Preview

Social Movements: The Modern Agrifood System

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
490 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Social Movements: The Modern Agrifood System
Emily Wallaf, RN
June 19, 2013
Response #3 Paper: NUTR 1100
Just like civilization evolving and changing, so is the way we grow and manage food for the masses. Our population has a serious issue to address when it comes to the modern agrifood system. New ideas are introduced and innovative ways, not always healthier, are being practiced. Soocial movements like the one happening in the modern food system today is effective based on their ability to use and engage in framing processes, mobilizing structures and political opportunities (Stevenson, Ruhf, Lezburg and Clancy, 35). What we are failing to realize is that bigger isn’t always better, the little guy (the farmers) are being ruled out by major companies who boast control, when really, …show more content…
Farmers are not only proficient in growing the best crops and agriculture; they also have somewhat skilled in the business world. The suaveness of farmers only permits the strongest to survive when faced against the big chain stores.
For any movement to be successful there needs to be agreement upon what is wrong with the current system, what the ideal system would be, and how to get from the former to the latter. This is something that is absent from the food system movement here in America and is critical in order to produce master frames that also have adequate mobilizing capacity (Stevenson, Ruhf, Lezburg and Clancy, 51). The article mentions three main key components America needs to follow: builder, weaver and warrior. Each part brings a united front to implementing change in the modern agrifood system today. Builder work focuses on many different levels of change within the agrifood system, such as, scaling up food council policies and legislation to follow in the same suite. Warriors defend the food rights and protect the food values. The warriors battle the trials and tribulations of the current system in place. They stand up for what is right and will fight to keep things for the benefit of the food system. Weavers organize change among the population and masses. They weave together socialization and conceptual organization or the warriors and the builders. Together change can be further influenced by the dedication, motivation and united momentum created by the three
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Essay Analysis
    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay Analysis

    Many Americans are discovering the value of locally or own grown food. By doing this, they help reduce the carbon print while at the same time supporting local business (Elton). The general concern posed by the writer in this article is how the local-foods movement is gradually becoming a global trend. As the author sites how the movement is steadily growing, he also expresses his concerns regarding it. Without proper standards to oversee the movement, the author expresses fear that it will decline sharply.…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Deep Economy Bill Mckibben Summary
    • 3032 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Deep Economy Bill Mckibben Summary

    Not only this, but “the farmers profit margin dropped from 35% in the 1950 's to about 9% today.” (Mckibben, 54) This means that “to generate the same income as it did in 1950, a farm today would need to be roughly four times as large.” (Mckibben, 55) As a result of this perpetual growth and centralization, problems like “huge sewage lagoons, miserable animals, vulnerability to sabotage and food-born illness”(mckibben, 61) have become commonplace. Not only this, but “we are running out of the two basic ingredients we need to grow food on an industrial scale: oil and water.” (Mckibben, 62) The situation has become so dire that “we are now facing a near simultaneous depletion of the underground aquifers which have been responsible for the unsustainable, artificial inflation of food production.” At this point of realization, Mckibben begins indulging the reader in a large number of facts that promote a more localized form of farming as the solution to a seemingly endless number of issues. Initially the point is raised that “sustainable agriculture leads to a 93% increase in per-hectare food production.” (Mckibben, 68) The next idea raised is that, “since World War 1, it has been cheaper to use…

    • 3032 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Beware The Fast Food Nation's Calorie-Industrial Complex Summary
    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Beware The Fast Food Nation's Calorie-Industrial Complex Summary

    The food industry produces a substantial amount of food every year to feed the hungry American people, but at the cost of quality and health. While the Industrial food chain may not be the healthiest or most efficient chain, it provides appetizing food to all Americans for an affordable price. When choosing the finest food chain for America, the modern industrial powerhouse of food production is a choice to be considered.…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Ap lang food Inc logical fallacies

    • 1923 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Ap lang food Inc logical fallacies

    The film, Food, Inc., argues that our food system has been corrupted by corporate interests; as a result, we are put in danger by very items that should guarantee our survival. We should reclaim our right to health by eating more locally produced organic food and ensuring all people have access to such food. The film wants the viewers to think negatively of the business of mass production of the foods that we eat on a daily basis. The logical fallacies allow the film to capture the attention and emotions of its audience by giving a reason for their concerns, but without any legitimate statistics or facts to back up their claims. The use of these logical fallacies in the film help strengthen its arguments by making the audience feel as if the corporations are exploiting the farmers and their traditions, causing families to go through avoidable obstacles, and making the companies and government look like the “bad guys” in this web that is called the food industry. However, the reality is that the food industry isn’t as evil as depicted by the fallacious arguments in the film.…

    • 1923 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Why Is Hungry For Profit Agribusiness
    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Why Is Hungry For Profit Agribusiness

    Agribusiness is the industrialization and globalization of the farming industry, more often than not it also involves the mechanization of the labor in order to streamline it. At a glance agribusiness may be seen and even portrayed as the solution to the global food issues, but that is far from the truth as we have seen in the documentary film Hungry for Profit agribusiness’ main purpose is profit as in the end agribusiness is in fact a business. With this in mid it should not come as a surprise that agribusiness, despite all the propaganda, isn’t a solution to the world food issues, in fact one can argue it is a cause for some as they choose to sell their product to foreign markets instead of locals ones in order to make more money. One example of this is seen in the Philippians were Del Monte began to set up operations, but in doing so also began to drive out local farmers and take over their land. Unlike some other instances that we saw in their…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Food Justice Chapter 3 Summary
    • 1250 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Food Justice Chapter 3 Summary

    A couple of those ideas include “the Locavore diet” (p. 182) and “the eater as co-producer” concept (p. 190), both of which adopt the farm-to-table approach, which is part of the justice-oriented value chain (p. 184). The underlying objective is to promote local farming and provide fresh, nutritious, unadulterated food to the community, which can increase mental alertness, physical activity, and overall good health, while reducing diet-related illnesses, girth growth, and obesity (pp. 65, 190-191).…

    • 1250 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Eric Schlosser's Essay 'The Way We Live Now'
    • 861 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Eric Schlosser's Essay 'The Way We Live Now'

    Michael Pollan is an American author, journalist, activist who focus on American food issues. His essay “The Way We Live Now” appeared in New York Times Magazine on October 13, 2003 (http:// http://michaelpollan.com)…

    • 861 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Omnivore's Dilemma Research Paper
    • 1609 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Omnivore's Dilemma Research Paper

    Health problems are flooding America. Why? It is the unhealthy, toxic food that we are consuming every day, everywhere. To change America's path on health and food, we have to fix how we eat and know where our food come from. In the novel, The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, the reality of our food is dived into. Pollan takes us on a journey where he explores the four food chains. Those four food chains that control America’s food consist of, Industrial, Industrial organic, Local sustainable and Hunter-gatherer. Industrial is what you find in most supermarkets the “cheap”, and full of additives, preservatives, and antibiotic food. Additionally, there is Industrial organic. This food chain is a bit healthier than it's partner Industrial,…

    • 1609 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Omnivore's Dilemma
    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Omnivore's Dilemma

    Pollan’s solution is simple. “All we need to do is empower individuals with the right philosophy and the right information to opt out en masse” (Pollan 260). Regardless of how promising it may sound, however, where our food comes from is not going to change overnight. Major companies such as Coca-Cola have bought out our legislation a countless number of times and will continue to do so for as long as people continue to feed them money. Unless a sharp, major nationwide movement is started, there will never be an “American Food Revolution.” Despite the efforts put forth by many food orientated communities, the availability, low cost, and popularity of terrible industrial foods will time and time again grant victory to the…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    english 100
    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages

    english 100

    Ron Finely, an artist and designer who is from south Los Angeles, claimed that everyone should have access to healthy food through a video named Ron Finely: A guerilla gardener in South Central LA. For this purpose, he suggests people should plant their own food, and let children know the joy, the pride and the honor in growing their food. He wanted an environment revolution and a big change of food issues. Ron Finely claimed that America is a super and developed country but there are still a huge number of people who are not able to maintain their basic living. Other developing countries would have more people who face the same situation. It is necessary to get a revolution for food all around the world and the environment indeed has a change.…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Elisa Sorto
    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Elisa Sorto

    The farmers have large amount and honest virtue. The farmers know the right choice to make…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis
    • 835 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis

    In South Central, Los Angeles, there is a food epidemic taking place among the population. For miles and miles, the only easily attainable food source is fast food; causing the overconsumption of un-nutritious, greasy, and fattening food. This is the problem brought to the public’s attention by speaker Ron Finley in his Ted Talks speech, “A Guerilla Gardener in South Central L.A.” Finley explains how everywhere he looks in his native South Central, all he sees are fast food chains and Dialysis clinics opened due to the lack of nutritious food. Finley views the lack of a healthy food source as a serious problem, and brings up his point; there are miles of vacant lots throughout Los Angeles, all of which could be used for the cultivation of healthy fruits and vegetables to better the urban community’s diet and health.…

    • 835 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Food Inc.
    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Food Inc.

    Most off our food is handled and processed by somebody else. The truth is Americans don’t have the time to farm and nor do the dirty bits. In America, whoever does the best in the fourth quarter controls how things will run, with the ever growing hunger for wealth there is no limit to what can be achieved. An American Filmmaker, Robert Kenner, released a documentary Food Inc, a perfect example of greed and disregard for what can be considered ethical in the food industry. Kenner was inspired to make this film after reading Fast Food Nation to show how portray the whole supermarket has become industrialized almost resembling the fast-food industries. The documentary Food Inc. is about slaughter houses, food manufacturing, and other food related subsets. The film relies heavily on visuals and also the commentary used statistics and facts creating attitude.…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Farmers' Grievances
    • 518 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Farmers' Grievances

    Farmers saw that low prices led to their lack of prosperity and that trusts joined with railroads and politicians to pick people's pockets. Prices dropped in certain sections of the country and later proved that farming was carried at an actual loss because it was over the cost of production. A western farmer had to sell his corn for eight to ten cents a bushel when the eastern broker demanded more than a dollar for it. Trusts dominated the market by buying raw material at their own price, then selling the finished product at any price they wanted. Trusts furnished the farmer with clothing, with the machines he had to use, with the fuel he had to burn, with the materials for living.…

    • 518 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Farmers Alliance
    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Farmers Alliance

    During the period of 1880-1900, farmers were facing many hardships. Financial issues were one of the main difficulties as well as long hours, droughts, insect plagues, and ranchers and cowboys. The farmers refused to back down without a fight. Farmers made valid complaints and expected something to be done about it. Their complaints weren’t being listened to and they took matter into their own hands. The Farmers Alliance was formed in the 1890’s to serve for needs of education, farming methods, and to organize economic and political action.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics