This essay examines the dual impact of technology on food and food production. It surveys the positive contributions of agricultural mechanization, improved crop yields, refrigeration, transportation, and cooking technologies, showing how these advances have reduced famine and broadened cultural food access. The paper then turns to the negative consequences of technological food production, including pesticide use, genetically modified organisms, processed foods high in sodium and sugar, and the inhumane conditions of factory farming. Drawing on Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma and other sources, the essay argues that while technology has broadly improved humanity's relationship with food, unchecked industrial food practices pose serious ethical, environmental, and public health concerns.
This study guide is drawn from PaperDue's library of 130,000+ paper examples across 47 subjects.
Technological advances have impacted nearly every area of human existence across almost every part of the planet. Nearly every aspect of daily life is affected by technology, including communication and transportation. However, one area of daily life has been even more dramatically transformed than others: food and eating. Food production has changed enormously since the Industrial Age. Indeed, since the invention of the cotton gin, all agricultural practices have depended on technologies that have gone far beyond ox carts and donkeys. Mechanical food production has increased food outputs, and greater yields have subsequently improved health and livelihoods for large groups of people.
However, the fusion of technology and food production has not been entirely positive. There are many negative repercussions of applying technology at every stage of food production, and the integration of technology and food has proven both political and highly controversial. Problems such as pesticide use, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and industrialized animal food production plague modern society. Overpopulation makes it necessary to keep food yields high, but ethical standards are calling into question the need for some of these technologies. In short, technology has had both a positive and a negative impact on food and food production.
Overall, technology has had a positive impact on agricultural yield, crop diversity, distribution, food preservation, and cooking technologies. Each of these areas continues to be improved through the use of new technologies. Technology has allowed for greater control over environmental forces, making it possible to withstand problems such as drought or pest infestations. Famines are less likely now, not only because of the introduction of chemical and irrigation technologies but also because of food distribution channels made possible by transportation technologies. Because areas that would otherwise suffer food shortages can now receive food trucked in from outside sources, human beings living in extreme climates are able to enjoy food all year round.
In addition to increasing crop yields, technology has changed the way food is produced and distributed. The use of trains, planes, and automobiles to distribute food has made it possible to enjoy fish caught in Japan or the Mediterranean on the very same day it is harvested. This has made people familiar with new ingredients and more open to other cultures. Transportation technology has, on the whole, improved humanity's relationship with food.
New technology has also improved the cultural dimension of food. There is far less xenophobia related to food today, due in part to media promoting shows such as Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Because of technology, Americans can eat British cheese, and British consumers can eat avocados grown in Mexico. The importance of learning about food through new media like the Internet cannot be underestimated. There is greater respect for other cultures as a direct result of this technological connectivity.
In addition to changing channels of distribution, technology has changed the way food is prepared throughout the world. People once cooked over wood fires, but today a wide variety of electric and gas appliances are available. There are still foods produced by traditional methods, but generally all people now have access to basic cooking technologies in their homes. Refrigeration, similarly, has altered the nature of food storage and makes it possible for people to preserve food for much longer periods. While not all people in the world have equal access to these technologies, they are steadily transforming the relationship between people and their food. What was once possible only in fine dining establishments is now achievable in the home kitchen as well.
Although the general impact of technology on food has been positive, the negative consequences of technology in food production have become the subject of intense debate, especially in light of the corporatization of food. In The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan (2007) discusses the serious problems with modern food production. Ball (2014) also notes that ordinary people in America are concerned about the ramifications of GMOs, which are banned in some parts of the world but which some scientists claim are no different from traditional hybrid grafting of crops.
Pesticides and herbicides, once considered technological boons, are now widely viewed with suspicion and concern (Flandrin & Montanari, 2013). Both Pollan (2007) and Flandrin & Montanari (2013) note that technologies used to increase food production and to manufacture processed foods have contributed to health problems ranging from diabetes to obesity. These problems were once confined to wealthy countries, but now, due to the rapid growth of middle-class populations around the world, processed and fast foods are contributing to health problems everywhere. Technology has made it possible to manufacture flavors from chemicals, creating what is essentially artificial food. Cheaper to produce and with a longer shelf life than fresh food, artificial and manufactured foods contain higher amounts of sodium and sugar than the body can comfortably handle (Flandrin & Montanari, 2013).
"Cruel conditions and drugs in animal agriculture"
"Corn monoculture and high fructose corn syrup"
In spite of the problems related to technology in food production, the overall impact has been positive, or at least promising. Food technologies do allow for greater open-mindedness regarding cross-cultural food exchange. Enjoying food from other countries is both helpful and healthy, but should be done respectfully. It is important to use technology in ways that benefit humanity, rather than destroy the environment or undermine personal and social health.
You’re 69% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 2 sections.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.