The Determination of Food Policy in a Modern World Essay

The Determination of Food Policy in a Modern World - Essay Example Contrary to the main point of The Omnivore Dilemma, however, that part of the difficulty for humans is choosing their food is that we have too much choice, that we can eat anything we want. The problem, however, is that we do not actually have that great a degree of choice and that the factors that determine the crops we grow are in fact outside of our control. It is impossible to simply choose better, safer, healthier, and more environmentally friendly food because the food we grow is determined by the complex interaction of population, food-consumption style, and climate. In order to truly be the masters of our destiny in terms of food production, we must control the factors that determine what food we plant. Corn is in many ways a wonder food and in many ways a dangerous food. Corn can be produced in quantities that far exceed other plants (Pollan 2006, 36), and is incredibly versatile, functioning as everything from feedstock (65) to the sugars in sodas and candies (85). This mea ns that corn is the product of choice for most food production – in a single meal, nearly everything you eat can be a corn product in some way or another (111). This leads to problems, however. Firstly, heavy reliance on a single crop is incredibly dangerous from a food security perspective - an insect that develops the ability to eat it in high quantities and resisting pesticides, or a phage that targets the plant could lead to significant food shortages. Likewise, corn products are not always the most healthy – the high-fructose corn syrup that is in nearly every junk food on the planet is associated with heart disease and diabetes, two of the most serious killers in North America. So, realistically, there would be many benefits to breaking our addiction to corn (and other similarly homogenous cereal crops) and diversifying our planting to a wider variety of food products. But unfortunately, this is near to impossible because of the pressures that actually decide wha t kinds of food we plant. Forces other than free choice force the determination of what crops we plant. The first of these forces is population. Corn and other cereal crops’ incredibly high yields have led to a population explosion the like of which the human race has never seen before. And the fact is, this means that we now need these high yield crops in order to maintain the population and avoid even greater mass starvation than is already occurring. Population in many ways forces us to grow the crops we do. The second major force is lifestyle – a great deal of the crops we produce are used to feed livestock, which are incredibly inefficient uses of food resources from the human perspective – only about one-tenth of the energy used to feed the animal a human eats actually makes it to the human(68). So the widespread consumption of meat in our society is another major factor inducing the growth of corn. A final factor is climate – as climate changes rap idly it is important to grow crops that can endure a wide variety of conditions, and corn has shown that it is able to do this – it can be grown anywhere from Brazil to Canada, and can endure significant swings in temperature, rain and so on without failing, unlike many other crops.  

Sale of Goods Contracts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sale of Goods Contracts - Essay Example Money is the commonly used consideration in exchange of goods world over as the medium upon which the price of commodities is set after negotiations by the parties involved. Sale of goods contracts do not necessarily require formal documentation for them to be binding. The parties can make contracts expressly by word of mouth, put in writing, partly in writing and partly by word of mouth or the parties can imply them in their conduct. Under the sale of goods contract, the price of goods is determined through several ways including; a joint decision by the parties, adoption of a course reached under the contract, have a fixed price in the contract or have the buyer incur a rational cost for the goods. The goods in question can be either existent or prospect goods that the seller will obtain or produce after entering the sale contract. The buyer may also determine specific details in the goods before completing the sale, or may not give the specific details in the event of general good s or in cases where the goods are a part of already determined goods (Jennifer & Donald, 2007:136).  The capacity to enter into a sale contract in most legal systems across the globe depends on the prevailing rules pertaining to the capability of the buyer to bear liability for their actions. The seller has to be conscious of the age of the buyer, their mental sanity and sobriety at the time of sale in order to ensure that they are legally liable for their actions.    Although the sale contract must not be in writing for it to be binding, it is prudent that the it be in writing in order to avert any cases of vagueness and changes in the terms of sale agreed upon. Issues such as delays in delivery, changes in market prices, changes in the quality of goods agreed, the need to return goods owing to alteration in descriptions or whether the goods can be returned can only be effectively resolved if there is a written agreement upon which reference can be made (Sally, 2004:34). Such c ontracts put in writing may include such aspects of implied terms as: 1. The right of the seller to offer the goods for sale and that they are not subject to any security interests and that the buyer can quietly enjoy the goods. 2. In the event of sales made based on description, the good have to adhere to the descriptions or according to samples agreed upon by the parties. 3. The quality of the goods is satisfactory as agreed unless the buyer gets a notice of any alterations prior to completing the sale. 4. The seller will maintain the fitness of the goods at a reasonable level for the purpose implied or expressed by the buyer. Legal systems in the United Kingdom, like in most of other European countries, recognise both the expressly stated and implied sale contracts, although it gives more credit to the written agreements over the oral contracts. For the written contracts, both parties have to append their signatures on the contract in order for them to be legally binding. General ly, such contracts are final although there can be modification to the original contract if the buyer and the seller come to an agreement to that effect. In the event that any of the parties disagrees, the sale pact should remain as it was in the commencement of the