socratic seminar

The Socratic seminar was very insightful because every one had different views and opinions about the education system.   In my opinion, both students and teachers are at fault. Teachers and students have to work together in order to achieve great academic success. I believe that in order to better our education we need to start young. For example, there should be more baby colleges because they have proven to be quite successful. We need to get them excited about school at a young age. We also need to better the school system where there is high levels of poverty because they are the ones that really need all the help they can get. Those kids want to learn and they should be able to do so. No one should be deprived from their education. The government needs to manage their money better because we can't keep depriving these kids from learning.

Last Socratic Seminar

Today in class people were pointing out a lot of great opinions. I agree with Ariel when she said that teachers shouldnt be allowed to get tenyard so easily. I also agree when they were saying that its not always teachers fault children are influenced at home. When children do not want to learn it makes teachers jobs harder and it makes teachers not want to teach, same with teachers if they do not want to teach then studetnts wont want to learn. From personal experience i loved a subject and when i went to ask the teacher a question they would just role there eyes. He would answer my question, but i wouldnt want to ask another question. I want to point out what adam was saying about good and bad teaching. When someone receives bad teaching and they go and try to teach other people, how is that benefiting? Where is the line drawn between good and bad teaching? I beleive that teachers shouldnt be allowed to receive tenyard so easily. Two years is way to short to receive tenyard, If i was a teacher and i was to receive tenyard after two years then i would most definently not try harder after the first two years. Anyone could work there but offer two years if they were garentied to not be fired after the first two years. Tenyard is basically letting teachers do whatever they want and its not fair for the students.

AF: This family is legit

Research Paper

While writing this paper for ERW I have learned many things about my writing skills, and the way I go through the writing process. The paper that I produced is by far not the best piece of writing that I have produced. When I enjoy my topic, and am very interested I have the ability to write a very good paper. I had very little interest in the politics of food because all the information that I learned in this unit have been talked about in news, and media already. The food inc movie that we watched in class was very interesting but for the most part I already new that our food was produced that way. One thing I learned from that video was that you can own rights to a type of bean. So as I was saying in the beginning, my paper isn't the best but I did learn some valuable skills that made me a better writer. I learned how to cite properly, research information, and how to create a good thesis statement that gives the reader a good sense of what your paper will be about. I will have to write many more papers in college, but my major is sports buisness and sports is what I love so it will be fun to write about topics that I have plenty of interest in. 

Food incorporate

 We watched Food Inc in class, I was shocked and disgusted. I always heard about the kind of awful treatments that livestock face. It's cruel and the treatment should be handled in a different manner. Farmers deal with unsual circumstances on the daily basis. Living conditions of the animals are horrible.  The chickens couldn’t move around since they are injected with steroids to speed the growth process. The chickens don't have enough room to walk around. I don't see how manufacturers say they do everything for the consumers and make sure the customers stay safe, yet their food they're trying to sell is not as fresh as they portray.  

AF: On NPR Today>>the rise of fake meat

Everybody recognizes that our meat consumption is just not sustainable.  So is fake meat the answer?  Will the food scientists come to the rescue?  If we can make meat in the lab, then gee, that frees up lots of land water, feed, and cleans up the environmental problems inherent in feed lot life.

Politics of food unit

While beginning this unit, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt. I mean I didn't know that food and politics had anything to do with one another, prior to this research paper we were assigned and the movie we watched in class. Before watching the movie Food Inc. in class, I had already had prior knowledge of how animals were being treated in the feedlot factories. I thought it was sickening then and I still do today. Regardless of whether they'll all end up in the slaughterhouse anyway, I still feel that an animal has the right to fresh air and a comfortable environment prior to being cut up, packaged, and shipped off to the next grocery store. It was shocking to see how unsanitary the feedlots were, and to see that the animals weren't even fed properly. The part of the documentary that affected me most, was hearing the mother of the son that died because of ecoli infected meat and watching her fight for her son and the many others that have lost their lives or have been poisoned. We (society as a whole) never really stop and think about where our food comes from, or who exactly is shipping and packaging our food. We jus see the final product on the market. This unit has made me become more aware of the foods I eat, and has made me want to take steps further to know where my food comes from.

Our Food System

After watching the Food Inc. video in class most people were surprised of the things that go on in our good production; however, it was exactly what I expected. The things shown were sad and for some tough to watch. This did not surprise me; big business are about making money, nothing else.  After watching the video I know a few people who claimed they were going to become a vegetarian. I knew they wouldn't be able to make the switch, but I still questioned them why. Asking if they, one person, would make a difference in how food for the whole nation is produced. They knew the answer was no but still wanted to do something about the cruel ways the animals were being treated, which I fully understand. Of course they gave up the vegetarian life after a few hours; it is so hard to change the ways we eat and so easy to choose the bad foods. Why is this? There really isn't much for us to do and ways to have a major change in our food system. Will it ever change?

Food Inc.

When we watched food Inc in class I was legitimately surprised. I always heard about the kinds of practices that are used in the treatment of livestock, but to see it for myself, that made me think about how the attitude that we have with food. When you buy meat at the grocery store you don’t really think about if it had lived a full and happy life. In farms corners are cut since they have a growing demand for their product. The living conditions of the animals were deplorable. There was no space to move around in which resulted in many of them walking around and living in their own feces. The chickens couldn’t even move on their own since they had grown so fast and they couldn’t even carry their own weight. It’s even worse for some of the farmers since as contract farmers they have to do what the higher ups say, and that includes feeding the chickens antibiotics. One of the farmers even ended up being allergic to the antibiotics. They say that the consumer is their number one concern but frankly after seeing this documentary, it’s become clear on what they are really after. 

Research paper

The research paper is extremely hard. I feel like we need more time. Everytime I try to ask a question I am turned down and I dont understand. I guess its kinda cool to learn about foods. My topic is on bees and I enjoy learner about how we need them. If we dont have our bees then we dont have as much food to buy at grocery stores. It a good topic to write about and I enjoy learning about the bees but honestly I really dont get it and I feel like my paper is extremly crappy and we need more time to get help.

Food Inc. Opinion

In class we watched a movie called Food Inc.. It showed us how our food and plants were being processed. I seen this before we watched it in class so i was already prepared to see what was happening, but before that i thought that people would already know how there food was being treated. The amount that they have to produce and the limit of time they have should already lead you to think that they were doing stuff to speed up the process or lower the cost for them. The way they treated the animals was nothing new. Companies always look forward to making profit then breaking even. So of course their going to have to find short cuts to make them money. Buying workers that would work for low costs and no questions would be one. Feed the animals corn instead of what there suppose to eat is another. Seeing this movie and reading the articles didn't really affect me in the choices i make on what i eat. I knew they did this but i don't have money and time to be growing and nurturing my own stock and plants. Farmers could choose to not abided by what the corporations say and farm how they want and the natural way its been done for years. this just made the people not aware , aware of the situation.

Politics of Food

     At first, when beginning this unit on the politics of food, I didn't think I would particularly like it or even enjoy it. Now that I've gained so much more knowledge on this topic it's really made me more curious on the way our food is manufactured and where it comes from.  It's important for us to know what we are consuming because it is our bodies that we are protecting.
     When watching Food Inc. I was so surprised on the way the animals were treated.  I knew it happened in some cases but I didn't realize the severity of it.  I know these animals are raised to be slaughtered but I feel they should at least be treated well. In the movie it also discusses how a little boy died from an E. Coli outbreak from a hamburger he ate.  This is scary to me because it's like you never know what you may be consuming that could potentially kill you.
     Wendell Berry's article, "The Pleasures of Eating" was also an eye opener for me.  When Berry discussed our freedom and how we need to know everything about how our food is made and what exactly we are consuming, I completely agreed with him.  We aren't free if other people are manufacturing our food and not telling us how it was made and what exactly is in it.  We are left guessing when we should be informed because it is our right.
      Overall, this unit taught me to be more aware of what I'm eating.  It has motivated me to make healthier choices and take the extra time to find out what is in my food.  Living a healthy life has a lot to do with the food you are consuming on a daily basis and being completely aware of where it came from.

Research paper

This research paper is probably one of the hardest papers I have come across.This is my first time ever writing one and it has been causing me a lot of stress. The research aspect of it was not as easy as I had thought. I was confused as to how to know for sure if the information I was reading and using was reliable. This paper made me realize that I'm not all that prepared for college. I had no clue as to how to cite correctly. If it wasn't for Ms. Fletcher I would of never learned that what i had been doing all throughout high school was plagiarism. Of course I did not ever plagiarize intentionally it was honest mistake. None of my teachers ever corrected me on citations so I automatically assumed that i was doing it correctly. I do not feel ready for what what college has in store for me. I would of really benefited from my teachers letting us know early on how to correctly cite a source. It is better to know early on than to find out your senior year so that we can be better prepared when we go to college.

Genetically Modified Foods

        Research finds that genetically modified foods aren't considered safe foods and that we should avoid it as much as possible, and thats where the problem lies. Time has evolved so quickly, and so greatly that it has had an impact on our food system today. Sadly, most of what we buy in grocery stores are considered to be genetically modified foods, roughly about 70% of what we buy. Health has always been an issue but since GMO foods have been in place,  numerous health problems increased. GMOs can have an effect on your immune system, aging and even more health factors.  There are plenty of reasons as to why the production of genetically modified foods should be stopped. Our survival is at risk if we keep GMO farming. Let's all stave this harsh lifestyle so that we can live a healthier life.

Farmers

So after watching Food Inc, I decided to do my research paper on Monsanto and its power. I found out that this corporation is the world’s largest seed distributor and producer of GMOs. In the movie, farmers weren’t “able to speak” and were accused for saving patented seeds. If any farmer  was caught saving Monsanto’s seeds, they would get sued for breaking the contract. I believe farmers should be treated better and the government  should stop protecting the corporations. The corporations only look for profit and actually leave the farmers bankrupt. I think they shouldn’t be allowed to “license life” because a seed can easily be transferred on accident. What if it’s transferred through the wind or by a bird? Farmers caught with a single seed that belongs to Monsanto are sued and lack the ability to defend themselves. Monsanto and others are controlling lives. There should be a change of how farmers are treated since they are the ones to produce our food.Besides harming the farmers, the GMOs aren’t proved to be safe. We don’t know what we are eating and we are harming the insects with the pesticides.

The Food System

It's actually crazy to think about all the wrong doings that go into what we eat everyday. From the food that we know isn't good for us and to the unsanitary conditions where our food is processed, it's amazing. This section we're in has really opened up my eyes to things that I haven't thought about so deeply. There's a lot of changes that need to be made to insure our safety and health, there's good plans out there such as the junk food tax but the thing that is keeping us from improving this food system is money. It's just simply money, and it seems like money is more important than millions of people. We really do need to make moves to better the nations health because of course in the long run it'll pay off. It's just hard to figure out how we start this change, what will it take, and what we need to do. It's a tough question to answer but honestly it will take the masses to change the food systems, some how or some way.

Research

The research project is really stressing me cometely out. I feel like I know what I'm doing, but I already know when i turn it in, it's gonna be completely wrong. I'm enjoying and understanding the topic i chose, and I feel like I have the write information to make a good paper, but it seems like everything I put on the paper is going to be completely wrong. I find the citation part the hardest for me because most information I have i grew up learning so I'm tempted to put in my knowledge without knowing where to get it. This assignement is truly stressing me out, even though I'm getting it done. I hope maybe I'm just overreacting that everything about my paper will be the opposite of what Fletcher wants, but at the moment that's what I believe will happen and I have no clue how to adjust. 

What is really in our food?

Back in the day, food use to be chemical free and packed with a significant amount of nutrients. Nowadays it is difficult to even buy something that doesn't contain a ton of additives and unnecessary ingredients. The food we have today is definitely not as healthy as it use to be back then, due to the new fertilizers farmers use and the different way we prepare food. Earlier last week, Ms. Fletcher showed us a Ted video on how the new fertilizers farmers are using are affecting our "breathe of life" (bees). Bees help transfer pollen, which help keep crops from dying off, but because of these new tactics used for the crops, farmers are killing bees without even realizing it. Despite the many bees lost because of this, unfortunately, we really can't do much about it because I doubt the major food companies would stop their small yet big ways of making food production faster because of a couple bugs dying. We not only have to worry about how the food is being processed, but more importantly, what's in our food. The majority of our food contain preservatives to maintain freshness, artificial flavones to improve taste, and even additional ingredients to provide texture. Is this really all good for a person's well being? Consumers need to realize that the food provided now are more dangerous, besides,unhealthy. Instead of asking "what are we having for dinner?", the better question would be "what is in our dinner?"

Obesity and Hunger

          It took a while for me to decide what I wanted to write my research paper on, but after watching one of the TED Talk videos with Ellen Gustafson I had a sudden interest. She says that in our world there are one billion people who are obese and one billion people who are hungry. That's one out of eight people. I don't think many are aware how serious of an issue this is. I'll be honest and say that I didn't. Over the past 30 years, the average of people who are obese and hungry has risen dramatically. For this reason, Ellen suggests that maybe we shouldn't view this as two separate issues but as one global issue. So this idea helped me develop my question: What is the underlying cause between hunger and obesity? Is there a connection? Turns out that there is. The underlying cause is our food system. This includes the growing, harvesting, processing, marketing and consuming of food.       
        The food system and the diet it has created has led to this generation where more people are dying from obesity and hunger, issues that can be solved, than communicable diseases. This must be addressed and the food system is where we have to start. If we can make a change, hunger and obesity would be less common and diseases like diabetes can be prevented. I think the best way to start is change our own individual lifestyles first.  

The Global Food Waste Scandal

Watching the TED Talk “The Global Food Waste Scandal” by Tristram Stuart was very insightful. I had a feeling that the United States wasted a large amount of food, but I did not realize that the United States supplied 200% of the amount of food necessary to feed the American people. When Stuart described what he saw as wasted food, not perished and fit for eating, I was appalled at how much food that we waste. There are a few ways of wasting food: crops not being cosmetically acceptable, simply throwing it away due to surplus, feeding livestock and more. Stuart did a demonstration of how food is wasted, with some biscuits he found behind a supermarket when he did an unofficial bin inspection; he showed how we waste food on a global scale due to livestock producing feces and heat, literally throwing it out and farmers and food producers throwing it out before it leaves the farms and feedlots.

It is expected that in 2050 we will have 9 million more mouths to feed and people believe we need to grow more food. Stuart made me rethink my view on this because if we stop wasting food and stop producing such a surplus of it, we will have enough food to feed those millions of mouths. It is unrealistic to think that we will live in a world without waste, but we shouldn’t waste tons of food that is fit for eating because it can be used in many different ways. We can feed it to people that are going hungry, feed it to animals, or just lower the cosmetic expectations of our food. I was extremely surprised at the amount of food being wasted on a global scale. This TED Talk showed me how big the crisis, how huge the scandal is. Corporations, Supermarkets and farmers hide the amount of food being wasted daily, it’s crazy that they have to hide this from the public; the fact that they hide it shows that there is something perverse about the crisis/scandal.

Ending World Hunger

World hunger is probably one of the biggest issues in our world today.  As Josette Sheeran mentioned in her TED talk about ending hunger now, over one billion people on our planet are suffering from starvation and lack proper nutrition. This has been going on for years now, and while finding a solution has progressed a little bit, it seems we are still so far from solving this serious problem.

I think one of the main reasons why world hunger is still such a huge issue is because there is lack of food production in third world countries. Many of these countries cannot afford to produce healthy, nutritious food, and this is why it is our job as a nation, where there is a surplus of food, to help them financially and donate food. In the United States, the overproduction of food leads to many of us wasting food that could easily be sent to countries with no food instead. If we think about it, there are many times when people order food at a restaurant but later decide that they do not want to take their leftovers home because they “know they won’t eat it.” The obvious solution to this problem would be for restaurants to offer smaller portion sizes because so that people stop throwing away their food and throwing away their money. This also goes for supermarkets. As Tristham Stuart discusses in his TED talk, too many leftover unwanted food is being packaged and shipped off to landfills or thrown away. Instead of throwing away perfectly good food, it should be shipped off to malnourished countries because they need it and will benefit from it.

Another solution that Sheeran discussed in her TED talk was aiding small, local farms in these third world countries. Many of these farmers who have created farms to help provide for their villages struggle to produce enough food. If other countries around the world would send equipment or seeds that these local farmers need to succeed, then that is what we should all be doing.

World hunger is an issue that everyone knows exists but not enough people are motivated to change. More attention needs to be brought to this issue in order to fix it, and that starts with people joining together to fight this illness that is deeply affecting the world we live in.

A Topic Close to Home

This research paper is turning out to be more interesting than I originally thought it would be. When finding a topic to write about I was lost. I had no clue what to write about. But then I started thinking, why not write about something I know particularly well? If i decide to write about something I can relate to, I may be to get a better paper than just a researched one. That's why I decided to write about Kosher dietary laws. Being Jewish i have more of an insight to this subject than the average student. In Hebrew school, we were taught many things about our religion like its meaning, how to read and write in Hebrew, and its history and customs; including Kosher laws. Kosher is a diet most formal Jews follow on a daily basis. My family does not because we are modern Jews, meaning we follow the religion and its holidays, but not its daily routines. However I do know some Jews from my temple who follow these laws. I once visited my Rabbi's parents home in New York City on my temple's 8th grade trip; they had us follow every custom including covering up certain areas of our skin, table etiquette (girls on side and boys on the other), and of course Kosher. I was surprised by how healthy the Kosher diet is. Kosher meat even tasted better, didn't taste as processed as some meat. All in all,this topic is actually kind of fun for me being so close to home.

Pescetarian and Vegetarian

People are always wondering why I don't meat, well, that is only because I am a pescetarian and a vegetarian. "Pescetarian? What is that?" people always ask me, a pescetarian is the same thing as being a vegetarian, the only difference is that the only meat that I eat is fish and vegetarians don’t eat any meat at all.

I have only been a pescetarian for almost two years now, I used to eat meat and chicken before, I had the "typical diet", but that had to change when I found out that I have rheumatoid arthritis on my knees, my specialist said that the hormones that the meat contains, was making my knees get swollen and also cause pain. Not just finding out about my illness made me change my diet, but also, some videos that my family showed me of how cows and chickens are treated before going into the slaughter houses, it made me sick to the point where I will never eat meat or chicken ever again. The movie, Food Inc., which was shown to us, only showed a 10% of what I have seen. 

Was it hard to switch from meat-eater to pescetarian? No, it was actually pretty easy; my family supported me completely, I have always eaten everything that I still eat, I just had to take out the chicken and meat out of my diet, and every food that had any type of grain, I switched it to whole-grain products.

When Unhealthy Wins

At first, when reading "The Pleasures of Eating" by Wendell Berry, I thought his ideas were repetitive but very useful. My first thought was "Wow, another article telling us to eat better." Then I realized the article wasn't telling us to eat better, but it was making us aware of the background of our food. The behind the scenes. How it was a made, who made it, and what the source went through. To continue the idea of behind the scenes, we watched Food, Inc. in class. The documentary showed us everything about the food industry: the treatment the food source went through, the way the businesses outsold and treated smaller farmers unfairly, and the overall unhealthiness of it. Then I started thinking (typical after watching this movie) that it isn't fair. This is not how our food industry should be. Yet, how can we change it? This form of the food production is cheaper, easier, and conveniently faster for not only the producers, but the consumers as well. The benefits out weight the negative aspects (unhealthiness). The main benefit of this type of food production is that it gets to the consumer faster and cheaper. It's a proven fact that the 'unhealthier' food is way cheaper than the organic, healthy food. Soda vs water is a perfect example. All in all, I think that yes, that this food industry and the way our food is produced is wrong and unhealthy in many ways, but I don't predict it changing any time soon. I think the mass of people enjoy and benefit from this form of food production much more than those who don't. So, in this case, the unhealthy teams wins.

Ted talks 👇

I've recently watched a Ted talk video discussing about school lunches and  how unhealthy it really is. In Coopers voice presentation she discusses the concern she has for the students and what's given to them on a day to day bases. Study's show that the foods given to kids are just as bad as eating out at a fast food place. She wants to teach kids how to eat healthier and actually make healthy food appetizing . Organically grown and regionally grown foods is what she recommend to many parents to buy, but the problem is organic foods are quite expensive for many family's to afford especially in a large house hold. About 70% of antibiotics are in our meats, and kids today are now consuming roughly five pounds of pesticides a year. Due to food we think are healthy for us is actually harming our body's, causing many kids and adults to be ill. The government doesn't really seem to care about the kids and the foods they allow them to eat, because facts show  about $35,000 tax dollars are to maintain a prisoner and only $500 dollars are for the foods given to kid a year. She blames the junk food and fast food advertisement because they manipulate and lure children to want unhealthy meals which leads to an unhealthy diet. 1 out 3 kids will be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and at that rate kids born in the year 2000 will most likely die sooner than there parents due to what they consume everyday . How could we fix this growing problem?

Food Inc.

In class, we watched Food Inc.  This movie really opened my eyes on food production and food in general.  In Food Inc., it stated that many urban shoppers are not aware of the food they are eating.  They ignore questions that relate to the cost and quality of the food; for example, where are the farms located? How pure or clean is it, how free of dangerous chemicals? How far was this food transported?  When the food has been manufactured or processed, how has that affected its quality or price or nutritional value?  Etc.  Many people overlook these questions that they should be curious about because they are consuming foods without any background information on these foods.  As well, I learned that most of the animals that we eat today take part on a diet of corn.  For some animals, corn isn’t part of their natural diet.  People feed these animals corn because it’s the cheapest thing you can feed any animal and they get the animal fatter quicker than let’s say a grass diet.  Cattle’s natural diet is grass, not corn.  So when they are fed corn their digestive system becomes weaker, now farmers are giving them antibiotics to prevent off infections and illnesses.  This is quite remarkable to me that big food companies will do anything they can to make more product, which will bring in more profit for them.  All they want is money.  This movie also stated to buy from companies that treat workers, animals, and the environment with respect. In addition, when attending the market, choose foods that are in season, buy foods that are organic, know what is in your food that you are consuming, and read labels.  It suggests to buy foods that are locally grown, shop at farmers markets, plant a garden, and cook and eat a meal with your family. Personally, I only do a couple of these things.  After watching this movie, I am determined to do more of these things that the movie suggested.  In the end, I enjoyed watching Food Inc. because it made me realize and understand the food industry better than before.

Every article I have read since we have begun this unit discusses how to eat smart and know more about the process of food. But, these articles didn't give me any knew knowledge I wasn't aware of before. I was simply just given more insight of the food corporation. I assume the average American knows their food just doesn't appear on their plate. So obviously they know where is comes from. Average Americans also know the difference of organic and not; and the difference of McDonald’s and a home cooked meal. Since the average American is not completely oblivious to where their food originated from, why do food politicians constantly write about the need for the consumer to be informed? Have they ever thought we know that we are eating a McDonald’s chicken nugget, whose meat came from a poorly raised chicken that was never exposed to the sunlight? I know where my meat came from but I’m still eating it. All the seniors taking ERW are now aware of how animals and plants are raised for food, but who has actually tried to change their life style according to a food politician’s advice? We now have been informed but not changing anything. Is it because it is not that big of a priority to us? If we know the process of food and choose not to change, why do people expect America to change?

The Importance of TED Talks

When we first started this unit was the first time I have watched or even heard of a TED Talk. Before this I had never kown that these video's existed, but I am glad that I was introduced to them. At first, I really did not care for them, and only watched them while we were in class and did not think about them any other time, but once I really started to watch them I realized that they can be extremely helpful. Since we are working on our research papers and the subject of food is always in conversation, I have found that these TED talks can be very good resources, and they give out so much information about various subjects. These TED talks , for me at least, allow me to research information, but instead of me having to read about the content, I just watch and listen to someone as they tell me everything I am researching. The one thing I found extremely interesting about the TED talks is how popular they are. I am surprised that I had not heard about them before now because of how popular they are, and how much they mean to so many people. I had not known that these TED talks travel around the world, and thousands of people get the opportunity to share their knowledge and information about various subjects and problems that the world has. Because of this, I feel that TED talks are more important because we do not just here about the problems that occur in the U.S., but we get to hear what is going on around the world, and what can be done to help. Now that I have been introduced to such a good resource, I have used it multiple times, and will continue to do so for anything. But for now, I will use TED talks to get my research paper done, just as many of you guys will be doing, hopefully.    

Don't Like It, Don't Eat It!

The nature and production of our food is more or less unseen by us, the consumer.  We do not know how our food comes about and what processes they undergo before they get on our dinner plate, as described in Wendell Berry's article, The Pleasures of Eating.  In the case of genetic engineering, I think all of us were aware that our food is altered in a number of ways to get specific desired traits, such as prolonging drought and being resistant to pesticides.  GMOs are a common subject of study in our science classes today so none of us were taken back by it.  It seems like what did surprise some of us was the treatment of cows and chickens during the process of raising them to eventually become food as showed in Food Inc.  I believe what we need to realize is that these animals weren't raised to live a full life, but rather raised to be food for us.  They will die from us consuming them eventually anyways so their treatment shouldn't be so sympathized.  I think if the treatment of these animals bothers you enough, the only solution is to just not eat the product at all.

My take on eating raw & being Vegan

      This unit on the effects of food and the food industry has really effected the way I see food more than ever. For the most part I eat healthy foods and live a plant based diet, but it left me thinking if the food I consume is really beneficial to my well being and the well being of the planet, so for a week I tried eating purely raw unprocessed foods, but found it extremely difficult to stick to it. For the most part I ate large sums of fruit and some vegetables, but I was still left craving processed and cooked foods such as popcorn and cereal. To say the least it was a total fail. It was hard to continue doing it after 2 days, so I gave up. By eating raw I hoped to feel more energetic and hopefully get convinced enough to keep eating raw, but it was hard going out to eat and not having a cooked meal.
       People always ask me why I'm Vegan or if it is hard to stay vegan. I decided to go vegetarian a year ago after seeing how animals were treated and slaughtered, but after seeing how animals were still abused even in the dairy and egg industry I decided to go vegan. I try not to talk about it to much because Vegans are annoying, but becoming vegan is one of the best decisions I've made for my health, and I find it fairly easy to stay this way.  It makes me happy to know that animals aren't being tortured and that I am living a healthy life. After learning about GMO's and all the bad refined sugars, I have tried to eat more fresh food and less processed foods. I won't ever force or tell people to stop eating meat or dairy, but I do always  encourage people to eat more natural and unprocessed food. I may sound totally crazy, but I am a strong believer in always doing what's best for your body and health.

The Right type of Food or Right Amount?

As we all know, when we read articles on food most of time the article is mostly speaking about eating the right of type food. Why is it that it is always about the type of food, not the amount of food because, how is someone suppose to know what the right type of food is. Most of the time people who are eating unhealthy may seem to think that what they are eating is fairly healthy. Well if we were to show someone vegetables on one table and then some type of greasy food on another, its obvious that people would go for vegetables; why?, because many assume that healthy food is just eating fruits  and vegetables. However what most don't realize is that we could eat what ever we wanted and still be eating healthy because you would be eating the right portion size. Although its not seeming as if eating the right  portion isn't going to matter when eating the greasy food, well it is actually going to matter because most of the time when people are over weight or have a medical problem that is from eating some type of food is because they aren't eating the right portion, all they are doing is over eating the food which causes them to think they are eating bad. Also just because you begin to start eating healthy doesn't mean that you could just eat multiple of the food because you also have to follow the portion of the food to be eating right.

TED Talks

At first I didn't want to watch the TED talks because it would take time out of my schedule. I was wrong. Those Ted talks are very educational and worth my time. It gives out very informative information that i'm shocked to hear. For example, in Anna Cooper: What's Wrong with School Lunches, she gives out a flabbergasting statistic that in La county, the school districts only use on average of $.56 on a single school lunch. Which is why they give us proceed crap and expects us to eat it. Which most of us do; however, that is bad for our health and we are going to pay the price in the future. That is a key reason why our citizens are going to the hospital more often with health diseases. Ms. Copper also gives out a interesting fact that if we double our food spending budget to $16 Billion we can get better food with better food nutrition.
Just to think, the government would give out an extra $8 Billion is just preposterous because they spend money on other stupid things. Whatever. All in all, the TED talks are eye opening and I enjoyed watching the three I have watched already.

Vegetarian?

After watching the video about animals being killed for meat and how unsanitary it may be, I would like to think about going vegetarian but I know very well that I could never. Seeing how these animals are treated and kills burns inside but I don't ever think giving up meat is an option. I also do not see how 1 person can make such a difference. 1 person will not shut down McDonald's factories, people will still eat meat everywhere else in the world. If someone were to hand me statistics on how much one less meat eater can make a difference then maybe I would see why people do it but until then, I don't understand why 1 person thinks they can make a difference with a system this big. It's great to have more people giving us new options with all the organic foods but meat is more filling and you need the protein that some organic things can not satisfy. Most people need meat, for a sport or even just for health. Other people may have their own opinion on how not eating meat saves animals but how I see it is if you don't eat it, someone else will so the animal will still be killed. That is why I could never become a vegetarian.

AF: Food Politics Resources

You have articles by food giants (Pollan, Bittman, Waters, Berry)!  Read them.  Understand them.  Look for other things they wrote.

Look at the research database, Proquest.   When you access from home, your username/password is bellflower/bellflower.  If that doesn't work, try capitalizing Bellflower.   You are looking for SIRS Knowledge Source --> SIRS Issue Researcher  -->  Food and Nutrition or Food Safety.

Try Google Scholar.

Look at the "Chew on This" series at TED.

Look at a national magazine like The Atlantic Monthly, and search for "food."  Try this at the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal.

AF: Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography is a very common assignment in college, and it is just what it sounds like it would be: your researched sources documented in MLA form, followed by a single paragraph of summary.  They are actually pretty simple and very useful.  Once, I had to do one of these with 17-20 sources.  You are doing five sources.  Even though it is only five, it will take you some time to do all of that reading and writing, so get to work.

The payoff:  if you do a good job with this, the substance of your paper will be pretty well figured out.  That's a huge chunk.

Here is a document to look at.

Here's an explanation on the Purdue OWL.

Note that the examples at the Purdue OWL have summaries that are several paragraphs long.

And here's the slide show I showed in class.

LGC: Blending In

I find it's strange how our race and gender defines who we are. Before we are even born, so much is expected from us based on our backgrounds. We are brought into this world with so many expectations and we often feel obligated to fulfill them. However, some choose to go their own route. Just because you are a certain race, male or female, does not mean you have to follow in the footsteps of everyone else. For example, in reference to the article by Vershawn Ashanti Young, "Prelude: The Barbershop", he explains how he feels different because he doesn't walk or talk the way other black men do. He isn't the ideal black man that many picture. He's proper, educated and successful. Yet, he feels that it is necessary for him to hide his differences to try to blend in with other black men so that he is accepted. Why do we do this? Why should we have to hide who we truly are because it's not normal or ordinary? Being a female Latina, I have been faced with many judgments and accusations. According to others, I shouldn't attend college because I have to be at home to cook and clean. I have to do things that Mexican women typically do. Except that doesn't work for me. But like Young, too have had moments where I feel the need to blend in especially when I visit Mexico. However, this doesn't mean I want to hide who I am. I want to be different. I want to be one of the many Latina women who have changed the expectations of other women. We have to be able to accept change.

TED Talks

At first I thought that the TED Talks would be boring and something that I wouldn't relate to but I was pleasantly surprised when I watched a few. The things that these TED Speakers were talking about are very important issues that need to be dealt with. I watched "Guerilla Gardening" and it really opened my mind to something that I didn't even think about. I wasn't aware of how many dialysis centers there are, and how quickly they are popping up. I didn't know that there were that many people with kidney issues. There are so many things that I am unaware of when it comes to food. According to Wendell Berry, I would be a "mere consumer" because I don't know anything about where my food comes from and I never cared to ask. This TED Talk made me want to grow a garden and shop at farmer's markets. It made me want to become an active consumer, it gave me the desire to know where my food comes from, how it is made and what it contains. When I watched the video "Why not eat insects?", I found it to be quite interesting. Marcel Dicke proposed convincing arguments with evidence about the issue of meat production and what would substitute it in the future. I completely understand where he is coming from and I know what he is saying is true because by 2050 we will have a third more mouths to feed and with the way that we produce food we won't have enough animals to provide protein. The way we eat doesn't help either, we eat way more than is actually necessary. But the point of the video was to inform its viewers that eating insects is something that we should be open-minded about because it will most likely happen. Although I doubt I will willingly eat insects, I can't deny the inevitable. All in all, the TED Talks were very informative and worth the watch. 

Gender Roles: Women

Throughout this unit on language, culture and gender I came to realize that there are several issues that lack attention and the concern of many. One of those issues that really caught my attention is gender roles specifically for women. Why do we, women as a whole, find it necessary to stoop down to a level beneath us? Why should we have to live up to the expectations that society has formed for us? As it has been mentioned before, there is a form of guidebook (imaginary) that exists. It's known and accepted by many. This "guidebook" that is talked about and followed by many has encouraged us to be a certain way, men and women. There are things that are and are not accepted. When someone decides to step out of the norm it is frowned upon. Girls on a daily basis change who they are to fit in and do what's considered to be normal. They choose to ignore their passion like joining a sport because it isn't girly enough. What we see a lot now is young girls in high school putting themselves down simply to impress a boy because it's so "uncool" to be smarter than your crush. This isn't the message we should be sending to girls. We need more strong, independent women. Yes, we live in a male dominant society but this does not mean WE have to adjust and just go with the flow. We can go our on way and soon enough it'll be equal.

AF: Try this. This might work better

Access the LGC Self Evaluation document here.

AF: LGC Evaluation due Friday, March 13. Download, print, complete, turn in

AF: Verna Myers: How to overcome biases

This is what passion looks and sounds like:

Articles

I really enjoyed all of the articles in our article packets this past time. I enjoy leaning about gender and racial equality, because it is a thing haappening in my generation that is a big part of it. Me being mixed, these stereotypes don't really affect me, but they do affect my family members, friends, and other people around me. There are stereotypes with being a girl that have affected me though. Like when I play soccer, I will get comments after my game like good job and what not but the next day at school i'll get that one compliment that says oh wow youre good for a girl. I don't really want to say thank you because It doesnt really seem like a compliment. Thanks I guess? I just feel like society trys to mold people pefectly and they just dont fit. This is why comments come out rudely or people are judged.

Ernestine Johnston

I loved the video that we watched on Ernestin Johnston. It was so inspiring. I have to say when I saw her on stage I did not expect a speech like that. She looks like a very inteligent women but that definietly what I wsnt expecting. I am half black and I dont have these stereotypes following be but I could only imagine. I dot know how I feel if someone told me I talked great for a "Black Girl". It was a very moving speech and it is very true. It isn't fair for all of these stereotpes now of days. People should be treated equally and not be told stupid things. You can't complimen someone in a negative way that doesnt make any sense. It doesnt just go for blacks, but for all genders, races, and religions. They shouldn't have tgo go through these stereotypes. Its upsetting.

Why is Sexism a thing?(meant for 1st period)

     Sexism to me is "I'm a man, so I can do anything better than a woman."  I believe that every person on the planet has their own unique talent and skill, disregarding the sex factor.  It is funny, still seeing sexism; even though men and women have been breaking barriers since day 1.  Of course, sexism is probably the result of men outnumbering females or the fact that certain groups of people are victims to history.  Sexism is the ever changing monster of society; honestly, it may never die.  
     Modern sexism is more dangerous and insidious than it has ever been in the past. People today are being bombarded with images and music that perpetuates and often discourages respect between young men and women.  Much of modern media promotes the idea that women are just play things that are put on earth to gratify men's needs.  Men have also been judged through the means of media.  Much of our media makes males seem like brutes and hostile individuals, while at the same time stupid.
          

Group Essay

The group essay was fun and enjoyable to work on; but, there were some things that were hard to deal with. First of all, it was hard to communicate with each other. With the time we did get in class we worked on whatever we could, what was left undone though, had to be finished at home. Having to finish this essay at home was frustrating and challenging since most of my group members had other work to do or were just unable to get to a computer. We would have to do our own separate parts on our own time and wait until the next day for critique. Or even worse, we would have to all be online for a few short moments in order to get as much work done as possible. It also was hard to come to a census on a topic since we all had different viewpoints and opinions on certain subjects. When we finally came to an agreement though, it felt amazing to share my opinions and beliefs with people who felt the same way. 

Perception is everything

    Perception is everything, what ever you think you are or see yourself as is truly who you are. You have to make that image before someone makes a chopped and screwed version and distributes it all over the grapevine. People are quick to judge one another real quick because of appearance or characteristics. The thing about that is people worry about others to much. Is there presence our outfit really effecting you that much. Where you have to take time out of your motions to talk foul on someone. Me personally could care less about another person. If your not bothering me I'm not going to bother you. 

    Realistically your not going be there in the future and I'm not going make time to keep you there. Just know that now the opinions and comments people make on you don't matter, there not going to be there forever. Whatever you see yourself ass keep that image and reach everything that you perceive yourself as.

Don't try to fit in because it's the norm and that's what others want you to do. If you do or have you just gave into society's norms and you should just forget everything that had been said. 💯

Gender roles and sexism

Boys like blue and girls like pink. Girls wear dresses and guys wear suits. Girls play with dolls and boys play with trucks. When you grow up in a society like this it always feels like you are given rules to follow. Once you break those rules society turns its back on you and sees you as an anomaly. In the work place if a female boss tried being a leader then she would be seen as a pushover and an annoyance. If she was a man however she would be seen as a person just trying to do her job. If a guy takes his shirt off and goes bare-chested then it would be put off as an “everyday occurrence.” If a girl did it though, she would be called a slut and a whore. She would be advanced on by other guys who would probably hope to take advantage of her. There are so many things wrong with a society like this and yet, little is done about it.

Chrome books

Since I saw many of my classmates writing about the chrome books that we have been using during class, I wanted to give my opinion about them as well.
In my opinion, I think that the chrome books are a great tool to use in class, I really do feel like they help us a lot. I think that we get a lot done using them , we can either work in a group, just like we did this past week, because we can interact with our group and at the same time we are getting our work done. Also, doing independent work is really easy with the chrome books because we can do research and at the same time we are doing our work. The use of these more often could really benefit us and Ms. Fletcher as well, because we can email her any work and she'll get it immediately and won't get piles of papers to grade. Last but not least, technology is great part of our generation and the use of these actually make learning more entertaining and fun.

Racism

I'm glad that we talk about topics like this in a classroom. It's always talked about, not really in a classroom with a teacher that let's us express our thoughts on it. Racism is something that will never change, well not ever go away. Racism has been around for the longest and is something that one is raised one. In most cases that's what it is, they just see it don't and think that's how things are and that it's fine just to do it. It's come along way from segregation, and the slave days. We know base our racism on stereotypes and derogatory terms. Calling them a name that history made up couple hundred years ago. Do I see it getting worse in the future? Of course because now everything has to be related to race. Everything happens because of race, I get pulled over because I'm black and suspicious, I get arrested and beaten because I'm black not because I have illegal substances on me and I'm resisted arrest. Things will continue to be portrayed like that and it's just sad.

Sexism..

After talking about this topic, sexism, with my group, and after writing the group essay, I started to notice that sexism really is a problem in our society and it is going directly to our and future generations. Even though I was aware of this problem, I never paid so much attention to it. I once read that the perfect female image is a full body and an empty head. Why?

I think that stereotypes like this one are really sexist and discriminating. I do not believe that women are not capable of doing what men do. We are capable enough to do what they do and more. They say that we are no strong, but we carry a baby in the womb for nine months; that we are not independent, but if our husbands leave us, we are the ones that fight for a brighter future for our kids by ourselves. Like these and many more are characteristic and judgments that women get.