As a college student, myself and many others are always lacking something. Time, energy, money, you name it. Despite this, according to the American Dream we are doing everything we should be doing. Our education is leading us well on our way to fulfilling that happy dream of living in a white picket fenced house with a perfect spouse (and dog) and six-figure job, but are we really doing that well?
While I knew our American diet was FAR from healthy, Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food points out even further how not so great the American food system is. We lean a lot on nutritionism, where the nutrients of food is seen as more important than the food itself, resulting in a ridiculously wide range of processed foods. We modify these antioxidants and those vitamins rather than just eating the food that is present and we end up with insanely cheap meals in a box.
As previously stated, college students are almost always short on money (amongst other things) so instead of going to our local farmers market to grab fresh fruits and vegetables we are heading to QFC to get things like boxed Mac N Cheese. Not only is this meal cheap and within our budgets but it also takes very little time and energy to make. Cooking is very much a privilege. To really cook a meal means that you have not only time but also money.
But what if we never make it to that point? To be able to afford the American Dream we all have to work a full-time job. Working a full-time job is exhausting, so where are we supposed to find the time and effort to cook? On top of this all, living in Seattle is expensive too so there is also a chance that you still won’t be able to afford to eat fruits and veggies all day…So this begs the question, how is food and healthy eating supposed to play into this American Dream?
By looking issues at the holistic view, it required a lot efforts to to cook a full meal, , as you mentioned. Before Green Revolution, we were so worried about starvation, hungry, and famine. Now then, eating healthy is more problematic than just only fulfill your stomach with “food”. I mean here is junk food, added sugar, processed food, called empty nutrients are cheaper and more ubiquitous, compare with whole food such as fruits, veggies, fish,.. From what I understand, eating healthy is strongly related to others factors, particular poverty.
The way you use a metaphor “ American Dream” successful described how difficult for students to get a home-cooked meal. However, I think American Dream is no longer exist, students are struggling with getting a degree and working full-time jobs to afford for a good meal. Ironically, instead of using the money we made to buy organic produce, shop at our local farmers market to support for local farmers, we are now heading to QFC to get things like boxed Mac N Cheese.