The Ethic of Food - Literature review Example

The Ethic of Food Food insecurity has been a major topic that has made rounds around professionals as well as layman circles. In this discussion, the issue of organic food comes in. Although many debates on food security go around the issue of shortage of food in the world, the issue of healthy food is also a major issue. The debate on food security is always discussed in the understanding that food security is not just a matter of availing food to consumers but also an issue of making sure that this food is safe for consumption. Organic food is considered the safest food for human consumption not only due to the fact that its production leads to the least damage to environment but also because it leads to food that is the not harmful to the consumers who use it. According to Mayo Clinic (Para 3) organic food production is geared towards making sure that the process of food production leads to conservation of soil, water and environment while at the same time producing healthy food. This brings in a conflicting factor because organic food production hinders mass production of food and therefore goes against the strategy of mass production of food to solve food insecurity (Basu 59). However, regardless of this, organic food is going to be the way forward for food security in the world. The problem with the debate on food security is that the debate depends on misinformation. As Astyk and Newton (Para 1) say, the biggest issue with the debate on food insecurity is that it focuses on the illusion that there is food shortage in the world. However this is not the reality and in fact according to them, there is excess food in the world, way more than the entire population can need. “Most hunger in the world has absolutely nothing to do with food shortages” (Astyk & Newton Para 1). It is the impression that the world’s food insecurity is caused by food shortage that makes organic food to look like a barrier to achieving food security. However, based on what Astyk and Newton (Para 1) argue, food shortage is never the problem. The problem is not food shortage but the fact most people who are affected by food insecurity are in places where there is food that they cannot afford. This has been brought up by commercialization of food. In fact, the same commercialization of food production that has been thought to be the savior to deliver the world from food insecurity is the same thing that has ironically led to food insecurity because it leads to food prices hiking and this means that the poor cannot afford the same food. Commercialization of food not only leads to the food being expensive for a majority of the people but also leads to the poor wages for the employees who work in the industries where food is produced. This is right from the farm to the grocery stores. According to Gimenez (Para 10), food insecurity can only be eliminated if the workers who produce the food can get enough economic compensation for the work they do. However, with commercialization, this never happens as the big firms make sure that both the farmers who produce the food as well as the workers in grocery stores are paid too low wages. Capitalistic mechanisms make it hard for the workers who produce the food to be able to get good compensation through either salaries in the case of grocery store workers or cash for their produce in the case of farmers. “The answer to food security in America must come through a revitalized food economy” (Gimenez Para 10). A good food economy can only be made a reality by the use of organic farming. For organic farming to thrive however, the farmers who are involved in organic farming have to be supported by people buying organic food such as in the farmer’s market. There are many advantages that organic food can produce in the attempt to solve food insecurity in the world. To begin with, since most organic food comes from individual farmers instead of from big industries, it means that the producers of the food are not exploited by big companies. Depending on non-organic food is the support of the multibillion enterprises that not only exploit the consumer of the food but also the workers who work in the farms and industries. The workers who work in these farms and industries such as grocery stores are paid wages that are so meager that they cannot be able to buy food from the same companies they work for. “The punishing nature of the work helps explain why farm workers don’t live very long” (Thompson, 18). However, if these people were working in their own farms and not in the other big farms owned by the big companies, they would not only be able to get better economic returns from their work, but they would also not have to do donkey work and this would mean better living standard for them. Not only would the farmers have better living standards and more economic returns from their jobs, this would also lead to better food security in the future. Organic food will be the savior of the world and will provide the solutions that are needed for the world to solve its food insecurity problems. It will do this not through increasing production of food but through making sure that capitalistic mechanisms do not introduce the barriers that hinder people from accessing healthy affordable food. It will also help in solving this issue by making sure that the producers of food are able to benefit from their labor and endeavor. This however can only be possible if all people can realize the potential of organic food and support the production of organic food by promoting it. Young people have a chance to make sure that the production of organic food has been promoted because failure to do this will lead to more food insecurity in the future and this will have a negative impact on them when they are older and have family responsibilities. They should also support organic food production though buying and using it because this will not only solve the issue of food availability but will also solve the problem of food usability by increasing the quality of the food. Conclusion It is very clear that the issue of food insecurity is misunderstood, not only in the United States but also across the world. The main beneficiaries of this misunderstanding are the big corporations that benefit capitalistically by exploiting the consumers of the food as well as the workers who work in these corporations. It is important for the younger people to understand that the solution to food insecurity is not increasing production through mass production by big corporations. Reshaping the food economy by making sure that the workers who produce the food benefit from their labor will be necessary to make sure that the problem of food insecurity has been resolved. This can only be done through supporting organic farming by buying organic food. While this may not produce immediate benefits today, it will produce many benefits in the future. Among these benefits is the eradication of food insecurity. Since the most benefits of supporting organic food will be reaped in the future, young people ought to be in the front line of making sure that this is done. Failing to support organic food production will only lead to the food corporations becoming stronger thus leading to more food insecurity in the future. Works Cited Astyk, Sharon. & Newton, Aaron. The Rich Get Richer, the Poor Go Hungry. October 2014. 21 October 2014 . Basu, Debashis. Agriculture, Food Security, Nutrition and Health in North-East India. New Delhi, IN: Mittal Publications, 2006. Gimenez, Eric. The Fight Over Food Deserts -- Corporate America Smacks Its Way Down . 25 May 2011. 21 October 2014 . Mayo Clinic. Nutrition and healthy eating: Organic foods: Are they safer? More nutritious? 2014. 21 October 2014 . Thompson, Gabriel. The last word: A gringo in the lettuce fields. 29 January 2010. 21 October 2014 . Read More