Wendell Berry, "The Pleasures of Eating" In his book, What Are People For?, Wendell Berry presents some interesting ideas about food, agriculture and consumers. He begins by proposing that “eating is an agricultural act” and that it should be done with pleasure. Berry suggests that most consumers have no idea where their food comes from and that for them, food is virtually an “abstract idea.” He blames the food industries for this lack of consumer attention, which he believes also leads to a lack of enjoyment of food. Berry then goes on to talk about the “politics of food”. In this discussion, he asks how the food industry has made us dependent on it and, because of this, we cannot truly “live free”. Berry suggests that it is our duty, as consumers, to “claim responsibility for our role in the food economy.” It offers a list of seven different things one should do to achieve this goal. He highlights that knowing about food and how it is produced is one of the most important aspects and this allows consumers to enjoy eating. At the end of this excerpt, Berry concludes that eating food with pleasure is one of the greatest connections we have with the world. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayBerry seems to think that one should follow his list and way to truly experience pleasure in food, but I feel that anyone should be able to decide this for themselves. Consider if someone simply hates the way their food is produced, how could they ever get more pleasure from their food if they learned more about its production and origin??
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