Entry #5. Reshaping Our Food System.

We, as humans, consume and purchase food so often that we rarely stop to think about the history behind the food we ingest in our everyday lives. How many people can say that they habitually think about where our food comes from? The documentary, Fresh, answers the question by showing the audience the pretty side of growing food and the ugly part of growing food.

In the documentary, the viewers can get an overview of how farming works. Every farmer in the industry has his or her own way of growing crops, feeding animals, and handling issues that comes with farming. Each farmer has a responsibility when it comes to producing foods. Most producers believe that their method of growing food is the best because they know that it works and that causes them to continue to stick to the procedure.

Monoculture is considered to be dangerous for the industry because it that meanz a lot of the same species are growing together with the same variation. When the same species are growing together, it is more susceptible to pests. Due to lack of mixture, pests can usually spread faster that way. When pests do appear, antibiotics have to be used to keep the species alive. Antibiotics in livestock animals can increase the risk of foodborne bacteria that can cause harm to humans. Do we really want to eat something that causes us to get sick? For the most part, most of us want to steer away from contaminated foods.



The same goes for plants and crops. Large amounts of fertilizer and pesticides are being sprayed into crops to increase fertility rate and prevent insects. Economically, farmers are better off spraying, but while doing so it is not good for the farmers, environment or the consumers. It is reasonable to want to produce more, but using fertilizers can attract more insects which requires pesticides to be used. The use of pesticides can be harmful in many different ways. A website has notified that pesticides pollute air, water, and soil which are disadvantages to farmers, consumers, animals, and plants. So why do farmers continue to use these products when it clearly has more downside than positive effects?


It is important for consumers to be educated and informed as to what they are buying these days. How much do we really know about what goes in our food? It is often a good idea to research where and how our food are made because we can decide if we need to make healthier alternatives for our eating lifestyle.