Globalization in Food Industry - Assignment Example

Globalization in Food Industry Globalization is a kind of development that shrinks the globe, bringing people from different parts of the world together, through economical, social and technological aspects. During globalization along with economical changes, cultural changes also happen in various countries. These cultural changes are viewed both positively as well as negatively. Some critics’ claim that the changes brought on by globalization is destroying the local culture and tradition. The globalization is now slowly changing itself to ‘Americanization’, with the American culture spreading to most of the countries in the world. That is, various facets of American culture from media, movies, dresses, food, etc, etc are directly or indirectly ‘entering’ many countries, and importantly ‘influencing’ the minds of the local people. Particularly, people from different parts of the world follow Americans’ food habit. Food habit is one of the cultural identities of a country, with people preparing and consuming many local and distinct foods. Nowadays, in those countries, along with those local foods, consumption of fast foods originating from America is increasing steadily. Fast Foods have become a part of American culture because of the fast lifestyle of the American people. But, the people in those countries are trying to ape the American fast food habit, even though they live maximally with their families, with cooking normally done at their homes. People in other countries do this because of the effective marketing done by the fast food companies, which portrays their food as the best. The local people enticed by these marketing campaigns want to associate themselves with the best products or services. Because of this mindset, people ignore and avoid the local foods, thus changing or even abandoning one of their cultural identities. Although the local foods could be healthy, they follow the American diet, which has a negative image. That is, one-third of American diet is junk food and soft drinks. So, average Americans are affected by obesity, diabetes and various other diseases because of the intake of these junk foods. These medical problems could also be carried to the foreign countries. So, the common view is, the impersonation of American culture and American food habits is making a dubious or negative impact on the culture and the eating habits of the people worldwide. Globalization in food industry happened and is happening after the entry of US fast food companies like McDonalds into many countries of the world. McDonalds is one of the first American food companies to take up their products overseas. Today, McDonalds is having presence in over 100 countries and is increasing its presence into more territories. McDonald's restaurants are found in 119 countries and territories around the world, serving nearly 47 million customers each day. McDonald's operates over 31,000 restaurants worldwide, employing more than 1.5 million people (mcdonalds.ca). While expanding and entering into new countries, McDonalds does not impose its successful American menu to the local customers. It incorporates local customer’s view or their expectations in their basic menus, thereby giving a combination of authentic American menus as well as modified or localized versions of American menu. For example, majority of the people in India do not eat beef. So, McDonalds maximally used chicken and lamb in their menu particularly in, Big Macs, with added spices - another favorite of Indians. In China for instance, they offer Chilly garlic sauce as an accompaniment, which is not a practice in other countries. So, McDonalds’ is able to entice more customers by modifying or localizing their menus and in the process slightly modifying the local culture as well. Anthropologists are the social scientists who examine the cultural aspects that can bring out changes to the social orders. The article, “Army Enlists Anthropologists in War Zone” written by David Rohde and appearing in New York Times, describes the role of anthropologists in the war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq. The issues and argument in this article is that, although, American army is utilizing the services of anthropologists to understand the local people better and thereby avoiding combat operations, there is criticism from certain quarters alleging that anthropologists are used for spying or intelligence gathering purposes. In Eastern Afghanistan, a civilian anthropologist named Tracy along with other social scientists is working with the American combat unit. Their major role is to understand the culture and customs of local people, thereby helping the Americans to connect with them in a more optimal manner and minimize armed combats. Also, with less armed conflicts, the military with the help of anthropologists are focusing on the uplift-ment of people’s lives. This being the one side of the story, the arguments are raised by other anthropologists who state that military is using these anthropologist only as intelligence gatherers. They argue that the military is using the information given by the anthropologists only for more combat operations and to negatively impact or change the local culture. So, this role of anthropologists has elicited both praise as well as criticism. This being the case, finding out the pros and cons of anthropologist’s involvement in this particular matter will help in giving a clear picture and importantly choose a particular position. One of the main pros is the role of the anthropologists in reducing combat operations and thereby saving lives. That is, anthropologists are helping Americans connect with the local people and thereby earn their trust. This will lead to increase in bonhomie, isolation of terrorists and decrease in armed conflicts, thereby saving many lives. Col. Martin Schweitzer, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division unit working with the anthropologists here, praises the role of anthropologists by stating that the unit’s combat operations had been reduced by 60 percent since the scientists arrived in February, and that the soldiers were now able to focus more on improving security, health care and education for the population. (Rhode). So, apart from their role in reducing conflicts, anthropologists are doing social services like resolving tribal disputes, implementing a job program for widows, etc. “Widow’s lack of income created financial pressure on their sons to provide for their families, a burden that could drive the young men to join well-paid insurgents. Citing Tracy’s advice, American officers developed a job training program for the widows. “(Rhode). When one focuses on the cons, it is clear that the anthropologists’ role is opposed mainly on the grounds that their inputs could be used negatively by the military. So, it is viewed as unethical and could even damage the field of anthropology in the long run. “Those serving the short-term interests of military and intelligence agencies and contractors, will end up harming the entire discipline in the long run.” (Rhode). From the above analysis, it is clear that pros outweigh cons. In this case, anthropologists are saving lives, which could be killed in combat operations. More than that, they are also helping people rebuild their lives, thus isolating terrorism and thereby building a peaceful society. So, anthropologist should be involved in any military operations on humanitarian groups. In this scenario, cultural relativism is optimally relevant because the anthropologists are providing inputs after fully understanding the local culture and customs from the local people’s perspective. When this case is analyzed from the perspective of AAA code of ethics, it is clear that there is no overt violation of the code. Although, the American Anthropological Association (AAA) code is not supportive of anthropologists’ involvement in military operations, a special panel of the American Anthropological Association affirmed the possibility that it could be conducted ethically in some cases. (Jaschik) Works Cited Jaschik, Scott. Ethics and Engagement With the Military. 28 April 2009. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/11/29/anthro mcdonalds.ca. FAQs. 28 April 2009. http://www.mcdonalds.ca/en/aboutus/faq.aspx Rhode, David. Army Enlists Anthropology in War Zones. 5 October 2007. 28 April 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/world/asia/05afghan.html?em&ex=1191729600&en=4993ab9a6cbbf28b&ei=5087 Read More