The Omnivores Dilemma

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The Omnivores Dilemma

• Barry Swanson, Food Scientist
• AFS 101, Monday, September 21, 2009

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What is food science?

• Application of
• Chemistry
• Microbiology
• Engineering
• Physics
• Genetics
• Molecular biology
• Psychology

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FOOD SAFETY

• The U.S.A. has the safest food in the world.
• possibly the greatest variety.
• possibly the least expensive.
• possibly the greatest access and security.
• possibly providing nutrients to promote the
  health and longevity of the population.
• and we still have issues

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Michael Pollans issues

• Corn
• Organic foods
• Public Health
• Obesity
• Animal welfare
• Processed foods
• Food ingredients (HFCS)

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Food Preservation

• gt 50 of perishable foods are lost
• Improve harvest, handling and distribution
• Extend the shelf life of foods PROCESS
• Minimally process
• Clean, disinfect, package (MAP), refrigerate
• Fresh salad greens, fruit slices, carrot sticks

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Food Processing

• Thermal processes (Heat)
• Freezing
• Drying
• Curing
• Fermenting
• Irradiating
• Food ingredients (Additives)

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OBJECTIVES OF FOOD PROCESSING

• Inactivate pathogenic microorganisms
• Inactivate spoilage microorganisms
• Inactivate spoilage enzymes
• Stabilize and extend the shelf life
• Retain nutrients in the food
• Provide variety to the diet
• Promote public health

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Getting real about our modern food system

• The food we eat and food science are under attack
  by authors who may mean well, but generally lack
  the knowledge, experience, foresight, and/or
  historical perspective to understand the
  complexity and importance of the global food
  system. These activists use some truths, some
  imagination, and seductively simplistic,
  sometimes even misleading approaches to blame
  industrial agriculture and the industrial
  food system for many of the problems that afflict
  our society.

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Problems such as

• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Allergies
• Resistant pathogenic microorganisms
• Energy shortages
• Environmental degradation
• Climate change

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While our food system may not be perfect, it is
serving us well, and before we dispose of our
efforts and experiences, we better design a new
food system carefully with creativity,
innovation, knowledge and the responsibility of
making life better for the present and future
generations.
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As a food scientist, I trust science and the
progress and solutions science brings, yet I also
know that science alone will not solve all of our
problems.
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Food science is using sophisticated contemporary
technologies to improve food safety, quality and
access.

• Genetic engineering and molecular biology (GMOs)
• Mechanical harvesting
• Emerging food processing technologies
• Irradiation
• Ultra high pressure
• Microwave
• Radiofrequency
• Active bio-based packaging

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Productivity and efficiency

• Yields of fruits, vegetables and cereal grains
  increased dramatically
• Productivity of meats increased dramatically
• Output of eggs and poultry increased dramatically
• 145 increase in available food in the U.S.
• Maximizing efficiency and minimizing food losses
• 90 to 100 of foods harvested on U.S. farms now
  finds its way to consumers tables wherein
  developed and developing countries around the
  world 50 or more of the food produced on the
  farm never makes it to the consumer because of
  insects, microbial spoilage, humidity, poor
  transportation, or other factors.

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Food processing retains nutrients

• 50 to 75 vitamins and minerals retained in
  canned (thermally processed) foods
• 75 to 100 of vitamins and minerals retained in
  frozen vegetables, fruits and fruit juices
• 95 of vitamins, minerals, proteins and lactose
  retained in pasteurized milk
• Thermal processing inactivates anti-nutrients in
  select foods.cyanoglycosides in cassava, trypsin
  inhibitors in common beans.

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Food processing provides expected food qualities

• Crispy whole grain cereals
• Acceptable bread crumb and crust
• Pasta in too many shapes, sizes and colors
• Vegetables in the can or freezer
• Shelf stable fruits, fruit purees, and fruit
  juices
• Milk that doesnt separate
• Yogurt, sausage and cheese with a long shelf
  life and
• Meals, entrees, whatever in a secure package
  prepared for convenient preparation and enjoyable
  eating.
• Food prepared at home may be equal to, worse, or
  even better than mom or dad used to prepare,
  but it is surely easier to prepare, safer, more
  uniform, and overall more convenient.

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Food scientists design, develop, and formulate
safe foods to meet consumer expectations and to
support a profitable food industry venture.

• Twinkies ho-hos, ding-dongs, snowballs and
  cupcakes
• Tang
• Spam
• Frosted flakes
• Wonder Bread
• Grape nuts
• Sanka
• Cool whip
• Jello
• Cake mixes

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Food scientists design, develop, and formulate
safe foods to meet consumer expectations and to
support a profitable food industry venture.

• Pringles
• Minute Rice
• Gatorade
• Hersheys chocolate
• M Ms
• Marshmallows
• Cheese Whiz
• Oreos
• Decaf

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Environmental impact of global transportation

• Greenhouse gas emissions associated with
  production and long distance distribution
• 1,640 km for delivery
• 6,760 km for the total life-cycle supply chain
• 83 related to food production
• 11 related to transportation
• 7 delivery from producer to retail outlet

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• the extraordinary abundance of food in America
  complicates the whole problem of choice.
• we once again have to worry that some of those
  tasty-looking morsels might kill us.
• there is a fundamental tension between the
  logic of nature and the logic of human industry

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• Eating is an agricultural act. Wendell Berry
• ..the pleasures of eating industrially, which is
  to say eating in ignorance, are fleeting.
• But in the end this is a book about the
  pleasures of eating, the kinds of pleasure that
  are only deepened by knowing.

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HFCS, High Fructose Corn Syrup

• Its everywhere, its everywhere!!!
• HFCS is sweeter than corn syrup
• HFCS is less expensive than corn syrup, sucrose
  syrup, or invert sugar
• HFCS is beneficial to selected populations (e.g.
  diabetics)

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• Thank you!!

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Food Science research topics

• Monolaurin may inhibit food bacteria
• Prewashing may remove mercury from fish
• New method for detection of E. coli in ground
  beef
• Eating chocolate may decrease risk of heart
  attack
• Ultra high pressure processing improves the
  functionalty of whey proteins