The food industry has changed drastically over the past decades. Livestock were formerly raised in the open range in the western United States. Today, livestock are mass produced in factory farms. This change raises a question for many Americans; “Should there be concern?” Americans should absolutely be concerned about the food they are consuming.
Billions of unhealthy animals are slaughtered each year for human consumption. In contrast to the former farms that livestock roamed freely, todays factory farming keeps animals crammed into tight cages where they live in repulsive conditions; and they are fed a cheap diet tainted with antibiotics and pesticides. Cattle are fed corn to be fattened up quicker for slaughter. However, research has indicated
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Consuming high amounts of animal fats and cholesterol leads to health complications such as cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease kills 1 million Americans every year and is the leading cause of death in the U.S. Unfortunately, that is not all. James Brewer also discusses health concern in Food, Inc.: What the food industry doesn’t want you to see. “Food, Inc., recounts the heart-wrenching story of Barbara Kowalcyk, who lost her child Kevin, to a sudden attack of hemorrhagic E. coli from a tainted fast-food burger. He died in 12 days. It wasn’t until 16 days later that a beef recall was implemented, but the Kowalcyks were kept uninformed by the industry that Kevin’s death had any connection to the recall until legal action forced the admission several years later.” Americans are at great risk every time they consume meat products. Many are left in the dark to the extent that a family had no idea they lost their child due to the negligence of a meat …show more content…
Americans went from being a nation that relied on obtaining food from local farms to a factory that mass-produces and prepackages most of what many Americans consume. This drastic change in food production has affected food consumption, causing food to be readily available, predominately everywhere. In addition, the foods that are readily available tend to be cheap, processed foods that are high in calories, sugars, fat, and cholesterol. All of which contribute to unhealthy weight gain.
To conclude, Americans need to be concerned about their food consumption. The origin of where most food comes from, and the conditions in which livestock are raised contributes to many health risks that Americans face. Those who consume meat risk their health, and their children’s health. Due to the food industry that keeps the truth away from the public, many people not only uninformed, but also mislead by these corporations. Obesity has become an epidemic in the U.S. that many Americans are struggling to battle. However, by raising concern and seeking truth many Americans can overcome their
Introduction of the factory system was earth shattering and increased manufacturing for the cotton and iron industry which effected cities and the population distribution. There were four inventions that changed manufacturing and the way people worked. Some inventions included the spinning Jenny, Crompton’s Mule, and the Self acting Mule, and the Water Frame. “In 1764, Hargreaves invented a new spinning wheel. He called it the spinning jenny in honor of his wife. This simple machine allowed one spinner to work six or eight threads at a time.” (course reader 102) The Spinning Jenny was a machine that helped the people sew clothes faster. Then came Cromptons Mule, “In 1779, Samuel Crompton combined features of the spinning jenny and the water-frame
Factory Farming is an increasing industry in the United States. These large farms, which evidently appear to be more like slaughterhouses than the typical farms a person can imagine are located throughout the United States. These factory farms contain animals ranging from chickens, sheep, goats, cows, turkeys, and pigs, they also contain dairy products. The conditions for the animals and the employees of these factory farms are inhumane and vile. Life behind the walls of the factory farm is both unsanitary for the animals and the employees. Employees are forced to endure long hours and poor treatment. Animals in these conditions withstand living in cages and are forced to live in uninhabitable ways.
In order to change the way the United States food system is operating at the moment, a change needs to be made in the education that people are receiving about the way their food is produced, manufactured, distributed and consumed. The U.S. food system has become increasingly reliant on mass production factories and multinational retail corporations while local farms and family owned food markets diminish. Economies of scale and opportunity costs represent barriers to change of the current food system because of the many different paths available, each creating different outcomes for consumers, sellers, large corporations and small farms, determining their profit, prices, capital and value. Educating the American people about the benefits of local food production and the downsides of large scale food production, such as nutritional value, disease and safety concerns, and economic advantages, will help to move our food system from “point A” to “point B”.
In the past forty years, the average American’s weight has skyrocketed. This can be traced to the introduction of fast food into our everyday lives. Fatty cheeseburgers and grease laden French fries have replaced fresh fish and crisp vegetables. Americans have come to value convenience more highly than personal health and consequently we are paying for what we consume.
Our nation’s industrial farming has become more than just feeding people; it has become a way for the food industry to make more money as human population continues to grow. Jonathan Safran Foer in his book Eating Animals, illustrates the effects factory farming has had on animals meant for human consumption. Furthermore, Foer asks many questions to the reader on what will it take for us to change our ways before we say enough is enough. The questions individuals need to be asking themselves are: how do we deal with the problem of factory farming, and what can people do to help solve these issues? Eric Schlosser in Fast Food Nation, also illustrates the animal abuse that goes unseen within the food industry as well as Bernard Rollin and Robert Desch in their article “Farm Factories”, both demonstrate what is wrong today with factory farming. Foer gives such examples of employees who work in slaughterhouses giving accounts of what goes on in the kill floors, and stories of employees who have witnessed thousands and thousands of cows going through the slaughter process alive (Animals 231). Namit Arora in the article “On Eating Animals”, as well as Michael Pollan in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, both address some of the issues that animals face once they hit the kill floor. The food industry has transformed not only how people eat, but also the negative effects our climate endures as a result of factory farming as illustrated by Anna Lappe in “The Climate Crisis at the End
Even though higher yields are met for demand and human consumption, factory farming is cruel to animals due to the fact animals are often subject to harsh living conditions, more susceptible to diseases and injuries and are treated inhumanely during the slaughtering process. Unfortunately, with an increase in human population worldwide, the strain on farmers to meet the demand increases as well. This in turn causes more animals to be subject to this cruelty.
America has been faced with the growing obesity epidemic. This is becoming very wide spread among all races and class levels due in part to the abundance of inexpensive food available and how easily people are becoming persuaded to but things they do not need. David Zinczenko published article “Don’t Blame the Eater”, Zinczenko argues that fast-food industries are not doing their job to provide clear enough nutritional information for hazardous food.
"This is no fairy story and no joke; the meat will be shoveled into carts and the man who did the shoveling will not trouble to lift out a rat even when he saw one." (Sinclair “The Jungle”). When it comes to having safe and approved food, our esteemed nation does not have the greatest reputation. Ever since the use of slaughter houses and meat packing plants began, people have been getting severely ill and even dying
Every year, an average American will consume approximately one hundred-twenty six pounds of meat. This meat can be traced back to factory farms where the animals are kept to be tortured to turn into a product for the appetite of humans. The terrible treatment these animals are forced to endure is the outcome of the greed and want for a faster production of their product. The industry of factory farming works to maximize the output of the meat while maintaining low costs,but will sadly always comes at the animals’ expense.
The choices American’s make about their eating habits has drastically changed over time. Today America is an obese nation, because food is everywhere: at the grocery store, on billboard signs, or even at the hardware store. There are statistics that prove America is an obese nation, the public just has to go search for those. Many diets and experts have tips to give to help American’s and others lose weight. This is the point that Susan Brink and Elizabeth Querna are trying to get across in their article, “Eat this Now.” Within the article, the two go in to detail about how Americans eat all the time. Brink and Querna’s article really bring to light the problems that American’s have by showing how American’s eat to
There are more than thousands Americans that support Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy. On one hand, there are people like Bo Petersen, that thinks Trump will be able to make America great again because he will do something about Iran and the Islamic countries, so they don’t bow to them anymore. Bo Petersen writes in a FB comment: “No more humiliating pictures”. He speaks as if Trump will gain their dignity and pride back. But how come, that this person and people like him will vote for Trump. After the well known terrorist attacks that took place on 9/11, many people have linked the attacks with Islam and Muslim countries, because there have been some few Muslim people around the world that have been celebrating and burning the flag
Most Americans are aware of global warming, cancer, heart disease and the fact that the earth’s supply of good water is diminishing. In an effort to conserve our planet people drive hybrid cars, recycle, and use low energy light bulbs and appliances, which is great. However, most Americans are unaware and uninformed about how meat effects global warming, our health, and how much of our planet’s water and resources meat production consumes. Meat contributes to global warming, increases risk for cancer, causes heart disease and uses a tremendous amount of resources to produce, therefore people need to be informed about what they are eating through food labeling and Surgeon General warnings, as well as
“Recognize meat for what it really is: the antibiotic- and pesticide- laden corpse of a tortured animal.” says Ingrid Newkirk, co-founder of (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) PETA and animal activist. Factory farming should be banned or demolished thoroughly due to more harm than good that is being presented worldwide. Animal brutality, which can be found constantly and excessively throughout factory farms, is a deleterious act involving the animals and a diabolic act regarding human morals. The antic actions that proceed have an effect on both humans and the environment, as well as the unethical, inhumane treatment and the atrocious sufferings of animals. Besides factory farms offering a copious amount of cheaper food, factory farming is a detrimental agricultural practice to both humans and the environment. The way we receive our food is inhumane and unhealthy to humans and the environment, thus factory farms should be banned.
Every year, over 58 billion farm animals are killed by humans for food production, and this astounding number does not even include sea creatures. This is known as factory farming – the system of inhumane raising of livestock for the purpose of supplying food for human consumption in the cheapest way possible. It is argued that factory farming should be illegal and banned worldwide not only because of its cruelty towards animals but also because the low quality meat can produce harmful diseases and major health concerns to consumers.
When God created the world for us to live in, there was no sickness and death. The reality of sickness and death in the biblical narrative are the result of a broken relationship with God. The broken relationship occurred as a result of Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden: the disobedience of God's rule not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad, otherwise known as The Fall (The New American Bible, 1992). This breaking of God's law also resulted in spiritual and physical death (Grand Canyon University, 2016, Lecture 3, para. 15). In order for mankind to again have a relationship with God, this sin needed to be expunged.