Final Paper
Agricultural food production is one of the most important sources of sustenance for modern society, but also a major source of anguish and distrust among present-day consumers. For my food path project, two agricultural foremen participated in this project by allowing the researcher to interview and observe them. Both individuals are agricultural foreman, Daniel allowed me to observe his eating practices, whereas, Omar was interviewed in order to get a deeper insight of our agricultural food production system and to gather the perspective of the people operating within it. The disconnect between those individuals who can make decisions via policies and regulations that directly impact how food is produced and those who produce the…show more content… Omar a son of a field worker and graduate from Cal Poly has also talked about the importance of a home-cooked meal. He talked about the comfort family recipes gives him and the happiness home cooked meals provides to his life. His education, knowledge, and ability to use the internet have allowed Omar to pass along knowledge to those around him and educate them on common misconceptions about food production. Omar’s career path has allowed him to explain how things grow (Omar 2018). “I talk about food production with the people around me, I talk about certain misconceptions, emerging new technology, and about the different growing methods” (Omar 2018, 10). His career and education have allowed Omar to try and eat healthier foods by incorporating more vegetables, fruits, and lean meats into his diet. However, the value of home-cooked meals is an overarching theme both these foremen who may have walked very different paths but have very similar values. Omar eats most often at home, and when he seeks information about food or recipes he directly talks to his family or mother about it (Omar…show more content… An area of concern was the disconnect and the lack of representation and involvement growers had in the formation of policies and regulations. “There are more regulations for growers, most of them are good, but some do not have the perspective of someone from agriculture and do not see how this will affect food production and the cost of the food to the consumer “(Omar 2018, 10). According to Ahmed et al. (2011) rules for sustainable pesticide use have become stricter in developed countries. For Omar, keeping up with the demand and doing so by abiding by the policies and regulations created a huge strain on those involved in food production. The increased regulations and restrictions and in the eyes of Omar the lack of representation in the creation of policies created a disconnect between policy makers and growers. This impacted food production because growers had to follow these regulations while also providing food for society. They needed to follow regulations, “the way we spray pesticides has changed, most growers spray at night time because they are scared of getting people sick and getting sued” (Omar 2018, 10). There is a huge pressure on the shoulders of growers increasing food production, reducing waste and degradation on the environment. As it is estimated that population growth will be 10 billion in 2050 to Omar,
