Andrew Sjogren was born in 1996 in a small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. When he was younger, Sjogren was a very picky eater. There were so many foods that just didn’t appeal to him. However, his parents instilled in him, from a young age, that eating healthy foods was crucial for living a healthy life. Sjogren can recall many times in his younger days when his parents would make him sit at the table until he finished all the food on his plate, especially the items he didn’t particularly care for.
In his youth, Sjogren was very selective in his taste preferences. There were many foods he didn’t like, or at least there were foods he refused to eat in favor of some of his favorite foods. Sjogren wasn’t willing to try new foods either. As a young child, Sjogren loved to eat pasta and hot dogs. Sjogren used to say he didn’t like vegetables, with one exception being carrots. There were many times when Sjogren’s parents would make him sit at the table until he finished all the food on his plate, sometimes for hours. Sjogren admits now, that often he would pretend to take a bite, but then go to the bathroom and spit it out. He would do anything to avoid eating the food.
As Sjogren grew up and matured, he began to realize that his tastes needed to change. His parent’s beliefs began to sink in with Sjogren, and he started becoming more open-minded about his food choices. He realized that there were many foods he had thought he disliked, but they actually weren’t that bad. Over time, he came to find out that he did like almost all vegetables, but only when prepared a certain way. The only issue Sjogren found with most vegetables was the texture when they were cooked. He likes the flavor of almost all vegetables, but can only stand some of them if they are raw. Sjogren’s mother caught on to this and started offering these options.
In high school, Sjogren was playing three varsity sports. As he grew more dedicated to his training, he started to watch his diet more and more. He could notice a difference in his performance based on what he ate. A sort of perfectionist, Sjogren would do what was necessary to put forth his best effort on the court and on the track. That meant sacrificing some tasty foods and replacing them with healthier options. It was at this point in his life when he fell in love with fruit. Apples, bananas, and cherries quickly became his favorite foods.
Sjogren’s mother, as the primary chef in the family, was very involved in her family’s eating habits. She was very good at making sure Sjogren was always well-fed and healthy. For the most part, she adhered to what can be considered the standard American diet, a main meat dish and two sides. The sides were usually a starch and a vegetable. Sjogren’s mother was a very good cook and seemed to make just about everything taste good. There was never a time in Sjogren’s life that he ate much packaged food or fast food. His parents made sure that there was always fresh, healthy food on the table with every meal. Throughout his first eighteen years of life, Sjogren had a healthy lifestyle because of the strong leadership provided by his parents.
As Sjogren graduated high school and went off to college, he was worried his eating habits might suffer. Given the multitude of options available at the cafeterias, Sjogren thought he might not be able to control his impulses. However, he found that it wasn’t too hard to eat healthy, even in the cafeterias. After all, healthy foods and unhealthy foods alike, were ready at a moment’s notice. When Sjogren moved off campus, he found that it was still relatively easy to eat healthy. He wasn’t a gourmet chef, but he was able to make healthy options that tasted good. Once he was making his own decisions, Sjogren never really had to think and work hard to eat healthy food. It was already engrained in his mind that certain foods were healthy and certain foods were not. He already ate a healthy diet with foods he liked to eat. To this day, Sjogren makes sure to eat healthy food for every meal.
In Sjogren’s junior year of college, he took a social science course entitled Eating Industrial. The class fit in his schedule as a technical elective in his major, Environmental Engineering. Over the course of the semester, Sjogren learned about cultural eating habits, food additives, and how various current farming practices are ruining the environment. There were many things in that class that really hit home for Sjogren. It was very eye-opening in many regards.
Sjogren was very surprised to learn how many extra food additives are added to processed food. There are so many chemicals added to our food that don’t even contribute to the taste of the product. Often, the chemicals are added for texture, color, or adhesive reasons. The scariest part about that for Sjogren was the fact that the FDA likely doesn’t know exactly what’s in our food, due to the many shortcuts available to food companies. These shortcuts include the Generally Recognized As Safe list, which is a way for food companies to get around the long, petition processes. Reading about that list reinforced Sjogren’s principles that he shouldn’t be eating processed foods.
Another thing that shocked Sjogren was how bad eating meat is for the environment. As an environmental engineering major with aspirations to work on climate change, this was scary for Sjogren to learn about, especially given how often he eats meat. The current procedures regarding meat preparation are unacceptable. In addition to the inhumane treatment of animals, meat production is an incredible waste of resources. As a society, we can’t sustain this current trajectory. Learning about this really convinced Sjogren to do something about his eating habits. While he is not prepared to go vegetarian, he is prepared to eat less meat as a result of this course. Even though one man cannot make a significant difference in this regard, it is a step in the right direction when even the strongest of meat-lovers realizes when it’s time to explore other options. Sjogren’s family typically eats high quality meat. They purchase their meat from a local meat market, which gets their meat from a regular farm, not a factory farm. Factory farms, which account for about 99% of farms today, involve the inhumane treatment of animals during their life and in the slaughtering process.
Sjogren also learned about the importance of eating locally. He read an excerpt from a book by Barbara Kingsolver, who tries to live completely locally for a whole year. She discusses her struggles with finding food in the winter and making due with what was in season. It sounds like it was a difficult thing to do. It made Sjogren realize how dependent most Americans are on outside sources of food. Sjogren chose to do his final presentation about farmers markets and why they’re so important. Eating food that was produced locally is a great way to make sure you are getting high quality, healthy produce.
Another pretty cool thing Sjogren learned was the cultural importance of food. Culture and socioeconomic status play such a large role in the choices Americans make about what they eat. While completing one paper, Sjogren was able to dive into the way food has shaped our past, from racial segregation in the 1960’s to different regions of Americans. That was very interesting, as it shined a positive light on the role of food in our lives today, when the rest of the class was focused on condemning the industrialized process of food production in America.
This class completely changed the way Sjogren thought about food and healthy eating. Sjogren has grown up from a kid who wouldn’t eat his vegetables to a well-educated man with a refined palate. Sjogren learned things in this class, specifically regarding meat, that have changed his eating habits. Sjogren will keep these habits and lessons with him for the rest of his life.
In his youth, Sjogren was very selective in his taste preferences. There were many foods he didn’t like, or at least there were foods he refused to eat in favor of some of his favorite foods. Sjogren wasn’t willing to try new foods either. As a young child, Sjogren loved to eat pasta and hot dogs. Sjogren used to say he didn’t like vegetables, with one exception being carrots. There were many times when Sjogren’s parents would make him sit at the table until he finished all the food on his plate, sometimes for hours. Sjogren admits now, that often he would pretend to take a bite, but then go to the bathroom and spit it out. He would do anything to avoid eating the food.
As Sjogren grew up and matured, he began to realize that his tastes needed to change. His parent’s beliefs began to sink in with Sjogren, and he started becoming more open-minded about his food choices. He realized that there were many foods he had thought he disliked, but they actually weren’t that bad. Over time, he came to find out that he did like almost all vegetables, but only when prepared a certain way. The only issue Sjogren found with most vegetables was the texture when they were cooked. He likes the flavor of almost all vegetables, but can only stand some of them if they are raw. Sjogren’s mother caught on to this and started offering these options.
In high school, Sjogren was playing three varsity sports. As he grew more dedicated to his training, he started to watch his diet more and more. He could notice a difference in his performance based on what he ate. A sort of perfectionist, Sjogren would do what was necessary to put forth his best effort on the court and on the track. That meant sacrificing some tasty foods and replacing them with healthier options. It was at this point in his life when he fell in love with fruit. Apples, bananas, and cherries quickly became his favorite foods.
Sjogren’s mother, as the primary chef in the family, was very involved in her family’s eating habits. She was very good at making sure Sjogren was always well-fed and healthy. For the most part, she adhered to what can be considered the standard American diet, a main meat dish and two sides. The sides were usually a starch and a vegetable. Sjogren’s mother was a very good cook and seemed to make just about everything taste good. There was never a time in Sjogren’s life that he ate much packaged food or fast food. His parents made sure that there was always fresh, healthy food on the table with every meal. Throughout his first eighteen years of life, Sjogren had a healthy lifestyle because of the strong leadership provided by his parents.
As Sjogren graduated high school and went off to college, he was worried his eating habits might suffer. Given the multitude of options available at the cafeterias, Sjogren thought he might not be able to control his impulses. However, he found that it wasn’t too hard to eat healthy, even in the cafeterias. After all, healthy foods and unhealthy foods alike, were ready at a moment’s notice. When Sjogren moved off campus, he found that it was still relatively easy to eat healthy. He wasn’t a gourmet chef, but he was able to make healthy options that tasted good. Once he was making his own decisions, Sjogren never really had to think and work hard to eat healthy food. It was already engrained in his mind that certain foods were healthy and certain foods were not. He already ate a healthy diet with foods he liked to eat. To this day, Sjogren makes sure to eat healthy food for every meal.
In Sjogren’s junior year of college, he took a social science course entitled Eating Industrial. The class fit in his schedule as a technical elective in his major, Environmental Engineering. Over the course of the semester, Sjogren learned about cultural eating habits, food additives, and how various current farming practices are ruining the environment. There were many things in that class that really hit home for Sjogren. It was very eye-opening in many regards.
Sjogren was very surprised to learn how many extra food additives are added to processed food. There are so many chemicals added to our food that don’t even contribute to the taste of the product. Often, the chemicals are added for texture, color, or adhesive reasons. The scariest part about that for Sjogren was the fact that the FDA likely doesn’t know exactly what’s in our food, due to the many shortcuts available to food companies. These shortcuts include the Generally Recognized As Safe list, which is a way for food companies to get around the long, petition processes. Reading about that list reinforced Sjogren’s principles that he shouldn’t be eating processed foods.
Another thing that shocked Sjogren was how bad eating meat is for the environment. As an environmental engineering major with aspirations to work on climate change, this was scary for Sjogren to learn about, especially given how often he eats meat. The current procedures regarding meat preparation are unacceptable. In addition to the inhumane treatment of animals, meat production is an incredible waste of resources. As a society, we can’t sustain this current trajectory. Learning about this really convinced Sjogren to do something about his eating habits. While he is not prepared to go vegetarian, he is prepared to eat less meat as a result of this course. Even though one man cannot make a significant difference in this regard, it is a step in the right direction when even the strongest of meat-lovers realizes when it’s time to explore other options. Sjogren’s family typically eats high quality meat. They purchase their meat from a local meat market, which gets their meat from a regular farm, not a factory farm. Factory farms, which account for about 99% of farms today, involve the inhumane treatment of animals during their life and in the slaughtering process.
Sjogren also learned about the importance of eating locally. He read an excerpt from a book by Barbara Kingsolver, who tries to live completely locally for a whole year. She discusses her struggles with finding food in the winter and making due with what was in season. It sounds like it was a difficult thing to do. It made Sjogren realize how dependent most Americans are on outside sources of food. Sjogren chose to do his final presentation about farmers markets and why they’re so important. Eating food that was produced locally is a great way to make sure you are getting high quality, healthy produce.
Another pretty cool thing Sjogren learned was the cultural importance of food. Culture and socioeconomic status play such a large role in the choices Americans make about what they eat. While completing one paper, Sjogren was able to dive into the way food has shaped our past, from racial segregation in the 1960’s to different regions of Americans. That was very interesting, as it shined a positive light on the role of food in our lives today, when the rest of the class was focused on condemning the industrialized process of food production in America.
This class completely changed the way Sjogren thought about food and healthy eating. Sjogren has grown up from a kid who wouldn’t eat his vegetables to a well-educated man with a refined palate. Sjogren learned things in this class, specifically regarding meat, that have changed his eating habits. Sjogren will keep these habits and lessons with him for the rest of his life.