Price of Progress Essay Example

In some places, the government had introduced new crops and in other places people were forced to relocate and they didn't have the same access to food they had access to before. Massive disruption of natural environment by outsiders was also a key factor in the shift of their diets.

Many tribal people discovered that they must now spend cash on nutritionally inferior, manufactured foods. As a result of the shift in their diets, there was a rise in malnutrition and increase in dental abnormalities. The government tried to help with these issues. In some areas they provided milk to supplement the lack of protein. The results caused the tribal people an increased mortality rate and more health problems. In one case recorded in Brazil, where milk was also distrusted, it caused an epidemic of permanent blindness.

Anthropologists have acknowledged that tribal people who are not introduced to an industrialized society and who stick to their traditional diets, rarely have issues with dental abnormalities. A study conducted in the 1930s proved that tribal people who have a traditional diets had prefect teeth and no decay. People that support progress say that the introduction of hospital s and clinic will compensate for all the difficulties. But it seems that most of the benefits won't be reachable to most of the tribal people.

Because of the uncontrolled population growth and economic impoverishment. Anthropologist and tribal people knew of the dangers of overdevelopment and vulnerability of local resource system but the pressure to change was too overwhelming. Tribal people became victims because outsiders demanded the resources they controlled. These resources were able to exist because the tribal people

managed to use them conservatively. As a result of economic change family life was disrupted, resources were depleted and traditions and lives were lost.