Humanity Threatened by the Modern Food Industry

by Gabriela Gutierrez

Western civilization's ignorance of proper nutrition threatens to unravel the basic frameworks of
society. By polluting our bodies with industrialized food, we humans absentmindedly impose a heavy tax
on our society, economy, environment, and the human race in general. Humans must invest in health in
order to survive.

Efficiency in the food industry comes at the price of health. The methods of mass food
production that spawned from the industrial revolution brought with them the advantages of long lasting
food that could be manufactured at unprecedented high rates. However these advantages in production led
to disadvantages in nutrition. In order for manufacturers to ensure the longevity of their food, they first
had to make it unappealing to the bacteria that would potentially cause the food to spoil. They did this by
stripping their food of all the essential nutrients like vitamin A and D and omega 3 fatty acids, that
attracted the bacteria to it. Consequentially bacteria are not the only ones who miss out on these vital
nutrients. (1)

Consumers also experience the same lack of nutrition with the products of the modern animal
husbandry industry. Most of the beef sold in the US today comes from feed lots, where the cows are fed
grain (corn) to the point of obesity. Obesity in cows, like in humans, signals the poor health of the
organism. Cows and livestock harvested in such processes exhibit abnormally high levels of omega 6 fatty
acids. When present at high levels, these fats unbalance the healthy ratio of fats in the body. When humans
consume the products of these feed lots, they expose themselves to the nutrition deficiencies and health
defects of the livestock they eat. (2)

Mass production has degraded the status of food to such a point, that not even vegetables and
fruits have escaped its negative effects. While such foods do contain more nutrients than processed food,
the implementation of fertilizer in their cultivation decreases the amount of nutrients transferred from the
soil to the plant, thus lessening the amount of nutrients at the consumer's disposal.(3) By cheating
consumers out of essential nutrients, the food industry has fostered the malnutrition of Western
civilization.

Western civilization's poor eating habits also threaten the stability of the environment. Human
beings share the earth and its resources with a plethora of other life forms. By interfering with the natural
feeding patterns of livestock and pumping the soil full of fertilizer, humans jeopardize not only their own
health, but the health of the entire food web that they form a part of. (4) As a result, no part of the
biosphere can save itself from the debilitating consequences of the modern western diet.

Disease characterizes our era of human history. The past 150 years have witnessed the rise of the
metabolic syndrome and as a result the growth in “the diseases of civilization.” These diseases include
hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, coronary artery disease, obesity, abnormal glucose tolerance,
diseases of the brain, arthritis, inflammatory disease in general, and certain types of cancers.(5,6) At the
heart of all of these diseases lies a lack of proper nutrition. Thousands of years of evolution have
engineered the human body to function by drawing energy from proteins, complex carbohydrates, and
versatile fatty acids like, omega 3's. (7) By ignoring our body's basic needs, the human race has created an
evolutionary pressure upon itself that could potentially lead to its ultimate demise as a species.

As our survival rate as a species diminishes, so does the stability of our societies' infrastrucutre. If
we consider that “More than one third of U.S. adults—more than 72 million—people and 17% of U.S.
children are obese,” and “In 2008, obesity-related medical care costs were estimated to be as high as $147
billion,” and “in 2006, obese people spent $1,400 more in medical care costs than did people at a normal
weight,” (8) the economic burden these sick people impose on society becomes clear. People with health
conditions like those precipitated by poor nutrition face limitations in the workforce. As a result the healthy
population of people in a society must compensate for their insufficient output. Poor health costs money,
time, and energy.

Mass media conditions people. Virtually every commercial period on TV promotes a “tasty”
“delicious”, completely nutrient deficient food or snack, thus conditioning society into wanting these
health hazards. Only the knowledge and practice of a healthy lifestyle can remedy the sickness that afflicts
western civilization. Governments should take a definitive stance on their nation's health, in order to alert
the public to the severity and magnitude of their problems. Countries should spend their resources, both
financial and human, on the dissemination of health and nutrition information through news pieces and
advertisement, as well as the development of new food production methods. The consumer must be
taught the dynamics of nutrition in their daily lives, where to find the nutrients they need, and how best to
utilize them.

Education begins in childhood. It is in childhood that most of our long lasting habits are formed,
and what is good health, if not a conglomeration of good habits. Once parents start removing the bags of
potato chips and brownies from their children's lunch boxes and start to reward them instead with healthy
treats, the human race will begin the road to recovery from this nutritional and evolutionary disaster.

The health of a society defines it capability for success. It is time that we as a species awaken to the
consequences of our poor lifestyle choices and take action to change the relationship between ourselves
and food.

Works Cited:

(1) Pollan, Michael. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. (New York: Penguin Group), ( locations 1163-
68)

(2) Cordain, Loren., Eaton, Boyd. S., Sebastian, Anthony., Mann, Neil., Lindeberg, Staffan., Watkins,
Bruce. A., O’Keefe, James. H., Brand-Miller, Janette. “Origins and evolution of the Western
diet: health implications for the 21st century.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:
http://ajcn.org.(2005): 344-347

(3) Pollan, Michael. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. (New York: Penguin Group), ( locations 1193-
98)

(4) Ibid., 1234-39)

(5) Cordain, Loren., Eades, Michael. R., and Eades, Mary. D. “Hyperinsulinemic diseases of
civilization:more than just Syndrome X.” Elsevier Inc., Comparative Biochemistry and
Physiology Part A 136, (2003): 95

(6) Cordain, Loren., Eaton, Boyd. S., Sebastian, Anthony., Mann, Neil., Lindeberg, Staffan., Watkins,
Bruce. A., O’Keefe, James. H., Brand-Miller, Janette. “Origins and evolution of the Western
 diet: health implications for the 21st century.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:
http://ajcn.org. (2005): 341

(7) Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention. “ Obesity: Halting the Epidemic by Making Health
Easier: At A Glance 2010: cdcinfo@cdc.gov
(8) Cordain, Loren., Eaton, Boyd. S., Sebastian, Anthony., Mann, Neil., Lindeberg, Staffan., Watkins,
Bruce. A., O’Keefe, James. H., Brand-Miller, Janette. “Origins and evolution of the Western
diet: health implications for the 21st century.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:
http://ajcn.org.(2005): 341 -344