The Newest Fad in Food Consumption
In this blog, I want to consider an eating event more cumulatively, rather than individually. This is because, in today’s society, the fate of the individual has never been more intertwined to the fate of humanity itself. Now you’re thinking – O.K., then get on with it.
The newest fad (which, most certainly, should not be a fad) in food consumption lies within these three words: local, organic, and/or humane. These concepts have become so important not only to the quality and length of our individual lives but the collective health of our communities and the future quality of our planet. After energy production, livestock is the second highest contributor to atmosphere altering gases – that’s ludicrous!
It is our wants rather than our needs that drive us to consume way more calories than is good for us. And most of those calories (from junk food) that are being consumed cause diseases, rather than prevent diseases. It has been repeatedly proven within the last couple of decades that plants are good. It is plants that make us healthy, not animals. Don't get me wrong, I am not a radical vegetarian. However, I’m conscious of the importance of moderation. I work at avoiding the consumption of only one animal product, and still, I don't overindulge. Yet, the point is that we don't actually need animal products and we certainly don't need white bread or coke to live long healthy lives. Both have been marketed so heavily to create a plethora of demand. Obviously, we aren't popping out of the womb craving doughnuts or Big Macs®.
Back in the day, before chain-restaurants, industrialization of animals, and globalization there was no philosophy of food. You just ate. You didn't claim to be anything. There was no marketing. There were no national brands such as Nestlé. One thing hardly contained more than one ingredient because it was an ingredient. Cheez-its® and Oreos® were non-existent. It seems absurd to ask the world or specifically, Americans, to eat 50 percent less of the amount of meat they are eating now, but just that step is the beginning of the restoration of our planet.
Although I am high-reaching, it is important that we stop eating animals industrially and consume more thoughtfully for the sake of our individual health and the health of our planet.
Okay - This is a great post. From the first little blurb I knew I was going to be interested in it. My boyfriend's family is SUPER conscious about the food that they eat and I, being a college kid, can basically get what I can get. Sometimes, $5 for a small pack of Organic raspberries versus 2 for $5 for the Driscoll brand non-organic seems like the better deal. But really - I enjoyed that you stated that we really don't need some of the things that we have in order to live a long, happy life. While these things are nice, they are most definitely NOT a necessity. I also laughed pretty hard when you said we didn't come out of the womb craving a BigMac.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely topical, especially during today's age of organic and vegan crazes. One thing I do want to touch on is the idea of how humans ate in the past, before restaurants and industrialization. You're right. We just ate. We didn't think long and hard about what food we wanted to eat because it usually was the only thing available. That said, if we look to the past and base our eating habits off of that, then wouldn't we eat more meat? As hunter-gathers, meat was the main part of every meal. You would go out and find an animal, kill it, and cook it. They would also eat plants, but meat was vital to survival. So, it is an interesting thought to ask what is really the "right" answer when it comes to food consumption.
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