Fresh Foods Vs Canned Foods

Introduction

Human beings have to eat to ensure that the body is nourished and have the energy to carry out their day to day activities. Averagely, normal human being takes at least three meals a day and they choose what to eat and when to eat it. Mostly people choose the food they eat depending on how they affect their bodies. There exist fresh foods, mostly found in groceries and market places and canned foods which are found in supermarkets and other shops. This essay will compare and contrast fresh foods and canned foods. The points that will be considered will be the flavor, cost and health benefits.

Flavor

There is a notable difference in taste between these foods. Fresh foods have a great taste and a natural flavor because they are used straight from agricultural lands. Mostly, for the perishable ones, they are consumed within a day or two after being harvested. On the other hand, canned food lacks the natural flavor because it has some additives. During production, chemicals are added to these foods to preserve them because they have to stay for a longer time on the retail shelves. From this it can be concluded that fresh foods have a greater flavor and taste because they are consumed shortly after leaving the agricultural farms.

Health Benefits

Another difference that arises is the health factor that affects these two types of food. The chemicals used to conserve canned food not only take away the flavor but also have some negative effects on health. The chemicals could be toxic to the body and cause cancer in some instances. It is therefore advisable for people to consume canned food sparingly. Fresh foods are free from these chemicals making them healthier and consumer friendly.

Cost

Apart from the health benefits and flavor, the other difference that arises is the cost of these foods. Canned food goes through various stages during production and all of these stages involve costs. The producer has to include the amount used during production to the final product to ensure that they do not incur losses. Because of this, canned food is more expensive compared to fresh food. However, canned food is easily accessed and ready to eat making it more time saving.

Environmental Impact

In addition to this, these two types of foods have different effects on the environment. While fresh food remains are biodegradable and not harmful to the environment, canned food has gross effects on the same. Canned food could be packed in metal or plastic cans. These take a lot of years to decompose thereby causing pollution to the environment. What are mostly affected is land and water bodies as these cans find their way in the oceans and seas affecting aquatic life. During manufacture too, there are emissions from these industries which cause pollution to the environment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, canned food has advantages of being easily accessible, time saving as it is ready to eat and can stay for long times without getting stale. However, the preservatives have gross effects on the health of people and the food is expensive too. Fresh food has the authentic taste; it is friendly to human health, cheap and friendly to the environment when disposed. They have some disadvantages too because they take time to prepare and are difficult to access because they are majorly found in groceries and market places. It can be concluded that fresh foods are better compared to canned foods.