Newfound Awareness

Prior to this lesson, I had a vague knowledge of America’s eating habits and how unnatural and processed our food is. Especially with fast food, I knew that what I was consuming was unhealthy, but I still ate it anyway because it was easily accessible, quick, and cheap. Little did I know the process behind making this gross, artery-clogging, mystery-meat filled fast food. The American food production process is just as disgusting (or maybe even more than) as the food being produced. There are so many pieces that factor into the politics of food that make it easy for me, and I’m sure all of you, to say that our system is wrong and corrupt. That being said, the two factors that stood out to me the most are the treatment of the animals and their living conditions, as well as how our food system affects the environment. This lesson really opened my eyes. For the past few weeks, I have convinced my grandparents to start shopping at Sprouts or Trader Joe’s for the sake of investing our money into Organic food production companies rather than conventional food production companies. When I grocery shop with them, I now look at nutrition labels and ingredients to know exactly what I’m consuming. I am definitely not able to say that I’m even merely close to being a vegetarian, but my consumption of meat has definitely lessened because I envision a bunch of cows cramped up, disabled, and covered in their own feces. Also, when I’m eating with others, I catch myself randomly spitting out some facts and statistics having to do with antibiotics used in our food, treatment of animals, meat-industry workers’ conditions, etc. Not only did this lesson change my mindset about what I eat and my gained knowledge of food politics, but it also encouraged my ability to educate and make others aware of what they’re consuming and the process behind it as well.