food science final

5 steps of a food scare

Public is largely unaware of a problem - equilibrium

Public begins to be sensitized to the problem

Concern begins to rise and the problem becomes a fous of interest

Public begins to react to the issue, often avoiding the product

Concern gradually fades but a low level anxiety may remian - new equilibrium

6 types of food anxieties

food security, safety, quality, contamination, labeling, and innovation and public health

2 examples of food scares

E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders, stemming from contaminated onions

Quaker Oats issued a recall for numerous granola bars and cereals due to potential salmonella contamination

four factors of the hunger and obesity paradox

• factor #1: In capitalism, businesses and political leaders don't like to talk about hunger because it shows a big contradiction- while capitalism promises that everyone will have enough (like the old idea of "a chicken in every pot"), many people still go hungry. It exposes the system’s failure.

• factor #2: Calling hunger an “epidemic” (like a disease) doesn’t make sense, because hunger isn’t caused by nature or chance. It’s caused by human systems, like government policies and economic inequality, not by illness.

• factor #3: In a capitalist system, companies aim to make profit. Since helping starving people doesn't make money, there’s little financial incentive to solve hunger. So, it’s ignored.

• factor #4: From a moral or ethical point of view, global hunger is both unnecessary and unfair. It’s not a natural disaster, it’s something we could prevent, but we choose not to.

how much of the world suffers from hunger/obesity

a quarter each

5 steps of culture meat production

1. Food scientists take stem cells from a fertilized chicken egg and then test the cells for resilience, taste, and the ability to divide and create more cells.

2. Next the scientists can freeze the best cell lines for future use.

3. They are then submerged in a stainless steel vat of nutrient-rich broth containing all the ingredients cells need to grow and divide.

4. After a few weeks, the cells begin to adhere to one another and produce enough protein to harvest.

5. Finally, the scientists texturize the meat by mixing, heating or shearing it and press it into nugget or cutlet shape.

FDA is responsible for

reviewing how the meat is made, making sure it is safely made and safe to eat

USDA is responsible for

overseeing the processing and labeling of the meat inspecting production facilities and making sure the labels are truthful and not misleading 

benefits of cultured meat

• Less harm to animals, minimizes the need for killing animals as the meat is grown directly from the cells. Also poses the question of whether lab grown meat can be considered vegan or halal

• less land needed for production, land isn’t needed to raise farm animals since the production takes place in a lab

criticisms of cultured meat

• nutritional impact, discourse over whether lab grown meat has the same nutritional value as meat from animals

• microbiological contaminants and residues, possibility of microbiological contaminants from the lab process that could cause potential health issues