles about how food is processed in this country, I quickly changed my eating habits. When I say that I changed my eating habits, I don’t mean that I now only buy organic food. Sadly I don’t have that kind of money. But I do now read the labels that are in every package of food we buy. I try to buy things that don’t have coloring or anything that I know that is not the healthiest to my health. But from time to time I do eat such things. I have a friend that is a vegetarian and also happens to be overweight. She claims she doesn’t want to be expose to the unhealthy foods that the government is feeding us. My point is that the biggest problem that America has is not the hormones that are being injected to our meat products; the problem is that many people in this country are allergic to walking and exercising. The hormones are not killing people, is people who are killing themselves by over eating and not moving their body as we are meant to do. Everything in excess is hurtful.
Confining animals to living conditions that are not suitable is now a regular practice. You, the consumer, get a piece of meat where you don’t know what has been done to the animal before it went to the butchers. Industrial farmers confine the animals’ sense the time they are born to close quarters, inject them with hormones to make then grow faster, raise them on a feed that only makes them fatter, and give them a five month span of life. People blindly buy the cheaper meat without looking at the way it was raised, or how the animal is being funded for the feed. When people buy the cheaper mean what they don’t realize is that you are paying more for that piece of garbage meat that is so bad for you, because of the chemical fertilizer in the feed. My mother only bought organic, I never listed to why it was good for you. Now I have read why it’s good for me and the cruelty that the animals go through. Meat is a good thing but not when it can kill you through what it ate or how it was treated in a small pen.
Jessica Lopez said... Cheap Food? High Price. The relationship between animals and humans has always been complex. Some animals are loved and domesticated into practically family members and others are grown and slaughtered only to become bacon and starch, as the blog mentions. Humanity also faces another downfall, and this is economizing. We are always looking to reduce cost and minimize the output of the insides of our wallets. This adds to the problem of cheap food’s increasing popularity. I, myself am guilty of such truth. Unfortunately, due to successful advertising and companies’ strategies, it is extremely tempting to buy your lunch and dinner for less than $5. But, we must change! It is imperative to refine our eating habits, increasing the intakes of greens and decreasing the consumption of meats. This will also decrease the demand for animal slaughter and unnecessary killings at large scales. Although, we will always face the ugly truth, that we are part of the food chain and some animals will need to die for us to ultimately survive.
Debbie Barahona Cheap food? High price. After reading this article I took some time to ponder why it is that America has become so desensitized to the point in which living breathing and to an extent empathetic animals are being held in close quarters where they live their lives in complete squalor. And I came to the conclusion that we’ve become so blissfully ignorant of our surroundings that we just don’t care. When we go into the grocery store we don’t see the cow or the pig hanging upside down being bled out and cut into pieces. Instead what we see is carefully placed packaging of symmetrical cuts of meat cleaned and wrapped in cellophane, oblivious to the fact that those cuts came from an animal in a CAFO. Another reason why Americans are so ignorant to these operations is because almost every minute of our lives we are being bombarded with commercials where the beef patty has just the right lighting and placed perfectly in the bun filled with the perfect amount of condiments and shows in which the host is eating pounds and pounds of greasy burgers and steak sandwiches filled with meat, we don’t think about where that meat come from. When we see that on TV it excites our glands and we start to salivate and crave those things. That is why America is so fat. It’s not easy to change these things because for the most part we’ve become accustomed to shopping that way and television is controlled by monopolizing corporations hungry for money and those goddamned lobbyist for big business. But like the article states there are some grassroots operations where they refuse to succumb to big business and to keeping it simple with fresh organic products. The public needs to be educated and taught that we don’t need massive amounts of protein or portions. It would be nice if the school system initiated this learning with mandatory nutrition classes, and have children learn where there food comes from, how it’s raised and grown, not the PETA way of course that is just traumatizing. But if young kids knew about their food sources they would be more inclined to eat healthier and would educate their parents about what they have learned in class, initiating a better life for their families. If people ate less meat products as they should be, according to the food triangle there would be more land to grow seasonal organic vegetables, fruit and greens, and if this happens prices of greens would in turn go down.
There are different reasons to why the obesity percentage has grown so much lately, as well as to reason of why the high consumption of cheap (bad) food. To name a few for example culture, price, economy and time. there is a cultural issue, which is that people are already accustomed to this kind of food, not much people pay attention to the nutrition facts shown on the food and even less the non-shown ones. The very few people that do care are the ones that have already started to buy organic and healthier food. Due to the fact that the damage derived from the consumption of this product doesn’t show until later years, young people do not care about it. So, why change the way of production if the demand for it is so high. Furthermore, the government subsidies the factory farms to a point where it allows the product to be so cheap, unfortunately not everyone has the privilege of having enough money to buy at whole food markets. Also ,nowadays time is money; fast food restaurants give you the opportunity of saving time and eating on the go, for people running between jobs, between classes or need easy access to food at a low price. I think the solution is education; it is a matter of time before more people become aware of the damage done by this “cheap” food. To keep on promoting campaigns against obesity such as the First lady’s campaign. Every year more whole food markets and more sustainable food places open to the public, and it is because the demand is increasing. For such big population as we have in the states it will take some time to accomplish but I do think it can be done for the wellbeing of people. Barbara Navas
One of the first problems we have when it comes to deciding what to eat is that most of the people make the decision out of convenience, and without thinking about health issues. If one is stuck in traffic and running late for work or class the first choice will be to grab something to eat that is fast and convenient. Another issue is money, the average college student would rather spend two dollars on something satisfying enough to eat as in McDonald’s or any other fast food restaurant, than spending forty dollars on a weekly basis at Publix; without mentioning the fact that buying meat and vegetables at the grocery store includes cooking, which is something that not everyone has the time or the skills to do. The decision of what we should eat or not eat should be based on our health and body needs, of course money and time are a huge part of every person choices but on the long run it is better to spend more money on groceries than to have to pay for a heart surgery.
Addressing our obesity epidemic, I believe that changing our eating habits can not be as simple as you think. As humans go about their daily life in a robotic manner, the majority just don't care or don't have the time to have a square meal.
By square, I mean a nutritionally balanced meal that provides the necessary conditions to being a human. "Meat" is a general term for the flesh of cattle (beef and veal), sheep (lamb) and pigs (pork). Also the cooked flesh of poultry and fish is also referred to as "meat."
Meat witholds water, protein, fat and various amounts of minerals and vitamins. You can only eat meat and survive but that would be quite boring...so you have sides that you eat with your meal.
Depending on the side you choose and how its cooked determines how much fat is inside your macaronni and cheese or french fries. The same goes for meat, its all about which part your eating and how its cooked. If we just learn to select and cook our meats properly then fast food or "cheap" meat products would not be an issue.
We hear friends and families telling their own experiences of how they were diagnosed with obesity, cancer, diabetes, etc. We hear how doctors recommend lower cholesterol, reduce fat, eat more fruits and vegetables, and exercise. We also see on the news and newspapers how the obesity rate and animal abuse have increased in the United States. Finally, we watch movies and documentaries of how we are being brainwashed by the government and fast food companies to continue the consumption of cheap food. We accomplish nothing by closing our eyes and ears. We are smarter than that. We must begin to stop blaming others for our actions. In order to see some changes, we must begin by changing ourselves. We are the ones that are slowly destroying nature and humanity by allowing animal abuse and eating the "poison" that is given to these creatures before being slaughtered. Government and food companies are not going to stop trying to influence us because unfortunately it is all about business. Instead, we can put an end to this consumption. I am not saying that we must become vegetarian, but we should be more aware of how we are feeding our body. One thing that we can do to fix this problem is to purchase food products from organic distributors who practice in more humane way to make these products available in the market. It is unfortunate that these types of products tend to be much more expensive than the alternative, making it more difficult for the public to act more responsibly.
Sebastian Mayorga After reading the article, all sorts of ideas came to my head on what I could write about. The topic of fast food, how it’s made its and how bad it’s for our health its nothing new to consumers. There are plenty of movies and articles on newspapers and magazines that give us information about the fast food industry. Now with that in mind, all I can think of is who is there to blame? The fast food industry that keeps feeding us lies about how good and tasty their food can be, or us that after all the information that is given we keep on going back to McDonald’s for that Big Mac. I have not heard the first story of someone that was obligated to eat at a fast food place. Nobody is pointing a gun to our head saying we NEED to eat fast food. In my opinion, all of us as thinking human beings, we have the option to choose what we eat. We often use the excuse ‘I’ve been working all day and I’m too tired to cook’ but being from a country where people work as much and as hard as people in the United States has showed me that it is not necessary to eat fast food every time we get hungry and we don’t want to cook. I think it all falls under the category of culture and the way we are raised. Now, I’m not trying to put all the blame on us, but I just think we need to have a reality check and realize that the only reason these companies keep on growing is because of us. One thing we could do to better our situation is to educate others that don’t know any better; but before we try to help others we need to make a commitment with ourselves to not only wish for our situation to change but actually want and set an example to others to change their eating habits. I personally have not taken a bite of any fast food in months and I try to encourage my friends and family to follow my ways. By doing so, I feel like I’m taking another customer away from these fast foods. It might not make a huge impact now but by spreading the word on better eating habits I can just hope that one day it will be a big factor.
The current food industry is a direct offspring of the economic model in which we live in. Because the mass production of cheap and easily accessible food is so lucrative, more frugal alternatives are sought when manufacturing said food- down to the corn grain which the animals feed on. As a society, we are constantly bombarded with food related advertisement, targeting us subconsciously to excessively feed – even when not hungry (a la Edward Bernays). The consumer’s health, the animal’s well being and any environmental or ethical consequences are not factors taken into consideration because that represents dollar sings to mass producing corporations. I think it is strategically designed to supplement the individual with the cheapest, quickest and unhealthiest kinds of foods.
How and what we consume ties in with employment, education and socio-economic standings. Many of us – if not most- cannot live on a strict vegan and or vegetarian lifestyle. And we certainly shouldn’t have to be forced into this alternative in lieu of highly chemically processed and morally tainted meat. We have two options: either no meat or something that kind of, somewhat resembles a pig, cow, etc.
Education on the matter and complete reformation of the industry, in my opinion, is the only way in which change can happen.
The current food industry is a direct offspring of the economic model in which we live in. Because the mass production of cheap and easily accessible food is so lucrative, more frugal alternatives are sought when manufacturing said food- down to the corn grain which the animals feed on. As a society, we are constantly bombarded with food related advertisement, targeting us subconsciously to excessively feed – even when not hungry (a la Edward Bernays). The consumer’s health, the animal’s well being and any environmental or ethical consequences are not factors taken into consideration because that represents dollar sings to mass producing corporations. I think it is strategically designed to supplement the individual with the cheapest, quickest and unhealthiest kinds of foods.
How and what we consume ties in with employment, education and socio-economic standings. Many of us – if not most- cannot live on a strict vegan and or vegetarian lifestyle. And we certainly shouldn’t have to be forced into this alternative in lieu of highly chemically processed and morally tainted meat. We have two options: either no meat or something that kind of, somewhat resembles a pig, cow, etc.
Education on the matter and complete reformation of the industry, in my opinion, is the only way in which change can happen.
I believe that the reason for our unhealthy habits is our fast paced economy. We never take the time to stop and think about what is actually going on in our economy and in our environment, it takes too much of our time. We choose to use our time constantly communicating, constantly occupying ourselves with something else. We never have time to cook a healthy meal, focus on our health or our relationships. Most people are just concerned about making money to have things that they can never enjoy what they already have. Sometimes I wonder if people today, think about the food that they are eating or actually realize that they are sacrificing a living thing to keep them alive and healthy. It is not right that we are causing most of the animals that we eat so much agony and treating these living things so terribly. They are so important to our daily lives and our ecosystem, and we take every bit of them for granted because we don’t stop to think! What if we were in their place? What would these people feel then? I feel that the first thing that we have to do is to start educating. We are so consumed by the media and what it says that we don’t know what is real or what isn’t. We need to take time to educate ourselves so we can educate the younger generations and we can grow as human beings. Not only should we educate our youth and ourselves about the environment and to respect our earth and everything that is on it, we should teach everyone about respecting ourselves and living a healthy life. To live with less stress, less toxins, and simply happier. To love everything and everyone that is around us. All that is our planet that is natural and true.
Cheap food? High price. Where do I begin as the issue at hand can branch out to some many other topics. My believe is that though we Americans are some what aware of the health problems that arise from constantly feasting on fast food meals, the health risks are overshadowed by our current economical crisis which forces many Americans to spend less on everything including food. Adding to the aforementioned is the fact that fast food restaurants are likely located within a mile of our homes, our place of employments, our schools making it easily accessible for most Americans that are constantly on the run these days because TIME is of the essence. I also believe we Americans are ignorant as to the cruelty in which animals are treated at the hands of these farm factories and the environmental issues that stem from animal waste. So what can we do? I believe education is the best way to go even though the fruits of it can take years. We need to be better informed on what goes into every burger we eat, the damaging effects that come from consuming meat higher in fat as a result of the antibiotic, hormones used on cattle, and the risks that come from being obese. At the same time, we need to come to the realization that as consumers we have the power to change farming practices. If we demand better, healthier meat and are willing to pay for it, it will be so. As of today I vow to do my part and refrain from eat meals from fast food restaurants.
23 comments:
With so many perceptions, point of views, and beliefs where does one begin conversing about a subject that is effecting our globe? Two thoughts immediately cross my mind: education and ignorance. I will begin by addressing education, or lack of that is, in our country. Its ironic to me how we live in an economy that has such a high regard for education and degrees yet so little is known. Whats truly unfortunate is that the information involving our topic is known but no one believes it nor takes the time to research it. Isn't it baffling that throughout our schooling we took a number of classes labeled "health/physical education" but have the highest ratings of obesity? Do people just not care about themselves? Not only does fast food deteriorate your own body it deteriorates the environment. Again, knowledge that is known and not taken into consideration. Why? Ignorance and personal beliefs (look at how many people smoke cigarettes knowing it will kill them). Throughout my life I have had periods of not eating red meat, or no meat at all but never vegan. I enjoy red meat but very rarely. If I do eat red meat I eat prime, wagyu, or kobe grade from private farms. For many though these qualities are very expensive. This leads me to another point: income. With the decline of jobs and income in this country many people are being forced to eat food that is inexpensive. Oddly enough eating healthy is expensive!! I should know, I only shop at Whole Foods. The vegetables and fruits in the popular markets are also flooded with pesticides and hormones not to mention all the mutations to the genes of the produce. Many will argue that they're always traveling or just too busy to sit down and eat a healthy meal. In the defense of the farmers and fast food companies they have an enormous population that is increasing rapidly and demanding food thats quick. I feel strongly that awareness needs to be thrown into the faces of the public. Education when it comes to health needs to be taken more serious. I remember at the end of the 90's and beginning of the 2,000's health became a trend. Gyms were opening up everywhere, yoga and pilates were popping up, and organic labels were becoming more attractive. Here we are in 2012 and the trend is highly accepted but still looked at with an odd eye. More people need to speak up. This again leads back to education. More physical blunt evidence needs to be made public. People trust in hard evidence rather than believing the lectures of someone who might appear to be "hippy like" or an animal lover. Drastic improvements need to be enforced immediately in our education and quality of raising farm animals along with waste disposal. If not i'm afraid we will begin to see horrific changes to our environment and our children that are going to be born into these conditions.
What is the real price of Cheap Food?
When we talk about prices, we have to analyze what’s the most valuable possession that we have as individuals. I am sure that everyone thinks that a nice car, a happy marriage, bright children, a rent controlled apartment, or a job that pays the bills is considered some of the valuable possessions that we have. But what I was referring to when I said: what is the most valuable possession that we have as individuals in this world, it’s the most important thing that we have and also neglect: our health.
The price that we pay for fast food is higher that we can ever think of, not only we pay the price but also the animals are slaughter and treated poorly. Most people think that the meat, milk, eggs come from animals that were happy just walking around a farm. Unfortunately this is not the case. Factory farms have high level of disease, which can be spread to the community not only in the food, but also in water, the air, and the bodies of the farmers and their families. For this reason the use of Antibiotics in the animals are a daily routine. Think how this can affect your health every time you eat these animals without checking twice where they come from, which is the case of fast food.
This article should be a wake up call, not to make people stop eating meat or enjoying a delicious ice cream, but to make society aware of what they are doing to their own bodies by ignoring all the warnings of how dangerous fast food really is.
When it comes to cheap food for high prices, the issues exceeds animal cruelty to an economical epidemic. Yes, fast food restaurants have fore filled the needs of the poor’s empty stomach. I include myself in this; someone of is knowledgeable of slather houses and animal cruelty. However, when inflation and unemployment rate is sky high… one would rather not spend all of their $5 at once. For those who are not able to even spend $10 a day on food, fast food places have become their cafeterias.
I blame this issue not on Big Fast Food Companies but, on the governments’ regulations. Which, lowers the prices (taxes) on food with higher toxicity portions and higher the price (taxes) on nutritious food. Even though economically obesity increases spending. Health Care for the obese is close to a $200billion issue which, is paid for by tax payers. 20.6% of health care expenditures when one views at the annually entirely of this: obese person spends: $3271 while non-obese person spends: $512. Our nation’s obesity has expanded to a 34% of the population. And when one notices that there are more cases in the hospital due to obesity than smoking. That’s when America’s diet has to change. And rather than putting only commercials about how smoking kills; the truth is… that so do fast food restaurants.
-Maybelis Velasquez
Toletha Collins,
Cheap Food, High Price?
Cheap food doesn’t necessarily mean that it comes with a low price. Consumers are often blindsides by the way that the economy really works. Something has to give in order to ensure that we receive things, meaning that something will have a downfall along the line. The marketing industry takes an advantage of the lack of knowledge that the communities possess and if they do try to provide knowledge, it’s of little and it is often hidden between the lines. As you stated previously in class, animals are treated cruel within this process and because the industry only cares about money that don’t mind packing the animals in ways in which they can prevent them from diseases. These things later fall upon the people who buy the products which later on affects our health. I personally am not a vegetarian but I believe animals should be treated with more respect and care and even if we have to eat them just to survive, we should not do it in a burial manner. Everything should be done in a proper manner and the way that animals are currently being preserved for food is not being done in a proper manner. We can try to fix this problem by first becoming aware of the problems at hand. Then we can address the problems with those who have authority as in the congress or anyone with power who would be willing to help. Companies can try to make fast food healthy in a way which may or may not be approachable. But we as people can take a stand for ourselves and pledge to eat right and exercise because things two things can keep us healthy. Fast food may taste good but it is not good for our body and the more knowledge we gain on this issue, the less that we can be abused by the industries producing these foods.
Cheap Food? High price.
Animals as the word coming from the Latin language animalis meaning having breath therefore having the right to live. We humans are using them for our hunger of laziness and bad habits. Due to this high demand on food in the United States specially fast food; chickens, pigs and cows are being affected in the way they grow and develop, they make chickens grow in months injecting hormones and giving then products. The conceit about the animal’s life is no longer important the hunger for satisfying our demand is higher. Doing so, we are contributing to the degradation of our planet and cutting out our resources contaminating our oceans, rivers, and lakes. In order to solve this problem we need to learn how to take care of our resources eat healthier, have good nutritional habits and knowledge about the food we are eating everyday.
Jose Gallegos
After reading Cheap food? High prices? A lot of different reactions and emotions have crossed my mind. First of all, I must say that the picture is outrageous, chocking and finally disgusting. Seeing these dead animals piled on each other is unfortunately what our society asks for. I truly believe that we live in a society of consumption in which people don’t have the time to take their time. For instance, let’s explore the following scenario: this morning you woke up at six o’clock to go to work and you finish your labor day at five o’clock in the afternoon. Now you have the choice between going to Publix to buy food, then going home to cook. Or, you can go home relax, then simply across the street to go to your nearest fast food. What will you do? Going to the grocery store is time and money consuming while going to McDonald is fast and cheap. Second of all, people like animals, but prefer meat. In other words, most of us like to take our kids to the zoo, looking at all kind of variety of animals our planet is made of. On the other hand, nobody tells our kids that just after the zoo for lunch, the big burger they will enjoy at McDonald comes from the zoo. I bet that if children were aware of the truth about how animals are treated by adults they will become vegetarians. But who is heartless enough to tell a kid that in order to enjoy his favorite dish, innocent animals have to be raised in horrible conditions, “dosed with antibiotics”, then “slaughter”. All this process for his/her gustative pleasure? Let’s be honest. We all know what’s going on, but we don’t care.
Julie Neel
Reading this article reminded me of a film released in 2009 that I incidentally watched a week before this class started. It's an independent film named "Home" by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. A moving film that documents the present state of the earth, the climate, and how we as the dominant species living on the planet are slowly, but surely, depleting it of its resources. Its a film that I would highly recommend everyone in this class makes the time to watch.
I believe that the issue of cheap food is something that, at least in this nation, has very much become a part of the fast paced life we live. As someone who personally lacks the ability to cook for myself, I have made the effort to not allow myself to fall into the trap of fast food by buying food at my local supermarket and making what I can with what little skill in food preparation I have. I will admit that I do at least contribute to the problem by consuming something from McDonald's probably once a month. It is however a far cry from the 2-3 visits I used to make a week just four or five years ago.
Part of what made me make the decision to discontinue my consumption of fast food was educating myself on where it comes from. Back when I was still eating regularly at fast food chains, I used to excuse my consumption by ordering only something containing either chiken or fish. It wasn't long after that someone recommended an article to me about where the chicken from fast food restaurants comes from that quickly changed my tune. The three words I always think of whenever I think of fast food chicken any longer that causes me to cringe are "Mechanically Separated Chicken."
At 33 years old I am someone that has made more and more of an effort to take care of my body and what goes into it. So I strongly believe that something like this article, and education about what we're doing with the resources on this planet in general, should be an educational peiece in every household. It also should start at a very young age. We presently live in a society in which I personally fear for our future. The generation of kids growing up are being raised by parents who were in many resepcts a victim of parents raised in an ever increasing fast paced life. This has converted into uneducated parents making the decision to go to the local fast food restaurant with their children in the back seat and ordering meals-on-the-go in order to save some time in making a home cooked meal.
All in all I think the problem starts at home and the lack of critical education about where we're all untilmately headed on this planet if we don't start to make positive changes collectively.
This is a great article, it is very interesting. So many people are eating fast food like burgers, chips, soda, are not really aware of the consequences. I have heard of so many excuses for eating junk food instead of healthy meal; first of all, many people said that fast food is cheaper than a healthy meal, which I disagree. I believe it is less expensive to feed a family of five with a healthy meal than going to a burger place. According to a research I made in which I will explain below.
Those junk foods have so many bad effects like Cardiovascular Problems, which can lead to heart disease, increase your risk of high blood pressure and stroke etc.
The average for 5 big mac meals is around $ 30.00, compare to a nice roasted chicken with vegetables along with a simple salad and milk for about $14 should be able to feed family of five to six. a meal of rice and canned beans with bacon, green peppers and onions; is even cheaper for a family of five people and costs about $ 11.00.
Secondly, many people are saying that fast food is an addiction just like smoking cigarette, in some points I believe that can be true, because if you were raised in a family where everybody eats fast food like burgers, chips, drinking soda, and did not really have a good education about how bad those junk foods are, you might have a better chance to end up being just like them.
In conclusion, for me one of the best ways is to start making changes within your families and friends by educate those who did not know, and to remind those who forgot about what junk food are doing to ourselves. We all can start by posting big note in your kitchen that will tell you what junk food can do to you, or at your door, whenever you’re heading out to go buy junk food, just by looking at the note you will be able to make a better choice instead of the junk food.
Cheap Food, High Price……
I have never been a fan of fast food, I actually grew up on homemade meals, but having a family of 6 a full time job and school sometimes I would take the easy way out and purchased either Pollo Tropical or McDonalds for dinner. It was convenient and inexpensive. Recently, a co-worker recommended that I watch the film Food Inc. I can honestly say that it changed my point of view on fast food. It was an eye opener. The film depicts how health and safety is overlooked by the food production companies. Their goal is simply to produce large quantities of food at low direct input, which results in enormous profit. After this rude awakening I have prohibited the consumption of fast food to my family and have started to really look at what we eat, reading all ingredients and purchasing organic products. However I have noticed my grocery bill has doubled if not tripled.
Denep Santana
Nerea Duran
“Lo barato sale caro.” That is a Spanish saying which means that cheap things, at the end are more expensive. Many people trying to save a buck or two, end up buying what’s cheaper in the supermarket. I used to be guilty of doing such thing. But after reading so many articles about how food is processed in this country, I quickly changed my eating habits. When I say that I changed my eating habits, I don’t mean that I now only buy organic food. Sadly I don’t have that kind of money. But I do now read the labels that are in every package of food we buy. I try to buy things that don’t have coloring or anything that I know that is not the healthiest to my health. But from time to time I do eat such things. I have a friend that is a vegetarian and also happens to be overweight. She claims she doesn’t want to be expose to the unhealthy foods that the government is feeding us. My point is that the biggest problem that America has is not the hormones that are being injected to our meat products; the problem is that many people in this country are allergic to walking and exercising. The hormones are not killing people, is people who are killing themselves by over eating and not moving their body as we are meant to do. Everything in excess is hurtful.
Nerea Duran
Confining animals to living conditions that are not suitable is now a regular practice. You, the consumer, get a piece of meat where you don’t know what has been done to the animal before it went to the butchers. Industrial farmers confine the animals’ sense the time they are born to close quarters, inject them with hormones to make then grow faster, raise them on a feed that only makes them fatter, and give them a five month span of life. People blindly buy the cheaper meat without looking at the way it was raised, or how the animal is being funded for the feed. When people buy the cheaper mean what they don’t realize is that you are paying more for that piece of garbage meat that is so bad for you, because of the chemical fertilizer in the feed. My mother only bought organic, I never listed to why it was good for you. Now I have read why it’s good for me and the cruelty that the animals go through. Meat is a good thing but not when it can kill you through what it ate or how it was treated in a small pen.
Jessica Lopez said...
Cheap Food? High Price.
The relationship between animals and humans has always been complex. Some animals are loved and domesticated into practically family members and others are grown and slaughtered only to become bacon and starch, as the blog mentions.
Humanity also faces another downfall, and this is economizing. We are always looking to reduce cost and minimize the output of the insides of our wallets. This adds to the problem of cheap food’s increasing popularity. I, myself am guilty of such truth. Unfortunately, due to successful advertising and companies’ strategies, it is extremely tempting to buy your lunch and dinner for less than $5.
But, we must change! It is imperative to refine our eating habits, increasing the intakes of greens and decreasing the consumption of meats. This will also decrease the demand for animal slaughter and unnecessary killings at large scales. Although, we will always face the ugly truth, that we are part of the food chain and some animals will need to die for us to ultimately survive.
Debbie Barahona
Cheap food? High price.
After reading this article I took some time to ponder why it is that America has become so desensitized to the point in which living breathing and to an extent empathetic animals are being held in close quarters where they live their lives in complete squalor. And I came to the conclusion that we’ve become so blissfully ignorant of our surroundings that we just don’t care. When we go into the grocery store we don’t see the cow or the pig hanging upside down being bled out and cut into pieces. Instead what we see is carefully placed packaging of symmetrical cuts of meat cleaned and wrapped in cellophane, oblivious to the fact that those cuts came from an animal in a CAFO. Another reason why Americans are so ignorant to these operations is because almost every minute of our lives we are being bombarded with commercials where the beef patty has just the right lighting and placed perfectly in the bun filled with the perfect amount of condiments and shows in which the host is eating pounds and pounds of greasy burgers and steak sandwiches filled with meat, we don’t think about where that meat come from. When we see that on TV it excites our glands and we start to salivate and crave those things. That is why America is so fat. It’s not easy to change these things because for the most part we’ve become accustomed to shopping that way and television is controlled by monopolizing corporations hungry for money and those goddamned lobbyist for big business. But like the article states there are some grassroots operations where they refuse to succumb to big business and to keeping it simple with fresh organic products. The public needs to be educated and taught that we don’t need massive amounts of protein or portions. It would be nice if the school system initiated this learning with mandatory nutrition classes, and have children learn where there food comes from, how it’s raised and grown, not the PETA way of course that is just traumatizing. But if young kids knew about their food sources they would be more inclined to eat healthier and would educate their parents about what they have learned in class, initiating a better life for their families. If people ate less meat products as they should be, according to the food triangle there would be more land to grow seasonal organic vegetables, fruit and greens, and if this happens prices of greens would in turn go down.
Cheap food? High price
There are different reasons to why the obesity percentage has grown so much lately, as well as to reason of why the high consumption of cheap (bad) food. To name a few for example culture, price, economy and time. there is a cultural issue, which is that people are already accustomed to this kind of food, not much people pay attention to the nutrition facts shown on the food and even less the non-shown ones. The very few people that do care are the ones that have already started to buy organic and healthier food. Due to the fact that the damage derived from the consumption of this product doesn’t show until later years, young people do not care about it. So, why change the way of production if the demand for it is so high. Furthermore, the government subsidies the factory farms to a point where it allows the product to be so cheap, unfortunately not everyone has the privilege of having enough money to buy at whole food markets. Also ,nowadays time is money; fast food restaurants give you the opportunity of saving time and eating on the go, for people running between jobs, between classes or need easy access to food at a low price. I think the solution is education; it is a matter of time before more people become aware of the damage done by this “cheap” food. To keep on promoting campaigns against obesity such as the First lady’s campaign. Every year more whole food markets and more sustainable food places open to the public, and it is because the demand is increasing. For such big population as we have in the states it will take some time to accomplish but I do think it can be done for the wellbeing of people.
Barbara Navas
Cheap Food? High Price
One of the first problems we have when it comes to deciding what to eat is that most of the people make the decision out of convenience, and without thinking about health issues. If one is stuck in traffic and running late for work or class the first choice will be to grab something to eat that is fast and convenient. Another issue is money, the average college student would rather spend two dollars on something satisfying enough to eat as in McDonald’s or any other fast food restaurant, than spending forty dollars on a weekly basis at Publix; without mentioning the fact that buying meat and vegetables at the grocery store includes cooking, which is something that not everyone has the time or the skills to do. The decision of what we should eat or not eat should be based on our health and body needs, of course money and time are a huge part of every person choices but on the long run it is better to spend more money on groceries than to have to pay for a heart surgery.
Andrea Gonzalez.
Addressing our obesity epidemic, I believe that changing our eating habits can not be as simple as you think. As humans go about their daily life in a robotic manner, the majority just don't care or don't have the time to have a square meal.
By square, I mean a nutritionally balanced meal that provides the necessary conditions to being a human. "Meat" is a general term for the flesh of cattle (beef and veal), sheep (lamb) and pigs (pork). Also the cooked flesh of poultry and fish is also referred to as "meat."
Meat witholds water, protein, fat and various amounts of minerals and vitamins. You can only eat meat and survive but that would be quite boring...so you have sides that you eat with your meal.
Depending on the side you choose and how its cooked determines how much fat is inside your macaronni and cheese or french fries. The same goes for meat, its all about which part your eating and how its cooked. If we just learn to select and cook our meats properly then fast food or "cheap" meat products would not be an issue.
Luis Rodda
Blind, Deaf or Ignorant?
We hear friends and families telling their own experiences of how they were diagnosed with obesity, cancer, diabetes, etc. We hear how doctors recommend lower cholesterol, reduce fat, eat more fruits and vegetables, and exercise. We also see on the news and newspapers how the obesity rate and animal abuse have increased in the United States. Finally, we watch movies and documentaries of how we are being brainwashed by the government and fast food companies to continue the consumption of cheap food. We accomplish nothing by closing our eyes and ears. We are smarter than that.
We must begin to stop blaming others for our actions. In order to see some changes, we must begin by changing ourselves. We are the ones that are slowly destroying nature and humanity by allowing animal abuse and eating the "poison" that is given to these creatures before being slaughtered.
Government and food companies are not going to stop trying to influence us because unfortunately it is all about business. Instead, we can put an end to this consumption. I am not saying that we must become vegetarian, but we should be more aware of how we are feeding our body. One thing that we can do to fix this problem is to purchase food products from organic distributors who practice in more humane way to make these products available in the market. It is unfortunate that these types of products tend to be much more expensive than the alternative, making it more difficult for the public to act more responsibly.
Monica Sanclemente
Sebastian Mayorga
After reading the article, all sorts of ideas came to my head on what I could write about. The topic of fast food, how it’s made its and how bad it’s for our health its nothing new to consumers. There are plenty of movies and articles on newspapers and magazines that give us information about the fast food industry. Now with that in mind, all I can think of is who is there to blame? The fast food industry that keeps feeding us lies about how good and tasty their food can be, or us that after all the information that is given we keep on going back to McDonald’s for that Big Mac. I have not heard the first story of someone that was obligated to eat at a fast food place. Nobody is pointing a gun to our head saying we NEED to eat fast food. In my opinion, all of us as thinking human beings, we have the option to choose what we eat. We often use the excuse ‘I’ve been working all day and I’m too tired to cook’ but being from a country where people work as much and as hard as people in the United States has showed me that it is not necessary to eat fast food every time we get hungry and we don’t want to cook. I think it all falls under the category of culture and the way we are raised. Now, I’m not trying to put all the blame on us, but I just think we need to have a reality check and realize that the only reason these companies keep on growing is because of us. One thing we could do to better our situation is to educate others that don’t know any better; but before we try to help others we need to make a commitment with ourselves to not only wish for our situation to change but actually want and set an example to others to change their eating habits. I personally have not taken a bite of any fast food in months and I try to encourage my friends and family to follow my ways. By doing so, I feel like I’m taking another customer away from these fast foods. It might not make a huge impact now but by spreading the word on better eating habits I can just hope that one day it will be a big factor.
Cheap Food? High Price.
The current food industry is a direct offspring of the economic model in which we live in. Because the mass production of cheap and easily accessible food is so lucrative, more frugal alternatives are sought when manufacturing said food- down to the corn grain which the animals feed on. As a society, we are constantly bombarded with food related advertisement, targeting us subconsciously to excessively feed – even when not hungry (a la Edward Bernays). The consumer’s health, the animal’s well being and any environmental or ethical consequences are not factors taken into consideration because that represents dollar sings to mass producing corporations. I think it is strategically designed to supplement the individual with the cheapest, quickest and unhealthiest kinds of foods.
How and what we consume ties in with employment, education and socio-economic standings. Many of us – if not most- cannot live on a strict vegan and or vegetarian lifestyle. And we certainly shouldn’t have to be forced into this alternative in lieu of highly chemically processed and morally tainted meat. We have two options: either no meat or something that kind of, somewhat resembles a pig, cow, etc.
Education on the matter and complete reformation of the industry, in my opinion, is the only way in which change can happen.
Revolt America.
Stteffanny Cott
Cheap Food? High Price.
The current food industry is a direct offspring of the economic model in which we live in. Because the mass production of cheap and easily accessible food is so lucrative, more frugal alternatives are sought when manufacturing said food- down to the corn grain which the animals feed on. As a society, we are constantly bombarded with food related advertisement, targeting us subconsciously to excessively feed – even when not hungry (a la Edward Bernays). The consumer’s health, the animal’s well being and any environmental or ethical consequences are not factors taken into consideration because that represents dollar sings to mass producing corporations. I think it is strategically designed to supplement the individual with the cheapest, quickest and unhealthiest kinds of foods.
How and what we consume ties in with employment, education and socio-economic standings. Many of us – if not most- cannot live on a strict vegan and or vegetarian lifestyle. And we certainly shouldn’t have to be forced into this alternative in lieu of highly chemically processed and morally tainted meat. We have two options: either no meat or something that kind of, somewhat resembles a pig, cow, etc.
Education on the matter and complete reformation of the industry, in my opinion, is the only way in which change can happen.
Revolt America.
Cheap food? High price.
I believe that the reason for our unhealthy habits is our fast paced economy. We never take the time to stop and think about what is actually going on in our economy and in our environment, it takes too much of our time. We choose to use our time constantly communicating, constantly occupying ourselves with something else. We never have time to cook a healthy meal, focus on our health or our relationships. Most people are just concerned about making money to have things that they can never enjoy what they already have. Sometimes I wonder if people today, think about the food that they are eating or actually realize that they are sacrificing a living thing to keep them alive and healthy. It is not right that we are causing most of the animals that we eat so much agony and treating these living things so terribly. They are so important to our daily lives and our ecosystem, and we take every bit of them for granted because we don’t stop to think! What if we were in their place? What would these people feel then?
I feel that the first thing that we have to do is to start educating. We are so consumed by the media and what it says that we don’t know what is real or what isn’t. We need to take time to educate ourselves so we can educate the younger generations and we can grow as human beings. Not only should we educate our youth and ourselves about the environment and to respect our earth and everything that is on it, we should teach everyone about respecting ourselves and living a healthy life. To live with less stress, less toxins, and simply happier. To love everything and everyone that is around us. All that is our planet that is natural and true.
Cheap food? High price. Where do I begin as the issue at hand can branch out to some many other topics. My believe is that though we Americans are some what aware of the health problems that arise from constantly feasting on fast food meals, the health risks are overshadowed by our current economical crisis which forces many Americans to spend less on everything including food. Adding to the aforementioned is the fact that fast food restaurants are likely located within a mile of our homes, our place of employments, our schools making it easily accessible for most Americans that are constantly on the run these days because TIME is of the essence. I also believe we Americans are ignorant as to the cruelty in which animals are treated at the hands of these farm factories and the environmental issues that stem from animal waste. So what can we do? I believe education is the best way to go even though the fruits of it can take years. We need to be better informed on what goes into every burger we eat, the damaging effects that come from consuming meat higher in fat as a result of the antibiotic, hormones used on cattle, and the risks that come from being obese. At the same time, we need to come to the realization that as consumers we have the power to change farming practices. If we demand better, healthier meat and are willing to pay for it, it will be so. As of today I vow to do my part and refrain from eat meals from fast food restaurants.
Yannery Garcia
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