Food and Politics
Politics always twists into other topics, causing corruption rather it be religion, sports and even food. Unfortunately, not only are the industries corrupted, but the food we consume is as well. As stated last post I like hot dogs, I grew up eating them just like my father, but the hot dog comes from many unhealthy and secretive origins. The hot dog does not just come from one animal it says right on the package "pork, beef, chicken" that's because typically whatever is not used from the animal during normal processing (breast, ribs, etc), goes into the hot dog. Even turkey hot dogs are not as healthy as once thought, because of paste like goo that comes from tissue being pressurized off the bone and into the hot dog. This is one of the reasons hot dogs are so cheap because the industry is letting you not only dispose of their unused products, but pay for them as well. However, since the awakening period of Food, Inc, by Eric Schlosser, people are now trying to take a stand against food companies (not a very strong one because we still gotta eat), but its a stance none the less. People have turned to the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and sadly the USDA can't shut down factories that have failed health and safety regulations multiple times because the supreme court ruled such action as "unconstitutional". Also the government has turned a blind eye to the way food organizations treat their workers such as the farmers and illegal immigrants (this according to Food, Inc,) allowing for companies to snake their way through the system thus controlling every aspect of the industry. However one question I believe we all share is why hasn't the government tried harder to crack down on food in America?
The answer to our question is simple economic logic, money. The government hands are tied just as much as a consumers hands are tied because the food industry is simply too powerful and large to control. If the government did crack down on companies, the companies can retaliate in ways that would hurt the entire U.S. population, even the world. These such consequences are the company could shut down, thus causing a food famine, which is a human's instinctive fear. They could hire less people and fire more and even with the job market being as weak as it is, food companies still remain the largest job supplier. Yet, if they were to shut down then our economy would suffer further and it could have international effects such as less assistance and trade with other countries like Africa and China.
It's for these reasons that America cannot simply "crack down" on food companies. To do so would lead to retaliations by the food industry that would have global affects. Also, consider while many would love to be healthier, reality is with there being such a gap between working poor and wealthy, the only ones to support healthy foods in their budget are wealthy people. Even Food, Inc, uses a minority family as an example of how those who want healthier foods have no choice, but to eat whatever's cheap. They also show the statistics of how 1 in every 2 minority child will be diagnosed with diabetes, which connects closely with economic status. Ultimately, we as a nation must face the fact of eating healthy is not our main priority, it's to pay our bills and if that means to buy Tyson's frozen products and boxes of mac and cheese to do it, then so be it. This is not a bad thing it's just reality, if food companies are strong enough to try and sue Oprah Winfrey the richest woman on the planet, then their strong enough to try and take on the world.
The answer to our question is simple economic logic, money. The government hands are tied just as much as a consumers hands are tied because the food industry is simply too powerful and large to control. If the government did crack down on companies, the companies can retaliate in ways that would hurt the entire U.S. population, even the world. These such consequences are the company could shut down, thus causing a food famine, which is a human's instinctive fear. They could hire less people and fire more and even with the job market being as weak as it is, food companies still remain the largest job supplier. Yet, if they were to shut down then our economy would suffer further and it could have international effects such as less assistance and trade with other countries like Africa and China.
It's for these reasons that America cannot simply "crack down" on food companies. To do so would lead to retaliations by the food industry that would have global affects. Also, consider while many would love to be healthier, reality is with there being such a gap between working poor and wealthy, the only ones to support healthy foods in their budget are wealthy people. Even Food, Inc, uses a minority family as an example of how those who want healthier foods have no choice, but to eat whatever's cheap. They also show the statistics of how 1 in every 2 minority child will be diagnosed with diabetes, which connects closely with economic status. Ultimately, we as a nation must face the fact of eating healthy is not our main priority, it's to pay our bills and if that means to buy Tyson's frozen products and boxes of mac and cheese to do it, then so be it. This is not a bad thing it's just reality, if food companies are strong enough to try and sue Oprah Winfrey the richest woman on the planet, then their strong enough to try and take on the world.