Hanselmann 1

Trent Hanselmann
Research Paper Final
Dr. VanLaningham
12/3/14
Processed Food Running the American Society
Despite processed foods incredibly unhealthy characteristics and even the knowledge

known about it, processed food has a significant role in todays American society. With

childrens obesity rates higher than ever before and the fast food consumption not slowing down,

there is a problem with the existence of processed food in America. Why does processed food

have such a large role in the American society, why is it so unhealthy, and what can be done

about it? The reason Americans purchase so much fast and processed food is because of their

values of time and money, it is extremely unhealthy because of all the chemicals put in the food,

and the companies and the government are not doing anything to change the processing ways; so

if he production of processed food does not slow down the unhealthiness of the American society

will be unable to fix and continue to worsen.

The overall issue is that the large companies of America are feeding people cheap,

unhealthy food because it is inexpensive and easy to produce which makes the companies the

most money. The argument has been present for a while, but it needs to be put into action with

the large companies of America and the government in order to help the average American.

There are different arguments within the issue whether processed food is necessary in society or

not. Some argue that it is necessary because the demand for food is so high that it is the only

way to produce the amount of food to feed the growing size of America. On the other side, there

are other ways of producing the mass amount of food if done right by organic farming and

ethically treating animals. Author Melanie Warner had a study that found that processed foods
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provide 70% of the average American diet (Warner). The problem is that feeding America

healthy foods is possible if executed correctly by all three players, the corporations, the

government, and the society.

The reason that Americans just go along with what large companies are producing is

because Americans value their money and their time, and that is why fast and processed food is

our go-to. Even though we value money, we are willing to buy such cheap food, even though it

is unhealthy, because we value items over our food. The new iPhone or other new technology

means more to us than eating healthy. That is the problem with American today, people do not

realize that when they eat fast food it may be cheaper for that day or that week but in not the long

run, they do not consider the money they are going to spend at the doctor or the drugstore

because they are unhealthy and possibly obese. Until the average American realizes that, then

they will continue to buy fast food because in their mind, they are saving money, but they really

are not.

Going along with our values, Americans value of time, really affects what they eat and

their choice of eating fast and processed food. Even without eating fast food on the go, it does

not change what they eat at home. Wendell Berry describes her view of Americans today, We

hurry through our meals to go to work and hurry through our work in order to recreate

ourselves in the evenings and on weekends and vacations (Berry 66). Bringing up her example,

it agrees with my argument completely, we value time, but we do not value our time with

making, preparing, and eating food. We value our time hanging out with friends than eating

healthy. Which is still a problem today because people do not realize how it will hurt them in the

long run.
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One of the main issues with processed food is the unhealthy effects it has. A study of

dietary salt in processed food was done by Dr. Norm Campbell and he found that limiting salt in

a diet is one of the best methods to reducing the possibility of premature death and disabilities.

His team also found that dietary salt is most present within processed food in high-income

countries and those increasing their technology within food (Campbell 619). The reason that this

is a problem is because that when people are eating this processed food and fast food, they do not

realize what they are putting in their body. People need to think about how every McDonalds

cheeseburger they eat brings them that much closer to a premature death or other health

problems such as diabetes. If people do realize that there is a lot of salt in fast food and other

processed food, they think going to their supermarket and picking up some fruit and vegetables

off the shelves is a great, healthy alternative.

Grabbing some fresh fruit from a local supermarket is not the best choice when trying

to eat healthy. The reason it is not the best choice is because the new technology of Genetically

Modified Food. Genetically Modified Organisms entered the market in the 1990s and since then

there has always been a controversial argument between the benefits and the harm of GMOs. A

promoter of GMOs thinks, Consumers may similarly benefit, as engineered fruits and

vegetables are created to have longer shelf lives and smaller price tags than their unaltered

counterparts (Johnson 34). I see a problem with that. I do not want my fresh fruit to be

sitting on the shelf for a week or however long they can last of the shelf with these special

chemicals put in or on them. I do not see that as a benefit to the consumers at all, it may be a

benefit to the producer because they would not have to throw away old produce, but being

sprayed with harmful and unhealthy pesticides and chemicals to make them stay fresh longer

does not sound fresh to me at all. Continuing to buy these fresh fruits and vegetables, the
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consumers health will be harmed which could have been solved by buying fresh organic

produce.

Giving benefits to only producers is really what the food market is all about. With the

companies only caring about themselves and how they can make the most money, it does not

benefit the consumers at all. People try to blame the unhealthy products on farmers because they

are the ones growing the food but it is not their fault. According to Susan Johnson, Industry

giant Monsanto, for example, has sued more than 410 farmers in twenty-seven states, 13 in some

instances destroying multi-generational farms in the process (Johnson 34). This is a problem

because the large industries are running all aspects of the production of food. They control

farmers by telling them what to grow and how to grow it and they control the consumers by only

giving them certain food to eat which most of the food produced is unhealthy. The producers are

not the only one to blame, but also the government. The problem is, if the producers only have

one mindset, they are not thinking about the consumers at all, so they dont care about how they

feel or what they say as long as their making money. So with the producers going against the

consumers they are on their own, especially without any government help.

The government does set rules and regulations for companies but the issue is that they do

not enforce that the companies follow them. A study done by Eleanor Alexander found that the

obligations made by the IFBA (International Food and Beverage) members and other major

multinational food and beverage companies will remain limited because no one is enforcing

these regulations (Alexander 1). This is only one example of large corporations not following

rules that are set by the government and the U.S.D.A. (United States Drug Administration).

With these corporations running the food industry and the government not doing anything to stop
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them, people need to realize that buying processed food is only helping the producers and what

they are doing.

Not all Americans agree with switching over from processed food to organic food is a

good idea. Disbelievers of organic growing usually rely on the argument that mass processing

and producing food is the only way to get the necessary amount of food out in order to feed

America. They think that there is no way that organic farmers would be able to feed America

since there is such a high demand for food. In the Documentary Fresh, Joel Salatin is an

American farmer and author who runs one of the largest organic farms in American and who

strongly believes in the necessity of processing food. In his research he found that if America

switches all of the processing companies to organic farming, it will be completely possible to

feed Americas demand for food (Fresh). Salatin is not only talking about the factory where it is

being produced, but all of the land from the vast amount of genetically modified crops and

utterly crowded feed lots. It is a lot more land than though about, which presenting this idea

makes the anti-organic farming argument not credible.

Another argument that is presented for processed food is cheaper than organic food.

Many people argue that shopping at an organic food market is too expensive and people can get

more food in a supermarket full of processed food than at an organic market. Food markets and

farmers markets have actually lowered their prices in order to be able to supply more customers

with healthy products. Also, recently some local food markets have actually brought out the

reward system towards food stamps, and every time you buy items with your food stamps you

get extra money towards more produce. So even with families with low-income, now it makes it

worth it for them to shop at fresh food markets.

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Bringing everything together, the problem with Americans dependence on processed

food is because of their value of time and money, the unhealthiness of processed food from

genetically modifying it with chemicals, and the problem not being stopped by the government

or the large corporations. In order to lessen the unhealthiness of the American society, the

production of processed food needs to slow down to be able to fix the issue. At the rate at which

processed food is growing, the future of food in America may not have any other option than

processed food, and the idea of organic farming and eating healthy may be extinct.
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Works Cited

Alexander, Eleanor. "Major Multinational Food And Beverage Companies And Informal Sector

Contributions To Global Food Consumption: Implications For Nutrition

Policy." Globalization & Health 7.1 (2011): 26-33. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4

Nov. 2014.

Berry, Wendell. "The Pleasures of Eating." The Pleasures of Eating (n.d.): 66-70. Rpt. in Food

Matters. By Holly Bauer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 1-279. Print.

Campbell, Norm, et al. "Targets And Timelines For Reducing Salt In Processed Food In The

Americas." Journal Of Clinical Hypertension 16.9 (2014): 619-623. Academic Search

Complete. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.

Fresh. Dir. Ana S. Joanes. Perf. Joel Salatin, Diana Endicott, John Ikerd, and Andrew Kimbrell.

2009. DVD.

Johnson, Susan. "Genetically Modified Food: A Golden Opportunity?." Sustainable

Development Law & Policy 14.1 (2014): 34-70.Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Nov.

2014.

Warner, Melanie. "Processed Foods Make up 70 Percent of the U.S. Diet."Marketplace.org.

Scribner, 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.