What has the food come to?

After reading these two pieces I have given more thought to how what I eat is dictated by the media.  From when I was a little kid I was influenced by the television, as it decided for me what was good and what wasn’t.  I wanted Frosted Flakes not because I knew they tasted good(they actually do).  I wanted them because the commercials with “Tony the tiger” were sweet.  Now I think about how everyone went through a Vitamin Water craze solely because in the name it says “Vitamin.”  How stupid.  Is the water better for anyone than normal water on a Vitamin Water-less diet is?  Doubt it, it’s just smart marketing that sucks people in because they read vitamins and assume it is good for the body.

Pollan and Dupuis make the point that the media influences what people want to eat.  The media can relay information from scientists who are all-knowing, and can dictate what is good and what isn’t for the body.  If they find out a new type of vitamin, chances are people would go ape shit for whatever food it may be in.  Main point being that people are influenced too much by the media and news, in deciding what they should eat.  That is why I live by this motto, “eat what tastes good.”  Pollan’s piece also gave some advice on ways to avoid this socialization in the way we eat, in order to know what’s going in, and keep healthy.  Dupuis’ piece was less focused on the now, and gave a broader sense of food and why people eat what they do.  There was a slight history of they first instances of a single person convincing others to eat they way “they should.”  It started with religion but has clearly spread.  Most things we eat aren’t actually food, they are just combinations of different chemicals to form some tasty substance. 

That being said, what exactly is food?  Does it have to grow out of the ground?  Vitamin Water surely doesn’t.  Does it have to be all-natural? That’s what organic is for, right?  Food comes in all forms, shapes, and sizes, so it’s what you make of it.  Keep it healthy, or add lots of powerful tastes.  One way you might not know what exactly you’re putting into your body.  Have caution, but try to keep a healthy, free choice diet.