Throughout society there are varying discourses within various subjects. The 'dominant discourse' is the dominating factor of a subject, who has the upper hand regardless of whether it is the majority or not. For example you could have a football game. Although the referee may not always be the majority, they always have the upper hand and the final decision. The dominant discourse in the United States regarding food ways seem to be either 'food as a healer or food as poison.' (Andy) Unfortunately, society cannot view the common ground, and to revel in being educated about food, but for some reason always have to be shocked by something.

To me, the two most obvious discourses in food ways in modern day America are the media and the FDA.

Obviously, the media is extremely controversial and can aggravate a situation or support it. With food they seem to perpetuate one ideal, they constantly ram new diets down our throats but with no information about what goes into the food, or how its prepared or even where it comes from. Adverts endorse a culture of fast food convenience and unhealthiness.

The FDA stands for the food and Drug Administration. The FDA is a United States agency that oversees food safety, partly they are responsible for "ensuring that foods are safe, wholesome and sanitary." But how can we truely know that they are doing there job if we never know whats going on with our food? We never know the truth because the dominant discourse never tell us. Their slogan is "Protecting and promoting your health," which seems truely contradictory as it not our needs and demands that are being fed, its what the dominant discourse thinks we need that we recieve.

Problems inevitably arise in this discourse, the most obvious being trying to get Americans to eat healthily in a convinient, easy and cheap way. Its alot easier to eat unhealthily than it is healthily. We live in a world where a burger or pizza can be easily purchased for $1, but a salad is hard to find and expensive. It has been instilled in us that scrimping on price is a good thing, that we are benefitting from it. When in reality, its worse for us. We have no idea where our food comes from, who makes it or how its prepared. Another debate is whether it is worth the 'effort' of eating healthy. Stated in the New York Times Article Told to Eat Its Vegetables,America Orders Fries(Health section, SEPT. 24. 2010)"The nation has long had a complicated relationship with vegetables. People know that vegetables can improve health. But they’re a lot of work. In refrigerators all over the country, produce often dies a slow, limp death because life becomes too busy.“The moment you have something fresh you have to schedule your life around using it,before we want health, we want taste, we want convenience and we want low cost." If we truely live in a world where its an 'effort' to give our bodies the complete nourishment it deserves then that is truely saddening.

The fact Americans are not informed and uneducated about healthy eating is disgusting. Would we have thought 100 years ago that our local farmers would be going out of business due to multi million dollar corporations? We need to learn to see food as something that is to be appreciated and enjoyed, rather than something that has to be convenient and cheap.

Old Mc Donald had a farm? No, old Mc Donald had a multimillion dollar corporation that is destroying the view of food across the world, one hamburger at a time...