Eating, when considered an ethical act, brings people together under a common cause. However, our reason for gathering to eat and share cultures sometimes becomes warped by the opinion of the government, other times by society/ other cultures. The American culture has been warped through both and the fact that “Food should never be a joyless experience” (Sandor, Elix Katz) has completely left the picture that comes to mind when eating is mentioned. Americans eat for the solely to be putting food in their mouths which explains, to an extent, why they are so obese as well as unhappy when eating. One should enjoy what they consume at the time one consumes food. Think of a hearty meal like a steak with a baked potato and steamed broccoli, would you want to rush through it? Or rather, sit and enjoy the flavors of the food and the ambience around you, with possibly a conversation you might partake in? Oftentimes we say we would rather enjoy it, but in actuality we rush through the eating and do not enjoy the taste of the item being consumed.
Another way citizen’s opinions might be biased or shaped by the government is through the culture around eating.
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How and what we eat helps cultivate relationships, as eating connects people to others. In everyday life, relationships remain essential to how our society functions, “ human life is grounded in three main relationships: with God, with our neighbor, with the Earth itself”(Genesis), humans require relationships so that we can live our everyday lives as we do. How does eating relate to maintaining our relationships you ask? “These relationships may be narrow and local or of a much broader scope, but how we eat unavoidably links us to other people, animals, soils, and our own sense of personal identity” (King). In other words, when we eat we are then inexplicably connected to those with whom we dine with, our sense of who we are as a human, the possible animals being consumed. Those are relationships being cultivated, all through the act of putting food in your mouth. By looking at how our religions have affected how we view eating, more opinions and practices for eating becomes Biblical times had ethics/morals for everything. From how one obtained the food to how one consumed the food, everything had a rule that followed. Pastors/priests/ rabbis were elders of the community that were examples of good morals and ethically correct behavior/practices. Presently, when consuming food “Pastors are called to care about food: good food, shared food, honest food, beautiful food, the sources of food, the limits of food, those hungry for food, and the Earth that makes food possible”(The Pastor). Most religious leaders followed those rules and regulations strictly, with very little variance from those principles. Some of that ideology has transferred to today as well, with exceptions such as Kosher and Halal. Everyone has the right to exceptional health, great food, liberties and independence; particularly in America, where our founding fathers fought to give the citizens just that. The very document the founded this country clearly state “ We the People…..do secure the Blessings of Liberty”(Jefferson, Thomas). Granted that decent food may not have been among the list of priorities at the time nor was it mentioned in the Constitution, but high quality food definitely ranks in the top 10 list of priorities nowadays. However, obtaining fresh, clean, quality food and ingredients grows more and more challenging everyday . It begins at the farm, where they grow the food. Chemicals we use to keep bugs from eating and infesting our food, but the produce was exposed to those chemicals and now have absorbed some of them. Then the food gets harvested, shipped to a packaging plant, where the food gets wrapped in plastic and paper and stickers with labels that claim the item is ‘healthy’. The ethical problem here? The GMOs, the supposedly organic produce that actually has little to no nutritional value due to genetic modifications, the pesticides and chemicals the food was exposed to. The cause of the cheap method of food production? The government’s subsidies. Not all food comes about in the way described, but the majority of food does and with the government paying subsidies to farmers, it seems that the government almost encourages this means of food production. Not everyone has access to food, decent or not, at all times.
Living in first world countries desensitizes people to that fact. And yes, while first world food has its own ethical dilemmas and issues but there are entire countries who do not have access to substantial food period. Everyone who lives in this world has a moral and an ethical responsibility to assist fellow humans in need. Third world countries that have no sustainable food sources are then priority number one. Priority number one meaning that just because first world countries are able to support themselves and find their own sources of food, does not mean that third world countries should not be able to eat. Malnutrition affects, at best, over a third of the world we live in and “has been described as a ‘scourge in our world’(DFID)”(Fanzo,
Jessica). For a citizen’s health, their diet should not be poorly dictated by the government. A happy, healthy person follows their own diet and does not have as many junk food temptations during their everyday life. According to Hippocrates citizens should view food differently. “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Hippocrates states that food should be seen as medicinal or that it has nurturing helpful qualities, that food is not created for the sole fact of not going hungry. As in ancient Greece, the Epicurean age, ancient Greeks regarded food with incredibly high standards and if it wasn’t of excellent quality no one would eat it. A different, more contemporary viewpoint comes from John Locke. Locke believed that “a sound in a sound body is a short but full description of happiness in this world.” This implies that a healthy, well-cared for, well- nurtured body houses a sound mind ergo leading to happiness. Think about it, everyone feels better and happier, more relaxed after a hearty, substantial meal, right? Therefore, by eating well and eating right more often would benefit everyone’s diet in a positive way. Health would improve, mental states would improve and the whole population would be better off.
In Lavanya Ramanathan’s Washington Post article published in 2015 titled “Why everyone should stop calling immigrant food ‘ethnic’”, she discusses about people’s preconceptions on the type of food that should be labelled ethnic. Ashlie Stevens also touched on a similar topic in her Guardian article published in 2015 titled “Stop thinking and just eat: when ‘food adventuring’ trivializes culture”. She talks about how people assume that just by eating food from a certain culture, they are able relate to the culture as a whole. Both authors acknowledge the importance of appreciating authentic cuisines, but takes different approaches to convince the audience. Both authors establish credibility by using a wide range of substantiated evidences. While,
"Eating is not only a political act but also a cultural act that reaffirms one's identity and worldview." (Salmón, 2012, p. 8). It is the statement from the book Eating the Landscape: American Indian Stories of Food, Identity, and Resilience that reflects the author’s main idea. The book is a cultural and geographical travel through the southwest part of the United States of America and northern Mexico. In his book, the author is focused on demonstrating the world of indigenous food and accentuates some direct connections between this food, the culture of people and understanding of the environment that surrounds them.
There are many different beliefs about the proper way to eat healthy. People are often mislead and live unhealthy lifestyles as a result. Both Mary Maxfield and Michael Pollan explain their own beliefs on what a healthy diet is and how to live a healthy lifestyle. In the essay, “Escape from the Western diet” Michael Pollan writes about the flaws of the western diet and how we can correct these problems to become healthier. In the essay, “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating”, Mary Maxfield criticizes Michael Pollan’s essay about eating healthy, and explains her own theory on how to be healthy. She believes that Pollan is contradicting himself and that what he is stating is false. Mary Maxfield ponders the
Other countries rely on taste and what their mood is to decide what to eat. An example of this is when you look at the French eating habits. Pollan claims that we Americans refer to the French eating habits as the “French Paradox” (Our National Eating Disorder) but, we are the only ones that use this claim, if anything, we should be labeled as the American Paradox. The French eat in smaller portions, choose what they want to eat, and also make eating a gathering and an enjoyable event. The French are also overall thinner than Americans, have lower rates of heart disease and you could also say they enjoy the activity of eating more than Americans. It can be concluded that America's dietary exercises of choosing what to eat by the scientific information of the food is not working as well as the French way of eating, which is eating what they want. It can also be assumed that even though we Americans believe we are eating healthy, it actually negatively affects our health considering how obese America is compared to the
Nutrition and health have become more popular in today 's society. Our generation is becoming more and more indebted to the idea of being healthy and eating nutritious meals. However, in “The American Paradox,” by Michael Pollan he argues that our unhealthy population is preoccupied with nutrition and the idea of eating healthy than their actual health. He also mentions the food industry, nutrition science and how culture affects the way we eat and make food choices. While Pollan is right about all these factor that affect our eating habits, there is more to it than that. Convenience, affordability and social influence also affects our food choices making them inadequate.
...t that many of these situations are fading. Increasingly, we resort to eating as a kind of automatic action, indulging in "fast food" or even eating while walking. One thing I believe Kass failed to realize was that the human body is very important. It urges us daily for the different pleasures in life. See Kass believes that we are stuck in a sense of informality of much that is current today. He writes, on the last page, "Recovering the deeper meaning of eating could help cure our spiritual anorexia. From it we can learn the essential unity of body and soul, and we can relearn the true relations to the formed world that the hungering soul makes possible” (Kass 231). My only question is, will we ever understand what it means to eat?
It is unfortunate to see how ethics in the American culture are constantly declining. People’s moral values are below normal societal standards, which is why, the older generations are outraged by the way things are now, and become rather upset and feel disturbed towards society. Furthermore, religion has lost its value throughout the years. In the essay, "Do Kids Need Religion?" by Anthony Brandt, he underlines the idea of how religion is not properly taught or provided to children. In Wendy Shalit’s essay, "The Future of Modesty," she discusses how much modesty has reached its worst in the younger generations, however society is beginning to raise these standards once again. Nonetheless, education has also lost its honor code. Mark Clayton calls attention to how cheating is becoming incredibly common among students throughout the United States in his essay, "A Whole Lot of Cheatin’ Going on." In fact, it is obvious that American culture is declining fast in ethics, especially in religion, dating, and education.
Puritans also known as Pilgrims are nonconformists who refused to accept authority. The Puritans were almost entirely city people. They were not farmers and left Great Britain because they were not pleased with the way they were treated. Even those who had lived in the country had not been farmers. So when they arrived in America as the Plymouth Colony group and suddenly had to become farmers, it was extremely difficult for them. The Puritans had many contributions such as predestine to go to heaven because they lived at a small place in Massachusetts. The teachings of Calvin was followed and believed, like the Separatists, that man are born in sin and they all weary the guilt of Adam and Eve. Therefore, the concepts of life that Puritans want to accomplish set forth the character of America today.
Ethical issues are “moral challenges” facing the health care profession (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012, p. 127). Ethical issues is a major concern in the healthcare field because healthcare providers observe ethical issues every day and have to make ethical decisions. Advance directives are written documents that addressed an individual’s medical care preferences. These documents usually take effect when patients no longer can make informed health care decisions for themselves. While these documents are helpful to loved ones and health care providers, there are a number of ethical considerations that can make the development and execution of advance directives difficult (Llama, 2014). This author is a geriatric nurse that recently observed an advance directive ethical issue in the clinical setting. The purpose of this paper is to outline the steps of ethical decision-making within the seven steps for the framework. This paper will also identify the facts of the case from the perspective of each person impacted by the situation and identify which ethical principles were involved in the situation.
We make personal choices about what and where to eat. The government is not going to eliminate the unhealthy food because we think it is the cause of obesity. Ultimately, we must decide to either stay away from unhealthy food or eat them in moderation. Despite all the efforts of education, media and guidance it doesn’t prevent us from grabbing that cheeseburger with fries on the way to work. In his essay “What You Eat Is Your Business,” Radley Balko argues that society should take full responsi...
of what they eat. Changing the public food system takes a lot of encouragement from the
NPR’s ethics handbook is one of the best resources that I’ve been able to use throughout my career as a student journalist. The NPR code of ethics is one of the more comprehensive codes of ethics that I think works well in a field that’s constantly evolving. In the overview of the code, it’s specifically stated that the code is a “living code.” This is seen throughout NPR’s ethics page because they update their guideline regularly. Following a code of ethics that’s constantly changing, seems daunting, but I appreciate that it’s not set in stone. It’s important for myself as a journalist that NPR leaves room for improvement in their code because that means it’s able to shift along with society.
Niger and Sierra Leone, the two poorest countries in the world only have a GDP of around 500 dollars per capita. Which, compared to Canada’s 27,000 dollars per capita, is considerably low. In the 48 poorest countries, an average of 2$ a day is made by each working person. Imagine living off 2$ a day in Canada, you couldn’t even buy a Big Mac and a drink for 2$. This is making starvation a very serious problem in 3rd-world countries, not to mention their low immune systems, used for preventing disease, not working right from the lack of nutrition.
Food is a great obsession to human beings; it also can say something about us beyond what we decide to put in our mouths. Michael Pollan’s research shows that we are not really eating healthy we are convenient eaters. We much prefer quantity over quality, and this is the reason why we have an issue with obesity today, however, eating doesn’t have to be complicated. Yes, we need to worry about how we eat but not to the extent where it is unhealthy. Food is everywhere it’s a part of our lives. Without it we wouldn’t survive, but are we taking the easy way and eating too unhealthy? Is eating unhealthy all we have really known? What can our food choices say about us, beyond what we choose to put into our mouths? Is being defined by our food a bad thing? How does Social Media influence how we eat?
Today's culture promotes eating habits that contribute to obesity. People may serve large portions and foods that are most readily available instead of choosing foods that are most nutritious. Cooking with butter, chocolate and other high-caloric foods is a normal part of the American diet. Also, food is often used as a reward in this country. Children are treated to sweets for cleaning their room, and the team is taken for pizza or ice cream after the game. Seldom is eating only when hunger is present (What Causes Obesity?).