Sherley Francois
Professor Miller
English 110 Section H4
22 November 2017
The Value of Morals
We think of values and morals as a personal principle that we believe in and live by. For example, standing in a line and waiting for our turn. No one has to tell us to wait, we do it out of habit. Not all action has to be thought out but some should be and we don’t stop and think because we’re used to the same habits and patterns. But, there are times when our values should stop us and make us think without feeling unnatural because we’re used to doing things the same way every time. For example, most of us consume meat, milk or eggs. But, we don’t stop and think how much the piece of meat and or the glass of milk is impacting our planet. According to Time Magazine, livestock productions uses one-third of the world’s fresh water just to produce milk, meat, and eggs for all 7 billion of us (Walsh Bryan 2013). How can we say we have values, if most of them have been passed down and not really thought about? While it is impossible to question our values in every day of life, there are some ordinary things if we think about them they can raise questions that we don’t expect and cause us to reflect on our values. The works of Jessica Mitford on funeral service, Michael Pollan on the fast food industry and David Foster Wallace (DFW) on boiling lobsters has lead me to think in a more open manner about every day ordinary things.
After reading “Consider the Lobster” by David Foster Wallace for a second time my opinion has changed completely. The first time that I reading his story I thought that David Foster Wallace was exaggerating his point on the way that we cover the pot while cooking lobsters, to not watch them suffer. While reading I felt for the lobsters and thought his point was that we were afraid of watching something go from alive to dead. But, I now think that his point was that we know that it is wrong we continue to do it. We know that its wrong enough to not watch it but that does not stop us from continuing the process. We keep going, and continue to kill lobsters with closed lids countless of more times. Although, Michael Pollan was not referring to lobsters in his writing I believe that DFW would agree with him on the fast food industry topic. Just like we know that boiling lobsters alive is wrong, we also know that fast food is not good for our health but we continue to eat it. “According to the handout, McNuggets also contain several completely synthetic ingredient, quasi-edible substances that ultimately come not from a corn or soybean field but from petroleum refinery or chemical plant” (Pollan 112). We basically trust these industries with our entire life. Although we do know that the ingredients are not safe, we continue to feed on these deadly meals without batting an eye.
Jessica Mitford changed my perspective on funeral service and embalming. We go through the process without really thinking about what it is that we’re really doing. Which is taking the last part of being a human being out of the lifeless bodies of our families and friends. “..the blood is drained out through the veins and replaced by embalming fluid pumped in through the arteries” (Mitford 46). We go through the funeral process to make them look alive, healthy and normal while completely destroying them. Mitford says that, we live in an era where we have the access to watch anything that we are curious about, like, surgical operations in the comfort of our homes. “The secrecy surrounding embalming cannot be attributed to the inherent gruesomeness of the subject” (Mitford 44). I think that some people are aware or has some sort of idea of what happens but ignores it because everyone else is ignoring it. Sort of like how David Foster Wallace says that we cover the pot to not watch the process of killing the lobster. We kill our loved ones after they die to make them look like they are still alive, just to complain that they do not look the same at the funeral that we paid thousands for. We do all of this to try to avoid the reality that, that our love one is gone. And, to paint a last perfect picture of the person we knew because no one wants to remember a dead body as the person they kew, for the rest of their life. But in reality we know that person will not look or be the same anymore but we ignore our values of what is right and wrong and continue to do what seems normal. DFW can agree that our actions show very little of what we really think about the things we say we value.
Furthermore, in “The Meal” by Michael Pollan he expands on the fast food industry and the types of toxic chemicals that are put in the food that humans should not consume such as dimethylpolysiloxene, which is added to cooking oil and is believed to be flammable (Pollan 113). I strongly believe in healthy ways of life. For that reason I started to read and pay attention to the ingredients of my everyday favorite foods. Like Mac and cheese, meat and drinks. All of the ingredients are not hidden from us and are placed in places to be seen but not understood. We’re told by documentaries, movies and commercials about how fast food can be a hazard to our bodies but we don’t listen. I have come to realization that the reason why most American families consume fast foods, especially McDonalds is because it is fast and easy, duh. After a long day of work and picking their hungry children up from school or sports/activities, the last thing on most parents minds is cooking. So instead, they go through the drive through. They order what they want, make the kids happy and full and end their day. Now, as much as parents say they value their children, do they really if they are harming their child health everyday with toxic chemicals just because they are too tired from work to cook for them or at least provide healthy meals? Most parents can argue that they don’t feed their children toxic chemicals on purpose. Although, we will never fully know and understand everything that we’re consuming, we should be able to draw a line on the ingredients that are presented to us that we know are clearly harmful. Like, synthetic ingredients that come from petroleum refinery or chemical plants that are contained in Mcnuggets that every one loves to snack on (Pollan 113). We engage in supporting these industries even though they go against our values of a healthy life.
We tend to question everything in life, except the things that actually matter to us. Is it because we’re scared? Or is it because we know the answer and afraid of taking action? For example, referring back to Miford, she states that in the early days of embalming it was performed in the homes of the deceased. Today, family members are sometimes pushed away from being present by the funeral director. Why? What is happening now that we can no longer be in attendance for? Mitford says that undertakers are afraid of information being leaked and the public changing their minds of if they want this service done not. I believe that all this information should be open to the public, so that everyone knows what they’re getting into. And have an option to opt out or stay in. Same as the fast food industry, everyone should be clearly told what it is that we are consuming. So that we can make a decision for our health. And so that there are no confusion. As for the lobster, we personally know that it is wrong. I feel like boil the lobsters alive and not being okay with it is a personal choice that can easily be changed if we stop making excuses like, the lobsters have no feeling. If they have no feelings, why do we cover the pot? We make decisions every day to do what is is right or wrong. If we’re aware of the wrong and we continue to do it, it only shows the length we will go o go against our values and morals.
Works Cited
Foster Wallace, David. “Consider The Lobster.” Consider the Lobster and Other Essays. 2005, pp. 498-510.
Mitford, Jessica. “The Story of Service.” The American Way of Death Revisited. 2000, pp.41-53.
Pollan, Michael. “The Meal.” The Omnivores Dilemma: A Natural History Of Four Meals. 2006, pp. 109-119.
Walsh, Bryan. “The Triple Whopper Environmental Impact of Global Meat Production.” http://science.time.com/2013/12/16/the-triple-whopper-environmental-impact-of-global-meat-production/ Accessed 16 December 2013.
