Pop culture bloggings

We’ve discussed the subject of consumerism in regards to many things like products, media and even society itself. We have looked at ‘food porn’ and the food network as another pillar of the industry as food has just as strongly adopted notions of aesthetic to sell and promote itself. One thing we did not consider is the waste, at least until last class where Zizek discussed how we assume waste products just disappear and are no longer part of our existence. When I was watching Masterchef and other cooking shows recently I began to wonder about what happens to all the groceries and completed dishes that are produced? Now naturally they set up the pantry in these shows, have the contestants use what they will and redistribute the rest to food banks (or so one would hope), but what happens to the rest? Just last week on Masterchef Junior they spilled countless gallons of syrup on the judges – you can’t exactly mop that up and give it to a food bank.
Another such interesting point I’ve seen recently is the new super market that is selling ‘miss-shaped’ foods in France. Obviously in the past people used to use these fruits and vegetables without a care but now with the need to conform and sell as many like products as possible, even these basic foods are forced into unattainable standards. Most people do not consider the fact produce even comes in strange shapes until they spot a radish that happened to by pass the “quality check” and looks like a man or a potato with a face to post on instagram.
So much food is produced and then not used or misused while food banks are having trouble keeping up and the price of produce is on the rise, resulting in the decline in health of poorer families who have to buy what they can. If more food passed the appearance test, there would be more food on the market and prices would go down and overall health would increase. Not to mention less waste on transportation and packaging of unhealthy foods.