Unnatural Hunger An Insatiable Dilemma

Jack Tseng B9802059

Vocabulary


Granary
–

storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed


Horticulture
–

industry and science of plant
cultivation


Subsidy
-

form of financial assistance paid to a
business or economic sector




The Problem(s)


Diet Imbalance


Obesity


Food
–

related illnesses


Type
-
2 diabetes

Reintroducing Food


Avoiding Protein, Carbohydrates, Fats?


Saturated fats, Trans fats


Omega
-
3 fatty acid


Organic!


Food Pyramid


MSG


Polyphenols

Reasons to eat


Ritual


Express identity, taboos


Health



Pseudoscience


Orthorexia

–

Unhealthy obsession with healthy eating



Animal fats < Plant oils


Hydrogenated plant oils actually have trans fats


Beta
-
carotene in carrots


Antioxidant


Field study with cancer patients was inconclusive


Actually, increased cancer rate in population of high
alcoholics


Food Chemistry


Cereal, Yogurt


Cholesterol,
phytochemicals
, fiber, antioxidants


Maltodextrin
,
Xanthan

gum

Edible Food
-
like Substances


Oreo cookie


Common Reasons for Modern
Problems


Affluence


Poverty


Technology


Clever marketing


Changes in diet


… others?


FDR



The Great Depression


New Deals


Subsidized storable commodities such as Corn and Soy


Loan from government, using Corn/Soy as collateral


Sell stock to pay back loan


Keep Loan and government keeps the stock


“Ever
-
normal Granary”


Corn



Great Depression


Government Subsidies


Genetic Engineering & Horticulture



“since the Nixon administration, farmers in the
United States have managed to produce 500
additional calories per person every day” (103)



Government Subsidies



Price floor


Invalidates law of Price & Demand


Only way to increase revenue would be to increase
supply since price is constant





Past Attempts at Using the
Surplus


Biopetroleum

-

producing
ethanol from surplus corn


Feed to livestock

Sustainability



(Transport of food exhausts
more energy than contained in
the food )


57 Calories transportation: 1
Calorie of food


Marketing


Supersize

it!!


Happy Meal, Ronald McDonald


Externalities


Environment


Long distance transportation of foods from processing
center


Government


Subsidies program in vicious cycle


Citizens


Vulnerable to clever marketing


Health Costs


Medical Costs


Selective subsidies for corn and soy promote lower
prices in highly processed foods


High fructose corn syrup is much cheaper than sugar


HFCS as marker for highly processed foods


Unfamiliar chemical names in ingredient


Adult Onset Diabetes


Type
-
2 Diabetes


According to CDC, 1 in 3 Americans will suffer from
Diabetes


7 years less life expectancy


$14,000/year in healthcare costs


80% chance heart disease


People have eaten very well for thousands of years and
they can do it again.