Nutrition
Pros and Cons of Industrialized Food System
Industrialized food system refers to the system of mass producing food by following standard procedures and investing in industry-sponsored food production, i.e. investive farming. The agricultural practices thus conforming to this mode of food production can be termed industrialized agriculture, in contrast to localized agriculture like farmer’s markets and local, community-based or independent farming. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) defines industrialized agriculture as “the system of chemically intensive food production developed in the decades after World War II, featuring enormous single-crop farms and animal production facilities.”
Pros of Industrialized Food System
- Food is mass-produced so there is plenty and nearly everyone has access to the same kinds of foods without having to travel to a specific locale to get the seasonal food of the area or pay extra for it.
- Industrialized foods are cheaper and therefore more affordable to the poor segment of the population.
- Industrialized foods are time-saving for consumers; packaged, treated against decomposition, and often supplied with instructions on use, these foods go well with the modern, fast-paced life in many developed countries and parts of developing countries with the working class making a huge segment of the population.
Cons of Industrialized Food System
- Industrialized foods have been shown as unhealthy and many of them containing GMOs, which are dangerous for health. They are low-quality products that benefit the chemical/fertilizer industries and GMO-manufacturers and hence come at the cost of consumer’s health.
- Industrialized systems rob the farmers of the benefits of producing fresh foods distributed locally and also even take over farmers’ right to produce healthy foods (as in case of Monsanto’s seed/crop rights issues).
- Abuse of animals and the environment come indispensably with industrialized systems of food production, or any other industries for that matter. The race to get more done in less time with minimum expenditure and for maximum profits leaves little respect or care for safe and humane agricultural practices.
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