Alison Alkon's speech regarding food as radical thought was moving and inspiring in many ways. What resonated with me the most was her mentioning of "food producers vs food processors". We have transitioned from a system of small, regenerative farming, to that of Big Agriculture and factory farms in the matter of decades. Small family farms have been unable to keep up with the progression of modern agriculture and there has been a movement of "get big, or get out". Because of this transition to large factory farms, food is becoming more and more processed. Instead of sausage, eggs, and fruit for breakfast, it's processed grain cereal. Large food producers take fresh food, and turn it into something that may seem like food to us now, but is just empty calories that do not provide us the nutrition we need.
I am very passionate about people having access to real, whole foods, at affordable prices. Everyone should have the opportunity to actually nourish their bodies, not poison them. Much of this processed "food" is full of sugar, fat, and other additives that are 1. harmful to the body and 2. keep the consumer addicted so they keep buying more despite the consequences on their body. To some it may be easy to say "well they should just eat better". It is not that easy. For one, it is not economical for everyone in this system to eat healthy. Additionally, these food companies have spent decades formulating these products to be addictive. Sugar has been cited to be just as, or more addicting than tobacco, and it is in EVERYTHING. Of course, not all sugar is bad and we need sugar to survive, the issue is highly processed and refined sugars that are in most products lining grocery store shelves.
Luckily, living in relatively rural Pennsylvania, I have access to a plethora of small family farms for me to get my meat, eggs, and produce from. However, this comes as a cost. I cannot always afford to buy from local butchers or farmers, and it is not really readily available to me, I have to search these farms out. I live in Pottstown, which is a predominately black neighborhood, and while I'm not sure I would consider it a food desert, much of the food that is available is processed and not real food. The idea of choice and variety has taken supermarkets by storm. Food producers leverage human psychology and physiology to their advantage to keep the consumer coming back for more. This is all very intentional to keep minority populations addicted, as addiction breeds complacency.
If you like music with a message, listen to "Fat" by Jesse Welles!
3 comments:
"Fat" was indeed a nice song with a message. You can't help but wonder, if policy was enacted that restricted the sourcing of food products to local farms within a 30-mile radius how different life would be. Having lived in other countries and knowing that food is sourced differently for local schools and even hospitals, it's quite concerning that according to the USDA, currently there are "No added sugar limits in school meal programs."
Another restriction to eating healthier is how quickly fruits and vegetables can go bad. Some foods, such as berries, can mold in a matter of days, if not hours. It can be difficult to spend a higher amount than you are used to on fruits and vegetables that go bad at a faster rate than the foods that are "bad" for you. Also, the taste of fruits and vegetables can change from batch to batch. One grape from a bunch may be sweet while another from that same bunch can be sour. The more heavily processed foods may have a more consistent flavor profile, which people prefer. Overall, the eating healthier debate is multifaceted, which makes it hard to fully grasp in one argument.
Touching on how addictive sugar is, just look at soft drink and how prevalent they are across the country. Everyone is told that soft drinks are terrible for you yet people still can't seem to live without them. I also agree that sugar is necessary for everyone but in very small quantities. Even products that don't taste sweet most likely contain corn syrup which just adds to that daily intake
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