During my first week as a summer associate, I was asked to go out and check the sprinkler for our campus garden because it had been malfunctioning the week before. When I turned it on it worked perfectly, but we decided that the next day we would let it run for an hour and check to see if it worked after a more extensive amount of time. The next morning we did just that and sure enough, the sprinkler ceased oscillating after a while. Before rapidly declaring it broken, I decided to try fixing the sprinkler by changing the setting. During my attempt to do so, I pushed a button that caused the sprinkler to quickly spiral out of its current position and into the air right where I was standing. I was soaked, and embarrassed.
Presentation is everything.
The way we look is very important culturally. It gives the rest of the world a glimpse of who we are, and makes a statement without using any words. This explains why I was so embarrassed the day that I was soaked by the untamed sprinkler, as I felt that my returning to a professional office soaked in water would look a little out of place.
That day, my appearance was something that I was acutely aware of because I felt as if people were drawing conclusions about me based on the result of my sprinkler malfunction. Why did I feel this way? Well, I was comparing myself to what is seen as the norm- working in a professional office in dry clothes. Though this particular experience with image was standard and a bit humorous, many experiences regarding image aren’t as harmless. In fact, body image is one thing that can cause some individuals to draw hurtful conclusions about others that affect the way groups are viewed and treated on a daily basis.
This is something discussed in the article that we read in terms of poverty and obesity. The article touched on the idea that lower-income individuals eat unhealthy foods that end up expanding their waistlines and extending their budgets. There are many problems with this phenomenon, one of which is the creation of stereotypes that the poor are unhealthy and uneducated when they are actually underpaid and misunderstood.
The truth is that it costs to be healthy; trips to the grocery store, more nutritious options, doctors’ appointments. They are all resources that can be accessed using capital.
When you take a moment to consider this, it makes you wonder what it was that made nutrition something that is reserved for the privileged. It is something that just doesn’t seem fair..especially when those privileged are the same ones who complain when marginalized individuals are the ones in need of support and health care.
Just like Pollan says in the article, the system has become so skewed to a point where “wealthy farmers feed the poor crap and poor farmers feed the wealthy high-quality food.” It simply does not make sense.
If we were to see a shift in the way Americans thought about food, however, a shift in the way the food market is utilized would occur as well. In such a case, what is sold in grocery stores and the availability of food overall would be much more acceptable. America would grow healthier as a nation, and a strong standard would be enforced because healthy options would be available for all classes. It would change so many ways that our system runs today, and it would change them for the better by promoting genuine healthy lifestyle for everyone; not just individuals who are well-off. After all, we don’t have to be choosy about the kinds of people eating food, but do have to become more aware of what the kinds of food we eat are, so that it can affect the lifestyle of our nation accordingly.
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