Final thoughts of Food Politics

I think this unit has definitely made me more aware of how bad and unhealthy so much of the food we eat is.  A large part of this is due to false advertising and misleading labels.  A lot of the time, companies pay big money to be able to label their products as "organic" or "caged-free."  They rely on the fact that consumers want to buy products that are healthier for a slightly more expensive price.  When I first saw the label "caged-free" eggs, I thought it meant that the chickens had a ton of freedom and weren't just stuck in a dark room filled to the brim with other chickens.  In reality, caged-free just literally meant that the chickens were not entrapped in a cage.  They are still trapped inside dark, dirty rooms with a bunch of other chickens; however companies are able to make more money on the eggs they sell.  The food isn't technically getting healthier.  We just think it is because companies want to make more money

Although this unit was really eye-opening, because I have never been forced to look at food in such cynical way, I don't think a lot of my daily life will change from this project.  I will probably still buy the same junk food sold in stores.  I also have mixed feelings about the involvement of the government in the way our foods get processed.  On the one hand, I feel like they should do more to prevent companies from doing stuff like false advertising, but on the other hand, I know some people will be upset when the government tries to tell them what to do and what not to do.