Why Worry?

Why are we so worried about what we eat? All these artificially made foods and drinks have been a round for a long time. Yes, they are making us fat and giving us a slew of new health problems, but why do we worry so much? In my opinion, I don’t see why anyone should care what other people eat; it’s their body and if they want to destroy themselves by eating all the junk food in the world then go ahead and let them do it. It’s not harming anyone other than the person eating and I’m sure most people know what they’re eating; not everyone is as ignorant as we think. Most people know that the food they eat isn't always healthy and it's their choice if they want to keep eating. I think everyone should just enjoy any food and not be concerned too much about where it came from. What do you guys think? Should we be worried all the time or should we just enjoy what we have?

Research Paper

Just putting all my ideas together and finishing up this research paper. I feel like I am about three fourths of the way done with it just have to add those finishing touches. This paper has been very interesting to write. I say it is interesting because writing one on food was a little more difficult than I thought. Even though is was kind of a little challenging it was still kind of fun to write. I feel like I did my best but there is still room for improvement. Had a learning experience because this was like the first real research paper I have done but enjoyed doing one. Just have to say I am glad I am almost done.

Progress

My research paper was on the perception of G.M.O.’s in the public eye and how this is affecting the progress we are making with the new amazing tool that is genetic modification. “Tool of the God’s” the title of my paper very much well describes my opinion on this matter. Yes there are risks; risks upon risks. Yet, we should not allow these risks to completely deter us from progress. The reason mankind has been able to move forward is because of our relentlessness towards survival and growth. Yes mistakes have been made that could have been prevented, yet those mistakes should not only be seen with fear. Mistakes are always made no matter how careful one is. As we have always been told we learn from them, yet this does not mean we completely halt progress. Earth has a growing population. With another estimated 3 billion to our already 7 billion people we cannot be deterred by fear. Progress must continue to be made, risks must be regarded and appropriate measures taken. We should proceed with caution. Take the appropriate risks, but to simply throw out one of our most valuable accomplishments because of fear should not even be an option. The other option that is being thrown around is that of moving back towards our old ways of farming. I cannot understand how this would even be possible. Our world is not centered on food; simply eating is not everything we do. We not only need to continue to progress in the area of agriculture but also in every other field. It would seem like a step backwards if we were to move back to our old ways of farming. We should simply make our current process more sanitary and efficient.  And genetic engineering is a tool that can make the significance of food less than it ever has before, allowing us to focus our time on things we care about. It is fine if you care about food and farming and you pick that up. But to force everyone to use their time when there is a better alternative that would allow them to pursue what they want. And it would also stop the progress that we need to continue to grow. It would be a sad day when we allow fear to take us so far. Moving forward with caution for the many risks involved is fine, but completely stopping because of fear seems like going too far. 

Efficiency and Sanitation

For many this topic of good food bad food is also tied into the treatment of the animal when it is slaughtered. The “inhumane” process it goes through. Not being allowed to be free before they are killed or any of the other methods that they go through while being processed. Before I say anything about my opinion on the matter, I must make one point clear. Whether or not the procedures are moral or humane is none of my concern. It may be for others but I completely disregard it. The name of the game is efficiency. To supply the growing population with the appropriate food supply is no easy task. Whatever methods must be used for efficiency should; the one thing they should not sacrifice for efficiency however is the health of the consumer. Now as to whether the procedures they go through are unhealthy for us I think some of them are. Well at least allowing the animal to sit in their own dung seems completely unhealthy for us. There should be a way to dispose of their excess material as to not contaminate the meat. This is an irresponsible decision by the corporations. They put the health of the consumer at risk because they do not wish to invest in finding cleaner methods of mass production. This is should not be allowed. And the inspectors who only come once in a blue moon are a joke. There are many aspects of the food industry that are to be judged, yet the morality of it regarding animals should not be taken into matter. Efficiency and the sanitation I find are much more important.

Misleading Food Advertisements

I remember my first experience with fast food advertising and my disappointment with the final product. When I first saw the stuffed crust pizza advertisement from Pizza hut I immediately wanted it. The pizza looked amazing and there was a family with the pizza eating it together with all of the cheese from the pizza stretching and falling from their mouths. My mouth was already watering and I immediately ordered a pizza. When I finally got the pizza I was excited to eat it but when I opened the box I was immediately disappointed. The pizza looked flat and it had a nasty grease shine which made me feel fat by just looking at it. When I finally tasted it I discovered that it wasn't even that good.  I felt obligated to eat the rest of the pizza and realized that I wasted my money. So has anyone ever had an experience similar to mine?

Progress: Benefit or Hindrance?

It is funny because my original "thesis statement" is incredibly different from the one I have now.  I was originally going to write about how school lunches are contradicting what school districts promote, but it became boring to write, so I switched over to a subject that I actually want to learn more about: obesity.  Advanced technology and affluence in communities of developed countries has influenced the obesity epidemic to increase dramatically.  With the technology we have nowadays, it has made our lives more convenient, taking away are will to do physical activity.  We forget about the importance of exercising because now we can do almost anything at home.  I am not going to say society is not progressing because we have come up with so many useful tools over the years, but I am not sure if our progress outweighs the negatives.  Focusing on the subject of obesity, in my AP Environmental text book, a graph shows that the third leading health risk in high-income countries is overweight and obesity, with physical inactivity, high blood glucose, high cholesterol, and low fruit and vegetable intake following afterwards (Andrew Friedland, pg. 465).

If I were to give all of you a choice, I can guarantee that a majority would choose a pizza party over a 5k run.  Obviously there are many of you who do enjoy exercising, but if we look at the bigger picture, obesity has really become an important issue we need to solve.  It is literally a matter of life or death.

The influence on food choices

My research topic is about what influences our food choices. For example, how our homes, schools, and the cost of food can have an impact on what we decide to eat. I think that it’s good to know what makes us eat certain things. We may not think that we get influenced to do so by some of the situations I am researching about. For instance, social norms can affect the choices we make on a daily basis, like if we see what other people are eating it can influence what we choose to eat. Maybe because it looks good or just that that one person is eating it. Your culture can even influence you and, if someone moves to a different country they can pick up different eating habits from their culture in a different place.  This really opened my eyes to see what different things affect our food choices, and could probably help change what influences me.