These two final readings really did an effective job of wrapping up the main ideas learned throughout this course. Both "Food: The Key Concepts" by Warren Belasco and "One Thing to Do About Food: A Forum" evaluated the future of food, and the measures that must be taken to ensure the security of future generations.
These readings looked at all of the factors that contribute to the crisis surrounding food. The food system must be repaired, and to do this, we must recover the deeper relationship we have with food beyond exploiting crops for profit or relying so heavily on factory farming. These methods are not sustainable by any means, and force us to rely on monocultures like corn, soya, and canola, which are destroying biodiversity. This not only affects the environment, but also our own health because diverse diets provide better taste and more nutrition. After all, everything is connected. Additionally, the food industry must work towards making the public aware of what goes on behind the scenes. By knowing where and how the food is made, and what it contains, the consumer would be more motivated to make smarter choices about what they eat. Controls on marketing should be used to solve serious nutrition problems among the United States population, including obesity and type II diabetes.
The truth of the matter, though, is that people rarely listen to these health messages, and change will not by any means occur overnight. That's why we need to seriously devote ourselves to the fixing of this system. The future is created by what happens in the present, and we need to be able to anticipate disasters in this industry in order to prevent them. It is true that convenience defines human identity and demand, but the means that bring about this end are not sustainable. I know that for me, learning about the conditions behind the scenes of the food I eat has really changed the way I think about food. I applaud Cornell for making the change to using local cows. I myself have started making changes in my diet, or at least I've started thinking about it. Now the real question is, how do we get the message out to the American public that the benefit of changing our ways is worth the price of the convenience of our current lifestyle?
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The food industry isn't likely to make every step in the processing of food public knowledge. Even though it would benefit the consumer and allow us to make healthier choices, it would hurt their profits.
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