Preview

What We Eat Is Just A Personal Choice Analysis

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1319 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What We Eat Is Just A Personal Choice Analysis
I do not agree with the claim “What we eat is just a personal choice” stated by my friend. In this essay, I will focus on the aspect of eating animal meats in our everyday life to demonstrate what eat or consume is not as simple as we think. Besides, supporting fair trade foods and reducing food wastage in the food buying and consumption process will also be discussed. Indeed, there are social and psychological factors affecting our personal choices and what we choose to eat will have subtle and even significant implications to various stakeholders such as the farmers, the food producers, and the environment. To begin with, many people insist saying that “Eating animals is just a personal choice.” It is merely a debate between choosing animal …show more content…
Some people may think that we have the freedom to choose what to eat without any restrictions. Let us consider from the animal victim’s perspective. In essence, animals are perceived and viewed as objects but not a victim because they are treated as essential sources in our diets. Without eating meats, human beings may suffer from malnutrition and subsequently lead to underweight. Many health-related issues may arise. I believe that animals do have consciousness and emotions same as human beings. When they are being sent to the slaughterhouse, they tend to resist and develop a strong sense of fear to death but unfortunately, they are unable to escape from it, and at the same time human beings often take it for granted that eating meats are essential for them to survive. In many cultures especially the Western society, torturing and eating cats and dogs are universally unacceptable and highly unethical because cats and dogs are usually treated as pets, which needs to be protected. But when it comes to livestock such as pig, chicken, and cow, people think that it is perfectly acceptable to kill them. It seems that human beings have rationalized the perception of eating animal products (i.e., livestock) as part of our

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In Lisa Hamilton’s “Unconventional Farmers; Let Them Eat Meat”, she justifies the issue of raising livestock for food causing greenhouse gas emissions. Should we be eating less meat or actually eating more? Hamilton’s research found many interesting points that would interest any human beings that consume meat or any other type of consumable goods.…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Our gustatory pleasure is not as important as the lives of animals. The example used in the article to explain this argument was the “Torturing Puppies” argument. Anyone who has compassion and emotions would agree that saving the lives of the puppies is the right thing to do, as opposed to killing them just for a momentary, gustatory experience. This is the same with the meat farms and consumers. Many animals such as chickens are ripped off of their beaks. Baby cows are put in cages to make their meat tender by not allowing their bones and muscles to grow. Pig’s tails are cut off and are subject to enclosed spaces. The living conditions of these animals are poor. Hormones are being injected into animals, negatively affecting the consumer’s overall health. All of this torture, just to kill these animals for gustatory pleasure, seems just as bad as the puppy example mentioned…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hasselstrom and Regan both make valid points in their arguments by discussing the reason behind the killing of animals. In “The Cow Versus The Animal Rights Activist,” Hasselstrom tells us that the death of cattle benefits human life, and that human life is more important to protect than the life of animals. He argues, against misinformed antibeef activists, that the red meat from cows is healthy for humans. Other parts of the cow can also be used such as the fat and the hide. Although Hasselstrom provides…

    • 1234 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The book Omnivore’s Dilemma started off with a question like many other books do but this question is simple, what should we have for dinner tonight? But the answer is way more complicated than the just the simple question that is asked. In the book Omnivore’s Dilemma, Pollan examines humans eating problems and how food affects humans as a society also he is talking about food as cultural significant object and increasing food availability as a problem in our society. The Omnivore’s Dilemma is an fascinating book that will have Americans reevaluating their way of eating and choosing their food more carefully and actually looking at labels or how it is grown or raised. Pollan mainly focuses on examining the problem of our eating and by looking…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Have you ever thought about how the food you’re about to eat was prepared? I know I rarely do, and many of us never pay any mind to what exactly is on our plate. David Foster Wallace’s essay will almost definitely make you ask yourself a few questions regarding meat consumption. His piece talks about the controversy behind killing lobsters and questions people’s general views on that matter, making his audience think about morality.…

    • 1039 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    People tend to pay as much attention to food as they do brushing their teeth. I urge you, however, to take a step back, slow down, and really think about the food you eat. Eating is a complex thing. It may surprise you. And when you actually think about eating, you will eventually come to think about eating meat. This is no accident, meat has it's pull on humanity. And on our world. The choices we make matter. According to the best-selling author Jonathan Safran Foer, eating the meat we know "is certainly the single worst thing that humans can do to the environment"(457). Foer has been recognized by Rolling Stones Magazine and Esquire for his many accomplishments. In one of his works, "Against Meat", Foer covers the relationship of meat and…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Have you ever wondered where your food comes from? The Omnivore’s Dilemma, written by Michael Pollan, digs deeper into this question. He explains the different food chains and argues that some are more wholesome and healthy than others. In this way, he solves “the omnivore’s dilemma”; when people can eat everything, what should they eat? Pollan proves that guidance is necessary in order to improve people’s eating habits by writing about healthful food choices from the past, how our senses are fooling us to make the wrong food choices, and how culture impacts the food on everyone’s plates.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Omnivore's Dilemma

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “The Omnivore’s Dilemma, A Natural History Of Four Meals.” by Michael Pollan is an incredibly information-dense review of our modern day food industry. Pollan promises to use facts, statistics, and personal experience to take the reader on a journey that will ultimately discover a definitive answer to “what should I have for dinner?” This book had an interesting effect on me which I will discuss by first explaining my food industry related knowledge prior to reading the book, what the book has taught me, and finally, go over what I call “The Omnivore's Dilemma’s Dilemma.”…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Suuaaaraaa

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the book titled “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, the author Michael Pollan explains about the huge world of food production. . In modern society the choices of food available for us humans seem so abundant. In other words, humans are known to be omnivores, which are the most non-selective eaters. Additionally, they are faced with the dilemma each and every day trying to figure out what to pick from a variety of food choices. From fresh produce, ready to eat meals, frozen foods, snacks such as biscuits and chips, drinks and more. To understand more about the choices made in selecting these daily meals, Pollan follows up on the food chain, and as a result, come up with an American way of eating. Since the beginning of the book, Michael Pollan has been asserting the rudimentary problem of the food production: corn. Pollan divides his work into two parts. In the first part, he discussed about the industrial food chain that are based on corn. In the second one, he checks on organic farming whether it is truly advantageous or not. However, all in all, he mostly describes about the corn, which could be a problem or a cure for the food industry.…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is brutal and immoral to kill animals for food while there is a plenty of rich nutritional non-animal food. All animals are warm-blooded beings that have emotion and feeling therefore, they can experience fear, shock, and pain. Animal slaughter is a significant issue. “In the United States about 35 million cows, 115 million pigs, and 9 billion birds are killed for food each year” (Procon.org). How can so many people want to kill animals just because of their tasty meat? For example, bacon is one of the most common foods that every household has in their refrigerator. They usually have a crispy bacons plate for their dinner, and nobody can deny its delectable taste. But how many people actually know where the bacon comes from? First, the pigs will be delivered to the…

    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Michael pollen is a food nutritionist with the slogan “eat food, not too much and mostly plants”. In his article “Escape from the Western Diet” he discusses the problems surrounding the different type of processed food and ways to tackle it. Pollen uses nutrition to investigate how people surrender themselves to the Western Diet by either staying on processed food, junk food and fast food to nourish themselves rather than eat healthy. He strongly believes that processed foods are not sustainable because they are expensive on a daily basis to live on. Pollen furthermore explained that eating healthy and more of pants are more practical, more economical and more sustainable by simply changing the way people choose to eat. In other to live healthily,…

    • 1994 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Omnivore Diet Benefits

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Industrial farmers appear to be more concerned with massive profit margins, than they do with producing quality food in providing meat and vegetables: “The cruelty of the factory farms—the cages are small, the slaughter is violent” (Foer 67). Spiritually, I cannot tolerate the brutal methods of animal treatment, which industrial ranchers and meat producers tend to follow in the 21st century. Therefore, it is important to follow an ethical version of the Standard American Diet, which provide the healthiest and most ethical production of food for human health. I believe that all living things should be treated with respect and reverence for what they provide, which sustains my own life through the sacrifice of their own. These are important aspects of the omnivore diet, which can be sustainable in the modern world. I follow a code of ethics in terms of how animals should be processed for consumption. The problem with eating meat is not necessarily eating the meat itself; it is respecting that another life form has given me life. This is why I support organically produced foods that will be processed through ethical farming methods within the general framework of the Standard American…

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the essay, “Animals Like Us” by Hal Herzog discusses the “trouble middle”, and whether or not humans have ethical obligations to animals. By troubled middle, Herzog means the problem between killing certain animals for food. For example, we don’t think twice about killing a cow for beef but to us (people in America) it is unethical to kill dogs for food. Yet, in some other countries it is okay to kill a dog for food. It is quite the troubled middle that most of us are in if the situation is given some thought. I think we do have obligations to animals, however, it really depends on what kind of animals and how obligated we feel towards them pending where we are from. In some countries it is okay to eat animals, and some other countries it might not be okay to eat an animal like that. Some cultures think of certain animals as a god where some other cultures might just think of that same animal as a meal. The more thought this situation is given the more difficult it seems to be.…

    • 877 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Trust is one of the most essential feeling that anyone would want in themselves, and in other. Trust gives us the confident to support one’s point of view, and believes. There is no doubt that we can perfectly relate this to Michael Pollan’s essay “An Animal Place”. Pollan addresses the animal rightist claim that animals should be giving more rights, while other think that animals do disserve to have right since they are less intelligent than us humans. Pollan’s main objective is not to persuade his audience to stop eating meat, but rather to study the ethics of eating animals and to find out the way meat is processed by building a sense of trust with his audience. He effectively abutment his main opinion about the problem in the industrialized…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bill McKibben’s essay “The Only Way to Have a Cow” establishes a sense of comfort as his approach to the meat eating controversy is superbly logical. The current industrial approach to livestock has birthed an issue pertaining to the sustainability and healthy feeding of our lives. Yet there is another problem in relation to our consumption, which tends to be overlooked. If the pricing of meat reflected in the damage done to our environments, feedlot beef would cost more than grass-fed beef both financially and environmentally. It is the rapid, inhumane dietary feeding of the cow which is insulting, not the consumption of it, and taking no responsibility for the run-off is an offense to the earth and it’s inhabitants. These costs alone are part of the reasoning for the current system which is inefficient and uneconomically feasible. The…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays