Food industry Essay Example for Free

Food industry Essay Food is the most important element of human survival. Food contains essential nutrients the human body requires to intake. From vitamins to calories, just a few of the nutrients that make a body function. Without food there is no survival; however, the way food is processed in America today, Americans might as well be dead. Furthermore, unhealthy products flood America’s food supply. A vast majority of these products are highly processed foods. Highly processes foods are extremely dangerous to one’s health (Squires). Process foods cause severe harm to the human body and furthermore lead to illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, and high cholesterol. (Squires). The way Food is manufactured in America today causes numerous of illness and sometimes death. Therefore, the United States Food and Drug Administration must rigorously regulate the food industry to efficiently maintain the safety of food. There are three vital motives why the Food and Drug Administration must regulate the process of food. First, without stricter regulation, the quality of the livestock industry will steeply decline.Second, if not regulated, the high usage of high fructose corn syrup will continue to increase. Lastly, if the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate the process of food, the creation of genetically modified food will continue to occur. In all, the Food and Drug Administration must strictly regulate the livestock industry to preserve health of America. The United States Food and Drug Administration must rig orously regulate animal factories to effectively maintain the safety of meat. The Food and Drug Administration cannot allow animal factories to deliberately contaminant the food supply. By allowing existing methods to continue, it puts all consumers at great risk. Currently, animal factories utilize disgusting methods to minimize cost and maximize profit (They Eat What). These horrific methods consist of purposely distorting the nature of animal feed (They Eat What). The Union of Concerned Scientists published an article â€Å"They Eat What? † where they expose the animal factories of their horrific acts. The Union of Concerned Scientists state, â€Å"Many of the ingredients used in feed these days are not the kind of food the animals are designed by nature to eat†(They Eat What). This establishes that factories do what ever they desire; disregarding the fatal effects it can impose on animals let alone on human heath. Animals by nature are not supposed to consume the remains of the same species; however, factories continue to do so, as it maximizes profit by utilizing all parts on an animal (They Eat What). Diseased animals, same species meat, skin, blood, manure, and unhealthy portions of grain are all items consisting in animal feed (They Eat What). Furthering the argument, the Union of Concerned Scientists added. â€Å"Animal feed legally can contain rendered road kill, dead horses, and euthanized cats and dogs† (They Eat What). This low standard production of animal feed is simply repulsive. If the Food and Drug Administration do not enforce stricter regulations on the animal factories, only fatal side effects will follow. Serious human health concerns will steeply arise if this unacceptable method to nurture livestock continues. The outburst of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy also known as mad cow disease is a great example. Mad cow disease is a transmissible form of brain damage that occurs when rendered cattle are fed back to cattle. (They Eat What). This disease is extremely dangerous as it can be spread to humans. Humans can obtain a form of mad cow disease by consuming meat products that carry the disease (They Eat What). The Food and Drug Administration have taken steps in banning any methods that lead to mad cow disease. However, their lack of effectiveness has created of loophole in the system and animal factories are taking full advantage. The Union of Concerned Scientists presented evidence exposing the loophole in the Food and Drug Administration regulations. The Union of Concerned Scientists assert, â€Å"Under current law, pigs, chickens, and turkeys that have been fed rendered cattle can be rendered and fed back to cattle—a loophole that may allow mad cow agents to infect healthy cattle† (They Eat What). This is unacceptable. The Food and Drug Administration inherent purpose is to regulate any methods that cause harm to human beings, yet the fail to do so. It is unjust for the Food and Drug Administration to purposely allow the livestock industry to taint the production of meat. Therefore, if the Food and Drug Administration do not enforce stricter regulations the safety of livestock will only decline at extreme rates. However, there are other motives why the Food and Drug Administration must regulate the process of food. The United States Food and Drug Administration must rigorously regulate the amount of high fructose corn syrup used in food products, as it unsafe to consume. High fructose corn syrup is a cheaper form of sweetener derived from corn (Stossel). High fructose corn syrup is the ubiquitous sweetener in American products, as it is extremely inexpensive to produce (Stossel). Furthermore, the excessive usage of high fructose corn syrup has become the greatest contributor to the epidemic of cardiovascular disease (Flavin). Cardiovascular disease is the primary reason for premature death in America (Flavin). Cardiovascular diseases consist of obesity, diabetes, heart and kidney disease (Flavin). In modern America, the consumption of high fructose corn syrup has drastically increased. Sally Squires, a writer for the Washington Post wrote an article â€Å"Stealth Calories† where she exposed the high usage of high fructose corn syrup. Squires reveals, â€Å"Since the introduction of high-fructose corn syrup in 1966, U. S. consumption has reached about 60 pounds per person per year. †(Squires). This is ridiculous. Consuming such immense masses of high fructose corn syrup severely contributes to fatal diseases. No matter what processed food item an individual decides to eat, the common ingredient is high fructose corn syrup (Squires). High fructose corn syrup has flooded the food industry and continues to grow. The United States Food and Drug Administration must step in and regulate the amount of high fructose corn syrup a company applies to its products. If regulations are not enforced, the doses of high fructose corn syrup will continue to increase. Barry M. Popkin, a nutrition professor for The University of North Carolina, has published an article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that widely display the dangers of sugar-sweetened drinks. Popkin states, â€Å"The increase in consumption of HFCS has a temporal relation to the epidemic of obesity, and the overconsumption of HFCS in calorically sweetened beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity(Qtd. in Hyman). Thus, it can be established that consuming large amounts of high fructose corn syrup does indeed lead to obesity. High fructose corn syrup is absorbed quicker than regular sugar. As a result, high fructose corn syrup prevents the body from signalizing that it is full and thus leads to (Hyman). Therefore, by exceeding the standard caloric intake, symptoms of obesity quickly arise. Hence, it is evident that The United States Food and Drug Administration must strictly control the amount of high fructose corn syrup a company applies to its products. However, there are other important reasons why the Food and Drug Administration must regulate the food industry. The United States Food and Drug Administration must rigorously regulate genetically modified foods because they are unsafe. Genetically modified foods are engineered foods that have been deeply depraved as a result of genetic alteration (Heit). Furthermore, genetic alterations consist of extracting genes from other plants or animals and inserting them in the chosen product to produce desired traits (Heit). However, this method has severely tainted the healthiness of food. A vast number of studies have linked genetically modified foods in an extensive variety of health problems, ranging from organ damage to immune dysfunction (Gutierrez). Not only are genetically modified foods harmful to animals, they can also be harmful to humans. David Gutierrez a staff writer for the Natural News wrote an article â€Å"Doctors Warn About Dangers of Genetically Modified Food† where he exposed the fatal flaws of genetically modified foods. Gutierrez states, â€Å"Animals consuming crops that have been genetically modified to produce the pesticide Bt (approved for human consumption in the United States) have died by the thousands, while animals grazing on a non-GM version of the same crops remained unharmed†(Gutierrez). This evidence is overwhelming. If genetically modified foods are fatal to animals, one can affirm that this harm will carry over to human beings. Animals are dying at exponential rates as a result of consuming genetically modified foods; yet the United States continues to allow these methods of production to occur. By allowing the production of genetically modified foods, the fatality rates of animals and humans will continue to escalate. Hence, it can be established that consuming these genetically modified products drastically increases the probability of developing a fatal disease. Therefore, the United States cannot allow these food production methods to continue. In addition, scientific experiments have shown numerous rats suffer as a result of consuming genetically modified foods (Gutierrez). Through extensive observations, it has been revealed that female rats that have been fed genetically modified foods experience a drastically higher infant death rate (Gutierrez). Likewise, male rats suffer as there testicles change from a pink to a blue color (Gutierrez). As long as the food supply is produced by means of genetic modification, food will continue to mutate genes in a destructive ways. Therefore, it is evident that genetically modified foods will severely harm humans. Similarly, additional analyses have indicated that genetically modified foods contain significantly higher concentrations of allergens and toxins (Gutierrez). As a result of genetic mixing, the allergens and toxins of one item are transferred to the other (Smith). Hence, by consuming genetically modified foods, unknown allergic reactions can occur (Smith). In recent research, scientists have found high dosage of peanut protein in soybeans (Smith). Consequently, an individual who is allergic to peanuts can have an allergic reaction by consuming soybeans (Smith). This is absurd. Consumers are blindly digesting products that may be deadly to their health. It is unjust for consumers to endure an allergic reaction as a result of genetic mutation. Therefore, the United States Food and Drug Administration must regulate genetically modified products to preserve the health of consumers. In all, the safety of all food in America is in a crucial situation. The United States Food and Drug Administration must rigorously regulate factories, scientists and other food manufactories to preserve the health of American consumers. If not regulated, the safety of livestock and crops will only steeply decline and thus affecting the health of human beings. The diseases of mad cow disease, fatal allergies caused by genetically modified crops, and high usage of high fructose corn syrup are the greatest concerns for the Food and Drug Administration. Therefore it is evident that the United States Food and Drug Administration must rigorously regulate the food industry to efficiently maintain the safety of food. Works Cited Dana Flavin. â€Å"Metabolic Danger of High-Fructose Corn Syrup. † Life Extension Magazine. Life Extension. Dec 2008. Web. 1 June 2013. David Gutierrez. â€Å"Doctors Warn About Dangers Of Genetically Modified Food. † Natural News. Truth Publishing International. 25 Feb 2010. Web. 28 May 2013. Jeffery Heit. â€Å"Genetically Engineered Foods. † Medline Plus. [N. p. ]: 7 May 2012. Web. 28 May 2013. Jeremy Smith. â€Å"Genetically Engineered Foods May Cause Rising Food Allergies. † Institute for Responsible Technology. [N. p. ]: May 2007. 30 May 2013. Mark Hyman. â€Å"The Not-So-Sweet Trust About High Fructose Corn Syrup. † Huffington Healthy Living. The Huffington post. 16 May 2011. Web. 29 June 2013. Richard Stossel. â€Å"The Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup. † Natural News. Truth Publishing International. 11 Oct 2008. Web. 28 May 2013. Sally Squires. â€Å"Stealth Calories. † The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. 6 Feb 2007. Web. 1 June 2013. â€Å"They Eat What. † Union of Concered Scientists. SIRS Issues Researcher. 8 Aug 2006. Web. 27 May 2013. â€Å"65 Health Risks of GM Foods. † Institute for Responsible Technology. [N. p. ]: N. d. Web. 1 June 2013.