Corruption and consumer demand in the food industry - Part 1
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Corruption and consumer demand in the food industry - Part 1
Corruption in the Food industry is currently being exposed more and more – products being designed and manufactured purely to push sales out of greed, with little to no regard for the health consequences of those consuming these ‘foods’ or drinks.
BUT – a question we need to ask ourselves is how did we let this happen, or perhaps more honestly, why did we CALL for this on some level? Confronting as it is to consider, we surely need to be willing to go to a level of honesty whereby we can see how an industry cannot survive without a demand – so where does this demand come from?
Our body is a finely-tuned instrument of biodynamic homeostasis that does know what foods and hydration we truly need to be well and nourished: is this conduit of universal intelligence something that we pay enough attention to, or is there a part of us that just wants to ignore those ever present signals and seek relief from our dis-content by numbing, dulling, hardening, dampening or over-stimulating ourselves with the help of food or drink? It is worthwhile noting here that we can of course seek these effects in many other ways, however the focus of this article is our relationship with food and drink.
The purpose of this piece is not to incite self-beration but to propose we deeply ponder on just what it is that we are seeking from food and appreciate the effect this has on the industry that is thereby formed and that feeds us back whatever it is that we are demanding…
Taking a step back from the end result – the foods designed to be addictive and not nourishing; the extensive use of antibiotics to produce cheaper meat, poultry and fish intensively that is fuelling antibiotic resistance and the many maladies and illnesses that are contributed to by lack of true nutrition and even poisoning ourselves with food – why not ask what is driving this kind of hunger? What if every aspect of the way we live our life contributes to our relationship with food? How we are within ourselves – the kind of inner self-talk that we run with, how much we truly appreciate our whole body and how we express in the world with all others…
Miranda Benhayon has recently released #2 in a series of beautiful and inspiring recipe collection e-books showing how simple cooking can be in a delicious and nourishing way that is in connection with our whole body, bringing a wealth of lived wisdom to how we can cook and eat to truly support ourselves.
Here we ask Miranda: How much of an impact does the quality of all our relationships in life have on the way we approach food – how we shop, cook and eat?
Miranda:
“The way we are in life and in relationships has an incredible impact on how we approach any aspect of the food and eating experience – be it shopping, cooking or eating the final product.
If you find you are erratic in relationships, meaning you tend to go up and down with the emotions of others, chances are you will see this same erratic behaviour play out with your food choices and experiences.
Consider for a moment the immediate impact of having a negative experience or negative emotional situation with another such as a fight or an argument. Does it just end there or do those feelings continue to further shape and influence your food choices, often resulting in a poor food choice (or choices) to alleviate some of the emotion?
What about at the other end of the spectrum: if you have a positive experience or situation with others, do you find yourself more likely to commit to your food choices and place more effort and care into the whole experience from shopping for the best ingredients, all the way through to the meal itself?
We can all relate to these simple examples to varying degrees, and what this demonstrates is that when it comes to eating, if we are not aware or dealing with our sensitivity levels in relationships, we may find that our diet or approach with food is simply the end result of seeking a solution or alleviation from feeling things in life or in our day that may have been too hard, or seemingly, too much to handle.
Hence we all have a great responsibility in understanding the fact that it is down to current consumer demands, which drive and set the pulse reflected back to us by the food industry.”
For more on the subject of understanding our relationship with food, stay tuned for part 2 in this series of articles...
Filed under
Corruption, Relationships, Food industry
