This past week I purchased my groceries from Granville Island Market and Sumas Mountain Farms located in Abbotsford as a means to continue eating both local and organic. While I do believe in the health and environmental benefits of eating fresh and unprocessed food, it is almost prohibitively expensive for a student to do so. The cost of three average sized chicken breasts, tomatoes, a carton of eggs and a 10oz piece of steak at Granville Island and Sumas Mountain Farms could have yielded almost double the amount of food at Super Value. This is in line with Manning’s assertion that the poor eat the most processed food (Manning, 2004, npg). While the context of Manning’s statement surrounds the proliferation of high-fructose corn syrup, the point remains salient. Thus the connection between processed food and mass produced meat, grains and produce seems to be a basic equation of availability and visibility. Simply put, finding a locally produced, pesticide free tomato takes time, yet a ¼ pound burger can be found 24-hours a day. This is compounded by the fact that fast food items like the burger are far more visible in mass media. What’s the environmental impact of this equation? A population demanding a product that takes “thirty-five calories of fossil fuel to make a calorie of beef” (ibid, npg).

Check out a recent video on burger “primping” at McDonald’s!

Note that fast food is not just visible but an incredible amount of effort goes into making it look appetizing!