Social Problems
Topic #2 What are you eating?
During this section we sill discuss several of the social problems associated with food. What are we eating? What are the consequences of GMO for human health? What are the consequences for out environment? Should we be concerned about fake foods? Below are just a few points we will touch on during this topic.
Social Issues Related to Food
Food Security
There were about 200 definitions in published writings in the last 10 years. This term refers to access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food security includes at a minimum the ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, and an assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways. (USDA)
1974 World Food Summit as:
Availability at all times of adequate world food supplies of basic foodstuffs to sustain a steady expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuations in production and prices
In 1983, FAO expanded its concept to include securing access by vulnerable people to available supplies, implying that attention should be balanced between the demand and supply side of the food security equation:
“ensuring that all people at all times have both physical and economic access to the basic food that they need”
1986 World Bank Poverty Report focused on the temporal dynamics of food insecurity introduced the distinction between
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chronic food insecurity, associated with problems of continuing or structural poverty and low incomes,
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transitory food insecurity, which involved periods of intensified pressure caused by natural disasters, economic collapse or conflict.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS), about 13.7% of U.S. households — roughly 47.9 million Americans — lived in food‑insecure households in 2024.
Globally, the World Food Programe (WFP) and FAO’s Global Report on Food Crises (2026) estimate that 2.3 billion people experienced food insecurity in 2022; 318 million people face acute hunger in 2026 (double pre‑pandemic levels) and 735 million people were undernourished in 2023.
Threats to Food Production
•Air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels
•Water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers - over ground water consumption
•Limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country
How do Americans compare with the rest of the globe when it comes to calorie consumption?
Check out the globaal stastistics website
Genetically Modified Foods - FRANKEN FOOD
•More than 60 percent of the foods we purchase from the supermarket today have ingredients derived from genetically modified crops
•Genetic technology can be used to produce new varieties of plants or animals more quickly than conventional breeding methods and to introduce traits not possible through traditional techniques.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA):
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Over 90% of major U.S. crops such as corn, soybeans, and cotton are genetically modified.
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Sugar beets: about 95% are GMO.
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Canola: roughly 90% GMO.
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Papaya: nearly 100% of Hawaiian papayas are genetically engineered to resist viruses.
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Alfalfa: around 80% GMO.
These crops form the backbone of processed foods, meaning about 70–80% of packaged foods in U.S. supermarkets contain GMO ingredients — mostly through corn syrup, soy oil, or sugar derived from GMO plants.
Biotechnology ethics studies the moral, social, and political implications of technologies such as genetic engineering, GMOs, gene editing, cloning, synthetic biology, and lab‑grown foods. It focuses on how these technologies reshape:
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Human bodies
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Food systems
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Ecosystems
Cross Contamination “The Future of Food"
How do you keep genetically modified foods from cross contaminating other natural crops? There have been many court cases where farmers find that genetically modified crops have migrated into their fields. Some GMO crops have been equip with something called the Terminator Gene.
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The terminator gene (also called Genetic Use Restriction Technology, or GURT) is one of the most controversial ideas in agricultural biotechnology. It refers to a genetic mechanism engineered into seeds that prevents them from germinating after the first generation. This meaning farmers cannot save and replant those seeds. What if this terminator gene cross contaminate natural plants?
Our society today is at a crossroads, we have so many wonderful technological options like GMO technology but this technology may also come at a cost. In Sociology we talk about Cultural Lag. Cultural lag is a sociological concept introduced by William F. Ogburn. It refers to the period of adjustment that occurs when material culture (technology, inventions, physical objects) changes faster than nonmaterial culture (values, beliefs, norms, laws).
We have never asked the question SHOULD WE do this?
Should Corporations Be Able to Patent Life
In addition to the seeds we have to by should they also own all the animals we call food?
In 2005 Monsanto applied for what was called a "patent for a pig" On thing this meant was that Monsanto could legally prevent breeders and farmers from breeding pigs whose characteristics are described in the patent claims, or force them to pay royalties. We will discuss this case and what ultimately happened.
Vandana Shiva helped establish Navdanya, a network of community seed banks across India beginning in 1987. These seed banks were created to preserve indigenous, non‑GMO, open‑pollinated seeds and to resist the spread of corporate‑controlled, patented seeds. For many years Vandana Shiva has cautioned about allowing corporations to own all of our food resources. Some corporations are going into indigenous communities and trying to patent their natural plants.
Videos
This doctor says that all the concerns about GMO foods are fake news based on myths and false information spread online. According to him there are no consequences of altering the food that we consume. He only sees the positive related to GMO.
Do you agree or disagree with his perspective? Is it possible that there are no consequences at all to this process?
Assignment
Assignment: Fake Food Expose – Select one of the foods from the list below and create a PowerPoint illustrating why this food is considered fake. What is the science behind the claim? Is there any potential danger from consuming the food you chose? Has this food been said to cause cancer or other health issues? Include images of the food, charts and any data on the food and any issues. Are there economic or social consequences of switching to this fake food. Who wins and who loses from switching to fake food? What don’t we know about consuming these foods? How much does this food industry make yearly, which state may be impacted most from the fake foods? Other foods are listed in the full assignment instructions. I have used AI to compile a list of possible foods you can choose. But you have to do your own research to really find out the truth about the product. Check multiple legitimate data sites. Remember the government data sites may no longer contain accurate information. 15 - 20 Slides incluiding title page and reference page. (100 points)
Reading
Water Wars
These are conflicts over water rights, access, and allocation inside the United States. These conflicts are usually driven by scarcity, drought, population growth, and competing economic interests. American water wars are not literal wars. They are intense political, legal, and environmental battles over who gets access to limited water supplies in a changing climate.