...“Even if we took all the food produced in 2009 and distributed it evenly amongst the global population, the world will still need to produce 974 more calories per person per day by 2050,” (2014 Map of the Meal Gap). Unsustainable food supplies are a big deal here in the United States. Because of unsustainable food supplies, the food gap continually increases everywhere in the U.S. However, if more people in America tried to create a more sustainable food supply, it should help decrease every state's food gap. People everywhere in the United States are not getting fed because of the nation’s food gap. Even though no one said the solution to the problem would be easy, but sustaining food supplies might be the answer. “Figuring out how to feed all these people—while also advancing rural development, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and protecting valuable ecosystems—is one of the greatest challenges of our era,” (Ranganathan, Janet). Closing the gap by sustaining food supplies are going to take everyone to help. Some...
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...Food Poverty in America What is causing America’s obesity epidemic? Why is it so difficult for the majority of people in the U.S.A to eat healthy diets? Compare America to almost any other country and it is painfully clear that we have an overabundance of food: Americans eat 815 billion calories of food each day and throw out 200,000 tons of it daily (“Consumption”). However, it is commonly thought that people should have the self-control and knowledge necessary to winnow through the plenty and make good choices. Nutritional facts are readily available and no one could possibly think fast-food is good for them, could they? And yet, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that 34.9% of all Americans are clinically obese and that...
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...Junk Food In the essay “How Science Supports Junk Food Addiction,” the author, Cynthia Andrzejczyk, explains junk food companies’ efforts to perfect the taste of their foods and create an addiction for their products. In 1999, a meeting between the biggest junk food companies took place to discuss the problem of obesity in America. Despite the severity of the problem, Stephen Sanger, the CEO of General Mills, stated that his companies worry “was not about good nutrition; it was about what tasted good” (qtd. In Andrzejczyk 375). This statement ended all efforts to make food healthier. When it comes to taste, junk food companies have it down to a science. Junk food companies have hired specialists to increase the desirability of certain foods. One of these specialists is Howard Moscowitz, a Harvard graduate with a degree in Experimental Psychology (Andrzejczyk 375). Moscowitz’s main goal is getting certain foods to their maximum “optimization” and “bliss point”” (Andrzejczyk 375). The “bliss point” of a food is the best version of itself. This bliss point is normally the culprit for fast food addiction. It gets you to the point where you need to eat more because it tastes so good. Potato chips are deemed as the “perfect junk food” (Andrzejczyk 375 . However one of the biggest issues, associated with potato chips, was people deemed them unhealthy. In 1957, potato chip sales were dropping off. Ernest Dichter, a psychologist, found that the reason for this drop off was that...
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...Sugar, one of the deadliest foods in America today. Why is it dangerous all of a sudden? Well, we are eating too much of it and it’s giving us all sorts of health issues and diseases, unhealthy diseases. Sugar is unhealthy because we can get obesity, heart disease, and early death. Obesity is taking over our bodies.. 1 out of 3 Americans today are Obese. But, in 2012 74% of Americans were Obese. More than two thirds (68.8%) Of adults are considered to be overweight or obese. More than one third (35.7%) of adults are considered to be Obese. More than 1 of 20 (6.3%) have extreme obesity. Almost 3 out of 4 men in America (74%) are considered to be overweight or Obese. Heart Disease is another problem we face in America. Heart Disease is actually a small portion of our heart infected. If we didn’t notice the signs or go see a doctor right away, it would possibly be too late. There were 39.5% of America diagnosed with Heart disease. In the 1960’s it was not common for Americans to die of heart attack in their 50 or 60’s. In the U.S, death rate for heart disease rose steadily in the 20th century, but then a peak formed in 1968....
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...proud and boastful as America, their citizens still face food insecurity, where people are without reliable access to an adequate amount of affordable, nourishing food. Food insecurity is shown predominantly in minorities and Although many believe that several go hungry due to overpopulation and underproduction, it is a neoliberal, untrue attempt to justify hunger and structural barriers in America. Studies show that food insecurity is not distributed equally but is shown more in racial minorities. African American and Hispanic groups are more susceptible to food insecurity because of “economic and social disadvantages” (Nam, Huang, Heflin, & Sherraden). Disadvantages are already in place for people of color, including racism and poverty. Unfortunately, food insecurity comes hand in hand with poverty. The cycle of poverty makes it hard for upward mobility,...
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...Out of all the food produced in America, we let up to 40 percent of it go to waste and a big part of that problem is the stores selling it. Grocery stores throw out an outrageous amount of edible food each year that fills our landfills instead of hungry bellies, wastes resources used for harvesting and transporting food, and wastes retailers’ money. There are ways retailers can reduce food waste and wasting of resources by donating food, composting, and marking down foods not up to standards. Most food you see in the supermarket does end up being purchased but a large amount of that food is actually thrown out. NRDC author Dana Gunders states, “In-store food losses in the United States totaled an estimated 43 billion pounds in 2008, equivalent to 10 percent of the total food supply at the retail level” (Gunders, pg. 10). So what are some of the reasons all this food goes to waste? Supermarkets keep such high food standards for their consumers resulting in unnecessary food waste such as a whole carton of eggs being thrown away simply because one is cracked or a bag of oranges being tossed because one orange had a spot on it. Customers often buy produce from stores that they know have high quality foods. Retailers can attract more people to buy these foods if they look appealing so they must be the same size, shape, and color. Retailers must also order enough food so they don’t...
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...While some health trends, like eating more whole foods, are worth the effort, others are more hype than fact-based. This is something to consider when deciding to make a change in and/or about your diet. There are many types of food trends and fads, not only including weight loss or diets. Recent interest (especially in North America) in health foods such as quinoa, Kombucha, and almond milk, have all caused many scientists to really try to understand these products. When determining whether these health food products should be included as a part of a healthy diet, we need to understand nutritional value. The nutritional value of food defines what a food is made of and its' impact on the body. Because of disease and weight control, it's particularly...
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...HON 410 Professor Yesudas Choondassery February 22, 2013 Our Future: What Fast Food is Taking From Us We as Americans are facing quite an epidemic when it comes to health. It is not as though the nation was stricken with some sort of plague or fell victim to some conspiracy. Unfortunately, the cause of our issues is much more in our control than I think we would care to admit. Our health is depleting at large numbers all because of our diet. The rates of heart related issues, blood pressure and diabetes are at astounding numbers. These medical concerns are costing the country billions of dollars in healthcare. Why and when did our health begin to plummet? Over past decades America’s love for junk and fast food is the culprit behind this country having one of the unhealthiest populations any continent has to offer. This fascination of fast food had to start somewhere. Not only that but so did awareness that this particular industry may single handedly be responsible for obesity in this country. There are few topics actually that will help to understand this phenomenon a little further beyond the awareness of fast food. There was legislation that was passed that was supposed to help Americans understand what they are consuming on a daily basis. We learn this is only as helpful as one is able to translate the information. Many people are lost when it comes to nutritional food labels and what the numbers mean when it comes to their personal diet and intake. People...
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...Recently two close friends went on a week long cruise. They of course mentioned the fun in the sun, but all they really could talk about was the food.”We lived like hobbits for a week… Breakfast, second breakfast, Elevenses, Luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, and of course supper.” They expressed how sick of eating they were, but they didn't stop. Why? Well, why not? Why would you pass up food on every level of a cruise ship? Or 24 hour room service? It is clear two teenage girls are never going to finish all of the food they are presented. No human is capable of eating that amount of food.So why do we use time resources and energy to produce large portions of food just to dump every wasted plate down the garbage chute? Americans struggle immensely with food waste, and it’s not just food. When you think of all the food being wasted don’t think so shallow; someone's unfinished plate being dumped into the trash. Think resources, time, energy, and the obvious-- food. Consumers have more to think about when it comes to the waste they cause when they are dealing with our food sources. Think of a that apple that you put on your plate, and later decided you didn’t want so you tossed it. You didn’t just waste an apple. You wasted soil. You wasted a seed. You wasted...
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...In “How Junk Food Can End Obesity,” by David H. Freedman, Freedman discusses how fast food restaurants and junk food companies can end obesity in America. Fast food chains provide cheap, quick, and tasty meal and are lined on just about every major street in America. Because of this it has become the most popular food choice for most people. A side effect of this convenience is the growing obesity rate in America. Obesity has been a concern for our society so much so that, that even fast food chains have made small incremental changes to helps its consumers without them even knowing. Despite the common notion of eating fast food can make you obese, Freedman provides the evidence to support the fact that fast food chains can continue doing what they are doing to help end obesity in America. Freedman first discusses how he paid approximately eight dollars and waited ten minutes until he received a subpar fruit and vegetable smoothie. He then went...
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...English 1101 Food, Fun and Friends in France and the Southern United States of America Red wine, sweet tea, ice cold beer, chilled champagne, soft drinks, croissants, barbeque, fried chicken, bleu cheese, American processed cheese…all of these are symbols of good eating and drinking. Furthermore, these symbols are commonly enjoyed by two diverse and unique cultures; the French and the southerners of the United States of America. What underlying factors link these two diverse and unique cultures together? It is a common assumption that the French culture enjoys extremely rich and fattening foods, along with the fact that the French are obsessed with having a good time. It is just as well known that Southerners also enjoy the same rich and fattening foods, and they too know how to have a good time eating and drinking. Research has shown similarities and differences in immigration, social interaction and diet habits between the two cultures. The United States of America is known as a huge ‘melting pot’. America is made up of many nationalities and the southern region represents that same multi-cultural picture. “The population of the Southern United States is made up of many different people who came to the region in a variety of ways, each contributing to what is now called ‘Southern cooking’(Food In Every Country).” The various cultures included American Indians, Spanish explorers, West Africans, Creoles, and Cajuns. Each diverse group introduced foods, spices, and...
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...Outline I, Introduction…………………………………………………………..2 II, Development………………………………………………………...3 1, Wedding ceremonies…………………………………………………3 2, Food…………………………………………………………………..5 3, Education…………………………………………………………......7 III, Conclusion………………………………………………………...10 I, Introduction America and Vietnam are two distinctive countries with many differences. The two countries are on different continents, and there is a wide difference between the two countries. The culture, beliefs and practices of the people are different. However, as the world becomes more global, and as people become more exposed to different cultures, the differences between them seem to be narrowing. This is because of the willingness of the people to adopt different cultures, while at the same time maintain some of the elements of their own culture. There are several similarities and differences between America and Vietnam, specifically, in wedding ceremonies, food and the education system. II, Development 1, Wedding ceremonies Wedding ceremonies are significant for couples in both countries. The weddings in both countries are organized, and there are certain rituals that the couple intending to get married has to observe, before and during the wedding ceremony. In both countries, couples have engagement ceremonies before holding a wedding ceremony. In both countries, the couples exchange rings during the wedding. In both countries, the couple often holds a reception after the end of the wedding ceremony. The...
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...Hungering for America Rendering on a large collection of bases, Hasia Diner's Hungering for America "explores how the memories of hunger and the realities of American plenty merged together to shape the ethnic identities of millions of American women and men from Italy, Ireland, and Jewish Eastern Europe" (p. xvii). Sensitive to the physical and the existing predicament of hungry people, Diner strengthens our understanding of the influence of American abundance on immigrants by arguing that culturally specific memories of the European past determined Italian, Irish and Jewish food ways in the U.S. In this essay I will discuss how the European Jewish immigrants and the Italian immigrants dealt with the issue of identity formation. For the Italians food was a significant factor in strengthening ethnic identity and community in the United States because to them food was very significant. Family and food play a large role in Italian life. Diner says, “The matrix of food family-sanctity served as an Italian peasant ideal, in part because it is so often lay beyond the grasp of the poor.” (p. 35). In other words, even the poor people of Italy found the appreciation of food to be a very important part of Italian culture. When the Italian immigrants entered America they impacted communities in the United States by the way of food. The most prominent Italian food is macaroni. Many macaroni factories were opened in America and represented the Italian culture. America changed Italian...
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...About one third of the food produced for consumption is wasted in the world. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), we live in a world where 840 million people go hungry every day. The United States is a well-developed country and known to be one of the leaders in innovation. The US has machines and production assembly lines that supply goods rapidly and enters them into the market. Industrialized countries, like the United States, produce a surplus of goods, including food, to feed our over consuming society. All the agriculture growing and manipulated by machines attributes to foods’ greenhouse gasses. What happens with the waste is where more problems lead. Landfills are mounting exponentially and natural resources are becoming scarce due to the US wasting 30-40%, equal to $43 Billion, of the food supplied. Those numbers are alarming, seeing that food waste isn’t a mainstream problem yet. The food security issue shouldn’t be focused on increasing production, but more of regulating the wastefulness of the food produced. Most consumers don’t even think twice before throwing away their leftovers or not taking a to-go box at a...
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...in America is steadily declining through the practice of "factory farming." Factory farming is performed by the few large companies controlling food processing in America, it is vile and takes away humanity from those who continue to do it. It is the process in which farms "manufacture" food in unhealthy environments rather than safely breed livestock. It negatively affects the welfare of animals and the companies put the value of efficiency and profit before the health and safety of the animals. The repercussions of the choice to make these environments unhealthy by large corporations and keep them that way without trying to fix them further the damage to the treatment of livestock and the nutritional damage to America. It is imperative that America takes a stand as a nation to stop the process of factory farming and its effects, before the corporations go too far to the point where it is unstoppable. Factory farming is an increasing epidemic in the world of farming, we need to stop this before it is no longer preventable. A large portion of the population in America actually have no idea how livestock is taken care of by the corporations that they buy from. They do not know that the animals are so carelessly handled, that the animals are looked at as materials rather than actual living produce. In the documentary "Food, Inc." (2010) the producers of the movie actually get an inside view of the process of factory farming. The scene from Chapter 1: "Fast Food to All...
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