I have learned a lot from the Fast Food Nation article. I was shocked by the fact that over the past 40 years, American society “contributed” a huge amount of money in “supporting” the fast food industry. I think this is a critical issue for people who want to make an impact on the local food system to think about, because the implications of the author seeing the fast food industry “both as a commodity and as a metaphor” play a great role in dominating the public mindset and social customs nowadays. It is true that fast food as a commodity catering the public pleasure of taste, and people have a great demand on that because of the low-price and convenience. However, as a commodity in the circular flow model, fast food indeed transformed the public’s diets behavior, labor, land and eventually cultures. The history told us that the growing fast food industry connected to the changing of workforce after the 1970s. At the same time, since more women entered into the workforce, it also shifted the American restaurant business methods and foods economy. However, the prosperous of fast food didn’t benefit the industrial workers, and even worse, according to the author “the restaurant industry is now America’s largest private employer and it pays some of the lowest wages.” This shows that fast food workers have become the alternative “modern slaveries”. The migrant farm workers take up the majority of the fast food labors market, which is being said that lack of cultural understanding and coordination is still embedded in our society. Thus, the mass production reformulated not only the foods but also the way of people seeing and consuming foods. Fast foods trends also catalyzed the United Sates became a nation of snackers. And once people take for granted and get used to the fast foods cultural environment, they will not easily step out of their “comfort zone” in search of real foods and disconnect with cooking and farming. The disconnection between consumers and producers has been deeply shaped our food system and American society. Inevitably, people no long appreciate the foods they have had. While some of them greatly satisfied with the boundless resources, there are also lots of people who struggle with accessing foods sources to sustain their lives. Food waste and food insecure are the results from the disconnection of our food system.
New technologies and applications of science fertilized the food system for abundance. While the food companies transform the raw materials of agriculture into higher volumes of frozen, canned, dehydrated, and processed foods, they also transform the way of people live their lives. All things connected. Human behaviors, external environment, and our internal health outcomes are all interdependent. Foods serve as the bridge between our external environment and internal environment, they provide us energy physically and spiritually. And it is all about balance. The exchange of energy between people and nature is mysterious but profound. As the large corporations achieve high yields and low food prices, the hidden costs and long-term effects of mass production on our environment and health are tremendous.
To be a responsible eater means to take care of body as well as the planet we live in. It means to use a holistic approach to understand our land, labor and resources. It is an agricultural, ecological, and political act. “You are what you eat”, in other words, implied that foods shape our identities. It also influences on the American cultural and economic landscape.