Response # 2: Less Costs More, Especially When it comes to Nutrition

Initially, low-cost foods appear to cost less, but with the current practices of the food industries, our environment and the living creatures on it are paying a hefty price. In industrialized nations the bottom line tends to focus more on the dollar than anything else. It was evident during the initial years of development with examples from Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle, and is still present today with example from the documentary A Fast Food Nation.

We get another glance at the food industry with Bryan Walsh’s article titled “Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food.” Walsh points out that in some ways things have gotten better, and in some ways they have gotten worse. Walsh also stated that, “Unless Americans radically rethink the way they grow food they face a future of eroded farmland, hollowed-out countryside, scarier germs, higher health costs and bland taste.” I couldn’t agree more that we need to make changes in the way we eat and grow food. However, I also feel that these changes are not enough.

With both the steady population growth and an increase in industrialization, the demand for cheap meat will increase beyond the ability to provide for it sustainably, if it hasn’t already. In addition to eating and growing more sustainably, people need to turn their focus to living more sustainably. One way to accomplish this is a move towards population growth, and to help prevent the developing nations from making the same mistakes as the industrialized nations. In order to achieve the goal of creating a healthy environment with a healthy population we need to focus on living simply to improve the environment and quality of life for all.