Essay 1-Cause/Effect-We Need to Know Our Food

David Norris

English 213

Cause/Effect Essay

24 Febuary 2010

We Need To Know Our Food

There is a saying that ‘good things come in pairs’. The saying is true when it comes to foods that are healthy for us and the environment. Sadly, with regards to unhealthy eating decisions, the negatives also come in pairs as well. We can take care of these negatives by understanding what we eat and its effect on the planet and our bodies. Although eating fast foods is easy and convenient, being aware of the source and nutritional value of our food causes families to make good environmental choices because families will avoid fast and low value foods, they will buy meat that is not from factory farms, and they will buy organic produce that is not destructive to the environment. By taking care of our bodies when thinking about nutrition we also help to protect our earth.

Families can simply support the environment by avoiding fast and low value foods. Fast foods are unhealthy, though convenient, and harmful to the environment because of the origin of the product and the amount of packaging that goes to waste with each meal. Low value foods are best described as foods which are usually highly processed and based on carbohydrates that don’t support lasting energy. The common low value foods are hard on the environment because they generally are loaded with preservatives, highly refined, and based on corn farming, which are all harmful to the environment. It is very easy to buy low value foods and Bryan Walsh from Time Magazine states that the worst foods have become very cheap and affordable for consumers. Even though the foods are cheap, families being aware of food options will avoid the foods that are both bad for the environment and the individuals eating the food.

In an attempt to eat meat and dairy products that are healthy we first have to understand where the meat comes from and how that fact affects us and our planet. Luckily there is no tough decision between choosing what is good for our health versus what is best for the environment. Factory farms are terribly inefficient and in the process of producing unhealthy products they destroy the land used to produce it. The amount of land used to farm the feed that is needed to mass produce fat cows and pigs for slaughter is outrageous. Health and wellness expert, Kathy Frston goes as far as to say that simply eating vegetarian is better for the environment than buying a Toyota Prius to drive around in. The fact about the Prius shows how bad factory farming must be to make going vegetarian such a large step in going green. So if we are informed about what we are eating then we will desire to buy products that don’t come from factory farms because we will be conscious about our health and the environment.

            Something that families don’t want to say is, “if I knew what they did to those plants I would have never eaten them”. By being aware of the source of our produce, we will make good decisions based on where those fruits and vegetables are grown. Non-organic produce comes from farms that load the soil of their fields with tons of fertilizer and rain down chemical pesticides onto the growing plants. The amount of fertilizer and the pesticides used are not good for consumers eating the produce or the land used to grow these plants. The technology that has come about to allow farmers to make great profit from their land is the same technology that used poorly is destroying the farm lands and more. Staying informed about the produce we buy will cause us to buy organic fruits and vegetables that are both good for us and not destructive to land being used to grow the produce. Being informed about products at the grocery store is good for the environment and those eating the food. Bryan Walsh explains in his article, Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food, that it is worth buying healthy produce even though it may be more expensive than junk foods

It’s great that eating healthy is such a winning situation. Eating healthy is a winning situation because eating well is good for our health and the health of the environment so people should understand what their decisions are when it comes to groceries. When people are informed about the foods they eat it causes them to avoid foods that are bad for themselves and the environment because they will stop eating low value food, they will avoid buying meats and dairy products from factory farms, and they will buy produce that are organic. Staying informed about what we eat will lead to better eating and less harm done to the environment.

Works Cited

Freston, Kathy. (2007). Vegetarian is the New Prius. The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/vegetarian-is-the-new-pri_b_39014.html.

Walsh, Bryan. (2009). Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food. Time Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1917458,00.html

Response #5-A World Apart

 

BBC‘s “The Blue Planet” takes the viewer on a breathtaking journey into the depths of the ocean. The series is made of nine different episodes. These episodes lead us on a discovery that takes us from the deep dark depths all the way to ice-burg covered seas. This series not only explores the lives of marine life, but they also quest for knowledge about the oceans themselves.

In my review of this show I first watched the episode entitled “The Deep.” This episode brings the viewer to dangerous depths. This show gives the viewer an amazing glimpse of the wonderful creatures that live there. We are shown jelly-fish capable of producing mesmerizing light shows that contain all the colors of the rainbow. Along with the beauty of the deep, this show also explores the monstrous looking side of it. Down in the deep there live fish with grotesque looking protrusions, making them look like the stuff nightmares are made of. However, upon seeing how these creatures have adapted to survive in this environment you can be no less than impressed with their perfection.

The second episode I watched was “Open Ocean.” In this segment we are taken through the vast “desert” of the ocean. This is a place not only for the largest of aquatic life forms; it houses many smaller fish as well. They are able to find shelter in drifting seaweed as items discarded by people. Although, it makes me sick to see fish huddled under a floating milk crate, it shows to the resiliency and adaptability of life.

I have seen many shows exploring the oceans and the life they contain. That is precisely what makes it so wonderful that this show still managed to make me feel a child-like fascination as I saw all of the amazing things our oceans have to offer. Considering the fact that we are constantly discovering something new about our oceans, it stands that there is much more to be learned. This is the reason why we need further policy protecting our waters. It is the only way to ensure our ability to continue expanding our knowledge about the oceans.

Response #4: Cornutopia

The sweet corn that conjures up images of the first Thanksgiving is not what we now consume on a regular basis.  The movie King Corn explores the inedible version of corn we use to feed cattle and sweeten our food.  In the documentary, Ian Cheney and Curtis Ellis move to Greene, Iowa and plant an acre of corn.  The goal is to find out where their food, more specifically corn, comes from. The knowledge they gain from this experience is shocking.

 Those who watch this movie may have different goals in mind.  Regardless, the viewer would have to poses a previous interest in where our food hails from.  It seems America knows little about the ingredients and the origins of our food and would be very surprised by the truth.  The truth about corn is extremely shocking and effective to maintain a captive audience. 

 The industrialized corn discussed in the movie is a genetically engineered super food.  Designed to maximize yield while taking up as little space as possible, corn is a second cousin of it’s original self.  A great crop right? Unfortunately, the corn they explored is not edible and unprofitable.  The only way Iowan corn farmers survive is with government subsidies.  The unfortunate truth is not what viewers want to hear.  The subject of corn is ongoing.  As more Americans become informed about the ingredients of their food things may change. However, at this time King Corn paints a unfortunate picture about the food we eat.

Essay1 Draft-Cause/Effect-We Need to Know Our Food

We Need To Know Our Food

There is a saying that ‘good things come in pairs’. The saying is true when it comes to foods that are healthy for us and the environment. Sadly with regards to unhealthy eating decisions the negatives also come in pairs as well. We can take care of these negatives by understanding what we eat and its effect on the planet and our bodies. Although eating fast foods is easy and convenient, being aware of the source and nutritional value of our food causes families to make good environmental choices because families will avoid fast and low value foods, they will buy meat that is not from factory farms, and they will buy organic produce the is not destructive to the environment. By taking care of your body when thinking about nutrition we also help to protect our earth.

Families can simply support the environment by avoiding fast and low value foods. Fast foods are understandable, but low value foods mean those foods which are usually kjlklj and based on carbohydrates that don’t support lasting energy. By being aware of food option families will avoid the foods that are both bad for the environment and the individuals eating the food.

In an attempt to eat meat and dairy that are healthy we first have to understand where the meat comes from and how that fact affects us and our planet. Luckily there is no tough decision between choosing what is good for our health versus what is best for the environment. Factory farms are terribly inefficient and in the process of producing unhealthy products they destroy the land used to produce it. The amount of land used to farm the feed that is needed to mass produce fat cows and pigs for slaughter is outrageous. Kathy Frston as far to say that simply eating vegetarian is better for the environment then buying a Toyota Prius to drive around in. So if we are informed about what we are eating then we will decide to buy products that don’t come from factory farms.

            Something that families don’t want to say is, “if I knew what they did to those plants I would have never ate them”. By being aware of the source of our produce, we will make good decision based on where those fruits and vegetables are coming from. Non organic produce comes from farms that load the soil of their fields with tons of fertilizer and rain down pest asides onto the growing plants. The amount of fertilizer and the pest asides used are not good for us eating the produce and the land used to grow these plants. Staying informed about the produce we buy will cause us to buy organic fruits and vegetables that are both good for us as eaters and not destructive to land being used to grow the produce. Being informed about products at the grocery store is good for the environment and those eating the food.

It’s great that eating healthy is a winning situation. When someone is informed about the foods they eat it causes them to avoid foods that are bad for themselves and the environment because they will stop eating low value food, they will avoid buying from meats and dairies from factory farms, and they will buy produce that are organic. The technology that has come about to allow farmers to make great profit from their land is the same technology that used poorly is destroying the farm lands and more. Staying informed about what we eat will lead to better eating and less harm done to the environment.

Reading Response #4-You Don’t Have to be a Treehugger

 

When researching the environment on the internet there is an overwhelming amount of sites that contain nothing but doomsday stories. These sites rarely offer any way for the individual to take action, other than sending money to who knows where. Treehugger.com seems to set itself apart from other environmental websites. They do this through offering a wide range of stories, a fairly equal combination of dreadful and uplifting, on a vast array of topics. As well they have a “take action” section where they offer a number of things the individual can do. And they manage to do it all while remaining extremely user friendly.

All of the topics are listed at the top of the page for easy accessibility. Subjects discussed include everything from fashion to technology. Included are stories on environmental problems, but that does not seem to be the main focus. This site also has many stories on things such as: unusual insect behaviors, new hopefully better technologies that are being produced, and underground houses.

Although, the information the site provides definitely has a theme, I would not say it is biased. Treehugger.com merely seeks to inform people of the wonderful things on our planet as well as our responsibility to it. With seemingly no end to the fascinating stories offered, this is definitely a website you could get lost in if you wanted to.

Response #3: To drill or not to drill?

After reading the article entitled “Oil exploration can be a boon to Alaskans and environment“, I ask myself “So why don’t we drill in ANWR? “  Don Young makes many excellent and convincing points in his article by attacking the issue from the perspective of the Alaska Native community.  Most people who oppose drilling in ANWR are afraid that it will negatively impact the land and the culture of the Natives.  Could these individuals be ill informed?  Do people understand that villages that do not have the luxuries of toilets and clean water are suffering because they don’t have sufficient funds to acquire those amenities, not because they are against them?  Young also makes a very strong argument for drilling by stating that only 1% of ANWR will be impacted.  This point really helps to put everything in perspective for me.  Those in opposition to drilling could argue that, even though the impact area is limited to 1%, that area still provides animal habitat and wilderness that should be preserved. I could not take a solid position on this issue unless i did more research. what I would research though would be what alternative energy sources are available NOW that can replace oil? It could be that there is no way to replace oil in a timely enough manner to keep everyone’s homes warm, but it should be looked into.  I have also heard that the oil that we drill in Alaska isn’t even used to sustain us in the United States, it is shipped to foreign countries.  So although Young makes many valid arguments for drilling, one can never be to certain who to trust when money is involved.

Response #2: The Burger Next Door

Competing with fast food chains such as McDonalds and Wendy’s is not easy.  For this reason, one small restaurant, in Lawrence, Kansas, has come up with a unique way to promote their burgers. Local Burger has defined their mission, through food service, to create a “culture of passion for knowing where our food comes from and how it connects us to our world, to our communities, and to ourselves.”  Local Burger is fulfilling their mission by exclusively serving foods that are produced locally.  The company name, in itself, has defined the target audience: burger loving individuals who are geographically located in the vicinity of the restaurant.  Local Burger is rallying with the nation-wide trend in “eating locally”.  Their goal is to enhance awareness of what the foods we eat and, in doing so, provide a safer, healthier, option as well as slow the meat industry which will, in turn, help the environment in the long run.  I feel this is a good idea, although i think they need to work to target a larger audience through additional marketing of the concepts they are promoting.  People who are already health conscious about their diets will gravitate to the Local Burger restaurant.  This still leaves a larger audience of people who need to become more aware of what they are eating when they go to a fast food chain and how it can be harmful to them.  Unless armed with this knowledge, the average person when given the choice between A. fast and cheap or B. healthy, is likely to choose option A.

Response #1: vroom vroom vroom

As we all know, cars are slowly killing the environment by emitting toxic fumes. That may be one reason why, in his article “Fast Food”, Mike Rdsenwald describes an alternative to those gas guzzling metal machines. Engineers at Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre in England have created a biodegradable car that runs on vegetable oil left over from frying fish and chips.  Although this may sound like a good economical idea for your everyday town car, Warwick engineers have built this car for the race track.  Personally, I think that this is a highly dangerous feat to attempt.  A track where race cars average speeds of 150 mph, smash into each other and bust into walls doesn’t seem a sensible place for a car made out of flax and plastic bottles.  If I were to research this issue to a fuller extent, I would investigate the durability of the experimental cars and possibly do some crash tests with dummies. However, regardless of the appropriateness of the use of the experimental cars under these conditions, I don’t understand why engineers are spending $250,000 dollars on a car for racing.  I think Americans should eliminate their fetish for NASCAR all together; it harms the environment and, from what I can tell, it doesn’t have any redeeming social value.  Overlooking my biases, i think the idea is exciting; but it is not realistic to think that changing race cars is going to help the environment. One wonders whether Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre has too much time and/or money on their hands.

Video Response #5: Food Inc

David Carter

Eng 213

Response Video #1

Food Inc

Wow, “Food Inc” is a movie about how food is being produced to sustain our demands. Meat especially; most chicken on the market are packed with hormones to increase size and growth speed, yummy! To keep cost down, the companies pack warehouses full of chickens and basically have scientist engineer there diet to produce their demand to sell. The warehouses don’t even have access to get sunlight half the time. The ethics in this movie about producing food is basically non existent. Keep cost low and profits high.  I think we let brought this on ourselves, with population growth and the expanding culture, we came up with a way to industrialize food processing to make more food affordable to everyone.  Unfortunately, a major side effect of industrialization is quality control.  With just the raise in the past 20 years, the fast food industries alone have the producing industries working overtime. Do we really even need fast food? Are we that lazy we can’t make time for a sandwich?  Honestly it feels like a giant snowball effect. It starts from the ground up, and I don’t even want to tap into the pollution effects this industry creates. The fields that are harvest for raw materials are sprayed with pesticides and fertilizers to decrease time and increase efficiency. The scientists have even altered the feed; corn, wheat, and barely have all been intoxicated with chemicals to keep animals growing bigger and quicker. The companies even induce antibiotics to keep infections and irritations to a minimum, yummy! The food is then packed and shipped to market. The movie “Food Inc” brings to light that the consumers are in control and can change the influence of how our food is produced.  Do the research and read the labels. Watch what you eat.

Reading Response #2: Eating Mercury

Reading Response# 2

David Carter

Eng 213

“Eating Mercury”

It doesn’t surprise me that there is something nasty in high fructose corn syrup (hfcs).  HFCS is a chemically made ingredient to enrich taste and prolong shelf life. HFCS is in almost everything.  Nearly all the beverages we drink, and foods we snack on all have HFCS. It’s virtually imposable to get away from. Unfortunately, the research done by IATP (Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy) are still being questioned by manufactures.  I think the manufactures are going to try to keep this quite because corn syrup is a material they must have to ensure quality of their product. If the IATP’s research is correct, it would cost a ton of money to fix, if it could even be fixed at all.  It also makes you wonder where the corn is coming from too. The corn itself is probably manufactured using hormones and fertilizers to increase growth speed and quantity.  The manufactures then drop enzymes to change the glucose to fructose, yummy! Anyhow the FDA has the data, but won’t do anything about it. They say this information is old and outdated, but the data is coming from a study conducted by the FDA in 2005. How can they say its irrelevant data being only five years old? The study earlier from the FDA found that 9 out of 20 products had mercury in them. That’s 45%, ouch. If the FDA doesn’t get on this issue bad things will come.  The worst part is that kids eat most of the products containing mercury contaminate.  I bet this is tied into why so many children today have diabetes and malnutrition problems.