Argumentative Dialogue for Food Systems - Speech or Presentation Example

Argumentative Dialogue for Food Systems Allen: Brown look here I have brought the canned fish for our lunch today. What do you think? Do you like canned fish? Brown: Thank you Allen for considering bringing lunch for the two of us but sincerely I would prefer locally prepared fish than the industrial made fish. I think the government should get rid of all industrial food system and establish laws that ensure almost all foods are locally made. The industrial food systems lack nutritional standards because of the numerous procedures they have to go through. Allen: That’s not true Brown. I think industrial food system is better than direct preparation of foods. It is a way of saving time and energy for the consumer. We don’t have to spend all our time and energy in the kitchen. In fact, we can use that energy in a more productive business. As per the nutritional value of this canned fish it is clear from the content label of the can. Can you ask for more than 70 percent protein? Brown: You are mistaken Allen. A directly prepared fish contains 100 percent protein. Before the industrial revolution, people used to grow and preserve their own food. I call this hard work. The industries took over the gardens and farms and people stopped to grow food. This food which is bought from far away market has lost a big portion of nutritional value. There is overuse of energy that has been as a result of consuming industrial produced foods. People knew how much hard work would take them to grow and preserve enough food that would last them in the winter. They were therefore very practical and knew how to make use of their efforts. They were great preservers and gatherers and nothing was wasted. Now nut and berries are not appreciated or gathered and the food industries bring them from other countries to sell to the local people. Allen: See, you have just confirmed what I had just proposed. The industries have saved us a lot of energy. We don’t have to do those tiresome tasks of collecting and preserving food. It is indeed very convenient for us who are studying and working at the same time. Food is readily available at any time and any place without using so much energy. I don’t know how we could survive without the food industries. As for the nutrients I don’t care as long as I don’t get sick. Brown: Allen, that’s a very narrow perspective of looking at things. Food Industries haven’t saved us any time or energy. The industrially produced food in addition, causes a lot of waste for foods like berries. Since we know we can get instant coffee and milk powder we are lazy and our minds have been tamed for instant things. In the same way we cannot find the time to spend in the kitchen and prepare a nice fried fish. Of course you are right because unnecessary buying of things is caused by convenience of available foods. But we have to open our eyes wide and see beyond convenience. When things are readily available people will just buy because they are there. Being human beings we also like fanciful things. No one would want to have the ugly picture of livestock and poultry around them. We love yummy and good looking foodstuffs which the industries are good at producing but without knowing we end up buying worthless junk. Very few people are cooking today and the restaurants are packed and are doing a good business feeding people who are lazy to cook for themselves. I think people have just been brainwashed that cooking takes a lot of energy. But any way what would it cost you to gather some ripe berries from your very compound? I think it is cheaper and more convenient than going to look for canned berries from a supermarket? Concerning cooking there is no skill in opening a box of cereal; and pouring milk purchased from a supermarket or fixing a sandwich in just 5 minutes? Allen: I agree with you about industries cultivating a culture of laziness in our people. You are right because I am too a victim, but I would also love to defend the industrial food on another ground. You said that most industrial produced foods are fanciful, yummy and appealing to the eye. I think in addition to that the industrial foods are sweeter than the locally prepared foods and I would thus prefer the industrial food systems over the locally made stuff on this basis. Every one wants to put something appealing inside his or her mouth and not a disgusting looking stuff. Brown: I said earlier it is human to go for fanciful, things but the thing is that you might end up with buying a useless junk and stuffing it in your stomach for just feeding a hungry stomach. It is important to know that most of the colourful foods we eat are made using food colours which add no nutritional value. It is also true that they are sweeter because the industries have invented sweeteners which are mostly chemical sweeteners. I would prefer the natural sweetness of food which is not harmful in any way to our bodies. Processed food is made from the real food that has been put under some devitalizing chemical process and is then infused with chemicals and preservatives. Some of these chemicals are nitrites, nitrates, and sulphur dioxide, sodium nitrate all which are said to cause diseases like asthma, nausea, and cancer. And they may as well destroy the natural vitamins in food. For examples sulphur dioxide used for preserving dried fruits vitamin B which is contained in such produce. Allen: You have mentioned the food colouring, the chemical preservatives and sweeteners. I have understood how harmful the preservatives can be. In fact, I was so afraid when you mentioned cancer. Now tell me that colourings and sweetener are no bad because I love sweet and yummy food very much? In fact, I think I can’t divorce myself from such foods. Brown: That’s too bad for you. I thought it was obvious you would understand that since the sweeteners and colouring are chemicals they would have the same effect as the chemical preservatives. To make it clear the colouring is as lethal as chemical preservatives. It is estimated that every year the American food industries use 3000 tonnes of colours every year. All colouring is synthetic and derived from a coal tar. Though artificial dyes have been banned because they are believed to be the cause of cancerous cells, still most of the dyes used today are artificial and are linked to asthmas, allergies and hyperactivity. The sweeteners too are equally lethal. Many are artificial sugars such as aspartame and saccharine and are linked with allergies, hyperactivity and behavioural problems. They also increase the incidence of bladder cancer. Allen: I have to agree though it scares me that the industrial foods are full of lethal chemicals. Brown, tell me what is going to happen to our industries if we abandon the industrial food systems. You know very well that they are so important to our economy. Furthermore they are the greatest employers. There are going to be a million unemployed people around unable make a living. Unemployment as you know increases the crime rate and brings a lot of social evil. Brown: I agree with you Allen that our food industries are very important as far as employment is concerned. But I also do think that encouraging our people to practice farming whether livestock keeping or crop farming is also a source of employment. There would be white collar job for accounting and management as well as unskilled job for the rest of the farm work. The only difference here is that the white collar jobs will not be so many. In that we may say that employment opportunities will be decreased. At this point we have to strike a balance between the disadvantages and advantages of industrialisation. We need to know the severe harmful effects that industrialisation has had on our environment. The environmental pollution by the increased number of industries whether food or not has been of great concern. I believe if we have an option of a food system which is harmless to our environment we should take it. Food systems should be sustainable and be able to foster posterity and prosperity. We shall have caused a lot of harm if food systems destroy the very environment that is essential for producing enough food. Industries don’t make the food but they process the food that has been given by our natural environment. Allen: that is a very sound argument. What I think is that though your idea of encouraging local food systems for availing food at the table is very good, it might not be practicable. We can’t expect an individual to process spaghetti from wheat grains on grind flour from the same grains. It is true we can have the farming system but at the same time most of the final products like rice have to taste the air of a factory for either grinding or threshing. Brown: You are right in that sense. It is impracticable in some aspects. But other aspects which I encourage the most it is practicable. For example, if I may go back to your canned fish, it is very possible to buy fresh fish and cook it in style. What I would encourage is that we try as much as possible to avoid industrial processed foods. Some processing like grinding may not be very harmful. Other processes are very harmful and thus we have to strike a balance between what industrialised food we can take and what we can do away with. Well that is enough for today. I think it is time to get back to class. Work Cited Hattie, James.(2009), Different food systems . Michigan. Earlbaum Associates. Wylie, Ricky. (2003), local food processing. United States. Cenange learning Mondey, willam (2003), Disadvantages of industrial produced food products. New York. Random House Value Publishing Read More