Global food production has changed over 100 years from agricultural farms producing food to industrialized global food system. Due to this industrialization, food industry is now vulnerable to the incidence of contaminations of food with dangerous strains of bacterial, and it can be fatal if consumed. Also, there is an increase in the carbon footprint and genetically modified food in the world. It all started during the Columbian Exchange where food was being shared from one part of world to another part of the world. Food such as maize and sugar were grown in South America with the help of slaves, and to improve production, machineries were invented.
“Even the shift in cooking from the home to factory, though it has left us free to engage in other pursuits, has also left us with far less knowledge of, and control over, what we eat.” (Robert). This statement states that, over the year due to urbanization, food is cooked seldom at home and eats more outside which indeed make us paralyzed to the knowledge about food. Majority of the children in United States, do not have knowledge of food, where it comes from or how a fish looks like. This is because; they were only exposed to fish sticks or fillets, and to them a fish looks like a fish stick or just a fillet. “Even if you don’t eat at a fast food restaurant, you’re now eating food that’s produced by this system commented by Joel Salatin.” (Kenner) Food has been processed to the extent that we do not even know how it looks like even how it tastes likes. The food industry was taken for granted and expected to produce the best till, a food contamination broke out causing many to fall sick and some to even lose their lives. In all of this, California has been a growing agricultural market.
California is one of the world’s leading food exports and America’s largest agricultural land producing large amount of food in the shortest time. Some of the concerns reflected by California are the incidents in 2006, where a bag of spinach was contaminated with O157:H7 E.coli bacteria strain and killed three people, sickened some two hundred others. (Robert) This was not the end, there were other cases of food contamination and the rational was the same. The incidents show that the food industry became complacent and is no longer concerned about safety of the food and the consumers. Making it worse, a little of no action is taken on this situations and food borne illness are getting more and more common over the years. There is a raise in food borne illnesses as most of the farmers in California use genetically modified seeds. These genes of the seeds are altered accordingly so that the bacteria and other pest cannot attack them. However, overtime the pests grow rather powerful as they mutate and become stronger. So when a stronger pest attacks, it destroys the whole crop and same goes for the consumer depending on the food chain.
In my point of view, another concern reflected in California is that there is an increase of carbon footprint and genetic alteration over the years. Due to the increase in processed food, there is also an increase in imitation of carbon in the environment, giving rise to global warming. This processed food caused us to lose the sense and ability to know more about food. Food has lost its identity. “There are no seasons in the American supermarket. Now there are tomatoes all year round, grown halfway around the world, picked when it was green, and ripened with ethylene gas. Although it looks like a tomato, it’s kind of a notional tomato. I mean, it’s the idea of a tomato. Michael Pollan.”(Kenner)
Going back to the olden ways of agriculture is impossible. However, epitomes such as Alice Waters and Michael Pollan, emphasis on local grown crops bought from the local farmer’s markets, and also introducing the Slow Food Movement. The Edible School Yard is a great example where children grow their own vegetables and cook it and consume, exposing them to learn more about their food and where it comes from. Over the years there has been also an increase in Farmers Market in California as an alternative for the industrialized processed food. This market provides fresh organic produces which has no insecticides and pesticides used. The seeds are not genetically modified and the food is not processed. The food has minimal carbon footprint and in fact, it is beneficial. “…. provide consumers in urban and rural communities with fresh California grown produce, specialty produces and ethnic foods, plants and flowers, meats, dairy, fish, baked goods, handmade crafts and more.” (Feenstra, Gail and Christopher Lewis, 25-29)
In conclusion, over the years food is modified and there is little that we can do about it as the “system” is way far ahead and it is difficult to turn back. However, as a consumer we can do our part by eating lesser meat and buying crops that are organic, also taking some time to cook a meal per day for our loved ones.
Bibliography
- Robert, Paul. The End of Food. Print.
- Feenstra, Gail and Christopher Lewis. “Farmers’ markets offer new business opportunities for farmers.” California Agriculture. U of California. 53:6: (1999): pg 25-29.
- Kenner, Robert. “Food, Inc. (2008).” IMDb. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1286537/quotes>.
