The Pleasures Of Eating Analysis

Less Freedom, More Food
Is it comforting to be reliant on other countries or large companies? If food processes were shown to the public, would American food habits continue as they are now? In the article, “The Pleasures of Eating” by Wendell Berry, the author believes that industrial agriculture is taking away the freedom that Americans have grown up to have. America has become ignorant in the ways of food and food production. Many people do not care to learn about the dangers of food, which is harmful to, not only to the country and land itself, but along with the people that live here. Society has to deal with a lot of things nowadays which makes it hard to focus on a singular problem. Berry uses freedom, passive consumers, along with the
Wendell Berry provides many instances where Americans no longer know how to tell the difference between healthy food and food packed with chemicals. People are being blind to the food world that is constantly surrounding them which “thus [can liberate them] only by entering a trap” that is set to keep people inside the imaginary world that big industries that control their food is normal (Berry 12). How can someone be so unaware that they fall into a trap that might be the death of them oneday? Some people believe that they can do something about the way big companies lure Americans into their ongoing cycle of lies. Even school systems are advertising unhealthy foods to children. The schools “...[do not] sell children guns, alcohol, or drugs” except they are allowing food companies to utilize the opportunity to convince kids to buy into their products (Barboza 55). By allowing the big companies to use schools, they are also taking away the students’ right to choose whether they want to eat healthy food. The student cannot embrace a healthy lifestyle or become more aware if they are only surrounded by harmful choices and advertisements. Many Americans have tied food to the ideas of choice and their freedom. The Declaration of Independence states that people are given the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, meaning that society must be given these
Although, society is remissive to learn more about how food is made and the population is becoming more and more lazy as time goes on. Everything has an impact on society, including the production of food, the prices of food, passiveness in consumers, the consumer’s right to know what they are eating and how people have the ability to educate themselves on this serious matter, but choose to ignore it. If society would begin to learn more about food production, there would be a change in how Americans eat, produce, and think about food. Society would also become less obese and many people’s health problems would start to