Topic 3 Has the ease of cooking improved life?

Food has always been the one of the greatest wants of humankind. It has influenced almost every step that humankind has taken. The search for food is the essence (сущность, суть) of life. Therefore if food is easier to get and prepare it is a real boon to humankind.

Food is the most important of the three basic amenities (блага, удобства) of life (water, food and shelter). Though it can be argued that water is the sustenance (питание, пища) for any life form, food is more important because if you do not have water you will surely die. But if you are left with (остаетесь с) a scarcity (skɛəsɪtɪ недостаток, нехватка) of food it will lead to a very sickly (нездоровый, болезненный, дохлый, хилый) and torturous (мучительный) life. Nutritious food is very essential for life, food has been the cause of many a battle. Thus if food was easier to prepare it will take away from the mind of the humankind a great burden.

Though the preparation of food becoming easier is considered a great blessing (благо, благословение) for humankind. The sudden rise in processed (обработанный) and canned food (консервы) and all the junk food (нездоровая пища) that one gets (каждый получает) over the counter (по прилавку) is not totally a boon (благо, удобство). People who are so busy that they are not able to spend time to prepare their food, develop a liking (любовь) for these ready-to-eat junk food. Though it might be thought of as a great way to save time, this is a shortsighted idea (близорукая идея) that could actually lead to a world of harm. Because one must understand that even though junk food saves us a lot of time, the nutritional value of the food is not so good. In reality the preservatives used in these foods are often found to be toxic in nature. Hence (отсюда, поэтому) it defeats the purpose (подрывает саму цель) it is supposed to serve i.e., to provide nutritional value. Moreover since people do not take time to prepare food, the art of cooking is slowly vanishing (постепенно исчезает). Actually cooking is a good way of releasing pressure that builds up (накапливается) from our professional commitments (обязательств). Cooking can easily provide relief from all the tensions (освобождение от всех напряжений) that prevail (преобладают) in our life. In the past family weekend get together was considered to be a good time to know each other and they used to spend time cooking food for the entire family. They used to exchange recipes (рецептами) and it was a way of rewind ing (перематывать) after the hard weeklong labor (недельного труда). Thus this junk food has denied the human kind of one of humankind's oldest arts. It could even be termed as (назвать) a retrograde step (шагом назад) in human culture.

a liking for popular music — любовь к популярной музыке

Therefore I believe though the processed food has made the preparation of food much easier, it is not a good step for mankind.