The Food Industry's Influence In Nutrition Research
After reading this article it made me think more deeply about the reports that come out of the food industry and their contents. If the reports are skewed with false information about how the contents of the food I'm eating are actually worse than they say I would want someone to bring that to light. The desire for profit has far outreached the desire for making quality, healthy food which is only hurting the public further. Like in the book Pandora's Lunchbox, food companies hide the real nutrition facts like the amount of vitamins that are actually present in their product. The fact that a company can go so far as to fund research that is false and then go to Washington and lobby (read: bribe) to make it all legal is a terrible fact of the Food Industry. They turn credible scientists who people believe no matter what information they put out, into vehicles of profit so their products sell more to the easily influence-able public who is already riddled with health problems. The article also made me think about The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food and how the food that is being created is for maximum ability to be re-bought and the things going into it don't have to be shared honestly to the public. Dr. Michael Jacobson says in the article "beef contains this molecule, which might be healthful, notwithstanding all the other molecules in beef that are probably not so healthful." the content is being manipulated in favor of the ones paying for the study which thickens to the screen put up by the food industry.
After reading this article it made me think more deeply about the reports that come out of the food industry and their contents. If the reports are skewed with false information about how the contents of the food I'm eating are actually worse than they say I would want someone to bring that to light. The desire for profit has far outreached the desire for making quality, healthy food which is only hurting the public further. Like in the book Pandora's Lunchbox, food companies hide the real nutrition facts like the amount of vitamins that are actually present in their product. The fact that a company can go so far as to fund research that is false and then go to Washington and lobby (read: bribe) to make it all legal is a terrible fact of the Food Industry. They turn credible scientists who people believe no matter what information they put out, into vehicles of profit so their products sell more to the easily influence-able public who is already riddled with health problems. The article also made me think about The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food and how the food that is being created is for maximum ability to be re-bought and the things going into it don't have to be shared honestly to the public. Dr. Michael Jacobson says in the article "beef contains this molecule, which might be healthful, notwithstanding all the other molecules in beef that are probably not so healthful." the content is being manipulated in favor of the ones paying for the study which thickens to the screen put up by the food industry.
Inside DuPont and Monsanto's Migrant Labor Camps
This article describes the horrible living conditions that migrant laborers have to go through just to work long hard hours for a meager wage. The companies treat workers poorly and have a general disconcern for their health and safety. It is very much like the conditions that Tracie McMillian describes in The American Way of Eating like in Pilar's home where four people are cramped into a small trailer but on an even more extreme level. Up to 80 people may share a barn as a living space with only two bathrooms, the barn is usually poorly constructed and is riddled with bugs. The companies can get away with this because like in Food Inc. many of the workers that large corporations hire are undocumented workers who cannot really complain for fear of being sent back to their home countries and no way to support their families. The article brings to light many of the points McMillian was bringing forth in her biography such as that many of the workers have no way of really complaining to their employers since they get brought in by outside contractors and the only real way to effect any change is through complaints. But since no complaints are coming through from the workers no change is being affected for their benefit.
This article describes the horrible living conditions that migrant laborers have to go through just to work long hard hours for a meager wage. The companies treat workers poorly and have a general disconcern for their health and safety. It is very much like the conditions that Tracie McMillian describes in The American Way of Eating like in Pilar's home where four people are cramped into a small trailer but on an even more extreme level. Up to 80 people may share a barn as a living space with only two bathrooms, the barn is usually poorly constructed and is riddled with bugs. The companies can get away with this because like in Food Inc. many of the workers that large corporations hire are undocumented workers who cannot really complain for fear of being sent back to their home countries and no way to support their families. The article brings to light many of the points McMillian was bringing forth in her biography such as that many of the workers have no way of really complaining to their employers since they get brought in by outside contractors and the only real way to effect any change is through complaints. But since no complaints are coming through from the workers no change is being affected for their benefit.
Lack of Food Causing Obesity in Children
When you think of a desert you certainly don't think about much food. You also don't imagine someone who lives in a desert to obese. That is exactly the case for millions of Americans, especially those in the southern US and along the Appalachian Valley. Kids in Athens County, OH showed that children have a food insecurity rate of almost 30% in 2013. This means that Almost one-third of the children in that county do not have sufficient access to affordable and nutrition food. The Ohio Children's Defense Fund were the one's who conducted the report and found that inadequate nutrition can lead to cognitive and physical deficiencies. The food insecurity and obesity rates are related because it is often cheaper and faster to buy cheap, high-calorie, high-processed foods. A big data point that stood out to me was that children who experience food insecurities are 3.4 times more likely to obese by FOUR years old. With an entire generation growing up only as obese the health problems in America are not likely to be solved and an increase in diseases like diabetes and hypertension are expected. This article also highlighted a lot of the points brought up in Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? by Mark Bittman. Bittman states that more than 10 million Americans in low income areas live 10 miles from any supermarkets (2). People are generally too over worked in their normal jobs to want to come home and cook for their family since it is time consuming and they might not have the resources available to cook nutritious food (2). In the linked article the author states that the way to solve the hunger problem in Appalachian Ohio is through philanthropic capital. The area receives 10x less philanthropic capital dollars than areas outside it, only $762 per capita compared to $7,437 per capita outside the region.The way to do so is by way of people in Appalachian communities the author believes. This is somewhat similar to the call to action in Bittman's article saying the way to solve obesity will not come overnight but has to be a behavioral change in the American culture akin to the change in smoking culture. The change can come and it all begins with educating ourselves about what we are putting into our bodies.
When you think of a desert you certainly don't think about much food. You also don't imagine someone who lives in a desert to obese. That is exactly the case for millions of Americans, especially those in the southern US and along the Appalachian Valley. Kids in Athens County, OH showed that children have a food insecurity rate of almost 30% in 2013. This means that Almost one-third of the children in that county do not have sufficient access to affordable and nutrition food. The Ohio Children's Defense Fund were the one's who conducted the report and found that inadequate nutrition can lead to cognitive and physical deficiencies. The food insecurity and obesity rates are related because it is often cheaper and faster to buy cheap, high-calorie, high-processed foods. A big data point that stood out to me was that children who experience food insecurities are 3.4 times more likely to obese by FOUR years old. With an entire generation growing up only as obese the health problems in America are not likely to be solved and an increase in diseases like diabetes and hypertension are expected. This article also highlighted a lot of the points brought up in Is Junk Food Really Cheaper? by Mark Bittman. Bittman states that more than 10 million Americans in low income areas live 10 miles from any supermarkets (2). People are generally too over worked in their normal jobs to want to come home and cook for their family since it is time consuming and they might not have the resources available to cook nutritious food (2). In the linked article the author states that the way to solve the hunger problem in Appalachian Ohio is through philanthropic capital. The area receives 10x less philanthropic capital dollars than areas outside it, only $762 per capita compared to $7,437 per capita outside the region.The way to do so is by way of people in Appalachian communities the author believes. This is somewhat similar to the call to action in Bittman's article saying the way to solve obesity will not come overnight but has to be a behavioral change in the American culture akin to the change in smoking culture. The change can come and it all begins with educating ourselves about what we are putting into our bodies.
Would You Like a Band-Aid With That?
McDonadlization is not just referring to the fast food chain anymore. It affects many businesses who all want to be the "McDonald's" of their industry. Health care is not typically associated with fast food unless it's your doctor telling you that you need to cut back. WIth the inception of urgent care and it's quick, cheap, and easy to access of help interests a lot of people who couldn't normally afford to go to the emergency room. This cconnected a lot with the many articles we discussed in class such as Fed Up since many of those people had health problems and were also poor having an urgent care near them that they can go to when their health problems act us is better than them having to sit in an ER waiting room for sometimes hours to receive care that costs them up to 80% more. The take over by quick health care interests a lot of businesses owners such as Rick Crews from the article who has no medical knowledge but can run a clinic because he treats it like a franchise. Even Dr. Bruce Irwin, who created the new model for health care, believes that people should be able to get treatment as easily as they can get a hamburger. George Ritzer the author of The McDonaldization of Society says that people admire efficency as that is what McDonaldization has done to the health care industry. People want that instant gratification they get from something like eating candy in every aspect of their lives and urgent cares can provide that. All the problems of running private practices are overcome by the idea of a single corporate center running all the paperwork problems like billing and insurance while the actual clinic can focus on the patient. McDonaldization, while many people opposed the big business model, is heping the health care industry by changing the dynamic of easily accessible health care.
McDonadlization is not just referring to the fast food chain anymore. It affects many businesses who all want to be the "McDonald's" of their industry. Health care is not typically associated with fast food unless it's your doctor telling you that you need to cut back. WIth the inception of urgent care and it's quick, cheap, and easy to access of help interests a lot of people who couldn't normally afford to go to the emergency room. This cconnected a lot with the many articles we discussed in class such as Fed Up since many of those people had health problems and were also poor having an urgent care near them that they can go to when their health problems act us is better than them having to sit in an ER waiting room for sometimes hours to receive care that costs them up to 80% more. The take over by quick health care interests a lot of businesses owners such as Rick Crews from the article who has no medical knowledge but can run a clinic because he treats it like a franchise. Even Dr. Bruce Irwin, who created the new model for health care, believes that people should be able to get treatment as easily as they can get a hamburger. George Ritzer the author of The McDonaldization of Society says that people admire efficency as that is what McDonaldization has done to the health care industry. People want that instant gratification they get from something like eating candy in every aspect of their lives and urgent cares can provide that. All the problems of running private practices are overcome by the idea of a single corporate center running all the paperwork problems like billing and insurance while the actual clinic can focus on the patient. McDonaldization, while many people opposed the big business model, is heping the health care industry by changing the dynamic of easily accessible health care.
Saving the Earth, One Story at a Time
Vertical farming is seen by some to be the answer to feed a growing population while decreasing the amount of pollution that is created by traditional farming practices today. Indoor vertical farming is the process of growing plants indoors by stacking hydroponic towers. They produce consistent crops and recycle most of the water they use to regrow the crops year after year. Since they are grown indoors farmers do not have to worry about changing weather and can produce more product year round. They also don't have to worry about pesticides and fertilizers mucking up water supplies because of the controlled growing environment.
The Meat Eater's Guide to Climate Change shows how much greens effect the planet less than industrialized meat products do. If the main source of nutrition for people was vertically grown crops the impact on the environment would substantially decrease. The greenhouse gasses in the air would also decline meaning climate change would begin to slow as well. The benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables compared to meat to me is a far greater satisfaction than eating a steak. In Mark Hertsgaard's article about climate change he states that "genetically modified seeds aren't enough. We have to change the entire agriculture system." This could be the necessary change that we need to help produce the food we need to feed future generations.
Vertical farming is seen by some to be the answer to feed a growing population while decreasing the amount of pollution that is created by traditional farming practices today. Indoor vertical farming is the process of growing plants indoors by stacking hydroponic towers. They produce consistent crops and recycle most of the water they use to regrow the crops year after year. Since they are grown indoors farmers do not have to worry about changing weather and can produce more product year round. They also don't have to worry about pesticides and fertilizers mucking up water supplies because of the controlled growing environment.
The Meat Eater's Guide to Climate Change shows how much greens effect the planet less than industrialized meat products do. If the main source of nutrition for people was vertically grown crops the impact on the environment would substantially decrease. The greenhouse gasses in the air would also decline meaning climate change would begin to slow as well. The benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables compared to meat to me is a far greater satisfaction than eating a steak. In Mark Hertsgaard's article about climate change he states that "genetically modified seeds aren't enough. We have to change the entire agriculture system." This could be the necessary change that we need to help produce the food we need to feed future generations.