"Eating Less Meat Essential to Curb Climate Change, Says Report"
United Nations University posted this article in 2014 about worldwide meat consumption and its effect on climate change. The piece contains a great deal of data, and much of it is displayed through colorful visuals throughout the writing. The author, Damian Carrington, begins by comparing the negative effects of the meat industry to other processes that are damaging our environment, like transportation and deforestation. He says that the meat industry is more harmful, but there is little awareness and not a lot is being done to tackle it. In an article for The New York Times entitled "Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler", Mark Bittman commented on this same concept: "...2.2 pounds of beef is responsible for the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 155 miles, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days" (1). And this was written in 2008, so science has proven years ago that the meat industry is worse than others in terms of energy waste.
Another point Carrington makes in "Eating Less Meat" is that though the United States is not the world's largest meat eater, it is the country less accepting of change in diet (in other words, cutting some meat out of our daily meals). As shown in the article's data, China currently consumes more meat than any other country, but it is also one of the countries most open to changing this. In "How to Feed the World After Climate Change", a Slate piece written by Mark Hertsgaard, one of the most efficient ways to tackle this energy waste issue is through ecological agriculture. China has already experimented with this solution, creating rice farms that include live fish and ducks. The ducks eat pests and the fish decrease methane emissions from the rice paddies (3). Carrington's article ends with a fitting quote from University of Cambridge professor Keith Richards, one which softens the impact the arguments in the article may have made: "This is not a radical vegetarian argument; it is an argument about eating meat in sensible amounts as part of healthy, balanced diets."
Another point Carrington makes in "Eating Less Meat" is that though the United States is not the world's largest meat eater, it is the country less accepting of change in diet (in other words, cutting some meat out of our daily meals). As shown in the article's data, China currently consumes more meat than any other country, but it is also one of the countries most open to changing this. In "How to Feed the World After Climate Change", a Slate piece written by Mark Hertsgaard, one of the most efficient ways to tackle this energy waste issue is through ecological agriculture. China has already experimented with this solution, creating rice farms that include live fish and ducks. The ducks eat pests and the fish decrease methane emissions from the rice paddies (3). Carrington's article ends with a fitting quote from University of Cambridge professor Keith Richards, one which softens the impact the arguments in the article may have made: "This is not a radical vegetarian argument; it is an argument about eating meat in sensible amounts as part of healthy, balanced diets."
"Robots Will Replace Fast-Food Workers"
This 2014 article, written by James O'Toole for CNN Money, is about a specific aspect of the McDonaldization process of fast-food restaurants: replacing as much human labor as possible with automated, or robotic, "employees". O'Toole begins by discussing the recent push for a $15-an-hour minimum wage, and how this change could actually prompt food companies to simply eliminate or minimize actual human labor and replace employees with machines that no one has to pay. O’Toole mentions certain companies that have already researched or implanted robot replacements, like Panera Bread, Chili’s, and Applebees. The article closes with an opinion from food industry expert Darren Tristano, who confidently states that these innovations will not drastically change the amount of humans who are employed in the fast-food industry. He insists that since humans have worked these jobs for thousands of years, customers expect it, and won’t be as receptive or excited about robotic servers, order-takers, or cooks.
However, companies have already been replacing human labor with machines for years—it’s just not as apparent as replacing a waiter with a robot. George Ritzer’s The McDonaldization of Society details how many tasks that used to be performed by humans are now a machine’s job. For example, at the popular McDonaldized food chain Taco Bell, lettuce has been pre-shredded and beef has been precooked before either ever shows up to the restaurant (104). Previously, both these tasks were completed by human employees on-site. Some machine replacements have taken place even further back in the food preparation process. Tracie McMillan’s The American Way of Eating is an expose about McMillan’s own experiences working in the fields in the United States. McMillan speaks to Frank Maconachy, president of an agricultural manufacturing company, who says growers and shippers of fields “are tired of dealing with the labor…You have to put umbrellas out there and to have enough water out there…”(30). Maconachy’s company has developed a mechanized lettuce cutting machine to assist growers with the switch from human to robotic labor. So, is Darren Tristano right not to worry about machines replacing human employees? Or is the work that is done behind the scenes the only work companies are comfortable mechanizing? Either way, it’s clear that with the development of new technology, there will be at least some humans put out of jobs.
However, companies have already been replacing human labor with machines for years—it’s just not as apparent as replacing a waiter with a robot. George Ritzer’s The McDonaldization of Society details how many tasks that used to be performed by humans are now a machine’s job. For example, at the popular McDonaldized food chain Taco Bell, lettuce has been pre-shredded and beef has been precooked before either ever shows up to the restaurant (104). Previously, both these tasks were completed by human employees on-site. Some machine replacements have taken place even further back in the food preparation process. Tracie McMillan’s The American Way of Eating is an expose about McMillan’s own experiences working in the fields in the United States. McMillan speaks to Frank Maconachy, president of an agricultural manufacturing company, who says growers and shippers of fields “are tired of dealing with the labor…You have to put umbrellas out there and to have enough water out there…”(30). Maconachy’s company has developed a mechanized lettuce cutting machine to assist growers with the switch from human to robotic labor. So, is Darren Tristano right not to worry about machines replacing human employees? Or is the work that is done behind the scenes the only work companies are comfortable mechanizing? Either way, it’s clear that with the development of new technology, there will be at least some humans put out of jobs.
"The New Face of Hunger"
This multimodal National Geographic article, written by Tracie McMillan, shares the stories of several families who are food insecure in the United States and connects their situations to the larger problem as whole. Her main argument in the article is that modern hunger is different from the "typical", Depression-era image that many think of when they picture the concept of hunger. One of the families McMillan writes about, the Dreier family, is experiencing problems in life that are similar to other families we've read about, seen, and discussed in class. Christina Dreier, the mother and one responsible for serving meals in the Dreier family, struggles to feed her children, saying she and her husband "pit one bill against the next." Though the family utilizes the SNAP program, it's not enough, and Christina often forgoes meals in order to ensure her kids eat enough. What McMillan points out about the Dreier family is that they are not the usual image of a hungry family. They're white, have other necessities like a house and car, and overweight. The concept of food insecure families suffering from obesity is also covered in an essay written by researchers Joan Gross and Nancy Rosenberger, entitled: "The Double Binds of Getting Food Among the Poor in Rural Oregon." "Even when low-income people want to switch to a 'healthier' diet, they say that they cannot afford it," Gross and Rosenberger write. "The food that gives them the most for their money is also the food that leads to many of the health problems they experience." Families like the Dreiers don't get enough to eat, but what they do get to eat it isn't the healthiest.
McMillan also writes about a food insecure family that is able to eat healthy, but acknowledges that the ability to do so takes privilege and skills that not all poor people can attain. Still, it is possible--the Reams family gets by through the extra efforts of Kyera Reams. The mother of the family, Kyera makes it her full-time job to obtain food on their limited budget. Kyera is able to use their SNAP income for a part of the family's diet, but getting this food from the grocery store is no simple task: the Reams live in the middle of a food desert. McMillan also writes about food deserts in her article, "Do Poor People Eat Badly Because of Food Deserts or Personal Preference?" There, she defines them as "neighborhoods with insufficient grocery stores, and thus insufficient supplies of healthy food." It therefore takes a tremendous amount of effort--or at least more than is necessary--for Kyera to do her regular grocery shopping. Then, to help the food stretch through the month, Kyera and her children harvest fresh food from a home garden and forage for mushrooms and berries in a nearby forest. It's a working system, but unfortunately most poor families don't have the option to make chasing food their full-time job. McMillan ends the article by presenting statistics about subsidized crops in the United States and how they effect diet, arguing that our government's decision to subsidize unhealthy foods leads to these health problems in low-income families.
McMillan also writes about a food insecure family that is able to eat healthy, but acknowledges that the ability to do so takes privilege and skills that not all poor people can attain. Still, it is possible--the Reams family gets by through the extra efforts of Kyera Reams. The mother of the family, Kyera makes it her full-time job to obtain food on their limited budget. Kyera is able to use their SNAP income for a part of the family's diet, but getting this food from the grocery store is no simple task: the Reams live in the middle of a food desert. McMillan also writes about food deserts in her article, "Do Poor People Eat Badly Because of Food Deserts or Personal Preference?" There, she defines them as "neighborhoods with insufficient grocery stores, and thus insufficient supplies of healthy food." It therefore takes a tremendous amount of effort--or at least more than is necessary--for Kyera to do her regular grocery shopping. Then, to help the food stretch through the month, Kyera and her children harvest fresh food from a home garden and forage for mushrooms and berries in a nearby forest. It's a working system, but unfortunately most poor families don't have the option to make chasing food their full-time job. McMillan ends the article by presenting statistics about subsidized crops in the United States and how they effect diet, arguing that our government's decision to subsidize unhealthy foods leads to these health problems in low-income families.
"Michigan Agriculture's Push to Foreign Labor Leaves Migrant Advocates Concerned"
This article, part of a larger series on labor shortages written through Western Michigan University, discusses the state of migrant labor in Michigan; more specifically, it focuses on the increase in foreign labor to replace migrant workers. It begins by introducing Fred Lietz, owner of Lietz Farms, who tells about his experience with losing profits because of a lack of workers. Left 30 percent short during the last peak season, Lietz says he will have to bring in foreign workers to ensure he never experiences a loss like this again. Lietz goes on to tell WMUK that over the past 20 years, he's noticed that migrant workers have been more and more commonly undocumented. He was against getting rid of them and pushed the government to help legalize them, but his efforts came up fruitless. According to Lietz, to the government, it was "never the right time." This type of federal neglect towards the subject of undocumented workers is also demonstrated in the film Food Inc., in which author Michael Pollan speaks about the presence of illegal immigrants working for the meat industry. The government didn't bother to address the situation until a strong anti-immigrant movement began. Instead of, as Pollan says, "cracking down" on the companies hiring these immigrants, the government instead focused on punishing (often arresting and deporting) individual workers. Letting this type of behavior continue in large companies is dangerous and leaves undocumented workers more susceptible to harsh and/or abusive conditions.
In journalist Tracie McMillan's book American Way of Eating, some of these conditions are divulged. During McMillan's firsthand experience laboring in Californian fields alongside migrant workers, she witnessed employees (including herself) working long hours in blistering, dangerous heat; wages that were dramatically less than minimum wage; and crowded, unclean housing situations. McMillan mentions that labor law enforcement "relies on complaints," something undocumented workers cannot do for fear of being sent back to their home countries. Without the ability to fight for their rights, these employees are more likely to be exploited. Additionally, McMillan's passages about the unpleasant living situations sound similar to situations described in WMUK's article. McMillan describes multiple instances in which she witnessed overcrowded trailers, houses, and even workers living in their cars. Cutting costs on shelter is the only way for these employees to have enough money to send back to their families. Meanwhile, WMUK details an event where workers bussed in from Mexico were placed in Indiana motels, but worked in Michigan. Through this, it's suspected that the company bussing in the workers exploited a difference in Indiana and Michigan double-bunking laws; in Michigan, it's illegal to double-bunk (booking two people to a bed), but in Indiana it is not. Since this incident, changes are being made regarding the treatment of Michigan foreign workers, but many citizens are still weary of bringing in laborers from other countries.
In journalist Tracie McMillan's book American Way of Eating, some of these conditions are divulged. During McMillan's firsthand experience laboring in Californian fields alongside migrant workers, she witnessed employees (including herself) working long hours in blistering, dangerous heat; wages that were dramatically less than minimum wage; and crowded, unclean housing situations. McMillan mentions that labor law enforcement "relies on complaints," something undocumented workers cannot do for fear of being sent back to their home countries. Without the ability to fight for their rights, these employees are more likely to be exploited. Additionally, McMillan's passages about the unpleasant living situations sound similar to situations described in WMUK's article. McMillan describes multiple instances in which she witnessed overcrowded trailers, houses, and even workers living in their cars. Cutting costs on shelter is the only way for these employees to have enough money to send back to their families. Meanwhile, WMUK details an event where workers bussed in from Mexico were placed in Indiana motels, but worked in Michigan. Through this, it's suspected that the company bussing in the workers exploited a difference in Indiana and Michigan double-bunking laws; in Michigan, it's illegal to double-bunk (booking two people to a bed), but in Indiana it is not. Since this incident, changes are being made regarding the treatment of Michigan foreign workers, but many citizens are still weary of bringing in laborers from other countries.
"Not All Industrial Food Is Evil"
This opinion piece, written by Mark Bittman for The New York Times in 2013, details Bittman's visits to two California tomato farms. The first, a smaller farm owned by Bruce Rominger, is very different from modern America's typical farm. A number of crops are grown and rotated throughout the season, including wheat, sunflowers, onions, and, of course, tomatoes. Bittman contrasts this to the typical Midwestern farm, a major topic of Melanie Warner's Pandora's Lunchbox, where only one crop (mostly soybeans or corn) is grown in vast quantities. When Rominger describes the tomato-harvesting process to Bittman, he shares that each acre of tomatoes costs about $3,000, and he makes about $500 profit off each one. This image of the indebted farmer is also touched on in the documentary Food Inc.; large companies demand farmers upgrade to newer, more expensive technology or equipment in order to keep the farmers financially struggling and dependent on the large company's business.
After his time at the small farm, Bittman visits a larger tomato operation, Pacific Coast Producers (P.C.P). Bittman ultimately describes the farm as "...far from paradise, but it isn't hell either." Initially he worries about the treatment of the more than 1,000 workers at P.C.P., but learns they actually make more than minimum wage and argues that their jobs aren't much better or worse than working at, say, a fast food restaurant. He closes the article by saying that not all industrial food is evil, but the workers should receive increases in pay and we (as consumers) should pay more for our produce to support this wage increase. However, Bittman is missing some important points; it's okay to say that not all industrial food is evil, but making this declaration leads readers to believe that all industrial food production is similar to the farm he visits in this piece. The truth is that most big farms don't pay their workers above minimum wage, and many don't even employ American citizens, instead exploiting illegal immigrants and paying incredibly low (and certainly not livable) wages. What's more, consumers don't want to pay more for their produce, and many already argue we're paying too much and opt for cheaper, subsidized, unhealthy foods. Overall, the article provides interesting insight to these two particular tomato farms (Rominger's farm and P.C.P.), but it's naive to form an opinion about industrial food from this information alone.
After his time at the small farm, Bittman visits a larger tomato operation, Pacific Coast Producers (P.C.P). Bittman ultimately describes the farm as "...far from paradise, but it isn't hell either." Initially he worries about the treatment of the more than 1,000 workers at P.C.P., but learns they actually make more than minimum wage and argues that their jobs aren't much better or worse than working at, say, a fast food restaurant. He closes the article by saying that not all industrial food is evil, but the workers should receive increases in pay and we (as consumers) should pay more for our produce to support this wage increase. However, Bittman is missing some important points; it's okay to say that not all industrial food is evil, but making this declaration leads readers to believe that all industrial food production is similar to the farm he visits in this piece. The truth is that most big farms don't pay their workers above minimum wage, and many don't even employ American citizens, instead exploiting illegal immigrants and paying incredibly low (and certainly not livable) wages. What's more, consumers don't want to pay more for their produce, and many already argue we're paying too much and opt for cheaper, subsidized, unhealthy foods. Overall, the article provides interesting insight to these two particular tomato farms (Rominger's farm and P.C.P.), but it's naive to form an opinion about industrial food from this information alone.