Reymateu Johnson Writing 231 Reading Response #3 November 20, 2014 Reading Response #3 In Omnivores Dilemma: Corn Conquest, Michael Pollan states that most of the industrial food we eat, basically all processed food we find in our supermarkets, can be traced back to corn. Seems and odd concept but scientifically it’s true. The C-4 trick helps explain the corn plant’s success in this competition: Few plants can manufacture quite as much organic matter (and calories) from the same quantities of sunlight and water and basic elements as corn. I found the information in this essay quite interesting. I was surprised to learn that my body had been fundamentally altered by the prevalence of corn.
They’re designed by evolution to eat grass. And the only reason we feed them corn is because corn is really cheap and corn makes them fat quickly … The industrial food system is always looking for greater efficiency. But each new step in efficiency leads to problems. If you take feedlot cattle off their corn diet, give them grass or five days, they will shed eighty percent of the E. coli in their gut” (Foodincmovie). There have been many cases where children have died just by eating food that has been processed by the food
Pollan begins with an exploration of the food-production system from which the vast majority of American meals are derived. This industrial food chain is largely based on corn, whether it is eaten directly, fed to livestock, or processed into chemicals such as glucose and ethanol. Pollan discusses how the humble corn plant came to dominate the American diet through a combination of biological, cultural, and political factors. Pollan admits that he is surprised to discover that at the beginning of the food chain; almost regardless of the food being eaten was corn. Corn feeds the animals we eat, which lay the eggs we
Gustavus decided to butcher his cattle before sending it to the consumer as an attempt to lower the cost and boost the efficiency of his shipping. The refrigerated railroad car allowed him to ship the meat farther without spoiling during transportation. This technology has positively impacted our foodways by expanding the distance food can be transported while remaining fresh and safe for human consumption. In the mid 20th century, it was common to have milk delivered to your doorstep by a milkman. However, most modern Americans have cut out the middleman and choose to get their milk from a local supermarket.
Kim Ratz (2005) calculated that out of the 10,000 items that consumers find in a typical grocery store, “At least 2,500 items use corn in some form during the production or processing.” The solution would be to start replacing corn products such as High Fructose Corn Syrup with with less damaging sweeteners. One alternative is Lucuma Powder. According to Navitasnaturals.com (2011), Lucuma Powder has been certified as raw, kosher, gluten-free, vegan, and 100% organic. It also actually has healthy benefits such as naturally occurring beta-carotene, niacin, and iron. And it's actually very low in sugars.
Another solution to help decrease the harmful effects of factory farming are feeding the livestock a natural diet with limited use of antibiotics and pesticides. The decline in family farms has caused a number of health concerns for some individuals. According to Pollan (2006), the evolution and production of corn have greatly impacted the decline of family farms. The influence of government policies on cheap corn production made it difficult for many family farms to sustain production and profitability (Pollan, 2006, p. 40). By the early 1980’s, many family farms were struggling to maintain due to the increase profit of
These methods require the use of minimally processed popping corn. A larger-scale, commercial popcorn machine was invented by Charles Cretors in the late 19th century. Unpopped popcorn is considered nonperishable and will last indefinitely if stored in ideal conditions. Depending on how it is prepared and cooked, some consider popcorn to be a health food, while others caution against it for a variety of reasons. Popcorn can also have non-f Popcorn, also known as popping corn, is a type of corn (maize, Zea mays var.
Hence, the fructose is found in such foods as desserts, dairy products and preserves. With fructose being quite a bit sweeter than the table sugar or high fructose syrup, lesser amounts of it are used to achieve the same level of sweetness which consequently results in lower amount of calories in the finished product. “Fructose has a low glycemic index (22) compared to other sweetener sources such as honey (55), High Fructose Corn Syrup (62) and table sugar (64)” (Jolliffe, 2009) The body's glycemic response depends on both, the type and the amount of the carbohydrate consumed, so a lower index and the lesser amount of the sweetener means a lower glycemic load. Since fructose does not involve insulin to be
The main difference is when whole wheat bread is processed it retains all three nutrient parts of the wheat berry which is good for the digestive system. White bread flour only uses the endosperm which is the starchy part of the wheat berry and starch turns to sugar during digestion. This fact alone is why I feel that whole wheat bread is the better choice. Whole wheat bread also contains a higher
Isoflavones can also be found in small amounts in a number of legumes, grains, and vegetables. Soy isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, and glycitein) are classified as phytoestrogens because they mimic or interact with hormone signals in human (2). Soy can be consumed as in whole soy and soy foods. Foods that contain soy protein include tofu (soft, cheese-like curdling soymilk), soymilk, textured vegetable protein (TVP), miso (fermented soybean paste), tempeh (a chewy fermented cooked soybean cake), soy flour, soy sauce, soy nuts, edamame (raw soy bean in their pod), and soy protein powder. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommend that soy protein intake should be added at least 25 grams per day to a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol to reduce the risk of heart disease (6).