An Eater's Manifesto

I don’t eat well, I eat too much when I do, and I seldom eat three meals a day. That being said, I love food. I love the culture that emerges from food, and I love the hidden aspects that surround food, regardless of whether we see that in our daily lives. In a culture that emphasizes maximum output of work at the least expense, time becomes essential. For too long, our society has attempted to extinguish the connection between the farmer and the consumer. However, time is now saying otherwise, and a resurgence in food values and ethics has emerged that rivals the might of President Teddy Roosevelt’s food reformation at the turn of the 20^th century. Despite being confined to the limits of Sodexho in college, I know that when I move off of campus, I will care about the food I am putting in my body, and I will care about where that food came from. Eating organic is not enough to sustain a planet – we need to eat local, we need to eat fresh, and we need to eat in a way that will replenish the earth we walk on. As a whole, we need to stop eating processed food and start thinking about real, sustainable food. If we do not give back to the Earth sooner rather than later, we will have nothing left to take. In my life, the actions I take to promote sustainable eating will in fact have an impact on the world, so let’s beg in. What is sustainable eating?

            The Environmental Protection Agency defines sustainability as “everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment. Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations” (Sustainability Information). However I’d rather reflect on a more contemporary and informal definition – one that takes people back to their hands and knees, where dirt and water is the only thing between you and your food. When I think of sustainability, I think of the capacity to endure, to thrive and to reproduce in a fashion that allows our grandchildren to do the same. America arguably stood as the most sustainable continent in the world – that was until the Europeans arrived in the 15^th century. So I am going to take the liberty to quote the Native Americans here, “Seventh Generation Advisors puts into modern practice the ancient Native American philosophy that the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future. Ensuring that decisions being made about our energy, water, and natural resources are sustainable is central to this belief and to our mission (Seventh Generation Advisors)”. That, in my opinion, is sustainable, and that practice counteracts the time-oriented culture we live around. So let’s start to take some time out of the day to make our lives less time-oriented, and more oriented around the things that are important.

I must say however, I am both bias and spoiled. My passion for food is found in the hands-on component of harvesting crops and raising livestock. There is something refreshing and therapeutic about milking a cow with your hand (though few may admit it), and you develop an appreciation for food that you didn’t know existed. No, I cannot testify that slaughtering animals is pleasant, but it’s an experience you won’t appreciate or understand until you actually do it. I say that because of the culture we live, and the disconnect we find between ourselves, our food, and the space between. We forget about the families and farmers that depend on growing food, and the sailors who rely on ocean freighters for work, and the supermarkets that categorize mass into a manageable shopping experience. There is a link in every part of the food chain that sustains not just consumers, but jobs as well. This is crucial to keep in mind, because if we are too change the American food industry, we must find ways to allocate old, industrial-corporate jobs, to the fields where food is grown.

U.S. consumers are arguably, the pickiest eaters in the world. Not in the sense that we only eat certain foods, or that we only eat fast food like much of the world may choose to believe - but rather the contrary. With wealth and power comes accessibility, and at a cheap cost. When you walk into your local Safeway in February, it is evident that much of the produce and vegetables on display requires a warmer climate than the United States offers growers in that season. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, “As Americans have become wealthier and more ethnically diverse, the American food basket reflects a growing share of tropical products, spices, and imported gourmet products. Seasonal and climatic factors drive U.S. imports of popular types of fruits and vegetables and tropical products, such as cocoa and coffee” (US Food Imports). The commodities offered to the average American consumer are, as an understatement, abundant. Only a handful of countries in the world can compete with the supermarkets of America, and even those that do tend to lack the diversity and choice found within the aisles of your local produce section. As American’s, we have mastered the art of bringing Chile and Costa Rica to our local produce section. These practices, however, represent everything that is wrong with our society. No, fruit imports in the winter are not going to cease from around the world; economic and global stability relies on an interconnected agricultural sector in which countries can support one another. There are however small steps we can take to reduce the amount of foreign foods consumed, and that goes back to one of the simplest forms of growing food – in your back yard.

Our ancestors mastered the art of local farming, and the decades surrounding World War II forced not only Americans, but British, French, and countless other nations to utilize the backyard garden. From tomatoes, to berries, to herbs, to chickens – families learned to sustain themselves because they had no other option. War torn nations saw the collapse of their own agricultural economy, and countries such as the United States were forced to send the bulk of their food to soldiers and food-deprived nations throughout the world. Today, circumstances have changed. No, we are not forced to conserve food for our soldiers abroad, however we are forced to conserve food and resources for our grandchildren’s children. I am not proposing we drop everything and join an Amish community, although I must say life would be much more simple. What I am proposing is a return to our roots – reinventing the practice that our ancestors thrived off of. Pollan suggests, “Don’t eat anything your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food” (Unhappy Meals, 15). He goes on to state, “Especially avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable, c) more than five in number – or that contain high fructose corn syrup…and get out of the supermarket whenever possible” (16) – suggesting that farmer markets are a healthier and more viable solution. His advice is sounds and intelligent, Pollan suggests a world where eating better is tangible. I guarantee that the foods you grow in your back yard won’t contain any of the ingredients that Pollan says to avoid.

It seems today’s food reformation is not too different from those of the past. “At the turn of the 20th Century, America’s food was rotten.  A good part of the reason for this were the filthy conditions in the slaughter houses and packing houses, mostly in Chicago, where cattle and other livestock were butchered and processed for the consumer.  There was no law permitting the federal government to inspect what could be likened to nothing less than charnel houses and to keep bad meat and other foods from crossing into other states” (Pure Food and Drug Act). It was Roosevelt that took the initiative to clean up the American food system over one hundred years ago, and now today, it is the small farmers, the field workers, and the grow houses who are rewriting history. Of course, we must be able to sustain and feed a growing population, but when slaughterhouses are built to massacre 33,000 hogs in a day (Food Inc.), one must realize that an operation this large cannot humanely or properly monitor the death of all of those pigs. It is time we stop eating chickens that are doused in ammonia. It is time that we stop preventing animals from seeing the light of day. In order to eat healthy, we must change the way the large corporations act. Not everyone will be able to take the time to eat locally, to farm, or to afford foods from the local farmer’s market – and that is fine. What I am recommending is that the American people stand up to the corporations who insist chemicals ensure good health. It is time the American people awoke as a whole. When the people lead, the leaders begin to follow. Let’s start to lead, together – just like Teddy Roosevelt did in the early nineteen hundreds.

That’s it, that’s all.

Local, sustainable, fresh, organic – I know they seem like dull trade words at this point, but they hold the power to save our food and more importantly, our bodies. I believe in sustainable agriculture because it has the power to not only produce healthy foods for healthy bodies, but it has the capacity to endure. Our children’s children need to know what real food is like. At the current rate, I am horrified to imagine the food we will be eating one hundred years from now, but I also know so much can change in one hundred years. So let’s get back to our hands and knees, where dirt is plentiful and sweat is rewarding. For those who have the smallest of yards, go buy a chicken. I promise they’re not too expensive, and when the time comes – I will personally show you how to slaughter them for meat. For those of you who have more than a small yard, buy a goat. They are cheaper than a nice lawnmower, and the milk you get from them is some of the most nutritious in the world. I know these ideas may seem crazy for some of you who prefer the farmer’s market and the organic section in your local grocery, but they are ideas that endure. That is what we need, not for our sake, not for our children’s sake, but as the Native Americans practice, for the sake of the seventh generation down the road from now. Let’s stop manufacturing processed, bulk food at a cheap rate, and let’s start enduring. It will not be easy, but with passion and knowledge, the world is yours for the taking. So reach out and take it.

Works Cited

Pollan, Michael. "Unhappy Meals." The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Jan.

2007. Web. May 2012.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/magazine/28nutritionism.t.html?pagewanted=all>.

"Pure Food and Drug Act - Biography of Theodore Roosevelt by Theodore Roosevelt

Association." Web. May 2012.

<http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/purefooddrug.htm>.

"Seventh Generation Advisors." About SGA. Web. May 2012.

<http://www.seventhgenerationadvisors.org/>.

"Sustainability Information | EPA Research | EPA." EPA. United States Environmental

Protection Agency. Web. May 2012. <http://www.epa.gov/sustainability/basicinfo.htm>.

"U.S. Food Imports." ERS/USDA Data -. 10 Apr. 2012. Web. Apr. 2012.

<http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FoodImports/>.

On Writing

I've never approached writing from a food-driven basis perspective. This year gave me the opportunity to explore news way in which one can write, and in doing so expanded my mind to a new form of writing. This quarter hasn't demanded academic bullshit like my previous quarter had (sorry for the vulgarity, but it's necessary). In exploring the culture of food and the various issues and concerns that surround it, my writing has expanded to incorporate a new window thought. To validate any respectable journal or essay, the author has to include accountable sources to argue a certain point. But you're not just arguing a senseless and boring point as many classes require; you develop a certain degree of passion-fueled writing that may just be worth the time to read. In almost all of my blog posts and essays, I have incorporated sources that I found to be of worth and of interest. Most classes require research-based essays, and approaching such a form of research from a food-based perspective was a fresh reminder of how writing can be enjoyable. We are surrounded by food everyday, we need it to survive, but yet we don't know where our food comes from much of the time or how it is produced. That is a topic worth spending time to write about in my opinion. I have found this not only to be important, but helpful in building a concrete foundation for my own writing aspirations.

Food Economics and the Wealth Disparity

Dupuis mentions a possible solution in addressing the current food crisisl that is in deciding what to eat in order to stay healthy. He finds the root of American eating to be the same root that drives many of our global problems – injustice. “We have historically made diet part of the struggle over social deservingness... we need to stop trying to solve our social problems through our stomachs and think about the ways in which this type of politics simply justifies current inequalities” (History of Food Advice, 42). That brings me to one of the most defining aspects of food economics: wealth disparity. The organic and local food sections of the closest grocery don’t cater to the poor community. Food stamps sure for one thing won’t cover your organic eggs, nor will the minimum wage that the American workers on the lower end of the socioeconomic class get paid. Food injustice doesn’t just prevail as a deciding factor as to which family can afford more nutritious ingredients, but it sets apart and paints a defining line between economic and social classes. When a certain amount of money is allocated to food for a family each week, choosing between the expensive locally raised eggs and the large-scale corporate produced eggs becomes easy. Twenty thousand dollars a year is far from enough to support a family of four who wants to be more health conscious.

Pollan portrays an ideal and attainable solution in choosing food products that aid rather than hurt the body, however these solutions are limited to the middle and upper classes. Pollan suggests to the reader, “Don’t eat anything your great-great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food” (Unhappy Meals, 15). He goes on to state, “Especially avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable, c) more than five in number – or that contain high fructose corn syrup…and get out of the supermarket whenever possible” (16) – suggesting that farmer markets are a healthier and more viable solution. His advice is sounds and intelligent, Pollan suggests a world where eating better is in reach. It remains in reach however for a limited few. As Americans, for many of us and for many of those that compromise the wealth of the world, eating right is not a problem. For the majority of those struggling to survive, and for the billion or so inhabitants on Earth that face a food and water shortage every day, eating right becomes more of a problem. As Dupuis points out, citizens of the world must address larger issues, such as current inequalities. In my opinion, one of the greatest inequalities in the world is wealth disparity. Wealth disparity decides who eats what, who lives where, and who goes to what school if any. It also decides between who lives and who dies, and who thrives and who perishes. It is the survival of the fittest, or survival of the blessed. But the global economic system of open markets and free capital that we are told works best wouldn’t aid such global wealth disparities, and aid in the unjust food system that our world’s revolve around – or would it?

On Other Posts

I know College kids drinks a lot, but I didn't realize the CAS (College Alcohol Study) found that out of 140 college students in the U.S., 44% replied to meet the requirement of being binge drinkers. I also recently heard that the definitions for alcoholism and addiction are going to be changing, and as a result will incorporate more heavier drinkers as being alcoholics when they were previously labeled otherwise. I read on another blog about sodium that,  "by eating one less bag of Gardetta’s each day 'that I could possibly increase my life expectancy 5-6 years like the Finnish population did during the past 25-30 years' " (Bryce's Blog).

Eating Lunch, Eating Dinner

My mother used to tell me breakfast was the most important meal of the day. She still tells me the same thing today. At least 17% of adults regularly skip breakfast, including myself. Whether or not this statistic is aiding to the demise of the American diet, the American diet is in fact fighting for its life. And the truth is that it’s hanging on by a thread.

            I read of recent headway in the American raw milk industry, despite Supreme Court Judges constantly opposing the idea of Americans consuming such products. Our European friends have been doing just that for years. They vend raw milk out of machines, sell it at restaurants, and drink it in the mornings at home. They also prevail in proving to be much healthier and leaner than their American neighbors. Yet of course as Americans, processed milk with additives and preservatives must be healthier for the human to consume. But then again, humans are the only animals to consume another animal’s breast milk.

            My own diet excludes breakfast for the most part. Occasionally on the weekend when I wake up, I may wonder over to eat breakfast, but for the most part, it’s a meal that my stomach does not desire at eight, nine, or ten in the morning. I know my stomach may resort to burning stored fuel in my body at that point, such as fat, but it is just a meal that I do not have hunger for. Back to my point though, such a scenario is exemplary of the contemporary American eating habit. Yes it is true that the average American may consume some caloric intake before noon, but it is often insufficient.

            Nutritionists recommend time and time again that it is better to consume small amounts of food over an extended period rather than eat three definitive meals a day. In doing so, homeostasis may be well maintained by keeping energy, and effectively moods leveled. Unseen health implications from a lack of eating in the morning affect both energy and mood levels. “Over the years, a number of studies have examined the subject, and most have reached the same conclusion: starting a day without a solid meal tends to have slight but detectable effects on mood, memory and energy level” (O’Connor). Those who eat nothing in the morning continuously do worse on memory tests and account for high levels of fatigue four hours after first getting up. Dismissing breakfast from the American diet is just one aspect of my own life that leads to unhealthy eating.

            As a whole, American health habits seem to be steadily decreasing. With a wealth disparity that is every growing amidst the fifty great states, the poorer are forced to buy cheaper and less nutritious food. According to Gallup Wellbeing, American’s eating habits were worse in 2011 than they were in the previous year: “Americans' Healthy Behaviors Index score was 63.8 in May, down from 65.2 in the same month last year. Adults' health habits have been worse in each of the past three months compared with the same months in 2010” (Witters). It may be possible that Americans are purchasing less expensive foods such as fruits and vegetables because of the recession and tough financial times. Regardless of the case, it is time Americans double take the way they eat – myself included.

           

We are all guilty to some degree of failing our bodies both mentally and physically, but we are also the privileged few that have the money and resources to do something about it. Maybe raw milk isn’t such a bad idea. Perhaps by resorting to the ways we ate one thousand years ago, humans will discover fewer cancers and less disease. Stomachs were not meant to digest pesticides and preservatives. There are simple steps to promote healthy eating that I myself can take. I may not start eating full-fledged meals every morning, but I may just start my day with an apple or banana rather than a sole black cup of coffee.

Works Cited

O'Connor, Anahad. "The Claim: Skipping Breakfast Can Affect Your Mood and Energy

Levels During the Day." The New York Times. 21 Feb. 2006. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/health/21real.html>.

Witters, Dan. "Americans' Eating Habits Worse This Year Compared With Last."

Americans' Eating Habits Worse This Year Compared With Last. Gallup Wellbeing, 9 June 2011. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://www.gallup.com/poll/147989/americans-eating-habits-worse-year-compared-last.aspx>.

 

What We Have in Common

It seems to be a hit on the weekend to go out and eat rather than eat on campus. I for myself was spoiled eating this out because it was my birthday and I had my girlfriend and mother in town. I've also noticed how small or insignificant breakfast is for a lot of other university students. I rarely eat breakfast, and if I do, it is normally of a small proportion later in the morning. A large amount of students also snack throughout the day and sometimes only eat one or two meals instead of the recommended three. Take one look at the majority of the food blogs and I think it is easy to infer that college students don't accommodate their schedule around eating three meals a day at designated times.

Shrimped Out

            The other night I was sitting around the dinner table. I had just eaten my first dinner meal as a twenty year old and I sat awed in disbelief that I had actually made it to twenty. There was something as a kid that led me to believe I would never make it, but I reassure myself now such thinking was constrained to my teenage years. Not that you actually feel any different turning from nineteen to twenty, it may just be the least exciting birthday ever; anti-climatic in contrast with the year that is to follow.

            Nonetheless, I was sitting around my sister’s dining table in Lakewood with her, my mother, and my girlfriend. My mother had just cooked Pesto and Shrimp pasta, a meal I love. Take spaghetti, mix it in with some basil, lemon juice, garlic, onion, a few thinly diced vegetables, olive oil and that delicious pesto conjecture, top it off with some medium sized shrimp and you have an amazing and relatively quick meal. It had been years since I had been with mother when she cooked up such a magnificent and vibrant dinner. All of the ingredients in the meal I absolutely love, but that’s not what caught my attention. I had spent years living on various farms growing this vegetable and that, tending these sheep and slaughtering those chickens, shearing the sheep and milking the cows by hand – it is something I absolutely love to do. There is an aspect of being self-sufficient and raising your own food that puts all other food you ever consume to shame. I had worked at both indoor hydroponic and aquaponic farms, dealing with fish as a means to enrich the water rather than using soil. I love working with food, and as I stared at my shrimp, I realized I knew nothing about where the little creatures on my plate came from. Sure, occasionally one might get fresh shrimp from the sea, but the reality remains that just like a large percentage of the world’s fish consumed, the shrimp probably came from a farm somewhere in East Asia.

            Because shrimp are one of the most popular types of seafood in the world, approximately “5 million metric tons of shrimp are produced annually… Shrimp aquaculture, which increased nine fold during the 1990s and is one of the fastest growing forms of aquaculture, now accounts for one-third of the shrimp produced globally” (Aquaculture).  Prior to the twentieth century, large-scale shrimp farming operations were unheard of. Today, shrimp aquaculture, or the harvesting of shrimp in massive quantities represents an economic market dominating China, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Brazil, Ecuador and Bangladesh. The vast majority of this shrimp is than imported into the United States, the European Union, and Japan for consumption. There is something that turns off the senses when you realize your shrimp is a pawn in a farm rather than a creature in the sea; but then again, most livestock represents masses awaiting their slaughter for human consumption – it’s just how our global population feeds itself, and we love our food. Because shrimp are found in both fresh and salt water, they become that much easier to mass-produce and harvest. Thailand now represents the largest shrimp-exporting country in the world.

            Despite the fact that commercial shrimp farming wasn’t introduced until the seventies, humans have been hunting and eating the swimming crustaceans for millennia. Shrimp aquaculture has taken over as a profitable means to produce shrimp so that twenty-year-old birthday boys such as myself are able to enjoy shrimp wherever and whenever they want – even in springtime Colorado. The consequences of commercial shrimp farming have led to unprecedented and unsustainable practices that eventually destroy our value for the environment as well as value for the organisms that compromise human diets. “The explosion in the number of intensively operated shrimp farms has not only impacted the costal zone of Thailand, but has also resulted in an unsustainable aquaculture industry. Abandonment of shrimp ponds due to either drastic, disease-caused collapses or more gradual, year to –year reduction in the productivity of the pond is common” (Dierberg and Kiattisimkul). One rarely thinks of the environmental implications when enjoying a delicious meal of Shrimp and Pesto pasta. However, the implications still remain. “As integrated aquaculture management practice becomes more the practice than the exception, less risk of crop failure to the industry and reduced discharge loadings from intensively managed shrimp ponds to receiving waters can be expected”  (Dierberg and Kiattisimkul).

            I never really thought about looking into the shrimp I eat. I do know that the next time I purchase shrimp to cook at home, it is going to be ocean harvested in open waters rather than contained to the walls of a fish farm in Thailand. And that goes for all of the seafood I purchase from now on – I am going to make it a point to eat fresh and happy sea-dwellers rather than the commercially farmed fish that fuel the large corporations of the world. When it comes down to eating right, I don’t just think of eating food that was produced in an ethical manner, but I also think about supporting the average fisherman rather than the Monsanto’s and Tyson’s of the world. At some point, the world is going to have to readdress the way we consume, and I do believe that point in time is knocking on the door as we speak.

Works Cited

"Aquaculture." WWF. Web. May 2012.

<http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/globalmarkets/aquaculture/dialogues-shrimp.html>.

Dierberg, Forrest E., and Woraphan Kiattisimkul. "Issues, Impacts, and Implications of

Shrimp Aquaculture in Thailand." SpringerLink. Springer Science Business Media, 1996. Web. May 2012. <http://www.springerlink.com/content/n3w5871569222414/>.

Food Journal

Food Journal:

11 May 2012

Friday:

11:30 AM: Turkey sandwich on wheat with lettuce, tomato, cheese, onion, cucumber, Dijon, side of chips. Cup of coffee, glass of water, orange-mango juice, bowl of fruit

1:30 PM: banana

4:30 PM: coffee

6:30 PM: burger with sautéed mushrooms and onions, Swiss cheese, bacon, barbeque sauce, fries, water

12 May 2012

Saturday:

11:00 AM: Omelet with cheese, green pepper, spinach, salsa, onion, blueberry yogurt, orange juice, coffee, Naked juice

2:00 PM: coleslaw, small amount of vegetables and chicken at cooking show, coffee

6:00 PM: Restaurant downtown, crab cakes, small salad, burger sliders, drinks

12:00 AM: Chicken burrito with rice, black beans, peppers, onions, sour cream, corn, salsa from Illegal Pete’s, lemonade

13 May 2012

Sunday:

11:00 AM: Scrambled eggs with goat cheese, mushrooms, onions, coffee, orange juice, coke, apple

6:00 PM: Kaos Pizza, Pepperoni, pepper, bacon, beverage, small salad
10:00 PM: Chocolate covered strawberries, beverage, chips

America's Eating Disorder

When placed on an international perspective, the American eating disorder is, according to Pollan a result of the anxious eating that surrounds American’s problem with food. We eat too much, too quickly, and with too few breaths in between the chew. No, it is not realistic to chew each bite one hundred times for the sake of a satisfactory metabolic process, but it is also not unrealistic to chew each bite twenty times, something I know I don’t do. Rather than swallowing our food whole in a frantic frenzy, it might be time that Americans learn to chew again. It may just be that Americans need to re-learn the art of eating, despite our humanistic instinct to eat and consume, rather than eat and enjoy. Think about the society we live in – the fact that Americans need to relearn how to eat goes to show just what crisis, or what national eating disorder America is facing.

The psychological attitude surrounding Americans and food is one of hypocrisy, where the calorie and fat content in food is more important than the actual process of eating food with friends and family. Yet America still remains one of the most obese countries in the world, while across the Atlantic the French are skinny, proud and slow to eat. According to Pollan, “We could eat less and actually enjoy it more… It’s so much simpler to alter the menu or nutrient profile of a meal than to change the social and psychological context which it is eaten” (Pollan). It seems the majority of the world go it somewhat right with eating - that is uncovering the pleasure in eating rather than finding strife.

Of course what we eat as a culture is important, but as Pollan points out, Americans must relook how we eat: “The French eat all sorts of unhealthy foods, but they do it according to a strict and stable set of rules: they eat small portions and don’t go back for seconds; they don’t snack; they seldom eat alone, and communal meals are long, leisurely affairs” (Pollan). What I find most interesting is that as Americans, it isn’t solely what we eat, but it is how we eat that is breeding a generation of obese and unhealthy youth. My own eating habits define that of the typical American, where eating on the go is the norm and slow, extended meals represent a nuisance rather than a luxury (because of the time crunch in my own life). I have sacrificed the art of enjoying food for the sake of being full and functional. We are in fact in a food crisis, and in my opinion, the way we eat reflects the values of our culture. Perhaps it is time to embrace eating once again, and to embrace living in each moment rather than living in the future or the past.

America's Food Crisis

At the heart of Pollan’s argument, he states: “If possessing a higher degree of intelligence does not entitle one human to use another for his or her own ends, how can it entitle humans to exploit nonhumans for the same purpose?'' (Pollan)

            Pollan lists a number of excuses to defend what he sees as the national eating disorder. Concerning animals, Pollan reasons that life for farm animals would be worst in the wild where many wouldn’t survive. Other reasoning’s include the defense that animals on factory farms have never known any other life, that human suffering must be addressed before animal suffering, and the fact that humans who choose to not eat meat point out a crucial moral difference between humans and animals. All of these excuses however are to some degree were refuted with evidence from Singer’s book Animal Liberation.

“In the same way we'd call that exclusion racist, the animal rightist contends that it is speciesist to discriminate against the chimpanzee solely because he's not human.” Pollan finds that killing animals for meat and clothing poses the most difficult animal rights challenge, because it has been practiced for so long. It is difficult to distinguish between animal pain and animal suffering, especially when that is being said in the context of industrial slaughterhouses. Pollan brings out the madness and cruelty in the methods which are used to raise animals and maximize their output, or meat for human consumption. Pollan’s analysis of the domestic animal industry brings out the horrors that are embedded in the very foundation of the industry, such as the fact that producers account for a ten percent death rate among hens that can’t bear their living conditions and ultimately die from a maddening constraint. Factory farms in this context are described as humans worst nightmares, where moral regulations go out the window in the presence of capitalism. This can be said for just about any industry – when capital presents itself, morals which normally hold authority vanish into thin air. Like the saying goes, money is power.

I used to live on a farm where we grew all of our own food, slaughtered all of our animals in the most humane fashion possible, and lived in a harmonious community. This worked great for a community of about 50, but does not work to when attempting to meet the demands of contemporary society, say the seven billion residents of Earth. People aren’t going to take the time to tend to their livestock and crops because they do not have time to do so. That being said, corporations are left to decide the origins of our food, and just how that food has been treated. It is a rather disgusting concept that our food is more or less, tortured before being served on a hot plate at Thanksgiving dinner. But we as Americans sure as hell wouldn’t want to think about that aspect of community and family dinners, or would we? Perhaps vegetarianism will one day be the normality of society, but I don’t see that happening any time soon.
 As for Estabrook's Tomatoland, the fields of Southwest Florida that he depicts have emerged into modern slavery plantations, where migrant workers are enchained, beaten, and held against there will, forced to work under brutal conditions for no pay. According to Estabrook, " In the last fifteen years, Florida law enforcement officials have freed more than one thousand en and women who had been held and forced to work against their will in the fields of Florida, and that represents only the tip of the iceberg" (On the Tomato Trail). Tracing the origin of the supermarket tomato leads to the appalling discovery that tomatoes aren't nearly as fresh and nutritious as they may appear in the produce aisle at your local Safeway. Such an industry compliments the American chicken industry that Cook describes, "Eight billion chickens will be sacrificed this year to our desire for
cheap, versatile meals and slimmer hips, but they will have their revenge: cumulative-trauma disorders among poultry workers are 16 times the national average, and there is little hope that the
line will be slowing down anytime soon" (Fowl Trouble). America's production of chicken has led to a cannibalistic bird (companies grinds up unused chicken parts to be used as chicken feed) that is "farmed" in as little time as possible, to be sold at a cheap price. America is facing the most detrimental food crisis in history, Americans just don't know it; or they are not wiling to pay the price to fix it. Who blames them? Cheap is good, but how much farther will we go before something in the system begins to deteriorate? Our society grows chickens rather than raises them, I think we should be scared.

American Me: Country of Origin

American Me: Country of Origin

Welcome to the age of global consumerism. As the sun sets on an ever-shrinking horizon, Americans continue to enjoy the spoils of being the world’s dominant super power. The maps of the 16^th Century that once terrified the world have since drawn boundaries, and the seas dividing continents seem to be shrinking from the impact of globalization. With farmers from the southern hemisphere shipping exotic foods to the north in the winter months, our taste buds never fail to receive an ample array of food. Food accessibility and variety is something we Americans, myself included, take for granted. The idea of containerization has revolutionized freight transportation, allowing for the maximum amount of food to be carried on each cargo ship. Through understanding where our food comes from, one may better understand the dynamic that food plays in American society. Despite the vanishing concept of communal eating in a large portion of American society, what is in our food and where it comes from is becoming increasingly important. The importance of local farming will undoubtedly reveal itself in the future years to come.

U.S. consumers are arguably, the pickiest eaters in the world. Not in the sense that we only eat certain foods, or that we only eat fast food like much of the world may choose to believe - but rather the contrary. With wealth and power comes accessibility, and at a cheap cost. When you walk into your local Safeway in February, it is evident that much of the produce and vegetables on display requires a warmer climate than the United States offers growers in that season. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, “As Americans have become wealthier and more ethnically diverse, the American food basket reflects a growing share of tropical products, spices, and imported gourmet products. Seasonal and climatic factors drive U.S. imports of popular types of fruits and vegetables and tropical products, such as cocoa and coffee” (“US Food Imports”). The commodities offered to the average American consumer are, as an understatement, abundant. Only a handful of countries in the world can compete with the supermarkets of America, and even those that do tend to lack the diversity and choice found within the aisles of your local produce section. As American’s, we have mastered the art of bringing Chile and Costa Rica to our local produce section.

Increased food imports have to meet the demand of the growing population. Among the growing American population, fruit and vegetable consumption continues to rise. “Americans in 2000 consumed a fifth more fruit and vegetables than did their counterparts in the 1970’s” (“Profiling Food Consumption in America”). The increase in certain food consumption has led to the gradual increase of food imports in America. Food imports do carry a certain degree of danger, be it rats getting into containers on freighters, or salmonella in the cantaloupe being driven across the U.S.-Mexican border. Freight containers however allow Americans to enjoy the splendors of food no matter what season it is, “The abundance and relative cheapness (some sell for as little as $900) of these containers during the last decade comes from the deficit in manufactured goods coming from North America. These manufactured goods come to North America, from Asia and Europe, in containers that often have to be shipped back empty at a considerable expense” (Pagnotta). Since the abundance of unused containers has begun to fill junkyards, designers and engineers are looking for ways to use these containers that would otherwise be too expensive to ship to their country of origin. Thus the idea of the container apartment is thus born. Ideally, one would not want to live in a house or apartment made out of reused shipping containers, but builders are beginning to do just that.

Due to the rise of imported food in America, consumer labels have had to adapt in order to stay up to date with food regulations. “On September 30^th of 2009, the long-awaited rule requiring mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for food went into effect…Seafood has been covered since 2005. Now beef, poultry, lamb, goat, some nuts, fresh and some frozen fruits and vegetables, and ginseng have to be labeled with their country of origin” (Consumer Labels). A country of origin label may appease the consumer, however knowing what country the food came from does not imply anything about the condition of that food. Often, a consumer may read a meat case labeled as “product of U.S., Mexico, and Canada”. One may wonder just how a cow can be from three different countries. First off, a cow may be raised in Mexico, and then shipped to America after birth or down the road for slaughter. Another case, and much less appealing, is that “ground meat might contain parts of multiple animals – which might be from different countries” (“Consumer Labels”). Multi-country labels are at the very least, controversial. Several corporations are taking advantage of the USDA’s somewhat loosely defined and lenient rules. Rather than stating which countries a particular piece of beef is from, a corporation may simply label a package of ground beef as North American. Animals that are eligible for a U.S. label, or a made in America stamp often have to pay more than say, beef from Mexico. So that leaves the question still, is the beef from America, Canada, or Mexico?

On a global perspective, about 25,000 shipments of “FDA-regulated foods arrive daily in the USA from more than 100 countries. Anchovies come from Thailand, dry apricots from Turkey, grapes from Chile, sesame seeds from India, sweet cured plums from China” (Schmitt). These imports reflect the amount of food that would otherwise be inaccessible to Americans, but due to the money circulating in the food business, these foods are delivered 20,000 miles across the world to our front door. Imports such as these account for 80 percent of the nation’s seafood, 45 percent of our fresh fruit and 17 percent of our fresh vegetables (Schmitt). Food watch agencies often find that the FDA regulations created to monitor food imports fall short of examining what exactly is entering America’s ports. U.S. agencies only allow 37 other countries to ship meat and poultry into the United States. Although some companies self-police their food imports, much of it remains the duty of the US government.

Considering the fact that Americans eat sesame seeds from India and anchovies from Thailand, one must contemplate just how much preservatives are used in food. Because 90 percent of the world’s trade occurs via shipping on the seas, foods must be chemically altered to maintain ‘freshness’. Those foods that do not remain fresh simply go to waste. Just when officials think they have mastered the art of importing food and feeding a population, they neglect the amount of food that is in fact wasted. Imagine all of the wasted food that could feed the millions of starving people in the world. According to the Food and Agricultural research carried out at the Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology, North American and Europeans waste about 620 to 660 pounds of food per year (Galbraith). Consumers in the developed world account for one-third of all waste disposed annually. Compare that to developing parts of Asia and Africa where individuals waste less than half that amount. Around the world, one-third of food, or about 1.3 billion tons off food is wasted each year alone. For every three stalks of corn grown, toss one in the trash. Such an attitude is what drives American consumerism whether we acknowledge it or not. People must begin to care about their waste output and think about alternatives to just throwing things in the trash. According to the U.N., “disposing is cheaper than using or reusing food in industrialized countries” (Galbraith).

In developing countries where technology is inadequate and often outdated, the majority of food waste occurs before the consumer buys the food. Waste therefore comes from the growing, processing, and shipping aspect of food production. As wonderful as shipping food across the international boundaries is, the environmental and humanitarian cost is profuse. The availability of food in the local grocery store is a mere result of the damage humans are doing to the environment through unsustainable farming practices. Enormous amounts of pollutants come from the freight ships that arrive at American ports, and further pollution arises from the domestic shipping lanes. But then again, America doesn’t seem to want to move away from its petroleum-based economy.

As Americans, food accessibility and fast paced lives hinder the time that families and friends once took to eat together. The fact that the majority of Americans don’t know where their food comes from reflects the time-consuming process of eating. According to Jamie Horwitz, “To pause, also, to resist the temptation to think that contemporary eating habits are simply an easy-breezy form of multitasking” (Horwitz). Horwitz argues that Americans must not lose sight of the importance of taking the time to sit down and eat a meal together. In my own life, it is rare that I take the time to sit down and eat with friends or family. The time constraints of my daily schedule rarely allow for me to enjoy my meals, rather I eat for the sake of being full. In today’s society, few take the time to eat together – let alone find out where their food comes from. When someone asks where your food is from, it may be easy to reply ‘from the grocery store’. But where did your food really come from? It remains near impossible to track down where Sodexo’s food comes from because of the fact that it buys food from companies who buy food from other farms and corporations. Even at the grocery store, unless the packaging says where the food is from, no one has any idea. In reality, our food is from nowhere but the grocery store. Yet the concept of food from nowhere takes on a new meaning when one investigates that food is in fact, from everywhere – from every corner of the Earth. Our grocery stores convert food from everywhere into food from nowhere.

Contemporary generations of Americans do not know what extreme food shortages or government food rations are. Times as such seem reserved to the darker days of the Great Depression and World War II. Wealth disparities in America distinguish the line between who eats what food, and what quality of food. However as a whole, the world has never seen a people blessed with so much accessibility to an overwhelming variety of food. Despite the vanishing concept of communal eating in a large portion of American society, where our food comes from is becoming increasingly important. What Americans do now will in fact affect the future of the world. Americans must awaken to form new appreciation of not just organic and sustainable farming, but local farming. Global interconnectedness will continue to allow people access to food that was once deemed inaccessible or too expensive. As a result of such increased globalization, it is our duty as Americans to improve and expand systems such as composting, recycling, and reusing. In order to continue to enjoy foods from ten thousand miles away, we must being to think globally by acting locally. The international trading system will not cease to bring us goods from the most remote parts of the world; however together we can work to produce certain foods that sustain the regions we live in. Perhaps one day Americans will see state of origin labels rather than country of origin labels. Until that day, let’s continue to enjoy food from around the world without forgetting the necessity of supporting local farming.

Works Cited

"Consumer Labels." : Food & Water Watch Supports COOL. Food & Water Watch. Web. Apr. 2012. <http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/consumer-labels/>.

Galbraith, Kate. "The Battle Against Food Waste." The New York Times. 15 Jan. 2012. Web. Apr. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/16/business/global/the-battle-against-food-waste.html>.

Horwitz, Jamie. "Eating at the Edge." Gastronomica. Web. Apr. 2012.<http://blackboard.du.edu/bbcswebdav/courses/2017.201230/Eating%20at%20the%20Edge%20-%20Horwitz.pdf>.

Pagnotta, Brian. "The Pros and Cons of Cargo Container Architecture." Arch Daily, 29 Aug. 2011. Web. Apr. 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/160892/the-pros-and-cons-of-cargo-container-architecture/>.

"Profiling Food Consumption in America." Agricultural Fact Book. USDA. Web. Apr. 2012. <http://www.usda.gov/factbook/chapter2.pdf>.

Schmit, Julie. "U.S. Food Imports Outrun FDA Resources." USA Today. Gannett, 18 Apr. 2007. Web. Apr. 2012. <http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2007-03-18-food-safety-usat_N.htm>.

"U.S. Food Imports." ERS/USDA Data -. 10 Apr. 2012. Web. Apr. 2012.

<http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FoodImports/>.

Eating on the Edge

Horwitz places eating on the edge in the context of the American fast paced, action-packed lifestyle. In a society that embraces demanding and hectic schedules, food has evolved to meet the needs of contemporary culture. Starting with the idea of a TV dinner, the concept evolved from the basis that watching TV was new and cool, or at least it was in the fifties. Horowitz places an emphasis on eating in “timeless time”, where shifting from occasions such as group or family dinners has led to the development of more easy-to-access meals and snacks. Rather than taking the time to cook and indulge in a meal, a large portion of Americans are beginning to rely on snacks throughout the day to do away with hunger. The author's idea of an adapting and developing food culture is reflected through the way in which food, design and advertisement constantly strive to meet the demands of modern culture (Horowitz 42). That creative change is evident in the adaptive meals which are now offered on long-distance plane flights, such as foods catered to boost or lower your energy, or in the fresh fruits and vegetables that are now sent directly to the International Space Station. The idea of freezing food and dehydrating products is now reserved for the astronaut of past generations. The entirety of Horowitz’s article, Eating on the Edge can be summed up the example he makes of Americans eating on the International Space Station. When comparing the American astronauts to their international counterparts, “Some American crewmembers are content to ‘eat on the run’, and by themselves, whereas many European crewmembers prefer eating a complete meal as a group” (Horwitz 44). Such a distinction between cultures represents the various values that people embrace.

            Eating on the edge is a rather defining force in my life, as the amount of meals I have time to eat in groups or with friends is at best, once a day. When time allows, I rally some friends to go out and eat, either on campus or off campus. Between my classes I often eat alone during random hours of the day, as my schedule so permits. The majority of this time I spend multitasking between consuming food and completing homework. It is pretty sad to some extent that the communal gathering of friends and family seems only applicable to the history books. The future seems to only gain momentum rather than lose it, and with that, the act of eating will deteriorate into a time consuming process that must be addressed while on the road or while working. I know I am guilty of such crimes, and every time I sit down with friends and family not under the pressure of time restraints, I can actually relax and embrace the moment before me. For so long, eating was a staple in community affairs, as well as a unifying factor between immediate and extended families. I know with my small extended family, the time we do spend together is rare yet meaningful, making every family get together all the more enjoyable.

The Thirsty Become The Hungry

It’s cold outside on this Thursday evening, and the masses continue to systematically pour in to relieve their hunger. I am at Illegal Pete’s a little after 10 PM, and the line is almost out the door, but I decide to wait it out. There is something to be said for the packed tables and hungry students. This is the prime spot for a late night munch, especially when a large population of students are a little more than tipsy.

            Fast-food service with a little class – you wait out the line to be met by a train of three employees who will make your meal. The vast majority of orders here are burritos, as they are not only delicious, but give you the most bang for your buck. You can also order up quesadillas, salads, and an array of American-Mexican food. The first staff member takes care of the first part of you order - you order what you want, and that involves what kind of meat, rice and beans. The second employee tops you off with the vegetables and toppings, be it salsa, onion, cheese, guacamole, sour cream, corn… and the list goes on. From there, they wrap the oversized calorie-plagued burritos, something that takes more skill than meets the eye. The staff then marks your order, hand it to the employee at the cash register, and ring you out.

            Generally, it’s a pretty simple process, and the burritos are pretty damn great. The staff however aren’t so much, at least from what I’ve experienced. They tend to be abrupt and rude. Their fast pace meets the demand of the hungry students, but often leaves the customer feeling unappreciated, just a pawn in the food line. Occasionally you can strike up a conversation with the staff, but for the most part that seems to be reserved to the bartenders. The bar is relatively small, and the one or two staff working there aren’t nearly as busy - they’re just trying to make some tips.

Occasionally a band will play, a lot of the time local musicians from DU. Those nights seem to be more lively, and this place does stay busy, often late into the night. The staff wear Illegal Pete’s shirts, and the franchise is part of a small chain of restaurants. The setting is pretty low key, and seems to be mostly a college hang out spot. The tables are pretty loud, and everyone seems pretty engaged with their food if they are not drinking. There isn’t a person here eating by themself, marking Illegal Pete’s as a prime social hang out joint.

            At Illegal Pete’s, productivity is their priority. One of the more attractive parts of the restaurant I find is that you see all of the ingredients out before your eyes, and most consumers try to imagine they are the freshest ingredients as possible. The bar aspect gives the restaurant a laid back vibe, one where customers come and go as they please. The later hours into the night seem to see more and more intoxicated students walking in and out of the doors. It is an ideal place for drunk students, they can be satisfied by food for the cost of seven dollars, along with a free drink if they present their Pioneer ID. But Illegal Pete’s is just one of the many DU drunk-eating spots. The campus is surrounded by fast food and cheap restaurants that appeal to the average college student. Back to drunk eating though, it seems to be one of DU student’s favorite hobbies, and it is probably one of college student’s favorite hobbies in general – that is if you can call it a hobby.

            So what is the appeal to chowing down when you’re slightly inebriated? I was bound to solve this puzzle, because anyone walking in late night would be reminded that this ideal restaurant setting is in close proximity to DU for a reason, in fact it stays profitable by remaining a college-catering business. More than that, it seems to be mostly privileged college students eating when you look around, so I am going to go ahead and make the claim that spoiled college kids partake in this late night activity more so than the average American. Most people outside of college that I know don’t binge eat because they are drunk, but at DU, that justification is more than sufficient.

            Back at my Quaker boarding school, my teachers who live simplistic and self-sustaining lives may be appalled at the sight of Illegal Pete’s. When you grow and kill all of your own food, you start to take on a new appreciation for what you eat. For myself, it gave me a reason to eat all the more food when I left the school. You could say it gave me an appreciation for eating food we did not grow ourselves and eating animals we did not slaughter.

            Well for one thing, there aren’t too many articles out there discussing why people drunk eat. I mean besides the obvious factor that it tastes good, what else is there to drunk eating? The closest thing I found to an answer was in Men’s Health, where Spanish researches found that, “Alcohol could even make you eat more. In a U.K. study, men drank either 12 ounces of a non-alcoholic lager, or the same lager spiked with about 2 drinks worth of alcohol. Even though the alcoholic lager contained more calories itself, men ate 30 percent more calories after drinking it—despite the fact that they didn’t report higher appetites than the other group” (Men’s Health).

            Drunchies 101: it takes longer to feel full when you drink before a meal because of the fact that your body recognizes alcohol as a toxin rather than a calorie. Social contexts also provide reasons why to eat when you’re drunk.  Junk food all of a sudden tastes great when you drink, and great food tastes remarkable. For the most part, it seems to be a social reason: kids drink, they socialize, and they want to eat. Drunk eating may be as simple as that; food tastes better when you are drinking. Illegal Pete’s defines itself as a haven for both sober and inebriated kids. One can eat with their friends and enjoy the later hours of the night. From my experience at this lively restaurant, Illegal Pete’s unifies the hungry, the inebriated, and ultimately satisfies students from all over Denver.

Works Cited

Aaron, Kiera. "Why You Eat When You're Drunk | Men's Health News." Men's Health

News. 15 Apr. 2011. Web. Apr. 2012. <http://news.menshealth.com/why-you-

drunk-dial-domino’s/2011/08/15/>.