The meaning and importance behind food has taken many sharp turns throughout the last decade and it is incredible to see how the different forms of food can affect every individual and families in its own unique way. It has gone from families scavenging for their own food and making a home cooked meal, to mixing a simple liquid and powder to form an on-the-go quick meal. Of course, these are two extremes that have many scenarios that fall between, but it’s the fact that these two extremes have come to be that show the real evolution of meals and food today. It is mind blowing, considering that homecooked meals are almost extinct in most families. The basic idea of cooking has been lost due to the fact that we now have more activities and careers we are trying to fit into our already busy schedules with caring for a family and having a roof over their heads. Admittedly, cooking does take both time and effort. First, we have to figure out what we want to eat. Then we need to buy the ingredients, and then we need to go home to transform those ingredients into a meal. On top of all of that we have so many different and quicker options to put in place of that, that could sometimes allow us to put our minds at ease. The time and effort that it takes to prepare a home cooked meal, and have a full family around the table is completely looked past, and has evolved into having other people make these meals for us; whether out at a restaurant or pre made and picked up frozen in the grocery store. We’ve created a new way that is easier and less time consuming, but have lost sight in the true meaning behind what it is like to prepare the food and table, and spend more time away from the chaos of the outside world and with our family; the true roots of what can make us happy. Both extremes are brought up in readings we have digested in class and can allow you to open your eyes as to how this world is truly transforming the way families spend time prepare meals and eating.
While absorbing the information of the different point of views between three people, I’ve noticed that in some way, food still hold its importance, but in a variety of different forms. When comparing the two articles Can Planet Earth Feed 10 Billion People by Michael C Mann and The End of Food by Lizzie Widdicombe, one can essentially see three different outlooks and mindsets. Two of them being from Mann’s article and the other one being from Widdicombe’s article. They can all intertwine with one another, but neither of them fully agrees with all of the details that go into each thought or idea. All having the common idea about how food holds its meaning, they contradict each other while going in depth about the history and the demand. In Mann’s essay, he talks about two views; one from the side of prophets and the other from the side of wizards. William Vogt, parting sides with the wizards argues that “if we continue taking more than the earth can give, the unavoidable results will be devastation on a global scale” (Mann 2). In the eyes of most, this pinpoints the idea that the world today, being more consumers than producers, needs to slow down and reevaluate the importance of food, and notice the decline of products that we have. Norman Borlaug leans toward the side of the prophets and states his view that “science and technology will let us a produce a way out of our predicament” and that “affluence was not the problem but the solution. Only getting richer and more knowledgeable can humankind create the science that will resolve our environmental dilemmas” (Mann 2-3). Many quickly disagree with this point of view and turn away from the fact that with more money and more technology we could essential produce more and pull us out of a hole where consuming is overpowering our production. The prophets and Wizards have two point of views that completely contradict one another. Both have positive and negative effects and can give us a productive outcome, but who knows for how long. In Widdicombe interviews with an entrepreneur, Rob Rinehart, she sees that, in his eyes, the food industry and meals are “too complex and too expensive” which leads him to believe that a Soylent is the best option to fulfill his everyday needs. The Soylent being a new replacement to food; not a new solution. With the combination of a liquid and a powder, he believes this new product can be a quicker and more affordable way to have a ‘meal’, but also looks past what the importance of a true, sit down meal, is for some families. With each and every outlook being backed up with supporting evidence, it can be troublesome to come to a conclusion as to what is truly best and most efficient. Is it going to be more technology based, less consuming based, or just a new alternative all together? Agreeing with either option can act as though you’re inserting yourself into a very harsh conversation. Not really sure how to back yourself up knowing there is a great amount of reasoning to contradict your belief can be challenging, but finding what has the most pros can reassure you that what you’re choosing is truly what is best for you, and may be worse for someone else.
Unlike the Wizards, the prophets have this idea that technology advancement can allow us to foresee many new opportunities to get us out of this consuming predicament. Although we are consuming too much, instead of cutting back and creating something equal for everyone, why can’t we advance and develop something to give us more than what we already have? Something that could possible open up lands to allow us to produce more food, or even take what is dead and convert it to something that could be beneficial. Connecting this to Rinehart’s idea, something like the Soylent is taking away the nutrients we are getting from a variety of foods and condensing it into a powder to save time and energy. Yes, for some, this may be the solution, but for most, this wouldn’t be applicable to their everyday lives. Some see meals as a reward for a job well done, whether it be a in turn for the time and effort it took to make the meal, or even the trophy in a result of completing a long day at work. Taking away something that some see as a necessity and cutting back isn’t an option for a good chunk of people. If consuming and producing something unique to them is the highlight to their week, then keep allowing them to do that by creating something that can produce more and that allows people to keep making money.
