The Pleasures of Eating

In the essay The Pleasures of Eating, Wendell Perry criticizes American consumers for forgetting the root of their food. He believes consumers are trapped in ignorance when it comes to the act of eating. Perry is very critical of the commercial aspect of the food industry and he believes consumers are a victim to the industrial food chains profit motive. He says that most Americans can’t even tell what their foods came from or what’s in it because of the obscure way prepared foods and other fast foods look.   He puts part of the blame on how Americans want to achieve a high quality lifestyle. He explains it as a paradox where people want to improve their quality of life by making time for everything else besides enjoying the pleasures of eating healthy and thus end up facing health problems among other societal issues.

            He promotes eating responsibly by finding the connection between the food they eat and the land it comes from.  He suggests participating in food production by growing something so we can better understand the cycle of our food. He also advises to prepare our own food so we are in control of what we eat. His other suggestions revolve around buying local produce and in turn helping the local economy.

            What it all comes down to is having the knowledge to back up what we choose to eat. I agree with Perry consumers should be aware that their eating habits have political, economical, and environmental consequences, but I do not think it is as bad as Perry exaggerates. I don’t think we need to eat all organic and locally produced food to understand where our food comes from and how is produced.When Berry blows up the problem of our ignorance of where our food comes from and how it is produced, it really does take some of the pleasure out of eating.

Questions:

 1. What kind of background in food does Berry have?

2. How can we prevent the food industry and technology from spiraling out of control?