Industrial Food Diary
|
After completion of my two day industrial food diary, I have been enlightened about the true nature of the food I eat on a day to day basis. What I learned is contrary to what I believed about my current diet, which wasn’t as “whole foods” oriented as I had previously thought. While I may have not struggled as much as some students, many of whom may find themselves surrounded by highly processed and cheaper “college” foods, I still found it very difficult to adjust my daily routine to avoid the foods that I had not realized were so processed. As some background, I have been really focused on healthy eating this past year, but my ideas of what is truly healthy are being challenged by this project and this class. On the first day of my diary, I had a little adjustment to my usual morning trend because my apartment building was having an event that boasted Chick-Fil-A breakfast as its main attraction. Naturally, my roommate and I arrived the second it began to secure the free food, despite being of the highly processed and greasy nature. The Chobani was another little treat provided by my apartment staff, as it’s sugar content and non organic ingredients weren’t typically what I look for in my yogurt. I am not used to seeing yogurt, a food that is supposed to be good for you, containing so much sugar, but as Michael Moss emphasizes about big companies like Chobani in his article, “when in doubt, just add sugar”(9). Aside from those outliers, the rest of my day lined up pretty fluidly with my normal routine. Nothing too bad or processed, but no overwhelming focus on the most whole ingredients possible. The second day of my diary was a bit different, both mentally and physically. Much to my surprise, I did not find myself craving as many snacks as I did on the first day. I was more full and felt more focused on school, even having just eaten a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast. My afternoon eggs with veggies provided a solid base that carried me through dinner, which hardly ever happens when I eat more processed foods midday. Although eating out is typically not consistent with a “whole foods” diet, my choice of a very nice sushi restaurant with fresh caught ingredients ensured that I was not eating anything I couldn’t make myself in my own kitchen. In the end, the most prominent difference between the two days was also the biggest benefit of the whole foods diet. This difference is what kept me more focused on school and in a happier mood- the food I ate on the second day simply made my body feel better overall. This does not mean short term pleasure or happiness like the feeling that I experienced while eating my Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich because as Marion Nestle explains in her book, “companies design products to make us want to eat them” (38), and that “something about sweet, salty, and fatty foods makes us want to eat more of them”(41), despite the only temporary endorphin rush they provide. After that little satisfaction, I was not full, I craved more calories, and my body didn’t feel great. On day two, I felt the exact opposite- I felt the way I should feel every day. |