American Food System Essay

The American food system has been greatly affected by industrialization, urbanization, and wars. With the massive shift of population in the early twentieth century (about forty percent), the demand for large quantities of food from shrinking agricultural businesses increased. People’s lifestyles switched from subsistence farming living to a more urban, capitalistic life. Through constant economic and environmental conflicts as well as wars, the countries’ views on food started focusing less on the importance of being healthy and more towards putting cheaper food on the table. In the sixties and seventies, a minority of people started becoming more aware of what they were eating, which eventually lead to a nationwide emphasis on a healthier

However, when many people read these labels, they get lost in the long list of nutrients - such as total calories, fat, cholesterol, carbohydrates, and vitamins (Renee) - and look for large, clear words on the front of packaging that promote their products as healthy. Companies use this to their advantage because their products are not supposed to contain any of ingredients that are generally understood as unhealthy. For example water, can be labeled as free of gluten, fat, sugar, artificial coloring,

. . has not been treated with preservatives, antibiotics, synthetic additives, artificial flavoring or artificial coloring” (Negowetti, 20). This adds into whether or not foods containing GMOs should be labeled or considered natural and be labeled as containing genetically modified organisms. Without proper labeling people are continuously left in the dark about what they are actually eating(Negowetti,