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.