Many people do not know where the food they consume, is originated. The food that is consumed could be filled with dangerous pesticides and chemicals, but the consumer is not aware because that information is not provided with the food. Is it fair that we are unaware of what exactly is in the food we eat? Or even where exactly thee food was made? The technology in order for such information to be provided, so why isn't it? one reason is the cost. The other reason could be as simple as big corporations don't want that information being distributed to the public. Could the certain precautions taken and handling of the food also have to do wit the pricing? Would this kind of awareness produce a better/ healthier consumer?
I personally feel the public should be aware of the origin of the foods they consume. It's my body and i should be able to decide what goes in it. Nothing is free, so an additional cost in order to educate should not be a problem. I think poorly handled food would be cheaper than carefully handled food. This kind of public consumer would create a better consumer, without a doubt. People won't purposely eat toxic pesticides or chemicals. I feel this kind of information is greatly needed with the purchase of food.
http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/thegreenguide/2010/03/ending-anonymity-in-food.html
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It is true that the majority of people don’t know the origin of the food they are eating. So either as a mandate from government or public awareness campaigns, the truth about what we are eating needs to be shown for what it is.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching Food Inc. in class, it was frightening to see how our food is actually produced. I am sure that if it was broadcasted to consumers about how their chickens were raised, what pesticides were used on their corn, and how many hormones were injected into their beef, they would not always make the same choices when purchasing food. If consumers have no way to know the details about their food, they are unable to make an informed choice. We vote with our dollars, in the supermarket. Perhaps if we knew that one company kept their chickens in dark, cramped chicken houses and one company kept raised theirs as free-range chickens, we would not support the company that was mistreating the chickens. It is impossible for customers to choose which companies to support with their purchases if they don't know the food production details. This kind of awareness would produce a healthier consumer because consumers could make more informed, wiser choices.
ReplyDeleteThis article reminds me of the issue of cloned food, and the labeling of such products. If the FDA deems cloned food to be safe, do companies still have a responsibility to consumers to label the meat as 'cloned'?
I love the idea of the more carefully handled foods being more expensive. However that is because I am a upper middle class white teenage girl who does not buy anything herself. I believe that the lower class would not be as thrilled with this idea as me. This reminds me of the new program that Kroger is implimenting. The Nutrivalue system, I believe its called. While it is not exactly the same idea, very similar. Krogers current systen allows consumers very easily to access how healthy a product is simply by looking at a number 1-100 with 100 being the most. This can be very handy and I have used it to assess between different foods. If a system such as this with numbers could be implimented for carefully handled food, organics and other criteria it may be a simple but effective way for grocery stores to portray the message without being over bearing. Or making peoples decision about what they eat for them such as adding an extra cost may do.
ReplyDeleteLabeling food is extremely important. Most- nearly all consumers have no idea where their food is coming from. A lot of our food today is made using GMO's and other things of this nature. When a consumer is not aware of this there is no way for them to make an informed decision. GMO's are a fairly new technology and we have no way of knowing if down the road they may be harmful to our bodies. Because the consumer is really the one who has the ultimate power of controlling the market, it is very important that we be informed consumers.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of organic foods that do tell you what goes into the food, and I think that as long as the prices are high, there will always be people who don't care. I believe that we should know what goes into our food, but so few people care, or have enough money to care, that I don't think anything will ever get done.
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