Shrimp Aquaculture and Too Convenient

Today's guest speaker in The Anthropology of Food was Yu Huang. Her presentation on the development of shrimp aquaculture in South China struck me on several deeper levels which related to points both Michael Pollan and Ruth Ozeki address in their books. The usage of antibiotics which aren't good for people and have unproven effects on health, genetic alterations and mutations, and environmental degradation. The point the really stuck with me was the altered DNA. Since the farmed shrimp are living in such highly manipulated and controlled environments which are so different from nature it's no wonder the shrimp's bodies are forced to adapt, thus altering their DNA and affecting future generations. It's scary to think that we are willing to change so much for momentary efficiency in terms of quantity, that we don't think twice about the repercussions of altering genetics, such as the fact that once their true DNA is extinct, the only way they will be able to survive is in these unnatural, man-made environments which aren't environmentally sustainable.

I also liked the palpable connection between Mr. Chen's original farm in Yu Huang's presentation and the Polyface Farm discussed in Michael Pollan's book "The Omnivore's Dilemma." While it originally supported symbiotic relationships which nature is conducive to, the sad transition into modern industrialization forced him to sell out to mass producing a monoculture of Pacific Tiger Shrimp. While the transition increased his yields over five fold, the susceptibility to diseases threatened his yields too frequently and too drastically. However, you can hardly blame Chen for making the decision he did, to change to "standardized production" or be put out of business by the next industrial beast.

It was also news to me to find out about the seemingly non-existent Global Food Safety Control regarding the registration of food facilities in the U.S. which are not required to mark the origin of the exported fish.

While I was put off by that bit of news, I was rather excited to begin work on our Symposium presentation. I chose to become involved with the investigation of campus convenience stores. We decided to emphasize the fact that we are being sold bad food for a high cost and low nutrition. Our exploration will involve delving into the shelves of instant/canned foods, frozen/baked goods, and the laughable section of "produce". While most of the people in Anthropology of Food recognize the poor nutrition catered to students around campus, I found that people I asked for their opinions respected the options that were available to them. They found it to be a reasonable selection for the size of stores, but did agree on the lack of fresh vegetables and fruit available. Fruit is not naturally canned in "light syrup" with high fructose corn sugar...

I look forward to seeing what other groups have to present tomorrow!