The idea of a borderless something is something that has made me think more critically about the deeper details of the food that I eat. There are a number of things that come to my mind when I am making the decision of what I am going to eat. The first factor that determines my meal is the intensity of my hunger. The second thing is the amount of time that it will take for me to prepare the meal that I want to eat. Am I ready to wait for the food to get ready? This is a question that I always ask myself. However, the study of the borderless society made me realize that the one thing that I never keep in mind is the source of the food that I eat and the effect that it has on the economy. Today I ate a potato salad and cheeseburger, and I am going to get into the details of this meal as far as the borderless society is concerned.
Meal Analysis
A normal potato salad for me is comprised of bacon, onion, and, of course, potatoes. According to (Jerardo, 2012), potatoes account for the leading vegetable grown in the United States, and it contributes to approximately 15 percent of the overall farm sales. The article goes further to discuss that over 50 percent of the potato sales are directed towards the production of chips, French fries, and other potato foods. Two-thirds of the fall potatoes in the United States are produced in the Western states like Colorado, Idaho, and Washington.
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Potatoes are categorized into two groups: fresh and processing, and the processing potatoes are further categorized into chips, French fries, canned, or dehydrated. I always use fresh potatoes when making a salad. Another ingredient of my salad is the onions, which are produced in large numbers in the United States (approximately 125,000 acres of onions annually, which translate to about 6.3 billion pounds for the same period of time. Washington, California, and Idaho-Eastern Oregon account for the top three producers of onions in the U.S. with sizes of 22,828 acres, 17,850 acres, and 21,000 acres respectively. I always get my onions from the produce section of the grocery store, and this always guarantees me of getting them fresh at all time (National Onion Association, 2011). The final section to look at in the salad is the bacon, which is my most favorite part of the salad. Bacon is mainly cured by dry curing or pumping. The curing ingredients in pumped bacon are directly injected into the meat, and this makes the process of curing faster and also adds bulk. The dry cured bacon, on the other hand, contains a pre-measured cure mixture that is rubbed or applied onto the surface of the bacon. The dry curing process is long and takes up to two weeks (US Department of Agriculture, 2011). Finally, there is the cheeseburger, which is made in different ways depending on the toppings used. The meat of the burger is diverse and can be made from the sirloin, ground beef, chuck, etc. I always get my beef from Walmart but it was hard for me to find out their sources
Economic and Ecological Analysis of Food Choice
. I believe that the biggest advantage of this type of food market is the high competition that guarantees freshness and quality at all time. The food market today is flooded, and everyone is in search of the best quality and price. In this case, every company wants to amass as many customers as possible. In a situation where the customer gets satisfactory products at a low price, then they will refer to another customer. The disadvantage of this market type is the fact that there are many different sources, and it is hard for the customer to create a relationship with the seller. Customer behavior is continually evolving, and they are now keener to ensure that they get value for their money. That said, low prices are no longer a guarantee that the customers will purchase a product. The customers are now focusing on the quality of the product, even if they might have to dig deeper into their pockets.
Think Globally, Act Locally
Customer behavior is continuously evolving, where people are starting to either look for locally produced food or grow their own food so that they can be sure that whatever they purchase is not going to harm them. It is in this case that the phrase of Think Globally, Act Locally becomes applicable. The phrase is mainly focused on conveying the need to start being intentional about what we put on this world and also be committed to taking care of it. While the sale and trading of things are good and it promotes globalization, staying local is cheaper and it helps promote pollution control. The market today is characterized by escalating cost of everything, and the best mitigation factor is to stay local.
Before learning about a borderless society, I was never aware of the impact of my food purchase choices. I believe that a single local purchase makes a huge global difference. The town where I come from does not have many grocery stores selling locally produced food. However, there is a farmer’s market that is usually active for about two months from September and November, and I can take advantage of this time to purchase local products. Unfortunately, I will have to keep going to Walmart for the rest of the year.
References
Jerardo, A. (2012). Vegetables and Pulses Outlook: Low Prices Continue for Fresh-Market Vegetables. United States Of Agriculture , 8 (2), 105-112. doi: 10.1177/003072707400800210
The National Onion Association. (2011). The National Onion Association. Retrieved from https://www.onions-usa.org
Quebral, N. C. (2006). Development communication in a borderless world. Glocal Times , (3).
