A CORNfusing Situation

                Food Inc., The Jungle, What the Health, Supersize Me, The Omnivore's Dilemma.  All of these pieces of media have exposed the food industry and the problems behind the foods that a majority of Americans eat.  Despite their content, reasonings, or publication/release dates, they have all managed to reach fair to massive audiences and impact tons of people.  Yet, for some reason, we don’t see major food industry reform happening in society.  Yes, there are pescatarians, vegetarians, vegans, and other groups of people who conform to and promote different diets.  However, the majority of people in the world are content to remain omnivores without a second thought.  Why is this, though?  Shouldn’t we have been able to recognize the issues in the food industry and what we eat by now?  And if we have, why haven’t we done anything about it?

                Primarily, I think there’s the issue of lack of knowledge.  Prior to reading a few chapters from The Omnivore’s Dilemma, I had no idea as to how much corn we consume on a daily basis.  It was only through this knowledge quite literally being handed to me that I was able to discover this.  Unfortunately, most of us will go through life without ever being provided information such as this.  Even fewer people will actually take the time to research such matters.  However, if this kind of information was more widespread, then perhaps people would feel pressure to make a change.  After all, the biggest reform in the meat-packing industry came about after Sinclair’s, The Jungle, became widely popular in America.

                However, there still is the question as to if we would actually do anything about this problem.  From a capitalistic point of view, it’s highly profitable to continue this cycle.  For the poor, the ones who primarily eat the most fast-food, they often have less access to this knowledge or little access to changing it.  Cheap calories such as chips, soda, or fast food allow poorer families to keep bellies full.  It’s the inaccessibility to healthy foods that has led to the obesity problem in America.  As stated in chapter 7 of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, “[T]he eater [of fast food] pays a price for these cheap calories: obesity, Type II diabetes, heart disease.”  I’m near certain that no one wants any of these complications in life, but through making healthy options so difficult to access, many people are left with no other option.  It’s because of this issue and the unwillingness of big corporations to change (and therefore lose money) that we see this problem persist in America.