Reflection Essay

Josh Mannion

October 2010

Human Geo

This experience has opened me to a new way of thinking about all the food production that is happening right now. Many businesses just care about raking in all the money and nothing else. Those businesses process the food the cheapest way and some without sanitary conditions. I feel that people need to know what they are eating because when I found out what I was eating and changed my mind about a couple of things. The FDA needs to think of some new business standards to keep the people of America safe from any harmful diseases coming from food. The video we watched as a class was very moving. It showed me what really happens in the food industries. One part was an interview with Tyson and it showed all the unsanitary conditions that the chicken’s lived in. Many chickens were given steroids to make them bigger, and the steroids even caused some chicken’s to die because they couldn’t stand up right. This video showed to me that what I eat isn’t really what I think it is.

Many of these farms like Tyson abuse their animals and don’t give them the right nutrients they really need. This just breaks my heart seeing the animals, like cows being neglected and abused. In the video there were two parts with cows in it. One way was the right way for cows to be treated, and the other way was just plain disturbing. The wrong way showed no respect for the creations of God. They just put about 100 cows in 10ft. by 10ft. fences with now grass. Those cows had and no nutrients, no grass, and even stood in their own manure. This definitely proves what we’re really eating. It is very disgusting to see the cows treated in this manner. On the other hand, the other cows were given so much space with grass in an open pasture. They were given the correct nutrients with the right environment. This pleased me and influenced me to buy meat from that business.

Now that I know everything isn’t what they say it is; I can change me diet a little bit. This was enough evidence for me to show me that everything is not healthy to eat. There are a lot of fake foods and fillers in the United States. Some of the foods processed in the United States can cause many diseases. This is why I might change my diet to eating some organic foods. Organic foods are very healthy and 100 percent natural. Organic foods are less likely to have diseases and less likely to harm your health. There are many types of organic foods mostly containing milk, like yogurt and ice-cream. Many businesses today are going organic like Wal-Mart, even though it’s not the cheapest way. Businesses like Wal-Mart do it for the better for the people. Organic foods are also a less definite chance of having chemicals and other unwanted stuff in the food you eat. People need to realize how much healthier eating organic is. I am definitely thinking about eating organic more often. Eating organic will help me boost my health and energy.

When I ever hear the word organic, the first word that comes to mind is healthy. Eating organic is very important. It is way healthier than eating at McDonald’s or Burger King. While organic food accounts for 1–2% of total food sales worldwide, the organic food market is growing rapidly. The organic food industry is attracting many people including me. What I don’t understand is why it doesn’t attract any more people. It may be a little more expensive, but I’m sure your health for you and even your children should be more important than money. I’ll suggest eating organic to all my friend’s and tell them all I learn. If everyone who watched this video were to share this video with just one person, we could get numerous amounts of people to get to eat healthy.

When I made the list of what I ate and where it came from, it showed me many things. It allowed me to see where all my food comes from around the world. It also showed me how much I eat and what company it really comes from. Most of the food that I ate came from a big conglomerate name Kraft. This experiment also showed me the amount of carbon dioxide released while just getting to my local grocery store. This affects global warming enormously and my food travel around 18,000 miles just to get to me. This puts so much pressure on the atmosphere with all the greenhouse gases. This also allowed me to see how much I ate in a week, and it made me feel kind of fat in a way. It also showed me that I should eat healthier with more of a regular eating time. This list helped me realize how easy it is to just buy some local foods and save the atmosphere from dying.   

This whole experience with watching the video and learning about our food surprised me a lot. The thing that surprised me the most is the way the businesses do things just to make a bigger profit, and not caring about their consumer’s. What also surprised me was the way the animals were treated in some circumstances without the proper nutrients. What also popped out at me was where all my food came from and how that affects the carbon footprints and global warming. This experience will help me in my life by choosing what and what not to eat.

I am glad we studied this unit in class. It has helped me realize what really I am eating and how it affects the environment around us. I also learned how much healthier it is just to eat some organic food. This experience was beneficial in many ways. It helped me realize what is actually happening in the food industries today. It is very essential for everybody to understand everything as I have, so they can benefit from this experience just as I was.