There is an injustice sweeping through our nation undetected by the general public. The average American has no idea what they are putting into their bodies on a daily basis, how unsafe our regulatory food system is, or how much power the industrial food system has over our country.
Can our society be saved or are we doomed to by our naivety?
Since food is an intricate part of all of our lives, one would think that the food industry would be closely regulated. However, the FDA does not have the funding it needs to enforce all of the laws regarding food safety. This leads to self-regulations by companies who feel that profit is often more important than enforcing regulations. “The role of government in food safety demands particular notice. Current laws grant regulatory agencies only limited authority to prevent microbial contamination before food gets to the consumer” (Nestle 28). How are consumers supposed to protect themselves from harmful bacteria such as e-coli, when we can’t rely on our government to protect the consumer?
The continuous outbreaks of food born pathogens, such as e-coli and salmonella, show that there are many flaws in the regulation of our industrial food industry; however there have not been many steps towards stricter regulations due to the power these large companies have over our government. Changes in regulation have been attempted but larger companies have pushed back against these changes that would harm their profit and efficiency. “The culture of opposition to food safety measures so permeates the beef industry that it lead, in one shocking instance, to the assassination of federal and state meat inspectors” (Nestle 28). The power of the industrial food system lies in the fact that money often controls our governmental system, not integrity. The health and wellbeing of the consumer is put at steak when profit and efficiency is valued over safety.
There are not enough laws in place protecting the rights of the consumer and too many allow large corporations to control politics. There seems to be a disconnect between the process of food production and the information that is released to the consumer. The majority of consumers are unaware of the conditions of how their food is produced, or the control that a handful of companies have over their meal. According to Food, Inc., there is an illusion of diversity in our economy when it comes to food production. There is a uniformity that comes with mass production. This can lead to many problems concerning health and the ethics of the food industry. Corporations are hiding behind legislature and attorneys; they know that their practices often put lives at risk, but are willing to look past this issue in the name of progress. Transparency and the well being of the consumer should be their primary concern.
The industry needs to address ethics as well. The regulations and laws regarding food production are hindering efforts to keep the consumer safe. The consumer deserves to be informed so that they can make safe and educated choices. The blame is placed on the consumer. Big businesses have too much power over legislature. Instead of looking for an alternative solution, the food industry relies on self-regulation. “Government oversight of food safety has long tended to provide far more protection to food producers than to the public” (Nestle 30). Recently with more food born illnesses being traced back to our food production system, the government has been forced to take a closer look. Part of the problem is that our government agencies like the United States Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture do not simply have the manpower to enforce laws and regulations.
Another concern is the fact that money from cooperation’s often sways legislature in their favor. It is impossible to make any progress when the companies we are fighting to change hold all of the power in our political system.
Safety is also a major concern when dealing with our food supply. Our current regulatory system is failing There are recurring outbreaks of food born illnesses, such as e-coli and salmonella every year. “According to a recent report from the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ‘There is considerable potential for contaminated animal feed ingredients to move between and within countries. This could result in widespread and rapid dissemination of a pathogen to geographically diverse animal herds and in turn, to a range of human food products” (Consumer Reports). There are many concerns ranging from the spread of pathogens, to the use of pesticides or antibiotics.
“Did you know that 80 percent of all antibiotics sold in the United States are for use on livestock and poultry, not humans?
The majority aren’t even given to animals that are sick. Instead, it’s normal practice in the meat industry to mix these drugs with livestock food and water day after day as a substitute for healthier living conditions and to make chickens, pigs, and cows grow faster.” – Natural Resource Defense Council
Our regulatory system is out of date. Pathogens have adapted and have grown increasingly more aggressive (Nestle 40). This is due to the increase in the use of antibiotics in the process of raising animals for slaughter. The way that our food industry functions have changed drastically since many of the food regulation laws were passed by congress. Our governmental system and regulatory system was not prepared for bacteria to change as fast as our processing system. Changes in our society and food system have helped foster more dangerous microbial pathogens. These new strains are becoming harder to kill and resistant to antibiotics.
The reason for this change in antibiotics and pathogens is due to the fact that farmers have been adding antibiotics to animal food in order to stave off infection. This seems like a good idea in theory; however this overuse of antibiotics on otherwise healthy cows is endangering the consumer. Mass production does not have space for inconsistencies like infection and disease. There are not enough precautions taken with new technologies and practices to insure they are safe in the long run.
Our change from traditional farming methods to mass production is due to the changes in our society. As a society we need to make sure that our regulatory system stays up to date with the consequences of new technology. “Each link in the production, preparation, and delivery of food can be a hazard to health. While technologies designed to improve the safety of the food supply hold promise, changes in food processing, products, practices, and people will continue to facilitate the emergence of foodborne pathogens into the next century” (Altekruse 291). It is clear that we are heading down a road that we haven’t faced before regarding food and public health. These challenges and concerns are only going to escalate in the coming years. If the food industry does not regulate its use of antibiotics and other production practices, then the health of our nation could be at risk.
Since our world is ever growing and the globalization of the food industry is in full swing, the dangers of the spread of pathogens are ever present and dispersing at a faster rate. “The trend toward greater geographic distribution of products from large centralized food processors carries a risk for dispersed outbreaks. When mass-distributed food products are intermittently contaminated or contaminated at a low level, illnesses may appear sporadic rather than part of an outbreak” (Altekruse 288). With widespread trade and global food production, the United States needs to do a better job of regulating the food that we allow across our borders. There have been many outbreaks that were traced back to produce that was produced in South America and other counties with less regulations. It does not matter how we improve our own industrial food system, if we continue to allow contaminated food from other countries onto our tables.
There are many concerns that the consumer needs to think about when regarding food safety, but the blame should be directed toward the industrial food companies and the government. There needs to be stricter laws regarding food production. The industry has been self-regulated for too long. It is clear that these companies are only looking out for themselves. This task is made even harder by the secrecy of the food industry; however things will never change unless we take a stand.
Many of these concerns revolving around antibiotics and other drugs use on processed meat can be avoided by buying organic meat. (Consumer Reports) As the consumer it is our job to decide what we put into our bodies. Some may not agree that organic farming is the answer to this predicament, however “we can afford a food system that provides lots of choices” (Hurst 1). Even though there are varying levels of concerns with the food industry, it is clear that something needs to change.
As consumers, we deserve to know what we are putting into our bodies. The industrial food system is afraid of our opinions. Sadly, many consumers are not aware of the power their voices hold. When it comes down to it, these greedy corporations will only be swayed by one thing.
Money.
It is time to start making conscious and educated decisions on what we are eating. If we stop purchasing these unregulated products and opt for more sustainable and local option, then the food industry will be forced to change their ways for the better.
Citations:
Altekruse SF, Cohen ML, Swerdlow DL. Emerging foodborne diseases.Emerging Infectious Diseases. 1997;3(3):285-293.
Food, Inc. Directed by Robert Kenner. Food, Inc. Accessed February 28, 2016. http://www.takepart.com/foodinc.
Nestle, Marion. Politics of Foodborne Illness.
“Organic Illusions – AEI.” AEI. Accessed February 28, 2016. https://www.aei.org/publication/organic-illusions/.
“You Are What They Eat.” Consumer Reports. January 2005. Accessed February 28, 2016.
Reflection
1.) Describe your understanding of the “writer’s project”? How were you able to identify the texts’ “project”? Discuss your own “project” as it pertains to this particular blog article.
The “writer’s project” is the claim or the main point of a piece. It is a combination of what the writer wants the reader go get from their article and why it is important. Often the “project” of the texts revolved around the thesis of each. Once I read each text and identified key points and arguments than I was able to formulate a clear project for each. My project for this particular article was to bring awareness to the fact that the food industry has many flaws such as antibiotics use and other health risks. These flaws are due to the lack of regulation and government oversight.
2.) Describe your completion of the “Sorting it Out” workshop? What sections were most beneficial to the development of your ideas—and why? Discuss how this workshop assisted in development of draft and/or assignment organization?
Section D was the most beneficial for me because it forced me to go back and find the main argument for each paper. After that I could start to focus on what aspects of these texts interested me. Section E was also helpful. This forced me to find key phrases that linked these texts together. In doing so I organized my thought more and was able to better synthesize the texts. This workshop also helped me organize my quotes and connect them in a way that made sense. I feel that my first draft was stronger because of this. I was prepared to integrate facts as well as synthesize the texts.
3.) Describe your understanding of synthesis. What is its importance? How did it manifest within your drafts and/or final blog article? Provide examples.
Synthesis is going a step further than summarizing. To synthesize is to connect ideas from multiple texts and draw further conclusions with your observations. I struggled with this at first, but I feel that I moves away from summarizing. My final drafts uses sources to connect ideas and prove my claim, while reflecting on the overarching themes of each piece. An example of this would be my discussion of organic foods with Consumer Reports and Hurst.
4.) Describe your own accomplishment (of something) during this unit.
I feel that I am better at connecting main themes in multiple texts to support my own argument. The synthesis workshops forced me to connect ideas from multiple texts to support my claim.
5.) Discuss the evolution of the main idea. Where did you begin (include the example) and show its progress (again, include example) throughout the drafting/revision process. To what do you attribute its evolution?
Originally I knew that I wanted to discuss the corruption of the food industry. The “sorting it out” workshop helped me narrow my focus to the regulatory system and how there are many health concerns that the consumer should be aware of. An example of this would be the additional source that I used focused on antibiotics and how our industrial food system operates. I chose this article to support my claim, but also give a different perspective. The evolution of my draft is due to the fact that I had to go back into the texts and read them for the purpose of supporting my claim and identifying their “purpose”. By doing this I was able to better understand what information would be helpful in my article.
6.) Discuss what organizational strategies you implemented in order to structure this blog article. Provide examples from a section(s) of an earlier draft and other excerpts in later drafts to support your response.
In my original draft there were not many quotes or facts, but I used many opinions. As I went along in the process I added additional sources and quotes. An example of this would be
“Each link in the production, preparation, and delivery of food can be a hazard to health. While technologies designed to improve the safety of the food supply hold promise, changes in food processing, products, practices, and people will continue to facilitate the emergence of foodborne pathogens into the next century” (Altekruse 291).
By adding this source I was better able to backup my ‘purpose’ and support my argument.
7.) Provide an example of the final draft where you successfully synthesize 3 texts in a concise and direct manner. Discuss how this evolved throughout the drafting process for you.
“Many of these concerns revolving around antibiotics and other drugs use on processed meat can be avoided by buying organic meat. (Consumer Reports) As the consumer it is our job to decide what we put into our bodies. Some may not agree that organic farming is the answer to this predicament, however “we can afford a food system that provides lots of choices” (Hurst 1). Even though there are varying levels of concerns with the food industry, it is clear that something needs to change.”
In this section I quote Consumer Reports, Hurst, and reflect on Food, inc.. Thought out my draft I reflect on many of the ideas in the same paragraph but usually quote only one or two. This is because I have synthesized the main ideas and interwoven them into my text as I progressed in my drafts.
8.) Discuss the evolution of the ‘lede’ in earlier drafts and its final version (provide examples of each): where did you begin, what feedback did you receive, and how did it end up in final blog article?
Original – “There is an injustice sweeping through our nation undetected by the general public.”
Final – “There is an injustice sweeping through our nation undetected by the general public. The average American has no idea what they are putting into their bodies on a daily basis, how unsafe our regulatory food system is, or how much power the industrial food system has over our country.
Can our society be saved or are we doomed to by our naivety?”
I kept the original sentence, but added on to elaborate on what the reader could expect. There was a bit more drama in the second draft, in order to keep the reader’s attention. The feedback I received was positive and said that it was a strong lead because of the powerful statement.
9.) Name a specific writing/researching/revision goal you’d like to work on during the next Unit projects.
I think I can still improve my synthesizing. It was not made clear to me exactly how to do this, but I feel like I have improved through out my drafts.