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Materialism and consumerism in america
Materialism and consumerism in america
Materialism in Today's Society
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Decades later, and even in a new age of American “freedom” and “opportunities,” not much has really changed. In the American food industry, the presence of an oppressive class system is very rampant; hidden from view, but influential as ever. Because the way the food reaches our plates straight from the stores makes it seem like a simple method of growing and transporting, the complex system, or system of systems, is very much hidden behind a wall of what it seems to be. Citizens fail to realize that in this food supply chain, everyone plays a vital role, whether directly or passively contributing to the system. In 1880, roughly “80% of Americans worked in agriculture toiling to feed themselves and others,” which is now reduced to 2% of Americans This is clearly seen in the way class systems in The Hunger Games work: the miners, the hunters, the gatherers, the fishers, and the very providers of Panem are deprived of a sustainable way of life. It is a paradox; the convenience and indulgence catered by the consumer culture inside the Capitol comes at a price, which can be defined as a helplessness to “sustain itself and its way of life, draining,” instead, “the human life and labor” of those in the Districts. As such, the way the concept of materialism comes into play is through a stark contrast between the desperate need for basic necessities in the Districts and an excessive luster of luxuries that only “assuages terror by the splendour of the scene” and is merely “a feast for the eyes and senses” to those in the grandiose and flamboyant Capitol (Parks There are a variety of push and pull factors that bring these migrant farmworkers into the fields. Those fields are, to them, overflowing with freedom and gleaming opportunities, welcoming them and their hungry families. To farm owners and large corporations, they are nothing but disposable units of cheap labor who are easily exploited out of their desperation and a lack of say amidst their situation. Millions of Mexican men, women and even children, for example, choose the life-or-death decision of crossing the border every year, risking everything they have and throwing themselves into the unknown: what they do not foresee will be the biggest Hunger Games of their lives. They leave their families behind, trekking across the deserts of Arizona for days at a time without food or water, or swimming through the Rio Grande with the treacherous risk of getting caught by U.S. officials and, more common than most may think, the odds of meeting death along the way (Bauer 2010). These unfortunate fallen remain anonymous as they are reduced to bones in the desert, and their fate
Chapter four talked a lot about The Tanaka brothers Farm and how the workers had picked berries once a week or twice a week and experienced several forms of pain days afterward. Workers often felt sick the night before picking due to stress about picking the minimum weight. This chapter also focuses ethnographic attention on how the poor suffer. The poorest of the poor on the farm were the Triqui Strawberry pickers. The Triqui migrant laborers can be understood as an embodiment of violence continuum. Triqui people experienced notable health problems affecting their ability to function in their work or their families. This chapter also talked about how crossing the border from Mexico to the United States involves incredible financial, physical, and emotional suffering for Triqui
The documentary El Contrato follows the exploits of Mexican migrant workers as they find themselves being exploited. In particular, it follows one man, Teodoro Martinez, a father of 4 who has worked many seasons in Canada. Teodoro returns year after year. He does not return because he enjoys it, he returns for the pay. The migrant workers are chosen with certain criteria in mind. These ‘desirable’ traits are that they have minimal, if any, education and a family in Mexico. The workers chosen are typically quite poor, many not owning a house. The pay is better than what they could get in Mexico, so they must make the decision to desert their families for two thirds of the year to support their loved ones. They are brought to a town where most
In her essay, “Food’s Class Warfare,” author Tracie McMillan promotes the inclusion of both “individual changes and structural ones” (217), particularly “class consciousness” (217), in the fight for quality diets in America. She reveals the most common sides of the healthy food debate as the inherent “just-buy-better stuff logic” (215) and the opposing “structural challenges of eating well” (215). The main strategies for defeating the American “obesity epidemic” (216) have been reaching out to the individual, as well as changing the structure of the American food system itself. The favorite concept for structuralists is “food deserts - neighborhoods with insufficient grocery stores and thus insufficient supplies of healthy food” (216). She deems the concept insufficient in practice, as it ignores smaller markets and equates large stores with a healthy food source. While the individual viewpoint and structuralists argue with each other, they share common ideals. According to
More and more health-conscious individuals are scrutinizing the source of the food their family consumes. However, even the most conscientious consumer is not fully aware of the exhaustive efforts and struggle to get a juicy, ripe strawberry or that plump tomato in the middle of winter, even in Florida. These foods are harvested and picked mostly by seasonal and migrant farm workers. Migrant workers hail, in large part, from Mexico and the Caribbean, and their families often travel with them. Migrant farm workers must endure challenging conditions so that Americans can have the beautiful selection of berries, tomatoes, and other fresh foods often found at places like a farmer’s market or a traditional super market. Seasonal and migrant farm workers suffer a variety of health problems as a result of their constant exposure to stress, the elements, and chemicals such as pesticides. They are paid minimal wages and are expected to work long hours of strenuous labor for pennies on the dollar per piece or per hour. The migrant families are expected to live in substandard quarters and transported to various work sites in unsafe transportation. The fresh fruits and vegetables consumers purchase with little thought reach supermarkets at a cost that is not reflected in the retail price. This cost is ultimately absorbed by farm workers in Florida and other areas throughout the country, who are among the poorest of American workers.
In The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail, Oscar Martinez comments on the injustices that occur while migrating from Central America. Central Americans are forced to leave their countries in fear of the inevitable consequences. The systematic abuse Central Americans endure while migrating is founded on that fear which results in more repercussions for migrants. The psychological effects of migrating is used by Martinez to give insight on the atrocities that happen in Central America. The corruption involved while migrating in Central America is against human rights and should be brought immediate attention internationally. Martinez uses the experiences of migrants to expose Mexico’s passivity on the subject and to expose readers’ to the hard truths that occur while migrating.
Our current system of corporate-dominated, industrial-style farming might not resemble the old-fashioned farms of yore, but the modern method of raising food has been a surprisingly long time in the making. That's one of the astonishing revelations found in Christopher D. Cook's "Diet for a Dead Planet: Big Business and the Coming Food Crisis" (2004, 2006, The New Press), which explores in great detail the often unappealing, yet largely unseen, underbelly of today's food production and processing machine. While some of the material will be familiar to those who've read Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" or Eric Schlosser's "Fast-Food Nation," Cook's work provides many new insights for anyone who's concerned about how and what we eat,
Weigel, M. M. and R. X. Armijos (2011). "Exploratory Study of the Occupational Health and Health-Seeking of Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers on the U.S.-Mexico Border." J Immigr Minor Health.
In Wendell Berry’s “The Pleasures of Eating,” this farmer tells eaters how their separation from food production has turned them into “passive consumers” who know nothing about the food they eat, or their part in the agricultural process (3). They are blindsided by a food industry that does not help them understand. Berry argues that the average consumer buys available food without any questions. He states consumers that think they are distanced from agriculture because they can easily buy food, making them ignorant of cruel conditions it went through to get on the shelf. Humans have become controlled by the food industry, and regard eating as just something required for their survival. Berry wants this to change as people realize they should get an enjoyment from eating that can only come from becoming responsible for their food choices and learning more about what they eat. While describing the average consumer’s ignorance and the food industry’s deceit, he effectively uses appeals to emotion, logic, and values to persuade people to take charge, and change how they think about eating.
The sustenance provides an inner look on a person’s own worth and integrity. The need to be one’s self is a basic need and want of life, but it is also very difficult in achieving. That is why it is so important for Katniss to simulate the theatricality made by the capital, and give the people what they want, which is for the stimulated to be real. The question of reality is raised by Peeta, who realized that his fear is that, after all his memories were replaced and has been through physical and psychological torture, that he is still himself. We also know that the last time that he had asked this question was in the cave with Katniss in the first hunger games. It is because of the wealth of the capital that they have control over the 12 districts. Also in the game it is said that the higher the district you are, the poorer you are, and the lesser the advantage you have over the other tributes. This proving that the Capital controls the wealth of the districts and uses it against the districts. Even in the games, the rich battle against the poor because in the games, tributes from districts 1 to 4 team up against
President Obama once said, “As the wealthiest nation on Earth, I believe the United States has a moral obligation to lead the fight against hunger and malnutrition, and to partner with others.” Food insecurity has always been an issue of the public as well as around the world. For so long, many generations of Americans have been living in poverty or in a low income state. It would be surprise as to how many Americans are living in poverty. As a result of this living situation, there are problems that arise with it. One of the problems is food insecurity. Food insecurity can be simply explained as not having access to affordable and quality food. This problem can lead to serious
Poverty all around the world is a threat that is demolishing countries and is spreading daily. Food water and agriculture is what the whole world needs to sustain life on earth without these things there would be nothing. famine in some parts of the world is killing people and is happening more than we think.things like drought is changing how farmers make their money and their families. America 's food problem isn 't as bad as other countries instead they throw away good food that could have been eaten.Maybe the problem is with the food industry and food standards that the FDA put in place. Also why this problem in the usa won 't change because most americans can afford it. With many more years to come the population
When considering the topic of poverty and hunger, many Americans look outside the borders of the United States. However, food insecurity is an issue that plagues millions of American households each year. The United States Department of Agriculture found that 14.5% of American households faced food insecurity during 2012. These households were defined as having “difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources” (Nord, Singh, Coleman-Jensen).
Did you know that one in five households in the United States are considered to have food insecurity. Food insecurity is described by the USDA as meaning “consistent access to adequate food is limited by the lack of money and other resources at times during the year” (2014). This affects 31 million people in the United States, which includes 15.9 million children under the age of 18. For example, the Walls family in The Glass Castle written by Jeannette Walls leaves a great example of what it is like to be under these circumstances. Currently, with prices of food rising to an all time high, so does the number of people not able to buy the basic foods they need to live a full life. By increasing spending on food benefit programs in the United States, guarantees less people who suffer from food insecurity.
In the United States thousands of pounds of food are thrown out each year from grocery stores. The primary reason food products are thrown out has little to do with consumability. It has to do with the little black numbers branded on every bottle, bag, and box proclaiming when a store should sell the labeled product by. When the date on the box is reached, the product is thrown away and no longer sold; however, most times the product is still able to be consumed and sellable. Another factor that contributes to unnecessary food waste is image. In stores, produce such as vegetables and fruit are often thrown away if they are considered to be” ugly” because who would want an “ugly” carrot or tomato. However, there are people who would gladly take
Entitlement failures are the most common cause of famines according to Sen. Sen defines entitlement as “the commodities over which she can establish her ownership and command” (162). He says “people suffer from hunger when they cannot establish their entitlement over an adequate amount of food” (162). Sen cites three influences on entitlements that affect famines: endowment, production possibilities, and exchange conditions. Famine occurs when many people simultaneously experience declines in their entitlements that cause them to be deprived of adequate food for survival. Sen argues that it is not a lack of food supplies that leads to famines, as the Malthusian would say “too many people, too little food”, but rather the inability of a group