The invention of the television (TV) dinner has led to lifestyle changes in American society. Created in 1953 by C.A. Swanson & Sons, frozen suppers allowed mothers to take breaks from cooking and sit down with their families (Pendergast). These meals quickly boomed with popularity and revolutionized the way that Americans viewed food. Today, many families still purchase these meals, but do not realize that they have several limitations. Although TV dinners seem like convenient and inexpensive food choices, in reality, the “TV dinner culture” has serious implications for the environment, health, and agriculture. The problems posed by TV dinners, such as food miles, inadequate nutrition, and untrue costs, alienate people from their food, families, and environment, and would be lessened if Americans purchased foods from farmers’ markets.
It is fine to say that the foods from farmers markets should serve as alternatives to TV dinners. However, what are TV dinners, and why are they unsustainable for health and for the environment? How did the “TV dinner culture” get started? Why are we obsessed with them? For starters, in 1953, excitement grew over these pre-packaged meals because people had never seen anything quite like them before. TV dinners combined home refrigeration and television, two of the decade’s most popular new inventions (Pendergast). These meals were novelties and began to be seen in homes across the United States. In addition, beginning in the 1980s, their popularity reflected changes in population and in the ways that people lived. In a 1983 New York Magazine issue, Bernice Kanner states that “there are more singles… more childless couples, more retirees, and more single-parent households…. average ...
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In “Called Home”, the first chapter of the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year in Food Life, Barbara Kingsolver presents her concerns about America's lack of food knowledge, sustainable practices, and food culture. Kingsolver introduces her argument for the benefits of adopting a local food culture by using statistics, witty anecdotal evidence, and logic to appeal to a wide casual reading audience. Her friendly tone and trenchant criticism of America's current food practices combine to deliver a convincing argument that a food culture would improve conditions concerning health and sustainability. I agree with Kingsolver that knowing the origin of food is an important and healthy benefit of developing a true food culture, but it is impractical to maintain that everyone is able to buy more expensive food. Kingsolver presents a compelling argument for developing a food culture, however this lifestyle change may not be practical or even possible for a poverty-level citizen. The following essay will summarize and respond to Kingsolver’s argument to demonstrate how “Called Home” is a model for novice social scientists.
There has been withstanding controversy about whether fast food is easier on the pocket than eating home-cooked meals. Take McDonald’s for instance, they’re notorious for their convenient and affordable dollar and value menus. Since you can get a burger for just $1.19, feeding a family of four should be inexpensive right? Mark Bittman, author of “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?” argues otherwise. He claims that fast food is not at all cheaper than buying a few groceries and cooking at home. He expresses the different myths about fast food like how it is supposedly cheaper than real food when measured by the calorie, the mentality of people that if it isn’t fast food, it has to be costly organic food, and that there just isn’t enough time to cook at home. These myths followed by genuine factors such as addictions and a cultural impact, help Bittman prove his argument’s validity across to his audience. I have to say that Bittman proved his argument’s effectiveness, for he clearly stated his thesis and provided various reliable
In the book published in 2006, the Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural history of Four Meals, by Michael Pollan, is a non-fiction book about American eating habits and the food dilemma that many Americans are facing today. Pollan begins the book by discussing the dilemma of the omnivore like ourselves, a creature with many choices of food. Pollan decides to learn the root to the food dilemma by examining the three primary food chains: industrial food chain, the organic food chain, and the hunter-gathering food chain. His journey begins by first exploring the industrialized food industry. Pollan examines the industry by following both corn and cow from the beginning through the industrialized process. The work on the corn fields of George Naylor shows him that the industrial system has made corn appears nearly in all products in the supermarket (Pollan 33-37). Pollen then decides to purchase a steer which allows him to see the industrialized monoculture of beef production and how mass production produces food to serve the society. Following his journey, Pollan and his family eat a meal at McDonald's restaurant. Pollan realizes that he and very few people actually understand how such a meal is created. By examining the different food paths available to modern man and by analyzing those paths, Pollan argues that there is a basic relation between nature and the human. The food choice and what we eat represents a connection with our natural world. The industrial food ruins that ecological connections. In fact, the modern agribusiness has lost touch with the natural cycles of farming. Pollan presents the book with a question in the beginning: "What should we have for dinner?" (Pollan 1) This question posed a combination of p...
... Nestle’s quote, Bittman makes his editorial plea to ethos, by proposing proof that a woman of reliable mental power of this issue come to an agreement with Bittman's thesis statement. Bittman also develops pathos in this article because he grabs a widely held matter that to many individuals is elaborate with: "...giving them the gift of appreciating the pleasures of nourishing one another and enjoying that nourishment together.” (Mark Bittman) Bittman gives the reader the actions to think about the last time they had a family dinner and further imposes how these family dinners are altogether important for family time. Therefore, Bittman did a magnificent job in pointing into the morals of his targeted audience and developing a critical point of view about fast food to his intended audience leaving them with a thought on less fast food and more home prepared meals.
In the documentary of Forks Over Knives almost everyone in America could agree that there is a major problem with our country's diet. Our overload of processed and fatty foods is only part of the problem. The over consumption of meat and dairy products is also a huge issue. I remember discussing a lecture in class when we discussed nutrition. Which is the process of providing the food or obtaining it necessary for health and growth. The farm animals are pumped with hormones and are tightly packed into lots. They are slaughtered in highly unsanitary factories. The idea that meat and dairy products are unhealthy cannot be expressed without making many people upset. The idea may seem radical, especially in America, but watching this film, there
Gustainis, Justin. “Serial Killers.” Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th- Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast.
In the article, “A Food Manifesto for the Future”, Mark Bittman makes his claim on how our American diet is unhealthy and unsafe towards our bodies and the environment as well. Within his piece, he includes multiple suggestions that could be implemented towards the foundation of a healthier, and safer diet. Within all these recommendations, Bittman states that, “When people cook their own food, they make better choices.” I decided to argue for this proposal, after personal experiences that I have had recently where I was able to see the difference between cooking at home, and eating out. Within Bittman’s piece, he states that we should, “encourage and subsidize home cooking”, which at first I did not understand how exactly our nation could subsidize home
Michael Pollan writes “Today the average American spends a mere 27 minutes a day on food preparation… less than half the time… when Julia appeared on our televisions” (Pollan 530) Julia Child appeared on TV’s in 1963. Between 1963 and 2009 we more than halved the time spent cooking. This is due to processed foods in things such as convenience meals which require only a few minutes to cook. These have become increasingly popular in recent years people are always looking for a quick fix before their next activity. The use of televisions has helped increase the desire for quick and easy
Epstein, Dan. 20th Century Pop Culture: The Early Years to 1949. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2001. Print.
Andrew F. Smith once said, “Eating at fast food outlets and other restaurants is simply a manifestation of the commodification of time coupled with the relatively low value many Americans have placed on the food they eat”. In the non-fiction book, “Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser, the author had first-hand experiences on the aspects of fast food and conveyed that it has changed agriculture that we today did not have noticed. We eat fast food everyday and it has become an addiction that regards many non-beneficial factors to our health. Imagine the wealthy plains of grass and a farm that raises barn animals and made contributions to our daily consumptions. Have you ever wonder what the meatpacking companies and slaughterhouses had done to the meat that you eat everyday? Do you really believe that the magnificent aroma of your patties and hamburgers are actually from the burger? Wake up! The natural products that derive from farms are being tampered by the greed of America and their tactics are deceiving our perspectives on today’s agricultural industries. The growth of fast food has changed the face of farming and ranching, slaughterhouses and meatpacking, nutrition and health, and even food tastes gradually as time elapsed.
Sandra Steingraber wrote the essay titled, “My Children: The Food Experiment” about her experience as a mother of two children who have never been exposed to any type of advertisements or propaganda regarding commercialized food products. Steingraber and her family moved to a cabin in the woods near Ithaca, New York and when the family arrived at their new home the discovered their television had been stolen. They decided not to replace the television, which did not seem like a conscious decision to not expose their children to advertisement as much as it related to it not being a central part of their current life or lack of finances to replace it. Not replacing the television provided a context clue that this experiment was not planned,
Preview of main points: First, I will describe what organic food is, then I will discuss how harmful conventional food is, then I will discuss the benefits of eating organic.
American culture is changing dramatically. In some areas it’s a good thing, but in other areas, like our food culture, it can have negative affects. It is almost as if our eating habits are devolving, from a moral and traditional point of view. The great America, the land of the free and brave. The land of great things and being successful, “living the good life.” These attributes highlight some irony, especially in our food culture. Is the American food culture successful? Does it coincide with “good living”? What about fast and processed foods? These industries are flourishing today, making record sales all over the globe. People keep going back for more, time after time. Why? The answer is interestingly simple. Time, or in other words, efficiency. As people are so caught up in their jobs, schooling, sports, or whatever it may be, the fast/processed food industries are rapidly taking over the American food culture, giving people the choice of hot
Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals--environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity. A variety of philosophies, policies and practices have contributed to these goals. People in many different capacities, from farmers to consumers, have shared this vision and contributed to it.
Agriculture is one of the most ancient forms of art and science that ties human development and well-being to natural resources and ecosystems. (Fritz J. Häni, 2007) Sustainable Agriculture is the production of food, fibre, plant and animal products using farming techniques that protect the environment, public health, human communities and animal welfare. (Sustainable Agriculture - The Basics, 2015) Sustainable agriculture is an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site – specific application that over the long term will: