This article goes into depth about the negative impacts of red meat production and consumption, specifically on the world around us. One of the biggest problems with red meat is that it is in an inefficient food source. This means that we are putting way more energy into feeding cattle and producing beef, than we get from eating it. In fact, only one percent of the calories cattle eat is converted to calories we get from eating beef. So we are yielding little benefits from eating beef and in the process emitting loads of green house gases into the environment. Additionally, with growing population our current beef consumption is not sustainable. This article offers two solutions. The first is to feed cattle what they are actually supposed to eat, grass. While this would use less grain and stop some methane emission, it still doesn't completely solve the problem. A better solution is to stop the consumption of red meat or at least cut it in half. According to this article," Shifting diets away from meat could slash in half per capita greenhouse gas emissions related to eating habits worldwide and ward off additional deforestation ."
The article says we should cut our red meat consumption in half, but a valid question is what would replace red meat in our diets? The podcast "Insects as Food" by Yale Climate Connection offers up Insects as an option. While the consumption of insects isn't a norm in the United States, it is in other parts of the world. Unlike red meat, we get more energy out of eating insects than it takes to gather and transport them. Consuming insects has a significantly smaller carbon footprint than cattle. The biggest roadblock in the way of making eating insects a norm is social stigma. In America we see insects as creepy, crawly creatures that many would shudder at the thought of eating. If activist want to implement insects in our food culture, it is going to take a lot of work and attitude adjustment.
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This article starts by describing the current "instant gratification" norm in our society. Slower ways of life have vanished and are now seen as naive. The author Shelly Wright, then goes into how this has taken a toll on our education system in America. There is a "need for speed" in schools, similarly to everything in our society. Wright even describes it using George Ritzer's term McDonaldization. We've turned learning into an assembly line. This greatly affects children, because after all everyone learns differently. School is no longer about learning. It is about passing. This is a byproduct of treating learning as a product. Being academic in society is the highest trait a child can posses. This leaves things like curiosity and creativity at the way side. Wright implies the way to fix this is applying the Slow Foods movement to education. Slow Education is three things: authentic, individualized, and formative.
This article caused me to think about the many ways McDonaldization was applied in the school I grew up in. It can be seen in each of the four categories: - Efficiency: Students must meet a certain mark by the end of the year or they are left behind. - Calculability: Marks/Grades are an objective and quanifiable way student's performances are measured. Additionally, students are shoved through the school system as quickly as possible. It is not socially accepted to be a year behind. - Predictability: Standardized testing is uniform through out schools. Content and teaching methods are standardized with no regard to student background. - Control: Teachers in the public (K-12) are required to teach specific information and pressured to have students test well. I think it is important to mention I am not trying to completely discredit the Public Schools System we have in America. I do think it is necessary that we have some standardization of the content students are learning across the country. However, I agree with Wright that learning is organic and a specific formula isn't going to work with every child. If a child doesn't fit this formula they will grow up believing they are stupid. I believe there is so many different forms of intelligence, all of which can benefit society. Why are we conditioning students to all be the same?. School should be more than a factory cranking out students who can recite the quadratic formula or the periodic table of elements. A school should be a place were we cultivate the interests of children and help them on their way to becoming ethical, critical thinking individuals. Currently, we are not preparing students for the real world. We are preparing them to get a passing grade. But then what? This article reveals how prevalent food insecurity is on college campuses. While it never makes clear exactly what is meant by food insecurity it quotes the LA times saying that a part of food security is not "having consistent source of high-quality, nutritious food.” It is estimated that 100,000 college students are food insecure. The university of Hawaii found nearly 20 percent of college students skip meals due to poverty. Luckily, action is being taken by organization like Pop's Pantry. Pop's Pantry is a “a professional organization consisting of campus-based programs focused on alleviating food insecurity, hunger, and poverty among college and university students in the United States.”
This reading made me more aware that there is college students who are struggling to get the food they need. This is and issue I don't always think of because when I think of college and food I think of Conrad's, the freshman 15, and the endless supply of dorm food. This is not the first time this problem has been brought to my attention. Last year my sister who is a junior at the University of Michigan studying public policy started an organization with her friends called secure with swipes. While it hasn't been implemented yet the goal of the organization is that students can donate their left over cafeteria swipes to student in need. I think the concept is great. However, after reading "The Double Binds of Getting Food among the Poor in Rural Oregon" it makes me wonder if students who are in need will really reach out and ask for it. The reading by Joan Gross and Nancy Rosenberger discusses the social and psychological reasons people might refrain from reaching out for help. College is a time when a person is developing sense of self. Reaching out for assistance may affect a students confidence and they may not want friends to know their financial situation. However, I think there is hope because the environment of college is an acceptation one. College is very expensive for everyone. We are all in the same boat. Hopefully, the popularity of organizations grow and students can use them with out feeling shame. While the topic of agriculture isn't at the top of most voters' priority list, it is so essential that the next president of the U.S. has an action plan for how are country will conduct itself relating to food. This linked article contains where Trump and Hilary stand on certain issues. The issues I will cover in this News in Food is immigrants and fair labor standards, because those pertain to our class reading American Way of Eating by McMillan. In the American Way of Eating McMillan attempts to understand how are food understand why healthy food is more expensive and harder to obtain. One way she does this is by documenting her experience working as a migrant farm worker in California. Life as a worker seems like a distressing life style. There is roach infested living situations, heat sickness, long hours, and not enough pay.
Trump and "his wall" has made it very clear that he wants illegal immigrants in the country. However, Trump has yet to say how this change will affect agriculture or clarify who replace all these workers. There is a lot of speculation that pushing immigrants out of the country will result in a spike in food prices or even food shortages. Clinton has acknowleged the fact that migrant workers are critical to our agriculture production. Rather than pushing them out, she has made a detailed plan for immigration reform to help them become citizens. According to this article Trump has yet to mention the labor standards we should hold for farmers. However, this article does mention his many (24) Fair Labor Act violations. Clinton has openly supported legislation to make overtime pay for farm workers. In addition to that she supports $15 state minimum wage, however minimum wage does not apply to farm workers. Whoever you are voting for this election season, make sure you are informed about where they stand on issues that are important to you! Do you have problems putting down a bag of chips? According to this article you are not alone. Researchers who conducted a recent study have compared food that is full of refined carbs and fat, to have the same addictive properties as drugs. However, Karen, a neuroscientist from Indiana, is a skeptic of the findings. In this article she explains that similar to drugs, tasty foods cause a release of dopamine in our brains, but they don't affect neurotransmitters in the same way.
Well food may not have the same powers over us as drugs, I think we can all agree it is very hard to say no to our processed favorites. This is due to the science that goes into making our food irresistable. No wonder you can't have just one Oreo, they were designed by scientist to have the perfect levels of salt, sugar, and fat, otherwise known as the bliss point. Michael Moss discusses bliss point in his article The Extraordinary Science of Junk Food. A bliss point is the area in which food has the specific amount of ingredients to make the food delicious. Therefore, foods set at bliss point are sure to release some dopamine in your head, causing you to want more and more. So the next you eat an entire bag of chips, maybe don't be so hard on yourself. After all, thats exactly what the food industry wants! |