ENC1101

Sebastin Cofio
Eating Responsably
If you asked anyone if they know where their food comes from, the majority
would say that they have no idea. Being that food is what sustains our odies and
minds, we should e more thoughtful and careful aout the choices we make. !ome
"eo"le elieve that they do not need to worry aout such things, ecause after all, we
are all going to end in the same way# dead. $owever, for me it is aout having the
highest %uality of life, which translates into staying healthy for as long as "ossile, and
this can only e accom"lished y consuming the est %uality foods. In our society, this
is a very difficult task ecause there is such an aundance of junk foods, high fructose
corn syru" &$'C!( drinks, i.e., sodas and "rocessed meats, etc.
I am lessed to e an )merican, not only is this the land of freedom, ut also a country
where all our asic needs are taken care of, including "roviding us with an aundance
of food. *he +nited !tates of )merica not only takes care of its own food needs, ut
also "rovides sustenance to many other nations. In a ,-iscovery News. article, Where
Does All That Food Come From? DEC 13, 2012 03:00 AM ET, Chad $art, agricultural
economist at Iowa !tate +niversity, e/"lained that, ,the +.!. "roduces around 0.0
illions ushels of wheat. -omestic consum"tion uses 1.0 to 1.1 illions ushels,
leaving roughly 1 illion ushels availale for e/"ort.. 'urthermore, he "ointed out that,
2Even in a drought year3, the +.!. "roduces enough corn to meet domestic needs and
e/"ort over 1 illion ushels.2 24e are also self#sufficient in sorghum, rice, soyeans,
eggs, dairy, "ork, chicken and turkey meat. )nd de"ending on the year, the +.!. is
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sometimes self#sufficient in eef. !ome years we are a net im"orter of eef, some years
we are a net e/"orter.2 *he key is to e well informed, so that we can choose the right
foods.
Because we have an aundance of food and a mani"ulative and deceitful advertising
industry, we are shown eautiful "ictures of mouth#watering dishes, ut we have no idea
where these foods come from or the rutality that went on efore it reached our "lates.
It ecame real to me when I saw the documentary, ,5egucated. in class that the meat
industry is violent, gruesome, unhealthy and overall horrile. I always try to eat healthy,
in other words, to consume mostly un"rocessed foods and "lenty of fruits and
vegetales. $owever, I am struggling to change my eating haits, ecause I love to eat
meat.
I come from a ackground where eating meat is not only acce"tale, ut it is deemed
the only way one can e strong and healthy. I rememer my grandmother always told
me as a child, ,eat your steak, so you can e ig and strong.. 6iven my ackground, it
is e/tremely difficult for me to avoid eating eef and other animal "roducts, ut I am
slowly weaning myself away from them. I eat meat only once a week now, and I am
ho"ing that soon it will e every other week, until, eventually, I can sto" all together.
7uckily, I have never een attracted to junk foods such as the ones served at
8c-onalds, Burger 9ing, Checkers or any of the many other fast#food "laces.
$ence, I "roudly come from a 7atin culture where eating steak and other animals are
encouraged, my father, who is a "rofessional chef and does the cooking in the house, is
very health conscious and disci"lined. )s such, he only uys the est foods for our
consum"tion. I rememer one day, we were at 4hole 'oods 8arket, and we sto""ed to
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chat with a farmer from 6eorgia who was "romoting his eef. $e e/"lained how his
cows were only grass fed and what kind of care they received. 8y father later told me
that he always ought this ty"e of eef as well as wild salmon and other wild#caught
fish. Even when my father fi/es what others call fast food, like "i::a, he only uses fresh
and healthy ingredients. $e does go as far as to "re"are the dough himself. In my
home, we always have fresh fruits to snack on instead of "otato chi"s, candy ars,
honey uns, donuts and the like. )dditionally, I maintain a "hysically active lifestyle. I
run aout 10 kilometers the e%uivalent to ; miles, in my 0,000 s%uare foot gym every
single day. By no means, am I flaunting or suggesting that I am "erfect, ecause, no
one is. *here are times when I crave a slice of chocolate cake or an ice cream, and I
have it. *he key is to maintain a alance, ecause even food, which we need to survive,
can kill you if you overindulge with the wrong foods.
<verall, knowing how animals are eing treated and later slaughtered has made me
reali:e that we as a society need to change the way we look at food. *here are too
many "eo"le dying young due to heart disease, al:heimer=s, cancer and other grim and
un"leasant diseases. 4e need to change our ways and emrace healthier eating haits
y consuming more fruits, vegetales, whole grains, nuts, legumes, un"rocessed foods
and less animal#ased "roducts. )ll in all, it will not e easy to change my eating haits,
ut if I start slowly and enduring I can "rogressively reach my goal.
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