Who I am, what I like, and what I think

Hello world! I am John Krueger, a 19-year-old Biology major at SFSU. I am writing this blog to talk about food and food related topics, as well as because my English teacher told me to. I love food, food is delicious, and if I could, all I would do all day is eat. However there are huge problems in the way we grow, raise, and eat our food.

I was born in Germany and because of that have been introduced to two very different and diverse food cultures. On one side the German, with rich sauces, delicious sausages, and traditional dished who’s recipes are century’s old. On the other, American food with juicy burgers, steaks of every shape and size, and of course McDonalds. This exposure to so many different types of food at an early age has made me into a person that likes a lot of different foods.

Food is the fuel we need for our bodies and everyone needs it. If this is true, why does no one worry about what they put into their bodies? I believe that since input directly affects output it is especially important for college students, like myself, so be aware of what they eat and just how big the impact of that decision is. If you feed yourself with greasy burgers that clog your arteries how can you expect your brain to perform at it’s full potential? You cant.

Lately I have been noticing a trend towards vegetarianism and veganism. I don’t agree to the claim many people make that all meat is bad; in fact it is delicious and part of a full diet. I do however support the idea that the way animals are kept in our mass production facilities is inhumane and wrong. Animals that are meant to be grazing pastures are kept in cells just big enough for them to stand in, not to mention move. The only way to solve this is if people eat less meat. Rather then eating meat for dinner every night of the week, families should limit themselves to 2 or days a week. This would solve the need for the mass production farms that plague this country but still retain a full food spectrum.

Another big problem with the way we make our food is in the farming. Farmers produce one product all year and deplete the soil while doing nothing to replenish it. There are ways or farming that are much more natural because they rely on a natural cycle that is sustainable. You grow a plant, then after harvest, introduce some animals that re-fertilize the ground and dig it up. Then you feed some chicken the seeds you want to grow and they in turn they plant them for you, and then you can start over. This type of farming produces much less waste and much more food.

Food is important and not enough people pay attention to what they eat and where it comes from. Fast food companies are criminals for feeding people poison and farmers are heartless because of how they raise their animals. This is not how it should be, and we need to figure out how to change it.