ITS ONLY FOR BRITTSWAIN
Ellia
ali_esmaeel.docxEsmaeel 6
Ali Esmaeel
April 30, 2013
Amanda Harrison
English 113B
The Second Phase of the Modern Food
Food, what do we know about it? A simple human being knows that food is a vital source for survival. Why do we need food? We need food because it gives us energy and protein. Protein is very essential to humans because it helps build skin, blood, hair, and muscles. Since food is crucial people make a fortune both producing and selling food. For example, McDonald’s restaurants gained 22.79 Billion in 2008 (Bhasin 1). If we compared ourselves to the people of Great Roma, we would notice that we are getting fatter and sicker because most of us only eat fast food. At present, people suffer from obesity, diabetes, and cancer especially in the United States. “563,000 Americans die each year of cancer,” states Julieanna Hever, Dietician (Hever). This shows that the food poses a threat to people due to fast food companies injecting the food with chemical substances. These substances can make fast food dangerous in many ways, even though they seem very appealing to many people in many cultures.
However, most of the food that fast food restaurants serve represents its food culture to any tourist. For instance, if someone visits Lebanon and go to more than one restaurant, they will notice that many restaurants serve many similar meals. When I came to the United States the majority of fast food restaurants surprised me because in my Middle Eastern (Lebanese) culture, we do not deal with fast food restaurants. While I was turned off by many of the fast food chain’s practices, that is not to say that I have not fallen victim to fast food as well since coming to the United States. My experience at Red Chili’s showed me that factory raised food can be tempting, organically raised food is a warranty for a longer life because it has an excellent quality and the genes of food have not been altered.
The quality of any kind of food is highly essential for every restaurant and slaughterhouse; it distinguishes the cheap from the excellent restaurants. Quality can be noticed in the food that will allow you to determine the source and the possibility of contamination. For example, local farms or factories that raise food are the source of food; food contains chemical substances can be an example of components of food. Karl Weber, the author of Food, Inc. states, “What animals are fed directly affects the quality and safety of the meat and dairy products we consume” (Weber 20). This demonstrates that the contents of food used to feed animals are extremely critical because it determines that excellent from the cheap quality product. In the United States, almost every restaurant serve processed foods in their tables. In addition, Kai Ryssdal interviewed Melanie Warner, author of Pandora’s Lunchbox states, “Processed foods are, plus or minus, 70 percent of what most of us eat” (Ryssdal). Processed food is considered cheap quality because according to Aglaee Jacob, a dietitian, “Processed foods often contain additives, artificial flavorings and other chemical ingredients” (Jacob 1). This clarifies that processed foods are not healthy and considered a cheap quality for containing chemical substances that can lead to harmful diseases such as E. coli. In the movie, Food, Inc. Kevin passed away due to the hamburger that he ate because it was processed which caused E. coli and killed him.
The way that meat is processed can lead to contaminations and food borne pathogens. E. Coli is one of these that frequently occur in hamburger meat. The meat can be cooked to a certain temperature to kill these bacteria, however, too many times at fast food establishments; the rush to cook the food results in the bacteria not dying. It is important to note as well, that even if the proper temperature is reached during cooking, that if the cooked food comes into contact with another surface that the meat touched before cooking that it can be contaminated again and E. coli can live on surfaces for a very long time.
Additionally, my visit to Red Chili restaurant is an example of cheap quality. During my visit, I met Mary Akbar; she works as a waitress at Red Chili’s. Akbar told me that Red Chili used to be an excellent restaurant for having good quality food as the food was raised organically. Furthermore, since the restaurant started to raise the food (ingredients and meats) in factories the quality started to decrease. Weber states, “Today, many of the meat and dairy products sold in the United States come from farms” (19). This illustrates that the food in some restaurants such as Red Chili’s is a processed food because they produce their products in factories. As a result, their food does not apply in quality standards. In contrast, my grandparent’s farm is an example of high quality. Local farmers usually plant organic food, which results in high quality food. Organic food is a natural food, it is also food that is genes have not been altered or does not contain any type of chemical substances. In my grandparent’s farm, they plant organic bananas, strawberries, raspberries, lemon, and so many more. This shows that organically raised meat can have superior quality.
Many restaurants started to use Genetically Modifies Organism (GMO) because they can produce tremendous amounts of quantity. Weber states, “Does an heirloom tomato taste better than a mass-produced tomato?” (14). This shows that the usage of GMA in agriculture is hurting the taste of food. GMO can be defined as an invention that can manipulate the genes of animals and plants. Raymond Francis, Chairman and CEO of Beyond Health states, “GMO’s foods are dangerous” (Francis). This is evidence that GMO’s are harmful because it contains toxic materials. In Lebanon, people cannot alter the genes of their animals and plants because most of the farmers are poor and they cannot afford factories to make GMO’s food. In addition, even if they were able to afford to build factories to produce GMO’s food, it would be against Lebanese law. In my grandparent’s farm, pastures are the only food for livestock. Pastures are a type of grass that livestock use as a source for their food. Weber states, “According to a study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, beef and mil produced from cattle raised entirely on pasture have higher levels of beneficial fats, including omega-3 fatty acids, which may prevent heart disease and strengthen the immune system” (22). This demonstrates that organically raised foods are healthy for humanbeings because they provide us with many essential elements such as omega-3.
On the other hand, Red Chili that is known for using the American style of raising cattle is an example of factory raised food. Red Chili uses the GMO in their products to attract more customers. In the book Food, Inc. Weber states, “They want their products to be cheap and taste everywhere exactly the same” (14). This illustrates that there are many restaurants, including Red Chili that use the GMO method in their foods to make it tasty to attract customers as much as they can. However, in my grandparent’s farm, the workers use the basic method of growing seeds. The basic method of planting seeds is usually when the workers save their best seeds to plant it during the season for it. In contrast, Red Chili restaurants use the Monsanto Company method of planting seeds, which is altering the hormones of the seeds. The movie Food, Inc. reports, “By 2008, over 90% of soy beans in the U.S. contained Monsanto’s patented gene.” Furthermore, Troy Roush, Vice President of American Con Growers Association states, “Monsanto is a chemical company” (Kenner). This shows that Red Chili uses the soybeans in their products from Monsanto Company, which also shows that the factory raised food is harmful for both humanbeings and the rest of the environment.
I admit through my experience at Red Chili’s that factory raised meat can be very delicious. An online article states “Farmers and food safety advocates lead Monsanto backlash” indicates that President Obama will let the citizens of the United States know that their food has been genetically modified and it is not against the law. I disagree with President Obama, because GMO’s foods are considered dangerous to the environment due to it containing toxic materials. That should be enough to make it undesirable. If the essential source for living is causing a threat to human kind, it is only leading to death. This will ultimately end the human race, as it is known in the American agriculture if there is no change in the way food is created. A return to organic farming, as occurs on my grandparent’s farm, may result in fewer profits for fast food chains, but it would result in more customers for a longer period of time because people would not be dying as a result of the food they eat to live.
Despite that the food is the most essential source for living, there are still come companies such as McDonald’s that try to make the American food pose threat to the people. In spite of the experience I had at Red Chili’s, the food that my grandparent’s garden produces in Lebanon has changed my perspective toward the food in the United States, because it is safer. In Lebanon, most of the people have their own farms and this allows them to grow their own organic food. It is a much tastier and healthier option than food at fast food restaurants in the United States and the best benefit is that it will not make you sick or make you die in the long term. I think organic food should be used in the United States restaurants to help make people healthier again.
Word count: 1626
Works Cited
Jacob, Aglaee. “Processed Food Definition.” Healthy Earing. Hearst Communications Inc.
Web. 02 Apr. 2013.
“Processed Foods Make up 70 Percent of the U.S. Diet.” Interview by Kai Ryssdal.
Marketplace.org. American Public Media, 12 Mar. 2013. Web. 2 Apr. 2013.
Sheets, Adams. “SALON.” Saloncom RSS. Salon Media Group, Inc., 27 Mar. 2013. Web. 02 Apr. 2013.
The Talk on Improving Health, Fostering Sustainability and Addressing Hunger. Cond. Julieanna Hever. California State University, Northridge, California. 14 Mar. 2013. Performance.
