Mass Production of Food - Essay Example

 Today local production has been entirely substituted by mass production and supermarkets which offer packages with butter and fruits not to mention French fries, pizza, and beverages.

This may look like an evolution of consumerism as it saves money and guarantees the stability of quality but I believe that the mass production of food by companies for consumers are putting the life of an individual at risk. Most obviously mass production of food was reasonable and necessary at the times of industrialization when many people were moving from villages to cities. It helped to provide all classes of the population with cheap food of decent quality because it was made under uniform conditions.

However, as a result, all local production has become less and less profitable, and local cuisine has ceased to exist (Local Shops 1). In all the regions of the United States, people can buy Domino`s pizza with the same taste and eat McDonald`s cheeseburgers. Moreover, in all the countries of the world, it is possible to buy Coca–Cola and Lay`s and be sure that their taste is familiar. Supermarkets took the place of small bakeries and vegetable stores turning people into robots who do not differentiate between a chicken from a neighborhood farm and a chicken from a big factory.

It makes people less aware of what they are eating and it influences their health. As food giants tend to sell as many products as possible they need to save money on ingredients. It is no wonder that food made in factories and prepared in fast food restaurant chains is not expensive and is good looking. First, it mostly contains fats, sodium, and sugar that are harmful to health. Moreover, there is a necessity to guarantee that almost all food will be sold which is why food giants make everything possible to extend the shelf life of their products.

Several additives are supposed to make food look more appealing. However, such ingredients as olestra, aspartame, artificial colors and flavors, monosodium glutamate, saccharin, sodium nitrate, sulfites, cyclamate, caffeine, BHA, BHT, and acesulfame-potassium, are not natural and can evoke allergic reactions (Bruso 1). Mass production and the fast food industry are considered to be the primary reasons for health problems in America. There is a direct connection between calories and the overweight problem, but what is more important the quality of calories also matters.

For instance, children`s obesity has increased over recent decades dramatically, and many specialists connect it to the mass production of food and the fast food industry. The level of chemicals and additives has become very high, and the majority of food is provided packed and canned. This leaves no space for healthy food such as vegetables, grains, and nuts and creates wrong eating habits in people (Cluss et al., 15). Therefore, mass production of food is not the best way for the food industry evolution. It eliminates local production and makes all food unified and tasteless. Such changes leave no space for local cuisine development.