Reflective Post

Over the course of the quarter this class taught me lots about food and my food values. The aspects ranging from our in-class discussions to our readings to the research we did taught me many parts of the food industry. The insight I gained was typically disgusting and made me reevaluate my food values and choices. While I have always tried to eat a healthy and well-balanced diet I have learned so much about the food industry over the last ten weeks that my diet has shifted even more away from the disgusting eating habits and foods that we discussed in the class. One major turning point for me was "Food, Inc." This was a movie I had never seen and one that opened my eyes to the horrors of meat production in the US. My diet quickly changed excluding some of the Sodexho meat I knew was processed in plants like the ones shown. While the knowledge gained may have been astonishing I feel it is important to be informed and fully aware of all aspects of an issue and proceed to make decisions to change or not from that point. Overall, this class was important not only to practice the various writing techniques, but also to expose us to thinking about ourselves, the course made me think.

EE2

Ian Roche

WRIT 1133

Professor Leake

21 May 2013

Taste and Nutrition: The Deciders

            As humans we have to eat to provide our bodies with the nutrients we need to sustain life. With so many possibilities of food sources in our lives, how does one choose what we eat? After discussing this with a few classmates it came to my attention that people have a wide variety of food values that direct their food choices. Personally I place the most importance on taste and nutrition when choosing my food. I feel these are the most important because not only will I be able to eat a wide variety of foods the taste stipulation promotes happiness while eating nutritious food due to my other stipulation. Once I had decided on my personal food values I began to ask myself why nutrition and taste would be important to me as an eater. After some research I found that taste is genetically linked and reinforced the common ideas that nutrition is important when maintaining a healthful body.

            Taste is one of five senses and is a sense I associate with happiness. Personally, I was raised believing that taste was a sense to give a feeling of happiness. While this is true and argued by Pollan the piece written by Reed proposes the point that, “To guide food selection, the senses of taste and smell have evolved to alert us to the bitter taste of poisons and the sour taste and off-putting smell of spoiled foods” (213). This point concerning how we need taste to prevent ourselves from eating poison and rotten foods is very interesting to me. We not only eat for the enjoyment of eating, but the taste of food allows us to prevent ourselves from eating dangerous foods at the same time. Everyone has chomped down on a food item and then as the neurological signal travels from the taste buds hit the brain and our faces recoil from the taste. Personally, a similar this experience happened to me, a few years ago my younger brother made some cherry muffins and left them on the counter. A few days later I took a bite of one as I drove down the road, my window quickly flew open and the bite was spit out as quickly as possible, I had never been shocked by a food that should have been sweet and was incredibly bitter. Looking down I found the cherries blue and rotten leaving behind the bitter taste. This was a perfect example of how we use taste to prevent eating foods infected with substances our bodies cannot handle. However, as mentioned about taste has not always been just about protecting myself, it is typically how I judge the pleasure of food.

            When food hits your taste buds and the combination from the smell and the taste combine giving a sense of pleasure, that is one of the major reasons I chose the food I chose. While I feel many people can agree that no eating experience is more satisfying than chomping down on an exquisite and delicious mouthful of food Pollan puts this into words in his essay “Our National Eating Disorder.” Pollan writes, “Our taste buds help, too, predisposing us toward sweetness, which signals carbohydrate energy in nature,” (2). This quote is discussing how our bodies have certain tastes that we desire and associate with the nutrients we need to survive. This idea of predisposition is one that has been researched by many scientists and it has been discovered that our enjoyment of certain tastes relies heavily on our genetic code.

            Each human has a different genetic code, giving rise to our differences physical and some of our mental differences. Genetics is the science of comparing individuals’ genomes to determine what the different sequences mean allowing scientists to understand why individuals are individual. The science of genetics is being applied to nearly every aspect of humans and this is no different for our sense of taste, “Genetic approaches are rapidly yielding new information about our sense of taste” (Kim et al. 448). Science is an ever changing and important field and as it evolves it not only is providing information on traditional science, it can be used to discuss other, more personal problems thought to be similar between most individuals. This data along with data relating certain tastes to specific regions of the human genome show the complexity of our one sense; taste (Kim et al. 448). Another study, conducted by Drewnowski, supports the claim that tasting can be a pleasurable experience, “Sensory responses to the taste, smell, and texture of foods help determine food preferences and eating habits” (237). This quote supports both of the claims concerning taste. It implies that the taste of foods will give people the decision making process to choose their foods. Drewnowski not only continues to say, “Nutrition education and intervention strategies aimed at improving population diets ought to consider sensory pleasure response to foods […]” (237). The previous quote is relating the idea that nutrition, my second food value, is important and can be promoted through the use of foods that combine the positive taste aspect with high nutrition. There is nothing I would rather do than sink my teeth into a sweet and slightly bitter bite of fresh pineapple, as I did over the summer, as this jungle treat combined an unrivaled taste and nutrition, into one food.

            Being a member of a country that is plagued by unhealthy eaters and food that is so processed and manipulated that it can barely be called food I feel it necessary to watch the nutrition of the “food” I ingest. It is a commonly known fact that as a country we are not the healthy and nutritious country we once were. Many blame this on the industrialization of food and this is true, however, personal choice is also to blame. One study shows, “Intake of snack foods, dessert and pizza - foods that are generally nutrient- poor and energy-dense - has increased from about 18% of kcal in the 1970s to 1980s to current intakes of about one-quarter to one-third of the total dietary intake of adolescents” (Van Horn et al. 48). This quote is exposing how not only do we have access to the nutrient poor foods we, as a society, are ingesting them at an alarming rate. Nutrition is an important part of every meal especially when so many horrible and unhealthy choices are available at each meal. Children are the future of the country and unfortunately the multitude of unhealthy foods and lack of exercise is a recipe for an unhealthy future. The study done by Van Horn and her colleagues points to many possible reasons for the unhealthy nature of our nation’s youth, “Likewise, sugar-sweetened beverages constitute approximately half of all beverages consumed by children and have increased calorie intake by 10% to 15%; the intake of milk and pure fruit juice has gradually decreased over the last decade” (48). With an increased intake of empty, non-nutritious foods on the rise and the consumption of nutrient rich foods, such as dairy and fruit, decreasing our nation is having a serious problem with our eating habitats. While government lobbies and commercial food producers will do everything they can to protect these lucrative snacks from falling from grocery store shelves slight diet modification, in addition to physical exercise can help these young children combat their unhealthy bodies. Van Horn points out that while a proper diet is incredibly important so too is being active, “Physical activity is arguably the most powerful tool for healthy psychosocial and physical development; it is the primary prevention tool against obesity and cardiovascular-related comorbidities in children” (48). While physical activity is not a food value when it is used in conjunction with a nutritious and delicious diet one is destined for an amazing dining experience and a healthy body.

            Exercise is crucial in an ever increasing society of large, overweight citizens and to perform during exercise one must treat their body correctly. One way to nurture a healthy body is a nutrient rich diet. While athletes may seem like incredibly fit individuals who are already fit, their diet is incredibly important. As an athlete here at the University of Denver my coach stresses the importance of nutrition in the weeks leading up to a big match. As we approached the National Championship my coach sent a plan of foods that we should indulge in to prepare our bodies for the two day battle that was about to ensue. While athletes may have a varying diet from the typical nutritious diet it is important for people to eat foods that will allow their bodies to perform as needed. In a study done by Gleeson he discusses the effect of diet on the immune system of athletes, “Furthermore, improper nutrition can compound the negative influence of heavy exertion on immunocompetence” (Gleeson 44). This finding is discussing the fact that without the correct nutrition an athlete will exert themselves to a point that their immune system will be affected and proper nutrition can help mitigate this risk. Overall, from the benefits proper nutrition can have on the society to my personal connection to nutrition and sports nutrition is a clear choice as a food value.

            Our taste buds are covering our tongues and in collaboration with many other senses our bodies taste the chemical properties of the food. These sensory responses to the foods have five distinct categories, “Humans experience 5 well-characterized taste qualities: sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami, a savory flavor exemplified by the amino acid glutamate” (Kim 448). In the study the five flavors were referenced. These various sensory responses have varying means and severities. As discussed in Reed’s article some of the tastes and the severities of these tastes indicate that the food is poison or unsafe to eat. Other studies were cited discussing how we feel taste is a pleasurable experience. Personally the pleasure of sinking my teeth in to a delicious meal is incredibly satisfying. Especially when I know that the meal is nutritious and will help me when competing. Taste and nutrition are important, however, as food becomes more industrial these qualities are becoming harder to find.

Works Cited

Drewnowski, A. “Taste Preferences and Food Intake.” Annual Review of Nutrition. 17.1 (1997):

            237-253. Online.

Gleeson, M. and NC Bishop. “Elite Athlete Immunology: Importance of Nutrition.”

            International Journal of Sports Medicine. 21.1 (2000): 44-50. Online.

Kim et al. “Genetics of Human Taste Perception.” Journal of Dental Research. 83.6 (2004): 448-

            453. Online.

Pollan, Michael. “Our National Eating Disorder.” The New York Times Magazine. (2004).

            Online.

Reed, Danielle Renee and Antti Knaapila. “Genetics of Taste and Smell: Poisons and Pleasures.”

            Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci. 94.1 (2010): 213-240. Online.

Van Horn et al. “Importance of Nutrition and Physical Activity for Children.” Endocrine Today.

            10.12 (2012): 48. Online.

Post 9

The health of the citizens of the United States of America is a problem that has been present for many years and many people attempt to search out an answer to how we can fix our unhealthy citizens. The two articles by Pollan and Dupuis discuss this search for healthy bodies to lengthen life and feel better. The two authors both use many examples of dieting and its effectiveness. Pollan specifically discusses a no fat diet that does not work. In other pieces by Pollan he discusses other diets that did not work and ended up being useless and even in some cases harmful. While it is important to eat the right foods these two authors discuss some rules that make it much easier keep a healthy and properly functioning body. Pollan defines the right food as what our great-great grandparents ate. This food eliminates all of the preservatives and additives that are so prevalent in our food today. It is difficult to get that pure of food though. Dupuis argues that we do not eat these types of food, even though we should, due to personal choice and action. He argues that the American population asks for advice to become healthier and once the doctors give this advice we do not act on the advice and unfortunately do not change our diets. Personally, I can see this in television advertising. Now many commercials come on advertising diet pills. Medicine that will supposedly promote your body to process the “good” versions of fat, cholesterol, sugar, and other nutrients that have more beneficial and less beneficial forms. Diet pills seem to be the lazy and easy way out of the problem of our eating habits. These two articles work very well together to establish an argument about how we should eat and how we do eat. According to these two food authors, with extensive ethos, we need to eat less and eat food that our ancestors would have eaten, to avoid the preservatives and other chemicals put in today’s food.

How I eat

When choosing food I first examine taste, then the health benefits and finally the cost. Taste is most important because eating should be enjoyable and for me taste is what makes eating enjoyable. This is not based on any science, just my taste buds and their desires. Health benefits are in conjunction  with taste  because my personal health is important to me. This does come from scientific research and what I read. Finally, the gift cards I receive for Safeway make cost the least important factor when deciding what to eat. Overall, taste, health, and cost are very important and must be considered together.

Short Essay 5

Health Implications of Yogurt

            Reviewing my food consumption from this past weekend I noticed diversity in my food choices. Yogurt was a recurring theme and was quite prevalent over my weekend. This may have been due to the fact that yogurt was the last food source in my dorm fridge, however, I had chosen the yogurt while I was grocery shopping. This theme in my food choices made me question, “why do we make the choices we do when we are at the store?” To me it seems to be a combination of health choices and taste choices. For me the choice to buy yogurt is both of these, the taste of yogurt is great especially when you get a bite of fruit along with the tangy yogurt. Also, it has been my impression, since I was a kid, that yogurt is a healthful choice spurring my desire to buy this dairy product. Doing a bit of research in an online medical database I found that yogurt has many health benefits, especially cardiac health benefits (Ramchandran). These health benefits are important especially coming from a family that has a history of high blood pressure.

            Taste is a crucial aspect of food and should be considered when one is grocery shopping. If one is spending the money to purchase food the two aspects that should be considered are taste and healthful qualities of the food product. The stipulation is, of course, if one can afford the food products. However, for each socioeconomic level, people examine taste and health reward of the particular foods that are affordable to the certain class. To me this is the benefit of yogurt; it is relatively cheap, depending on the brand you buy, and has the cardiac health benefits discussed below. Therefore, when I am grocery shopping I head for the produce section and the dairy section. These two food groups are both healthful and cost efficient. With the Safeway gift cards I receive from my grandmother and my family medical history of high blood pressure it seems natural for me to purchase the yogurt.

            Growing up in Evergreen I was always outdoors playing and being active, however, so were my older relatives and many of them suffer from high blood pressure and other cardiac diseases. This shows me that my heart health is very important and a health risk I need to take seriously. The active lifestyle I live is important to my health, however, diet and exercise, not diet or exercise, are both incredibly important to a healthy body and necessary to combat diseases. Before this research I was unaware of the cardiac benefit of yogurt (Ramchandran). As stated in the findings of the study done by Ramchandran and Shah, “It was concluded that feeding diets supplemented with yogurts exhibited antihypertensive and hypocholesterolemic effects in spontaneously hypertensive rats” (Ramchandran). The study conducted used many medical terms, so in laymen’s terms the rats that had high blood pressure and were fed a diet containing yogurt showed reduced levels of cholesterol and blood pressure, therefore better cardiac health. This is an important finding, especially in a society where cholesterol and high blood pressure are a prevalent health consequence of our unhealthy diets and lifestyles. The importance is due to the possibility to reduce these levels. The lazy and busy suffers of heart disease can continue their lifestyles and chose this healthful snack over the typically unhealthy snacks that plagues our society. Combining the taste of yogurt with the health benefits that will likely aid my future health, it seems to be the right decision to continue stocking my fridge and my stomach with yogurt.

 

Works Cited

Ramchandran, L., NP. Shah. “Yogurt can beneficially affect blood contributors of cardiovascular

health status in hypertensive rats.” Journal of Food Science. 76.4 (2011): 131-136. Online.

Comment on Food Blogs

After reading my classmates food journals I noticed many of us lead college student lives. Eating often and as the weekend passed many people started eating later into the night and began their days much later. Overall, most people ate eggs for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and dinner was much more varied.

This is the works cited for my research article:

Ramchandran, L., NP. Shah. “Yogurt can beneficially affect blood contributors of cardiovascular

            health status in hypertensive rats.” Journal of Food Science. 76.4 (2011): 131-136. Online.
The article discusses the benefit of yogurt on cardiac health as shown by the research done on rats.

Post 8

Thursday:

11:00 am Breakfast-yogurt and strawberries

2:30 pm Lunch-Peanut butter and Jelly, salad with olives, feta cheese, corn, mushrooms, chickpeas, bean salad and balsamic dressing

4:30 pm Afternoon snack- salad with vinaigrette, olives, mushrooms, and raisins; cheerios

9:30 pm Dinner-yogurt and an apple and two bagels

Friday:

10:00 am Breakfast-peanut butter toast, cheerios, and breakfast potatoes

3:30 pm Lunch-yogurt, nachos-chips, olives, cheese, sour cream, ham, salsa

11:00 pm Dinner-Gyro from Jerusalem’s-pita bread, lettuce, tomatoes, gyro meat

Saturday:

10:30 am Breakfast-Peanut butter bagel, tater-tots, orange juice, coco krispies and milk

Noon Lunch-Coffee and yogurt

4:30 pm Dinner- Italian club sandwich with avocados and olives

I drank water mostly, with juice a few times.

Chicken: To eat or not to eat?

As a college student I am typically restricted to the horrors of Sodexo, however, there is one food that seems to be the best prepared and happens to be a healthy choice. This food is chicken and before a long, hard rugby practice there is nothing more comforting than sitting down to a nice dinner of chicken and fruit. This made to order option is a wonderful alternative to the typical sub-par food of Sodexo. Growing up we come to think of chicken as a healthy food, and it is. Being such a light meat packed with protein makes it a great meal for athletes. Therefore, once I found this dining option I stuck with it, unaware of the horrors of producing this historic food.

            Chicken is a delicious food, however, according to the doctoral work of Louis Grivetti it was not always a food item. This cultural geographer from the University of California came to this conclusion using anthropological clues in Egypt to show, “[…] although chickens were introduced into Egypt 1500 BC they were not used as food for another 2,000 years […]” (“History). This is an interesting concept to not have used chickens as food for 2,000 years. It seems slightly unreasonable because chickens are much too small and weak to provide an agricultural benefit, such as cows or horses. Also, they would not be able to serve a hunting service like dogs. Using these two reasons it seems unlikely to use these animals for much besides a food source. However, the anthropological clues used by Mr. Grivetti must have shown them used for different functions in society. Beginning those thousands of years ago when the Egyptians began eating these birds a new food source and culture would arise and over the nearly 1,500 years since that time the production of chicken has moved from the ancient farming methods to large chicken farms to the horrific conditions of today’s commercial chicken slaughterhouses.

            The focus of this paper is to discover the extent of today’s production of commercial chicken. The reality is a horrific story of disease and mistreatment of workers and animals. The disease ridden slaughterhouses are present all around the world and in the collection of peer-reviewed articles examined for this paper the majority of these articles discussed various examples of incredibly of toxic diseases found in the slaughterhouses. Two major examples were two studies, one in Greece and the other in Spain. The Greek slaughterhouse was examined in a study “[…] conducted to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Listeria monocytogenes recovered from chicken carcasses in slaughterhouses in Northern Greece. […] 38 yielded L. monocytogenes (38%)” (Sakaridis 1017). As mentioned by the study the carcasses were examined in a lab for the listeria virus and 38% of the chickens examined tested positive for this deadly disease. The Spanish equivalent showed that “A total of 336 chicken carcasses were collected from six slaughterhouses in Northwestern Spain. […] Salmonella strains were detected in 60 (17·9%) carcasses” (Capita 1366). This study also shows an alarming rate of infection within the slaughterhouses. While it is important to examine the possibility for disease, the microorganisms can be killed with proper cooking techniques. These studies and prior knowledge of mistreatments in large farm facilities and slaughterhouses really make one consider their choice when it comes to eating chicken.

            Personally, this research has made me question my chicken eating. I find it incredibly disgusting that we would subject ourselves to companies serving food that has been processed in plants like the ones discussed above. However, I hold a personal belief that we should trust everything and everyone until the entity affects us directly. Therefore, these articles make me examine my relationship with chicken and make me wary of eating the food. Without a direct effect on my well-being or treatment the chicken will continue to be a part of my diet. The one area where I see an effect is mistreatment of animals and people that Cook discusses in his infographic (Cook 78-79). He repeatedly discusses the horrors of the chemicals used around the humans, who risk their limbs and digits cutting and plucking the chickens and the treatment of the chickens that are raised in incredibly small pens then thrown into a truck and beheaded (Cook 78-79). This can be remedied some by the availability of organic and farm-raised chickens that claim to be raised without these awful conditions in disease ridden chicken farms and slaughterhouses. However, Sodexo, reportedly the world’s largest prison food supplier, is not likely buying the more expensive, better raised chicken. The chicken industry seems to be in poor shape in the commercial production aspect, but this tasty meal is a favorite and unless people demand for better and cleaner conditions for workers and the animals it seems the slaughterhouses will retain their disgusting ways.

Works Cited

Capita, R., C. Alonso-Calleja, and M. Preito. “Prevalence of Salmonella enterica serovars

and genovars from chicken carcasses in slaughterhouses in Spain.” Journal of Applied Microbiology 103.5 (2007): 1366-1375. Online.

Cook, Christopher D. “Fowl Trouble.” Harper’s Magazine. (1999): 78-79. Online.

“History of Chickens Dug Up in Egypt.” Los Angeles Times 25 Dec. 1973: OC_B32. Online.

Sakaridis, I, and N. Soultos, et. al. “Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Listeria

monocytogenes Isolated in Chicken Slaughterhouses in Northern Greece.” Journal of Food Protection 74.6 (2011): 1017-1021. Online.

Post 7

            These pieces all discuss the horrific realities of getting food in a commercial sense. The two that seemed to be the most descriptive of the issues concerning the food production were Estabrook’s Tomatoland and the infographic relating to chicken produced by Cook. Tomatoland discusses the horrors of our standards when it comes to commercial produce and the reality of the plight of migrant workers in the tomato industry. The horrors of the standards of today’s commercial produce are the reality that many would chose cheap over taste and nutrition. In the eyes of many the impervious tomatoes discussed in this book are more appealing due to their low price as opposed to the taste and nutritional value of the produce. As for the plight of the migrant workers they are underpaid as it is and are at the mercy of Mother Nature. If there is cold, fog, or rain the tomatoes won’t be ready so the workers are unable to support themselves, let alone their families. Being able to spend their days outside seems to be the one advantage these workers have over the slaughter house workers that are discussed in the inforgraphic that Cook presents. This inforgraphic presented many points that made eating chicken sound much less appealing. As a student who frequently indulges in the made-to-order Sodexo chicken, this article made me rethink my choice. The disgusting working conditions that constantly put people in danger of infection and persisting conditions, such as blindness, are horrific to think about. I feel no one should be put in the position of having to work in conditions like that. Others may view the infographic as a tragedy for the animals that are treated so cruelly in their small pens and aggressive handling. According to Pollan’s “An Animal’s Place” it seems that he would be one of these people who are opposing to the treatment of animals. This article goes in-depth concerning the history of animal cruelty and how in some European nations, namely England and Germany, animals have been gaining rights recently. While I have been a strong proponent of treating animals with respect and kindness since I was a young child; there comes a time when killing animals in an efficient way to feed a population becomes acceptable. Personally it boils down to protecting our own species. If that comes at the expense of other species that cannot outcompete us then so be it, as long as they are not exploited and pushed to inhumane and unreasonable conditions. Sadly these inhumane and unreasonable conditions seem to be the norm in today’s world of commercial food production. It seems the solution to these tragedies may be less commercial food and more homegrown and locally produced food.

Short Essay 4 First Source

I plan on writing about chicken. The history seems to be slightly lacking but there are no shortages of articles on the diseases and disgusting aspects on the chicken slaughterhouses around the country. One of those articles is: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2672.2007.03368.x/abstract