Food and the scale of its consumption can very accurately depict a society. If this is true, what can be said about our society? Our society is often viewed as excessive and gluttonous. All citizens are the product of their environment and the environment in which they are raised is one of overabundance. Overabundance is a large factor in the detrimental effect of our food culture but it is not the only factor. Every individual is responsible for his rate of consumption, but in a world of overabundance and an enhanced facility of access how can anyone be expected to exercise restraint?
When one enters a super market the only befitting description that comes to mind is indeed “super”. The average market in the United States poses more variety of food in its isles than even the majority of other fellow developed western nations. Simply the diversity of different cereals is mind boggling to a European. Everything from frosted flakes, to honey comb, to coco puffs. One of the greatest tragedies of the excess that so many enjoy is that it comes at a great cost. The cost of America’s excess is not a personal one, such as obesity. Amongst other obvious problems generated by this nation’s insatiable hunger is the cost to our environment and economy. Every other season crop farming must be suspended due to the fact that the soil is depleted of its fertility thus producing fewer crops and of poor quality.
To add to the bad news we can also observe that America is the world’s largest producer of beef. The United States produces thirty percent of the world’s beef. This is a very expensive and environmentally prejudicial practice. The beef industry is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas production in the world. This is due to the decomposition of cattle fesses which releases methane. Methane is dangerous because it is capable of trapping twenty times more energy from the sun in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
The main point of this monologue is to reveal the true essence of the impact that food has on our lives. Beyond the supermarket or the dinner table, in the most unexpected ways food is ever present. It is a part of our identity as a civilization, but what does it say about us as a nation, when we are willing to sacrifice our health, our fiscal wellbeing, and the wellbeing of our planet for the sake of securing a seemingly infinite supply of cheeseburgers.