The Term Local - Essay Example

Part A The term ‘local’ refers to the entire United s. In reference to food, the term refers to any food that is grown within the United States. If they are animal products, then the animals are reared within the United States. How I came up with this definition is based on the fact that there are two categories of foods in the United States; locally grown or processed food and imported food. For the two days of eating locally I ate kales, carrots, bread, potatoes, chicken, apples, rice, soybeans, oat porridge, beef, milk, pumpkin and eggs. On the first day, I took milk and bread for breakfast. I also ate kales, carrots and potatoes for lunch. Supper comprised of rice and beef. On the second day, I ate oat porridge and eggs for breakfast, chicken and soybeans for lunch. Supper included potatoes, pumpkin and beef. For both days, I ate bananas, grapes and apples and drank orange juice in between meals. The source of the foods included groceries and stores. Kales, carrots, potatoes, apples and oranges were purchased from groceries while bread, chicken, rice, soybeans, oats and, beef, milk, pumpkin and eggs were purchased from stores. My experience with the assignment is that I got the opportunity to know the various kinds of foods that are grown and processed in the United States. The assignment also gave me a deeper understanding of natural foods and processed food. I further got to discover that there are many foods on the market that have additives and which pose a threat to people’s health. In general, my experience was explorative. In terms of shopping, I managed to shop differently. I was keen on checking the state of the food and the ingredients that had been used in processing. I read more labels with the aim of comparing the ingredients in similar foods from different processing companies. I was also keen on establishing the kind of additives that had been used for instance for preservation and flavoring purposes. At the sores, I asked more questions. For example, I asked about how the foods were transported from their source to the groceries and stores. I also asked what the storekeepers and grocery owners did to ensure food remained fresh and in good shape. I further inquired whether other consumers were concerned about where the food they purchased came from. During the process, I managed to change my definition of ‘local’ to include additives. The new definition, therefore, became foods that are grown within the Unites States of America and which contain additives that are locally manufactured. Changing the definition was hard for me to do. This is because I did not intend to change the definition but based on the fact that almost all foods had additives, I had no option but to make this change. There were no cost implications for this process. My decision to eat entirely local foods was a challenging one especially during winter. However, I managed to eat these foods because I had enough storage space. I, therefore, bought the foods before winter and stored them. Part B The two items that I was able to source locally included bread and milk. Locally processed bread and milk are different from non-local version due to various factors. They include price, ingredients, transportation costs, chemical input, animal feeding operation, environmental impacts, nutritional value and ethics of factory farming. Based on price, the price of locally made bread and milk is not similar to the price of similar items that have been imported. Locally processed bread and milk are cheaper because importation costs are not attached to the products. Another thing that may contribute to imported foods being more expensive is production and processing costs in the countries of origin. Prices also vary due to taxation. Different countries usually tax commodities differently hence influencing the price of the end product. It is also worth because bread is made using different ingredients, milk is also processed differently (Wilson and Christensen). For example, the kind of flour used in making bread could differ. In some countries, people may add sugar to a mixture of dough while in the United States sucrose may be added. The kind of additives that are added to the products for flavoring and preservation purposes are also different (Nicholds 1). In the United States, for instance, ascorbic acid is used in bread while in other countries it may not be used as an additive. Differences may also be exhibited through taste and color. What may contribute to this is the fact that the state of food may deteriorate during transportation or the ingredients used may result in differences in colour for both bread and milk. Equipment that is used during processing is also different. In the United States, sophisticated machinery is used to pasteurize milk and bake bread while in other countries the machinery may be simple. The conditions under which foods are also processed differ. Whereas the United States has a high regard for hygiene during the preparation of food, some countries may not be so keen on this. In regard to chemical input, there is a variety of chemicals that are added to food either at the processing level or the farm level. For instance in the case of bread, fertilizers and pesticides used for planting are quite different. In the processing of milk, the way the animals that produce the milk are reared is also different. Whereas in the United States zero grazing may be the better option, this mode of farming may not be a priority in other countries. Animal feeds are also different in terms of quality and nutritional value. When food systems for the processing of bread and milk are localized, prices vary because of these dynamics. Eating local food and eating non-local food also varies due to these differences. The differences also contribute to other costs that are seldom reflected in the retail price depending on how the government controls pricing of items. Social factors such as taste and preference may also contribute to the differences. For example, some people like bread made with eggs and milk while others may not like. Cultural differences also have a hand in these variations. For example, some cultures will only consume milk that is directly from a cow and not processed. Works Cited Nicholds, Heather. “Is Local Food Better Than Imported ?” Heathernicholds.com. Web. 23 April 2015. Wilson, Jacque and Jen Christensen. “7 other chemicals in your food.” Cnn.com. Web. 23 April 2015. Read More