A meal is usually defined as the consumption of two or more foods in a structured setting at a set time. Snacks consist of a small amount of food or beverage eaten between meals. A common eating pattern is three meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) per day, with snacks between meals. The components of a meal vary across cultures, but generally include grains, such as rice or noodles, meat or a meat substitute, such as fish or beans and accompaniments, such as vegetables. Various food guides provide suggestions on foods to eat, portion sizes, and daily intake. However, personal preferences, habits, family customs, and social setting largely determine what a person consumes.
Over the last century, eating habits in the world have changed dramatically. Our diets have been influenced by all kinds of factors such as the technologies in our kitchens, the modes of transport supplying our shops, the media and the governments and by trade and migration. The eating habits of our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents would be completely unrecognizable to many of us today. Our experiences of shopping and cooking have been transformed as have our attitudes towards health, table manners, 'foreign' foods, waste and choice.
[...] In fact, a United Nations report from the FAO states that the farming of cattle is "responsible for 18% of greenhouse gases."[x] The production of cattle to feed and clothe humans, stresses ecosystems around the world, and is assessed to be one of the top three environmental problems in the world from the local to the global scale. The 1.5 billion cattle of the world are cited as the greatest adverse impact with respect to climate change, as well as species extinction. [...]
[...] Fresh vegetables and starchy food have been replaced by processed food based on vegetables and potatoes. Even when fresh products are consumed it appears to be in a new way like bagged salads. These did not exist before 1992, but now two-thirds of households buy them regularly[ii]. In the last 20 years the world has witnessed a decline in barriers and a lot more open economies (strongly linked to the fall of Soviet Union), as well as numerous technological changes Internet, transportation technology). [...]
[...] Food, now, increasingly arrives by plane, and air travel gives off more CO2 than any other form of transport. “Agriculture and food account for nearly 30 per cent of goods trucked around Britain's roads and, according to a Government report in 2005, the resulting road congestion, accidents and pollution cost the country £9bn a year.”[viii] Although air-freighted produce accounts for less than one per cent of total UK food miles, it is responsible for around 11 per cent of the total CO2 emissions from UK food transport. [...]
[...] Conclusion Eating habits have radically changed in the last couple of decades, from the three meals per day at home to two meals ate on the run or in front of the TV. With the development of fast food chains and the increase in the diversity of food provided by supermarkets, it is easier than ever for developed country to access food. However the competition between food suppliers leads to a decrease in quality of food. Therefore though people now have access to a great diversity of products irrespective of the season, it is at the cost of health and the environment. [...]
[...] Many of the foods we take for granted, such as kebabs, have only been widely available for the last twenty years or so. Migrants from all over the world have helped introduce new flavors and recipes, and the rise of affordable air travel and people traveling further for holidays has helped create an appetite for foods from other countries. Likewise, people want to be able to eat what they want, when they want, and that is particularly true with respect to fruits and vegetables. [...]
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