Signature Assignment Sorensen 1

Mitchell Sorensen

NUTR1020

April 24, 2021

Signature Assignment: Extension of Nutrition Perspectives

The Nutrition perspectives assignment was to write a research paper with the goal of
helping us make connections between the learning outcomes for the course and how nutrition
impacts our daily lives. Below are my responses to the learning outcomes portion of the as-
signment.

1. Demonstrate knowledge of human nutritional needs and the role of nutrition

in improving individual health and the societal economic impact of food
choices.
The human body requires a whole spectrum of different nutritional components to func-
tion. In order to function well, a more critical approach at consuming daily requirements is
needed. Unfortunately, in the American society, ease and convenience tends to outweigh the
importance of a longer and healthier quality of life, by way of shelf stable processed foods,
cheaper fast foods, etc. along with a mindset that wasting food is not problematic.

2. Relate technological advancements in medicine and food production to the

advancement of the science of human nutrition.
Advancements such a cross breeding crops and the study of such actions has led to a
more sustainable production of foods. Food security is one step in the process of human nutri-
tion as it ensures availability of food, and as technology in this field increases, so will our food
security.

3. Explain the impact that the food industry has on human food choices and the
subsequent relationship to health and disease at the individual, societal, and
environmental level.
The food industry has a major impact on human food choices, one way I saw in my re-
search paper was that of food waste. Because grocery stores have trained the human eye to
only find the perfect looking product, throwing away something that is perfectly nutritious but
not “good looking” is done without a second thought. This will undoubtedly lead to more waste
in our system and a drainage on our resources, ultimately leading to less healthy bodies when
we rely more on processed, genetically modified foods.

4. Provide examples of past and present nutrient and diet trends in modern so-
ciety and the positive and/or negative implications on human health and the
earth’s resources.
One particular diet trend that has a huge negative effect on the earth’s resources is that
of Ketosis. Not only is it not harmful to human health to lack certain nutrients, especially those
of carbohydrates that the body derives most of it’s energy from, but the amount of meat that is
consumed has detrimental effects on the atmosphere by way of methane produced by cows.
it’s a supply and demand issue, and the more we show we buy, the more cows will be raised.

Signature Assignment Sorensen 2

5. Provide examples of positive and negative interactions of humankind with

microorganisms regarding sickness, health and food production.
A positive example of microorganisms would be that of antibiotics that were created to
battle deadly infections. Used sparingly, as to not kill the good bacteria in your body often, this
is an advance in medicine that has increased mortality in human beings. A negative aspect, not
only with the one just stated in overusing antibiotics, is the common food poisoning if not ade-
quately washing, storing, or cooking food.

6. Address diet and nutrient issues and concerns for weight control, disease
prevention, physical activity, food availability, and biotechnology.
The issue of fast food and its availability and cheap pricing is an issue that will continue
to increase the numbers of problems, such as obesity, heart disease, and hypertension. The
more ease of access to these places, combined with the lack of education provided for health
and nutrition, will ultimately lead to a negative quality of life amongst society.

Nutritional Perspective Paper Link:

https://mitchellsorensen.weebly.com/nutrition-1020---scientific-foundations-of-nutri-
tion.html

Reflection

This class has really helped me understand the inner workings of the body and how nu-
trition plays its role in supplying the necessary elements to make it all work. Not only on an in-
dividual scale, but on a societal scale as well. One of the biggest things that i’m taking away
from this course was the impact of food waste economically. Having taken a climate change
course, the production of methane from animal farming increases, specifically with cows, lead-
ing to catastrophic results in climate change. The research assignment where we were assigned
to watch a documentary contributed to this knowledge of food waste in the landfills, buried be-
neath the earth with no oxygen to properly compost also produces exorbitant amounts of
methane, eventually leading to dyer consequences. This is something that I have already start-
ed to change in my life and hope to do better at.

My views on nutrition have changed due to this course, and i’m excited to see the
things I currently do change based on the learnings. Substituting a snack for something that
provides more nutrients, such as salsa for a creamy dip, and taking the time to prepare fresh
produce instead of grabbing things from a deli that are pre-made with ingredients I could re-
duce at home, contributing to a healthier body.