Unit 2 Ethical Issue Essay- What is Food?

What is Food?

As an Obese person, this topic really hit home. What is food? Is it just what we consume, or is it what we get from consuming? Is it fresh? Is it processed? Is it neither? What is food? I did a little research and have found three articles that caught my eye. One is from Mr. Michael Pollan, from Times Magazine, an article from LE Magazine, and lastly, the definition of food from Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia.

In Michael Pollan’s January 28, 2007 article in The Times Magazine, he says “A little meat won’t kill you, though it’s better approached as a side dish than as a main. And you’re much better off eating whole fresh foods than processed food products. That’s what I mean by the recommendation to eat “food.” Once, food was all you could eat, but today there are lots of other edible food like substances in the supermarket. These novel products of food science often come in packages festooned with health claims, which brings me to a related rule of thumb: if you’re concerned about your health, you should probably avoid food products that make health claims. Why? Because a health claim on a food product is a good indication that it’s not really food, and food is what you want to eat.” But what if what you were eating the food for was not what you were getting?

I found this article from the March 2001 edition of LE Magazine particularly interesting. “Imagine the surprise of going online and discovering that the vitamin and mineral content of vegetables has drastically dropped.
That’s what happened to nutritionist, Alex Jack, when he went to check out the latest US Department of Agriculture food tables. The stunning revelation came after Jack compared recently published nutrient values with an old USDA handbook he had lying around. Some of the differences in vitamin and mineral content were enormous-a 50% drop in the amount of calcium in broccoli, for example. Watercress down 88% in iron content; cauliflower down 40% in vitamin C content-all since 1975.
Jack took his findings to the USDA, hoping for a reasonable explanation. That was two years ago. He’s still waiting. So is Organic Gardening magazine, which published an open letter, seeking an explanation from Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture. Glickman didn’t respond, but USDA employee, Phyllis E. Johnson did. Johnson (who is head of the Beltsville area office), suggested to Organic Gardening that the nutrient drain should be put in context. According to her, the 78% decrease in calcium content of corn is not significant because no one eats corn for calcium. She further explains that the problem may not even exist at all; that the apparent nutrient dips could be due to the testing procedures. For example, “changes in the public’s perception of what the edible portion is may determine what parts have been analyzed over time.” In other words, back when the old food tables were made up, people may have been eating the cob too, so they got more nutrients.
We decided to look into this further. Jack had used a 1975 version of the food tables for his research. We dredged up a 1963 version. After comparing the nutrient values for over a dozen fruits and vegetables, it was clear that the nutrient value of many foods has dropped, in some cases drastically. For example, the amount of vitamin C in sweet peppers has plummeted from 128 mg to 89 mg.= The vitamin A in apples has dropped from 90 mg to 53 mg. The fall-offs seem to be limited mostly to vegetables, and some fruits.
Some vegetables appear to be gaining vitamins-at least vitamin A. Carrots, for example, have more of the vitamin now than they did in 1963. Why is a mystery. But the phenomenon has apparently occurred just in the nick of time. The National Academy of Sciences has issued an alert that it takes twice as many vegetables to get the daily requirement of vitamin A as previously thought. Carrots and pumpkin are exempt from the caveat.
Despite the apparent increase of vitamin A in carrots, most vegetables are losing their vitamins and minerals. Nearly half the calcium and vitamin A in broccoli, for example, have disappeared. Collards are not the greens they used to be. If you're eating them for minerals and vitamin A, be aware that the vitamin A content has fallen from 6500 IUs to 3800 IUs. Their potassium has dropped from 400 mg to 170 mg. Magnesium has fallen sharply-57 mg to 9. Cauliflower has lost almost half its vitamin C, along with its thiamin and riboflavin. Most of the calcium in pineapple is gone-from 17 mg (per 100 grams raw) to 7. And the list goes on and on.”

According to Wikipedia, “Food is any substance, usually composed primarily of carbohydrates, fats, water and/or proteins, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus or fermented products like alcohol. Although many human cultures sought food items through hunting and gathering, today most cultures use farming, ranching, and fishing, with hunting, foraging and other methods of a local nature included but playing a minor role.
Most traditions have a recognizable cuisine, a specific set of cooking traditions, preferences, and practices, the study of which is known as gastronomy. Many cultures have diversified their foods by means of preparation, cooking methods and manufacturing. This also includes a complex food trade which helps the cultures to economically survive by-way-of food, not just by consumption.
Many cultures study the dietary analysis of food habits. While humans are omnivores, religion and social constructs such as morality often affect which foods they will consume. Food safety is also a concern with food borne illness claiming many lives each year. In many languages, food is often used metaphorically or figuratively, as in "food for thought".
Between the extremes of optimal health and death from starvation or malnutrition, there is an array of disease states that can be caused or alleviated by changes in diet. Deficiencies, excesses and imbalances in diet can produce negative impacts on health, which may lead to diseases such as scurvy, obesity or osteoporosis, as well as psychological and behavioral problems. The science of nutrition attempts to understand how and why specific dietary aspects influence health.”

To me, food is both the sustenance and the nutrients, and when you combine things in the right order, getting in the recommended amount of grains, fruits, veggies, dairy, meats, fats, and sugars, you get a well balanced meal. Balanced meals are important in maintaining a healthy body, mind, and soul. But for a lot of us, eating balanced meals is hard. We are often tempted to eat “junk food” rather than the healthier option, mostly because it is faster to open a bag of chips then to wash and cut up an apple.

So, what is food? Food is any substance that can be eaten or drunk. Not all food is good for you, and some of what is, doesn’t have the nutrients that it used to. But the most important thing to remember about food is, that food is all around us and it’s our choice what we eat.


MICHAEL POLLAN The Times Magazine Published: January 28, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/magazine/28nutritionism.t.html?ex=1327640400&en=7c85a1c254546157&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

LE Magazine March 2001 http://www.soilandhealth.org/06clipfile/0601.LEMag/LE%20Magazine%2C%20March%202001%20-%20Report%20Vegetables%20Without%20Vitamins.htm

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food