James Avinger

1

James Avinger

Philosophy of Food

Final Paper

December 08, 2014

Honor Pledge:I pledge that this work is my own and is not the result of the efforts of any person other than myself.

Food is an important aspect of life, as it is literally ingrained into the makeup of allliving creatures, by providing the nutrients necessary for them to continue living.With the American population larger than ever before, it is in part due to our rapid food production practices that allow us to produce enough food for the current number of people who reside within the United States.If we were unable to produce food at a quick pace, then we would not be able to sustain such a large population. However, even if we have greatly increased the amount of food we are able to produce annually, that still says nothing about the quality of the food or the effects such rapidly produced foodhas on people. Often is it the case that quickly mass-produced foods lack in quality and nutrition for what they gain in production speed.I will argue that the production of processed food in America is detrimental to the well-being of its citizens, because it causes physical harm by putting people at an increased risk for obesity and mental harm by putting women specifically at an increased risk for anorexia[U1]. First, the ways in which processed foods produced in America can be harmful to the human body will be discussed. Second, the link between a fear of obesity and Anorexia will be discussed. Last, an objection against the idea of American food productionplaying a role in the increased risk of obesity will be presented and debated.

The first premise is that current food production practices in America increase the population’s risk for obesity and the subsequent physical harm it causes. The lack of nutrition in processed foods can be blamed for this increased obesity risk. As mentioned by Victoria Davion in her article “Food Fights. A Feminist Perspective”, over seventy-eight percent of food sold in supermarkets in the United States does not provide adequate nutrition, and these foods are packed with fat, sugar, and salt. The high fat, sugar, and salt content leads a person to gain excessive amounts of weight, which then leads to further health problems. Obesity is associated with various physical ailments such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, and many other problems, all of which serve to harm a person’s physical health.To make matters worse, while people sustain themselves on the abundant supply of unhealthy processed foods, they leave less room in their diets for healthier foods. In this case, excessive consumption of fatty and sugary foods occurs simultaneously with a reduction in the consumption of healthier foods such as fruits and vegetables.Thus, the negative health effects that accompany the continuous consumption of processed foodsare further exacerbated, resulting in a vicious cycle that leads to a person becoming obese.

The second premise is that a fear of this increased risk of obesity then puts women under significant mental stress and increases their chances of developing Anorexia. Obesity is greatly looked down upon in a culture where people pride themselves on being thin and associate a slim figure with many positive traits, such as being more attractive and having better health. Therefore, it logically follows that some people may develop a fear of becoming obese, because it is the polar opposite of thinness, which is thought of very positively, and considered something very negative for this reason. However, like many other things in this country, this fear is not distributed evenly. Due to the greater amount of pressure women are under to maintain a slim figure and conform to a strict ideal of beauty, they are the ones more likely to be controlled by this fear, which may result in the emergence of psychopathology such as anorexia. Anorexia is characterized by extremely low calorie intake in an attempt to remain thin and it causes these women great mental distress as their constant fear of becoming fat not only turns them against food, but themselves as well.

As Susan Bordo mentioned in her article “Anorexia Nervosa: Psychpathology as the Crystallization of Culture”, American culture involves a long history of people having a disdain for the body.These women come to hate their bodies for wanting food, which could put them at the risk of becoming obese. The self-esteem of these women reaches an all time low as they come to associate appearance with self-worth, constantly trying to reach an unrealistic level of thinness. In this sense, the food production practices in America indirectly put women at a greater risk of anorexia and the resulting mental distress, by providing them with an abundance of unhealthy food, against which they constantly feel they must be on guard. This hypervigilance produces even more stress that increases the chances of the onset of Anorexia. It can also be said that this abundance of unhealthy food leads some women to generalize all food as bad and not just the unhealthy kind. This thought process then gives them further reason to avoid eating and serves to exacerbate anorexic symptoms. [U2]

An article by Richardson and Cherry entitled “Anorexia as a Choice” mentions women who have created websites that promote anorexia as a lifestyle rather than a disease or illness. One of the tools used on these websites to motivate other women to start and/or continue an anorexic lifestyle is what they call “trigger pictures”, which are essentially pictures of obese people meant to scare women into becoming anorexic. The fact that a mere picture of obesity is enough to motivate women who are usually already thin into becoming even thinner exemplifies how unpleasant and frightening the thought of obesity is for many women. Moreover, a prime example of the fear invoked in people by the thought of becoming obese can be seen in the fact that the rise in American obesity has been termed by many citizens as an ‘obesity epidemic’. The word epidemic originally means the outbreak of a disease that kills many people and wreaks havoc on society. The fact that the increased prevalence of obesity in America is described through the use of a word associated with the death of many people shows just howfrightening people consider the concept of obesity in this culture.

Apopular objection against the claim that the food production practices in America putspeople at an increased risk of obesity [U3]is the idea thatthe responsibility of managing one’s food intake belongs to the individual. This argument implies that it is solely the fault of the person who becomes obese that they end up doing so, andthe food production infrastructure that provides them with all the right tools to gain this weight in the first placeshould not be held accountable in anyway. However, the flaw in this line of reasoning is that it implies everyone has enough choice to freely decide what to eat from one moment to the next. Unfortunately, this is not the case for many Americans. As Davion points out in “Food Fights. A Feminist Perspective”, food choices are limited as many people do not have the option of consuming only safe and healthy foods. This fact is especially true for people who live in ‘food deserts’ or places where the people do not have access to fresh fruits and vegetables due to a lack of establishments in their area,such as grocery stores or food markets that sell fresh produce. Instead, these people are forced to get much of their nutrition from nearby convenience stores that mainly provide large selections of processed foods filled with sugar and fat. In this situation, these people are almost certain to gain extra body fat, whether they want to or not, so there is very little choice in the matter. It is unreasonable to expect someone to take full responsibility for something they have little control over.

In conclusion, the practice of mass producing processed foods heavily loaded with sugar and fat are directly harmful to the physical health of those who consume them and indirectly harmful for the mental health of women. Some people may argue that people should just avoid eating processed foods if they want to avoid these detrimental effects. However, due to the limited choices some people have, that is not a feasible option, as many people have few options but to rely on processed foods. The issue of negative health effects resulting from extensive processed food consumption is important because these foods are highly abundant and impact nearly everyone. However, this problem is not easy to address. Although these foods can be physically and mentally detrimental for people’s health, the fact still remains that the high-speed production of these foods helps to sustain a larger population size. Furthermore, people are reluctant to make large-scale changes when it comes to their diet because of food’s multifaceted role in people’s lives. Therefore, it is important to find solutions to the threats that processed foods pose, while also taking into account the ways in which people feel about their food. Only after well-reasoned proposals to revise the food production practices in America have been made and government officials prioritize the well-being of their citizens over profit can we start to see change in a positive and healthier direction. [U4]

[U1]Not clear how processed food relates to the ed problem.

[U2]Could have a better discussion about the bordo piece. Other issues than production of food that impace ed.

[U3]Or thinness.

[U4]Grade: 88