Aundrenee Nash
Writing 121
Chris Jensen
May 10 2013

The Pleasures of Eating Summary and Response

In “The Pleasures of Eating” Wendell Berry wants the reader to recognize that eating is a cultural act. He believes we are eaters not consumers and that we should have more knowledge about the food we eat. Berry wants the reader to questions where the food is coming from, what condition is it produced in and what chemicals may it contains. He has found that the food industries blind us to what we are consuming and the effect it has on us. At last Berry believes that we must eat responsibly to live free.

Berry first begins with eating as an agricultural act. We think of food as an agricultural product rather than think of ourselves
I believe if you set limits on the amount of industrialized food you consume, you will still be able to live a healthy and fulfilling life. “The consumer, that is to say, must be kept from discovering that, in the food industry-as in any other industry-the overriding concerns are not quality and health, but volume and price” (Berry 233) This direct quote was very strong and caught my attention. This made me realize that industrial food companies can be compared to any kind of business as their chief objective is increasing profit. There are, however, certain ways to get around the conventional food industry. It is possible to avoid the trap because after all “the trap is the ideal of industrialism” (Berry 233). Even though I agree with this certain point, I feel as if there might be a more effective approach that Berry could have taken when describing this so called “trap.” The way that Berry expresses his views makes it seem as if food industries are out to get you. The description of their goal to make consumers fall into a trap is on the extreme side.

Wendell Berry seems to be very into the details of farming and how our meals are processed, but as someone who has been given a very fortunate life style, it is hard for me to relate. When I read I find myself to be having contradictory thoughts as this whole time I have disagreed with most things Berry