Industrial Food Versus Homemade Food Free Essay Example

Abstract Food is taken in order to acquire nutrients and energy for growth and development. The energy helps one to be active, work, move, think, learn and play. The body requires a variety of 5 nutrients from food; these are fats, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. Food sources could be from animals, plants and even water but the intake depends highly on nutritional gain, health benefits, preference of the consumer and their economic status. Therefore it goes without say that food forms part of life’s necessities to everyone being a basic need and as such it is of importance for the body’s functionality.

Key words: food, nutrients, health, sources, shelf life

Industrial food versus homemade food

Food is a basic need and as such it is a necessity when it comes to survival and body functionality. Food can be of two type’s homemade and industrial foods. Homemade foods are the type of foods prepared and processed in the home for local consumption by mostly family and friends.

Industrial foods on the other hand are mass produced foods meant for sale to the consumers and are usually packaged in cans and containers with preservatives in order to give the food a long shelf life. Both food types can be beneficial to the body and mind but there benefits vary in a number of ways. Before one choses which type of food to consume a number of considerations have to be put in place in order to avoid any dangers that might affect the consumer.

The comparison between industrial food and homemade food is based on their health benefits to the user, their nutritional value and cost.When comparing the two types of food provisions, the first thing that comes to mind is the cost. Homemade foods tend to cost less in comparison to the industrial foods in that during preparation of homemade foods one can use locally available products or even source for cheaper alternatives of the ingredients to be used in the market or even the kitchen garden, thus seems to be cost effective. On the other hand, industrial foods are prepared for commercial purposes which makes them pricey compared to the homemade and as such it is the preference of most people to use the homemade option in order to save a few coins for other expenditures. Industrial foods tend to cost higher than the home made foods because of they are made for commercial use, there is use of expensive resources that are involved in the preparations as well as the labor involved in food processing and as such the sale of the products has to cater for the expenses involved and also produce some profits for the running of the business or the industries. ( Grumezescu et al, 2018).

Secondly, health benefits have to be considered before choosing the type of food to consume since food is meant to improve the functionality of the body and mind and not pose health risks. With homemade foods the nutritional value and freshness of the products is maintained and so food poisoning due to toxins is kept at bay, Unlike the industrial foods which are produced in large quantities and stored in cans and containers need to have preservatives hence tend to lose their nutritional value and sometimes deteriorate or pose health risks such as food toxicity depending on how they are handled. In addition, the hygiene of the food handler can also pose a health risk to the consumer especially when it comes to the industrial food where a number of people handle the food before it reaches the consumer’s table. (Hui, 2012).

Lastly, the nutritional value has to be put into consideration when choosing the type of food since it is the most important reason for food consumption. With the homemade food is produced in small quantities and consumed within a short duration of time and so the nutritional value of the food is maintained whereas the industrial food is produced in large quantities for commercial purposes hence there consumption is over a long duration of time. Because of this they tend to lose their nutritional value. Moreover, the use of preservatives in food packaging can lead to a reduction in nutritional value of the food consumed by the consumer. The fact that industrial foods are produced in large amounts and under minimal time, there is use of automated methods to hasten the food preparation process which in turn may interfere with the nutritional properties of the food and as such there’s a decrease in its nutritional density before intake by the consumer. ( Hitzmann, 2017).

In conclusion, a number of factors have been put into consideration during the comparison between homemade food and industrial food and they have clearly showed that homemade food has a lot of benefits to the user in terms of health, nutrition and economy in comparison to the industrial food, in that the industrial food uses preservatives in to prolong the shelf life of the food as compared to the homemade food. These preservatives can in a way have side effects to some Individuals and also interfere with the taste, nutritional value and freshness of the food thus posing a health risk to the user.

References

1. Hitzmann, Bernd (2017-08-11). Measurement, Modeling and Automation in Advanced Food Processing
2. Ionescu, Gabriela (2016-05-25). Sustainable Food and Beverage Industries: Assessments and Methodologies
3. Hui, Y. H. (2012-01-11). Handbook of Meat and Meat Processing, Second Edition
4. Grumezescu, Alexandru Mihai; Holban, Alina Maria (2018-04-08). Food Processing for Increased Quality and Consumption