Descriptive Essay On Food Environment

Location

One of the first things I noticed when getting to know my food environment was the location itself. My neighbourhood is located in Humberwood and Rexdale. The main food environments within this neighbourhood are a plaza which is home to many restaurants, shopping mall, and grocery store. However, these three places are all in one central area and are not in close proximity to the majority of houses and apartment buildings nearby. For one to get to these places, they would have to travel quite a distance. While observing these places, I noticed that most people traveled by car as it was probably most convenient. There were very few people who seemed to walk. The fact that these food environments are all in one central area upsets me.

It was all about getting the food to taste good and to the customer in the least amount of time.If the focus is about creating food quickly that tastes good, less attention is then paid to how the food is created itself and moreover the types of foods being used. For example, there are numerous Indian restaurants in this neighbourhood. Some popular dishes at these restaurants include snacks like samosa’s, main dishes like curries and rice, and then different types of desserts. To start, most of these foods require lots of oil and salt, in order to enhance the taste.Unfortunately, food establishments aim to create food that tastes good and not as many are concerned about how much oil and salt is going into the food. Therefore, customers do not have the chance to see what exactly and how much of it is being put into their foods. Consumers are easily losing control over what they are eating. Personally as a consumer, I want to have a choice in what I am eating. When I eat out, I tend to choose a food establishment where I can customize my meal and see its preparation. Whether its choosing what items I put in my wrap or my bowl, I enjoy having these options. I also like knowing that real foods are going into my meal.That being said, there is a limited amount of food establishments that offer this service and this greatly upsets me. information and awareness in the food environment. In numerous restaurants I discovered that nutritional information such as how many calories an item has was not included on the menu. This really disappointed me as this recent initiative has been really helpful for me these past few months. Recently, when I have gone out to eat and looked at menus, seeing how many calories an item has really brought awareness to my food choices and has helped me make better ones. I was surprised to discover how many calories were in certain items, especially when it came to drinks. In many cases I was shocked about how many calories some of the food items on the menu contained. Knowing the nutritional value of the food items, encouraged me to rethink what I was eating and further more allowed me to make better choices. I also like when food establishments have specific items that are healthier or lighter as once again I end up making a better choice. I was really disappointed when the numerous food places in my neighbourhood did not include any of this information, as I think it would be extremely beneficial to their customers. I also think it would be eye opening to residents as it would make them reconsider their favourite foods. That being said, all the blame cannot be put on the food establishments. At the end of the day, its up to the individual themselves to be aware of the foods they are