The Swamp logo

The Politics of Food

Does the government want us to eat unhealthy?

By Miguel FloresPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
Like

In the United State, the so-called free country, the citizen would think they have free thought and can do whatever they want, but is the U.S citizen being told what to eat? Although the United States government knows the food they feed their citizen is unhealthy, they have not done anything to help the people get more healthy.

Everything made in the United States is likely made from corn. Things like corn syrup and fructose are in everything made in the U.S. It is unhealthy but yet the government is using taxpayer money to pay the farmers to make more corn as claimed in the article “When a Crop Becomes King” by Michael Pollan. Even the meat in the U.S has corn in it. The farmers fed the animals corn, because it is the cheapest thing farmers could feed the animals. This is bad because animal's digestive systems cannot digest corn. Cows are one of the animals that cannot digest corn. The cow's body will make e coli bacteria to help the stomach digest the corn. Even when the farmers tell the government, the people that pay them to farm do not listen when they say they it is bad. The meat that has e coli bacteria can make you really sick. The amount of corn we eat and grow is not only bad for the human bodies, but also the environment. The corn is also in the sugary drinks everybody loves.

Corn syrup has surpassed real sugar. The corn crop has killed other plants, and even fishes and other marine life. The government wants this plant just because it is cheap to grow.

In the United States, people have gotten in to a custom of fast, cheap, and easy food. Everywhere in the U.S you could find a fast food joint. Fast food restaurants have been found advertising to kids. This sounds harmless until people see the stats that show that when the fast food places increase their advertising to kids, the rise in kids obesity also increases. The government knows this but has not really done anything about this. In the article “If You Pitch it, They Will Eat” by David Barboza, he says, “The McDonald’s corporation wants to be everywhere that children are,” and with the looks of it, it is true. Fast food restaurants would help schools financially so they could get customers in return. This is a bad combination. Some schools even serve fast food food, according to David Barboza in the same article. Marketers for the fast food companies know that kids love animals and cartoons so they purposely would put those toys in like kid's meals.

The companies are to be blamed for all controlling what we eat, but can consumers blame themselves? The marketers manipulate their audience to eat food that is not healthy, but what if the consumers were more aware of what they are eating? This is what Wendell Berry talks about in her article, “The Pleasures of Eating.” She talks about passive consumers and how they are not in the solution of making America more healthy. Passive consumers are people who know they are eating unhealthy but do not care. This is bad because people know that they are eating bad, they are still giving money to the people who make America unhealthy and fat.

Some may argue that what the food consumers eat is their choice and it is the consumer's fault, but with all the advertisements, people are basically being brainwashed to eat the unhealthy foods. People in the United States are busier than ever and buy fast food because, well, because it is fast food. The consumers are buying convenience and have no time to eat a decent meal.

All the evidence shows that the companies are to blame the most, but also all the consumers as well. As a consumer who does not know what they eat, they need to learn or just be more aware of what they eat. The consumers need to stop giving their health to companies and stop settling for less. As rich America is, people need more healthy food to stop the raise in obesity in America.

agriculture
Like

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.