The Food Dilemma of the Omnivore Essay Example for Free

The Food Dilemma of the Omnivore Essay Everybody loves food, especially America. Americans are obsessed with food, and that is correlated to the fact that in America, food is almost always readily available to us. We have fast food restaurants, grocery stores, restaurants, and farmers markets with most of the food being relatively affordable. Our nation without a doubt has many dilemmas that need to be solved, however if you were to group all of these dilemmas into different sets and focus on the â€Å"food† set of the dilemmas, which would be our nation’s current food dilemma? Taking everything into account, finding healthy, tasteful foods seems to be the main concern of many Americans today. With obesity on the rise like it is, healthy foods are a need to many of Americans. However, this is a very difficult dilemma to solve because many of the tasteful foods are usually the unhealthy ones, eating only healthy foods could very well make us miss out on key nutrients our body needs, and also the â€Å"important† qualities of food are only known because of science. Some of the trademarks of American foods are pizza and hamburgers, however when has a regular pizza or regular hamburger ever been ordered by someone on a strict diet or someone who only eats healthy foods? Hamburgers have been transformed into veggie burgers and pizzas have been changed to white pizzas. The problem with veggie burgers and white pizzas are they simply do not taste as good as a regular hamburger or pizza. As Michael Pollen stated, â€Å"to think of some of the most delicious components of food as toxins, as nutritionism has taught us to do in the case of fat, does little for our happiness as eaters† (13). When Americans try and eat healthy, they opt to go for the healthy options and not the unhealthy options even though those are the foods that taste the best. So to conquer the dilemma of finding healthy, tasteful foods, we must find healthy foods that taste as good as the unhealthy foods. In America, the amount of Americans who vow to eat healthy and live a  healthy life has indeed gone up of the past decades, but how come the amount of Americans who get sick and who get diseases have gone up. The quality of life is certainly greater now than it was during World War II and during the steel mill days, but the amount of cancer patients has gone up along with many other life threatening diseases. Could that be connected to the fact that food is no longer what it used to be and vital nutrients are missing from our diet because they are only available to us from unhealthy foods? In The Changing Significance of Food, Margaret Mead brings up the question, â€Å"how can the country be overnourished and undernourished at the same time† (15). Mead is point on when she states that America is overnourished based upon how many healthy foods we have, however it is very interesting when she states we are undernourished at the same time. America is able to be both undernourished and overnourished because the healthy, diet foods do not contain the nutrients we need to live a healthy life. An example of this would be the choice between whole milk and skim milk for a baby or toddler. Skim milk is obviously healthier and does not contain as many calories as whole milk, however does skim milk supply all of the nutrients whole milk does to the body. If we can succeed in adding all of the nutrients we as humans need to the deemed â€Å"healthy† foods, we will be a step closer in conquering the problem of finding healthy, tasteful foods. There are so many foods out there that are labeled healthy, like turkey, white chicken, green tea, and skim milk. However, how do we as consumers know what make all these healthy foods healthy? All of the information we know about food comes from inside a laboratory where food scientists study the components of all the food imaginable. Because of this, any food with any trace of fat in it is automatically thrown out of consideration for being labeled healthy. On the other hand, sure fat may not be healthy, but what if there is a health benefit to eating a certain kind of fat. Maybe down the line scientists will discover a certain kind of fat can help prevent cancer. Going back to Michael Pollen’s article of Nutritionism, Pollen’s quotes Harvey Levenstein when he states â€Å"taste is not a true guide to what should be eaten; that one should not simply eat what one enjoys; that the important components of foods cannot be seen or tasted, but are discernible only in scientific laboratories† (14). Important qualities of  foods now a day are calories, fat and carbohydrates while in the past they were vitamin B, protein and calcium. When producers take out all the unhealthy nutrients in food, the tastefulness of the food indeed goes down, making it a less desirable option. Once again, with the â€Å"important† qualities of food being limited and constraint to a strict standard, it is harder to combat the problem of finding healthy, tasteful foods. Closing out the problems that make it harder to combat the dilemma of finding healthy, tasteful food options, consumers must remember that eating healthy is a very tricky thing. Like stated earlier, the choice between skim milk and whole milk can be a very difficult decision because of the pros and cons of each choice, but in the end the choice should always be decided on which food is better for your body, not which is the â€Å"labeled healthier† option. All in all, our nation’s current food dilemma is finding healthy, tasteful foods because many of the tasteful foods are the unhealthy ones, the country is so concerned about eating healthy we are missing some vital nutrients from the â€Å"unhealthy† foods, and the â€Å"important† qualities of food are only known because of science.

The Importance of Culture Essay -- Sociology

What is culture? The definition of culture as explained by the English Anthropologist Edward B. Taylor in his work Primitive Culture: â€Å"Culture or civilization†¦is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs, and other capabilities acquired by man as a member of society.† (Atafori). In addition, culture is the habits of people and is an important part of any society. Culture ties people of a community together, gives an individual a unique identity, and serves as the founding principles of one’s life. First, culture unites people together in a society. Further, culture gives common interests to one another in their society. For instance, Deepa Kartha emphasizes, â€Å"Culture is essential for the existence of a society, because it binds people together† (Kartha). Therefore, this common bond is what ties the people together in a group or region. In addition, Goodman’s essay implies, â€Å"It provides a powerful bond for personal loyalties and loyalties between peoples† (Goodman). Consequently, people that do not live in the regions where their culture exist will seek out others of the same traditions for camaraderie. Additionally, this bond explains why such regions in the world have communities made up of certain culture; for instance, China Town is a small region in the city of Melbourne, Australia that has all Chinese beliefs, morals, customs, and food. What’s more, the people that work and live in China Town are of Chinese culture. In addition, the culture of a community gives a person his or her own individuality. Communities will have different language, foods, customs, and traditions, which differentiates one group of people from another. Yutun Li points out that their family’s custom is to make d... ...Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 4 March 2010 . Atafori, Ayuure Kapini. "Culture-A Source of Prehudice and Ethnocentrism." 30 September 2006. The Statesman. 4 March 2009 . Brott, Armin A. "Not All Men Are Sly Foxes." Kennedy, X.J., Kennedy, Dorothy M., Aaron, Jane E. The Brief Bedford Reader. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 285-287. Goodman, Donald P. III. "What is Culture." 14 June 2009. Goretti Publications. March 3 2010 . Kartha, Deepa. "What is Culture." 2 June 2009. Buzzle.com. 3 March 2010 . Li, Yiyun. "Orange Crush." Kennedy, X.J., Kennedy, Dorothy M., Aaron, Jane E. The Brief Bedford Reader. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 144-146.

Defects in Society Essay

â€Å"The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable. The whole book is symbolic in nature.† — William Golding In lord of the flies, Golding expresses elements of multiple defects in society that can be traced to be defects in human nature. Whether it’s lack of self-control, violence, savagery, authority, common stereotypes, etc., we’re all accountable for our defects as people. I believe the characters portrayed within the book also give us a good sense of what our society is like in present day. Characters such as Ralph demonstrate a good, authoritative, head-on-shoulders kind of person, a person wanting to be in charge to keep order, their interest being for the betterment of the people, a positive side for society. While characters such a Jack show a selfish, power hungry, discriminatory side of society, which leads to all things negative. Both characters are very much alike in a sense though. As people, we strive to be the best we can and if getting there means we have to incorporate both sides, then we’ll do it. Components of society such as lack of self-control, violence, savagery, authority, societal stereotypes, etc., are demonstrated immensely throughout the book. Golding expresses this with examples such as the boys jumping to conclusions about Simon and putting him to his death with the threat of him being the ‘beast’, the superiority vs. inferiority expressed with the dividing of the two groups; the â€Å"Biguns† and the Littluns†, then you have Jack as a prime example of lack of self-control where he becomes power hungry in the sense of an authority leader, removing ralph from his position and gaining the respect of the tribe just as Ralph had once did. A societal stereotype demonstrated within lord of the flies is the fact that throughout the whole novel, Piggy was unnamed, no one even bothered to know his name, and he died nameless. The boys had placed an initial view on him and proceeded to not inquire about him any longer. This happens in our society on a daily basis. We place a label on someone, push them away, humiliating those who differ, and making them outcasts. I believe this was a strong statement from Golding’s perspective. As a society, I believe Golding was trying to communicate that essentially, when the going gets tough, we just give up. When we’re faced with difficult situations or put in a predicament we’re not exactly comfortable with or is not considered our norm, we turn the other cheek and shy away from what’s in front of us. This was demonstrated within the novel as the boys we’re getting too in over their heads about their horrid fears of the beast. Not actually knowing what is was, they let their fears get the better of them without investigating, only to find out that it was the farthest thing from a beast; a simple parachutist. Obviously, their situation was different to today’s standards, but the idea’s similar. As stated previously as a societal component, savagery played a large part throughout Lord of the Flies. This was communicated between aspects of civilization also. Both were demonstrated by Golding with a few major symbols within the novel; those being the conch shell, as well as the Lord of the flies, which both are represented by Ralph and Jack. Throughout the chapters, you see the aspects of savagery come out more with jacks’ person. From the times of leaving the signal fire in times of hunting, he has lost his sense of innocence. It became a situation of food over thought. With the conch, it was solely the deciding factor of who had authority within the group or whose turn it was to speak essentially. This still conducted order and made things run smoothly. Everyone had adapted to it for the time being until savagery took over and the killing of piggy ended the custom of the conch as well. In conclusion, despite the various aspects William Golding has incorporated into Lord of the Flies to demonstrate the defects in society being traced to the defects in human nature, everything within the book still remains true today and I definitely believe that’s what he was going for. He wanted something for civilization to read and reflect upon and that’s exactly what I’ve done. How he’s incorporated societal views, perspectives and problems and found a way to relate it back to a group of young boys stranded on an island fighting for survival is intriguing.

The Second World War - 2302 Words

Second World War World War II was one of the greatest struggles humanity has ever seen. This Second World War caused many lives to be lost, damaged personal properties and was expensive, for a great deal of money was required to maintain a country’s military strength. The numbers for those that have passed, been wounded or gone missing during the war could never be calculated precisely; though it has been estimated that more than 55 million lives perished. Many historians have traced the causes of World War II to the problems left unsolved by the First World War (1914-1918). World War I and the treaties that ended it also created new political and economic problems. Forceful leaders and dictators in several countries (Germany, Italy, and†¦show more content†¦Many nationalists viewed foreigners and members of minority groups as inferior. Such beliefs helped nations justify their conquest of other lands and the poor treatment of minorities within their borders. Nationalism was a chief c ause of World War I, and it grew even stronger after that war. Nationalism went hand in hand with feelings of national displeasure. For instance, many Germans felt humiliated by their countrys defeat in World War I and its harsh treatment under the Treaty of Versailles. During the 1930s, they enthusiastically supported an aggressive nationalistic organization called The Nazi Party. The Nazi Party declared that Germany had a right to become strong again. Besides Germany nationalism also gained strength in Italy and Japan. The Peace of Paris established an international organization called The League of Nations to maintain peace. Each country backed its own interests at the expense of other countries which prevented The League from working effectively. Therefore only weak countries agreed to submit their disagreements to The League of Nations for settlement. While strong nations reserved the right to settle their disputes by threats or force. The political unrest and poor economic conditions that developed after World War I enabled dictatorships to arise in several countries. Especially in those countries that lacked a tradition of democratic government. During the 1920s andShow MoreRelatedWar On The Second World War923 Words   |  4 Pages War is one of the most dreadful matter in our world today. We have grown up watching news on wars on television channels and news. I am from a country called Bangladesh, where we fought for victory to save our country through a nine months bloody war. And, now we see all this war around different countries in news channels, and newspapers, killing of innocent people. War has nothing to do with killing innocent citizens of a country. The main purpose of war is to fight against one another to protectRead MoreThe World Of The Second World War1641 Words   |  7 PagesThe Second World War left the world in a very terrible state. 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