The Role of Food in Our Life - Essay Example

Food in Our Life Introduction Food is an indispensable part of human life. Foods such as fruits are even more vital. Health practitioners and dietitians the world over recommend the consumption of fresh fruits. “If you think about it, it's logical for the human body to consume food that contains as much water as the body itself. The nutrition that meets that requirement is fruit” (The Fruit Pages, 2011). Students are very active people whose daily activities involve the loss of a lot of body water. It is no wonder therefore right that they are the most prescribed group of person fruits are ideal for. This is because as noted by The Fruit Pages, fruits have the potential of replacing the water that their body losses. However, it seems equally risky that one consumes any kind of fresh fruit without knowing the credibility of the source of the fruit. GCU should for this reason plant a campus garden to provide fresh food for the cafeteria. Problem The GCU cafeteria serves its purpose as the source of enable food for students and for that matter, a place where students quench their thirst and satisfy their hunger. This not withstanding, there is so much inadequacies with the GCU cafeteria that leaves much to be desired. Some of the problems associated with the cafeteria includes the fact that there is lack of variety at the cafeteria. This is to say that students hardly have access to differences in meals served at the cafeteria. What is more, there are so many questions about the healthiness of food served at the cafeteria. One major reason that raises this suspicion is the fact that students can hardly guarantee the source of food; including fresh fruits at the cafeteria. Finally, there is so much processed food served at the cafeteria. Details of the solution As a solution to the problem enumerated above and as a means of clearing the doubts that linkers in the hearts of unsuspecting students, it is recommended that the GCU gets its own garden. The garden should be located in the midst of the Agricultural Science faulty. This is because the Agricultural Science department already has vast area of land that has been reserved for future agricultural purposes. The raising of the garden should be left in the hands of hired laborers with selected agricultural and other natural science students serving as oversight caretakers and supervisors. The duties of the supervisors should include overseeing the purchase and cultivation of seedlings for the garden. They should also be responsible for the correct practices of basic farming procedures; especially with the application of chemicals and other farm inputs to ensure that students are not put at risk of consuming contaminated fresh food crops, especially vegetables and fruits. Mention of fruits and vegetables brings to discussion the kind of crops to be cultivated. Most preferably, the farm should be dominated with fruits, vegetables and cereal. It is believed that such a project and its sustenance for each farming season in a year will cost $800 per acre of land. Proof that solution will solve the problem The recommended solution certainly has the solution to the problem discussed early on. This is because with students serving as oversight caretakers of the farm, products from the farm can be trusted for their healthiness. What is more, because the cultivation of variety of crops is advocated, students can be assured of variety of food type at the cafeteria as long as the farm is going to be the source of raw material for the cafeteria. Adding to this, the cafeteria can be assured of ready and constant supply of stock of raw food for processing. Because there will be a ‘standby’ garden (farm) that will supply the cafeteria with fresh food, the need for process food as in canning and other forms of storage will be reduced to the barest minimum. Above all, this move will be a means of adding to students’ daily practice of basic farming skills. Students who will be appointed the man the garden would also gain basic skills in management. Again, the presence of the garden would help in building and fostering healthy community among student body as well as guaranteeing student fitness all the time. Alternative solutions The above solutions not withstanding, the following measures are suggested as other ways or means by which the cafeteria can be assured of ready supply of fresh food, variety of meal, promotion of the use of healthy food and reduction in the number of processed food. First, the cafeteria operators should work with a well planned menu guide, specially prepared trained dietitians. This menu guide should be in such a way that ensures that operators do not put up the same kind of food for several times. Again, the cafeteria should rely on organic and locally cultivated food rather than always relying on processed food and food from exotic origins where the health status of the food crops cannot be guaranteed. Last but not least – though used as a last resort, students should be able to come out boldly to protest if the above mentioned problems continues to exist in the light of suggestions offered above. Feasible and practical Feasibility studies conducted shows that the garden will as much as possible be very cost effective. This is because the student body would not have to purchase or pay anything for the area land of land that will be used for the farm. This is because the garden will be made on school land. This means however that the garden shall strictly become a school property with no year group having any right to claim ownership of the garden. To this effect, estimated cost would go into hiring laborers who would work on the farm especially at the tilting, planting, maintenance, harvest and processing stages. Because these stages of the garden’s cultivation would not take place on a daily basis but on seasonal bases, the laborers are going to be paid on seasonal basis (reducing cost). This is why in all $800 is estimated for each acre of land cultivated. To implement the suggestions, student levy should slightly be raised to make up for the cost on a yearly basis. There should also be a special task-force made up of both teachers and students to man the implementation of garden’s agenda. Additional benefits Once the above mentioned suggestions are implented, students and other users of the cafeteria are going to enjoy massive benefits. These benefits are enlisted to include the fact that student health as far as eating from the cafeteria is concerned can be guaranteed. This means that fewer cases of ailments shall be recorded among students. This way, students will save a lot on health-care and also be kept very active for student business especially learning and passing examinations. Secondly, students can for once be assured of variety at the cafeteria. The ‘same food’ syndrome that forces most students to buy food outside the cafeteria will cease meaning that students will now save a lot of money on food. Naturally, because the source of food for running the cafeteria will be internal, cost of food will generally be less at the cafeteria. Conclusion I shall conclude by saying that it is better late than never. Students have long had a lot to complain about but thankfully, this proposal puts forward very workable and practical solutions to the problems with the GCU cafeteria. All suggestions put forward should duly be taken up by student administration to ensure that much unrest and agitation that go on among students because they never get what they want from the cafeteria will cease. As noted by Baack (2010), “Fresh foods have great flavor and taste because they keep all their natural conditions. Canned foods however, lack a lot of its flavor characteristics because there are some other chemical products added to the natural foods.” REFERENCE LIST Baack E (2010). Consuming Fresh Foods Instead of Canned Foods. Accessed June 29, 2011 from http://www.eslbee.com/contrast_eating_fresh_or_canned_foods.htm The Fruit Pages, (2011). Why should we have 5 to 9 pieces of fruit a day? Accessed June 29, 2011 from http://www.thefruitpages.com/whyfruit.shtml Read More