Introduction
Food is a fundamental need among human beings that needs to be carefully addressed especially when determining emerging trends. It is worth acknowledging that the side effects of preservatives has affected general health of populace, and contributed to poor health.
It is necessary to acknowledge that this further highlights that food has indeed changed over the years in terms of nutritional content, mode of production, and distribution. This means that in the future, food is likely to undergo adulteration and departure from its original content. Additionally, genetically modified food is likely to grow in usage because some issues such as climate change are likely to affect food availability as well as food production mode.
In the middle of the 19th century, a huge shift in agriculture towards the use of chemicals in the farms and animal confinement was experienced. This kind of farming came to be known as mechanization or industrialization of agriculture. Industrialization of agriculture introduced new methods of food production can be likened to factory-type production system.
The new system of farming replaces the holistic thinking and the recycling of the nutrients through the use of crop rotation and animal rotation to produce food. Those changes in the methods of farming and agriculture have changed food production over the years whereby the yield is no longer quality and it has many health issues. This essay proposes a research study of the changes on food production over the years. The study will focus on the changes in nutrients, health issues, and the general quality of the food.
Literature Review
According to Church and Stewart (2013), food has significantly changed over the years especially in terms of content and price. For instance, the price of commodities such as potatoes was significantly lower in previous decades as compared to the current price.
Moreover, it is worth stating that nutrient density of food has significantly declined over the years because of the changes in the methods of farming and food processing. Climate change has also affected the agricultural patterns, especially in terms of growing food and harvesting.
Information obtained from academic libraries indicates that problems associated with the consumption of processed foods are not new. These problems have existed among humanity since the advent of technology. According to Garg and Mukerji (2010), scientists face difficulties coming up with solutions to side effects resulting from the consumption of processed foods.
For years, these professionals have not succeeded in their mission to enhance food safety. This implies that changes in food production techniques and the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides have great impacts on the quality of the processed food.
Research provides that food nutrients have declined significantly in the past decade. In fact, food production has registered almost 50% decline in nutrients due to changes in production styles and the use of technology. This implies that food consumed nowadays contain almost 50% less nutritional value than it was one hundred years ago.
This can be attributed to the changes in food production techniques. Parry and Hawkesford (2010) provide that new methods of food production, which involve the use of chemicals, animal confinement, and other new agricultural practices that are aimed at doubling production contribute to the decline of vital nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, and photochemical.
Currently, food security is a major societal issue that has contributed to changes in food production over time. Efforts to feed the increasing population have led to the use of technologies to preserve the surplus food for future use. This contributes to many health issues because some preservatives promote the growth of tumors, and cancerous cells.
Global food production needs to be increased by 70-100% by the year 2050 to be able to feed a population of about 9 billion people. Thus, the increasing pressure on food security has led to the advancement of technologies to double food production. Therefore, genetically modified foods, food preservatives, and animal husbandly that compromises the quality of food is as a result of those technologies (Spiertz & Ewert 2009).
Climate change over the years is one of the major contributors to changes in the food production. FAO (2013) provides that there is a need to develop stable food varieties that are better adapted to climatic changes.
This has led to the introduction of a variety of cereals that are resistant to heat, drought, and salt water. However, this is done with the respect of the breeders and farmers’ rights and in line with the international treaties on plant genetic resources. The rise in demand for foods has provided a suitable platform for the preservation of foods.
As a result, food manufacturers use preservative technology to lengthen the period foods take before they get spoilt. Their objective is to meet the rise in demand for foods although, in return, the processes cause harm to the population, especially the consumers. According to Garg and Mukerji (2013), the rise in cost of living makes it difficult for millions to meet their basic needs. As a result, people are opting to devise ways of fulfilling their needs.
For instance, consumers purchase foods that contain preservatives as a way of overcoming challenges associated with food shortage. This compromises the health of the consumer because taking preserved foods leads to allergies, high blood pressure, and growth of tumors (Garg & Mukerji 2013). The consumption of foods that contain preservatives in developed countries has led to health issues that are associated with consumption of foods containing preservative elements.
Research Ideas and Aims
The primary aim of the research is to determine the changing attributes of food and its effects on human health. The research aims to discourage food processors from using preservatives causing harmful side effects to consumers. The researcher also advocates for the use of appropriate preservatives when conserving foods. The main reason for this practice is to make the foods last for longer periods without compromising its quality and nutritional contents.
The research is feasible because several professionals have managed to discourage consumption of GMO using a similar approach. It is crucial to acknowledge that the strategy is effective when curbing cases of diseases associated with consumption of processed foods (Srilakshmi 2003).
In developed countries for instance, professionals have curbed the rise in consumption of GMOs by encouraging farmers to produce organic foods. As a result, food-manufacturing industries limit usage of preservatives in food production and processing.
In addition, the research explores factors that contribute to the rise in consumption of foods containing preservatives. Focusing on preservation of foods means that the research highlights the negative consequences of consuming highly processed foods. Furthermore, the presentation seeks to redress the rise in consumption of fast foods.
It is expected that the findings of this study would help improve the welfare of the society by advocating for consumption of organic foods. The report will present guidelines for enticing the masses to desist from consuming foods that impact negatively on their health.
Research Strategy
The research study will employ both secondary and primary research techniques to determine the changes in food production over the years. Secondary research will involve the use of the already existing empirical research from the previous scholars on food production. Substantial scholarly journals will be selected and compared to determine the experimental findings that other scholars have discovered regarding food production over the years.
On the other hand, primary research will involve collection of raw data through the use of qualitative and quantitative techniques. Creswell (2009) provides that a selection of the research strategy is vital in the success of a research study. Poor selection of strategy hinders the data collection, thus, impacting negatively on the research findings.
A survey strategy will be adopted for this research because it allows and facilitates collection a large amount of information from a larger population. Thus, surveys will be conducted through the questionnaires and specific groups of people will be interviewed to obtain adequate information relevant to the subject of the survey.
The research will relate previous findings by comparing the data obtained for the research with the expected outcome of the research prior to analyzing the challenges of the food industry. The research will also incorporate suggestions from other scholars on suitable methods for preservation of foods. Focusing on the objectives of the research will allow people to understand basic concepts of the research, especially in the planning stage (Creswell 2009).
The strategy suits the project’s aims since issues on nutrition have existed for quite a while. Consequently, overconsumption of foods containing additives (preservatives) causes a worrying trend. Records show that close to half of the population in developing countries is suffering from shortage of organic foods. This increases the possibility of rising cases of illnesses associated with consumption of genetically modified organisms. A third of the adult population in the US was suffering for eating foods containing preservatives in 2012.
Data Collection
Data will be collected from the participants through observation and questionnaire techniques. One hundred online questionnaires will be prepared and then presented to farmers, food processing industries, and agricultural agencies such as FAO and FHO.
The participants will fill the questionnaire and send it through the email at the expiry of the deadline. In addition, 20 farms within the country will be identified, and the managers will be interviewed about the changes they have experienced over the years regarding food production. Their responses will be noted down and arranged for analysis and interpretation.
A qualitative research approach will facilitate the process, allowing the researcher to utilize questionnaires during the initial stages of data collection. The researcher will align the questionnaires to suit the objectives of the research.
Observation technique will aid in data collection because the researcher will interview several people from the sample population. The researcher will use random sampling techniques to avoid bias. The data collection will focus on food production chain as provided by CDC (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention 2013).
Ethical Considerations
It is expected that ethical issues such as informed consent and permission would arise in the course of the study. Therefore, the researcher will seek permission from the responsible authorities before carrying out the research especially during the design phase. This will ensure that the study has complied with the ethical standards of research.
Moreover, the participants will be given informed consent for the purpose of participation in the research. They will be informed of the risks and the potential benefits of participating in the research. In addition, issues of honesty and integrity may arise. This will be addressed by engaging in wider consultations to enhance integrity and objectivity of the study.
To maintain the integrity of the study, the data collected will be used for the purpose of research only. According to Sun (2005), a research conducted in an ethical manner is usually ethical and objective meaning that the possibility of attaining the goals of a research is high. Moreover, the privacy and anonymity of the participants will be maintained. The names of the participants will be kept anonymous to ensure compliance with the research ethics.
Procedural Issues
Complicated and unintended issues may arise during the research. For instance, a participant of the research may face a situation requiring urgent attention. There is also the likelihood of the research failing to comply with some of the requirements stipulated by the authorities. Moreover, the research might fail to accomplish some of its objectives, and scholars from other disciplines might dispute the validity of the research.
Therefore, in addressing procedural issues, the researcher will state the situation prior to realigning the goals of the research with its mission. Addressing a procedural issue at an earlier stage is fundamental since the situation may get worse in cases where the researcher deviates from the goal of the study when addressing the problem.
Elements of Research
The research explores factors that contribute to the rise in consumption of foods that contain preservatives by hypothesizing the use of preservatives in the preservation of foods. By focusing on processed foods, the research highlights the negative consequences of consuming food additives. Additionally, the presentation seeks to improve the welfare of society by advocating for consumption of organic foods.
Conclusion
In summary, the investigation process intends to validate facts highlighting rise in production of foods containing preservatives. As noted by Srilakshmi (2003), there is the possibility of the authority curbing the cases of illnesses by implementing policies that discourage the use of preservatives in the food preparation process. Furthermore, the research enhances the level of awareness because it describes the various approaches of dealing with problems that affect the society as a whole.
Reference List
Church, J & Stewart, K 2013, Average Food Prices: a snapshot of how much has changed over a century, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web.
Creswell, J W 2009, Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.
FAO 2013, Data Collection Methods. Web.
Garg, N, Garg, L & Mukerji, K 2010, Laboratory Manual of Food Microbiology, International Publishing House, New Delhi.
Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. 2013, Foodborne Outbreack Investigations. Web.
Parry, MA & Hawkesford, MJ 2010, ‘Food security: increasing yield and improving resource use efficiency’, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 69, no. 1, pp. 592-600.
Spiertz, J & Ewert F 2009, ‘Crop production and resource use to meet the growing demand for food, feed and fuel: opportunities and constraints’, Netherlands Journal of Agricultural Science, vol. 56, no.3 pp. 281-300.
Srilakshmi, B 2003, Food Science. New Age International, New Delhi.
Sun, D 2005, Emerging Technologies for Food Processing, Elsevier Academic Press, Amsterdam.