How Food Science Has Changed Me

Taking this introductory food science course has opened my eyes to many things that I had never considered before. One of the first items that we learned that was key is how food science is different from nutrition. Food science is the scientific study of food components and how they behave during different stages of the foods’ production and storage. While nutrition, is the study of how these food components interact within the body. I had never put much thought in the difference between the two, but now I understand how these two sciences correlate to each other. Then, we discussed how is important to consider how to feed the growing population. Although, I considered that the population is growing at an exponential rate; I never put into consideration how we were going to feed this population. We discussed how genetically modified foods are probably going to be the best way to tackle this situation. Taking this course has also opened my eyes to food safety. I have now become hyper aware of my actions and others’ actions while preparing a meal. I understand how easy it is to cross-contaminate if you are not careful. This discussion lead us to learn more in depth about pathogens. I learned the difference in infections, intoxications, and toxicoinfections. Then, I learned how to identify the pathogen based on the symptom and the food that a person has consumed. After learning about the negative items found in food, we learned about the composition of different food items. It has caused me to be more aware of what I’m eating and how it has gotten to the table. Learning how many foods are processed was also important, seeing how food goes from the fields and farms to the table is interesting. The fact that many foods must be thoroughly processed before they make it to our kitchen table, makes you realize how thankful you should be of every meal, because it went through a lot to get to the table and many people face food insecurity. Food science is slowly becoming a very important field, and I’m glad that it has become one that I has intrigue me.

Photo: https://experiencelife.com/article/scary-food-science/