HW 25

Sicko Precis:  


  Here in the U.S our health care is based off of profit rather then care. Since it is run by private ownership, maximizing profit is the biggest incentive. Almost 50 million Americans are uninsured and those who are insured are often victims of red tape and fraud. This is so because every one in the U.S sees themselves as the "lone cowboy". This is in contrast to other countries like France and Britain where they treat people regardless of there condition and they do not charge you, following the saying " we should live in a world of we instead of me".


Evidence: One point that Micheal Moore tries to prove from the movie is that the U.S has a healthcare system is corrupting our government this is seen in the following topics on which he spoke:


*Hillary Clinton was going against the health care system by trying to get the government to pass a universal healthcare bill, after being defeated by the HMO's they then became Hilliary's biggest supporter.


*Edward Keiser presented his "privatized health care system" to president Richard Nixon that boasted "all the incentives are towards less medical care, the less care you give them, the more money you make." The following day, President Nixon called for a "new national health strategy."


Response:
 I always thought that the U.S was had the best healthcare, due to the fact that it is such a powerful nation. It was shocking to hear that we are number 37 in the healthcare ranking. One would think that since The U.S was a superpower it would at least have a healthcare system which is half as good as other countries but this is not the case. Something I found interesting in the movie was the way people are viewed by the industry, as things to make a profit off of rather then people with feelings   They’re having nutty debates about who’s going to mandate how many people,” Moore said. “We’re not cars,” he quipped. The basic idea is that healthcare, the quality of life of the citizenry, is a responsibility and duty of the state. It is comparable to a basic need of the people like primary schools, libraries, universities - all of which have public funding. Healthcare is no different, and it is as important. The idea of insurance companies is mainly to reduce their cost, to hold back money, to avoid paying up. Obviously such a system can in no way guarantee the best measure of healthcare for the average individual out there who isn't a millionaire. 

HW 21

1.Lying to ourselves about the fact that we are mortal.

2.Going through all the stages of death with someone

3.Accepting death as fact; DNR

4.Went to a monk for help; wanting answers

5.Being sick strips ones right of pride

 Beth Bernett did what most people her age(or of any age) would not dare to do, come into a room full of strangers and talk about the death of a loved one. I found it to be very moving and real because it wasn't like she came in and touch the surface of an area in her life rather she jumped right in. And what really made it real was she did not bead around the bush and B.S her listeners, she told her story. Of the topics on which she spoke the two things that really got my attention were going through all the stages of death with someone and accepting death as fact. Accepting death as fact got my attention because it connected to my life personally. The first time I had to accept the fact that my grandfather was going to die was unbearable. The fact that someone will be stripped away from you forever is heart wrenching, so when she talked about how when she knew her husband was going to die (especially when they signed the DNR) it was moving.  


 Also her experience with seeing someone you love go through all the stages of death spoke to me. I personally have never been through all the stages of death with a loved one. Although Ive been to a lot of funerals and have lost loved ones I never actually "sat down" with them. The fact that she did this not only showed fearlessness but most importantly love. I remember thinking if this was to happen to my parents or siblings how would I feel? Would I be strong? Because its different to lose someone you live with then one you do not even if you love both.

Some thoughts I was left with were is denial bad. What I meant by that was is hoping for the"miracle moment" bad. I was wondering this because I know hope keeps up good moral but then again isn't  it better to just accept the situation at hand and go for what it is worth? One thing that I found interesting is that everyone searches for answers. Every one is the same at death because no one know what happens at death and I found it interesting when Beth Bernett went for help to a monk, because inside everyone there is a yearning to know the unknown.

HW 23

Tuesdays with Morrie By Mitch Albom Published by Doubleday in September 1997 



Precis: Its become more and more clear that Morrie's illness is taking over him. Weird thing is it seems the closer Morrie gets to death the more insightful he becomes. In fact he considers himself lucky that he gets a chance slowly fade and "enjoy his death".


"When you learn how to die, you learn how to live" Pg 104
 One thing that comes to mind when I read this was how simple this quote is, yet how hard it is to follow(when you're not dying).If we lived life knowing were dying everyday I highly doubt people would spend as much time on things that didn't really matter. You get to focus on what you should have been focusing on all along.


"Forget what culture says. I have ignored the culture much of my life. I am not going to be ashamed. Whats the big deal? And you know what? The strangest thing......I began to enjoy my dependency." Pg 116
Just when you thought you finally found something that would make the situation hopeless Morrie flips it on you. One would think that being dependent would be totally horrible, especially for men, and yet he enjoys it.  I do have to say though it is weird that culture has made this dependency look bad but as he says it can have a flip side to it, people pay top dollar to be pampered and do nothing ,but why does that look bad when you're old?


"Its only horrible if you see it that way. Its horrible to watch my body slowly wilt away to nothing. But its also wonderful because of all the time I get to say good-bye...Not everyone is that lucky" Pg 57
 I always find it inspirational how Morrie can make any bad situation seem not as terrible as people make it. I think that there is a certain reward in a death that is not quick. One gets time to reflect on life and not only that but although  your dying your not dead, giving one time  to experience the life they have left to the fullest.



 From reading this book it is clear for anyone that death is somthing we need to face, but because its not understandable its scary. Morrie shows that we should be at peace with death rather then more stressed out then we need to be. Rather then letting his inevitable death get the best of him he gets the best out of his death.  That fact that this book is real connects to "actual life" makes it more insightful. Also Morrie is very original in his advise making one think how they can better or add to their views of life, and death.

HW 22

Tuesdays with Morrie By Mitch Albom Published by Doubleday in September 1997 



Precis: Morrie is a dying man who puts a spin on the way most people view death. After finding out that he has a fatal illness Morrie, along with his best friend Mitch, tries to be the middle man between the living and the dead. As a man going on a journey that all must take and is telling the rest of the travelers what to bring and expect.

"His philosophy was that death should not be embaressing; he was not about to powder its nose" Pg 21

 At this point in the story Morrie had an interview for t.v, and when asked if he wanted make up to make him look good he declined. Personally if I was old and wrinkly I would love to cover it up and try to look as good as I can. Morrie, in contrast, shows us that its good and in fact suggests to embrace the fact that death is out there. I find it interesting that people love to cover up and hide something that is inevitable. We put on make up in false hope that if we look ok we are ok.

"I traded lots of dreams for a bigger paycheck, and I never even realized I was doing it." Pg 33

In the story Mitch had a sudden realization that he had thrown out his dreams in order to be "successful". People tend to think tat if you are successful it doesn't matter if you do not like what you are doing because you are successful. This is not necessarily all their fault because its what society teaches. For example I used to have a job that I hated, but because it paid good I stuck it out. At the end of my term I found myself a man with money who wasn't happy.



"Everyone knows they are going to die," he said again "but not everyone believes it. If we did, we would do things difrently." Pg 81

This caught my attention because of how true it is, this is true in most if not all peoples lives. Something that comes to mind when I read this was is the phrase "out of sight out of mind". Because we push death out of our lives and heads we live like we have all the time in the world. If we lived life knowing were dying everyday I highly doubt people would spend as much time on things that didn't really matter (Facebook) as much they do.

 This book provides the alternative point of view that should be looked for in life. The fact that Morrie is not just sitting back and letting his inevitable death ruin his time that he is alive, is inspirational. Reading this book has made me question the very way I view death. I can only hope that if I was to be in a situation as this I could react the same.

HW 20 Thinking/ Writing Groups

Stephen Gavin
Stephencgavin@yahoo.com

Partners:
Luz_leon93@yahoo.comNormalisweirdluz.blogspot.com
Christopher M. Lilcmm@gmail.com chrism23.blogspot.com
Letcia P. pichardleticia@yahoo.com LP-leticia.blogspot.com

HW 19

 The way my parents view death has greatly affected the way I see death also. Because my parents are religious I view death a only a beginning to an end, because there is an afterlife(a good one in heaven, or a terrible one in hell). Not only that but the experiences they have faced and the ones I have have definitely affected how we see it. For the most part on my dad's side, the topic of death followed the social norm.  My dads parents didn't talk about death to him because its a very sad and depressing topic, so instead they shunned it. On my moms side it was similar, my grandmother wouldn't talk about this stuff with my mom because my grandmother thought it was something for grown ups you only should talk about when it happens and no where else because its sad. The weird thing about this is although my grandparents did not talk about death with their kids, but mine are not afraid of the subject and because so neither am I. Because my grandparents didn't try to understand death it made my parents want to.

 My mom would talk about death and illness, because of the experiences in her life and the fact that her mom wouldn't talk about it with her, but she said if I was to ask her to talk about this topic( like later teen years) with her a while back she wouldn't like to.She said that because she didn't understand death  she was scared of it, same with my dad.The one major contrast between my grandparents and parents and my parents and me would be they were not allowed to look at dead bodies, but that is very different to my life because Ive been to 7 funerals.

 In my own life personally there was a period of time when people were dying left and right and I felt hopless, sad, and most of all angry(angry that I was helpless to just sit back and watch the people I love die). For a while I was depressed but after my fourth funeral I relized it was one of those things that happens and I learned to accept it. This it made me partially numb to death. What I mean by numb is not that I dont mourn the loss of a friend or family but Im not over emotional.  I remember reading from the play "The Flies" that there was public executions and this was done to "rob death of its glory". Nowadays society has subconsciously placed death has a nice big pedastal because we shun, fear, and dont (and in some cases do not want to) understand it.While I'm not promoting public executions I just thought it was interesting the way its viewed and found it kind of true in my life.  


Thoughts:
Is it wrong to feel numb towards death?

HW 18

Over the break i had my thanksgiving meal at a friends house rather than traditionally eating with my family(due to minor complications brought up among my family). This wasn't the first time this has happened but this usually happens during and after the meal then we all make up and party at the end. I usually look foward to thanksgiving because its a big thing in my family, so when I heard this wasn't going to happen I was a bit pissed off. Because of this I found myself being more of a critic than guest because i kept comparing this thanksgiving to when I have thanksgiving with my relatives.
 One thing I could not complain about was the food.There was an immense amount of food even though there were about 12 people eating there was still leftovers. Before we ate we blessed the meal and got ready to eat, but before we began our host told us of a old tradition. The host had a tradition to eat all the food that was brought to the meal ,because if all the food was eaten it would bring good luck. After hearing this I remember feeling obligated to eat as much as I could, not that I dont like to eat a lot but now I felt like I had to eat a little bit more than normal.At the feast there was a lot of food because everyone(My mom, friends, people from church) brought food. This is usually the norm for most thanksgiving feasts and I remember my brought up the point why do people feel they "have" to bring more food then you can eat to thanksgiving which was a good point but then again how wierd would it be if there was not enough food for everyone, and people had to watch others eat? Any way the food was mostly traditional thanksgiving food, turkey, cranberry sauce, coleslaw, potato pie, mashed potatoes, baked mac n cheese, etc. Rice was added to the menu later, because when my mom heard there was not going to be any, she decided that no matter who's house were going to we might as well not go if there was no rice. When we were all done eating we had a time to say what we were thankfull for and why, which was cool because some people where thankful for things i never thought of. Afterwards we sat around and did in home activities none of which involved excessive movement, because after a meal like this no one would want to for fear that their food might come back up. So some watched t.v others, played cards and other games, and the rest just hanged around.One thing I found funny was that usually at all the other thanksgiving meals Ive been to people try to take food home with them, but this year the people who came where trying to get rid of food.
 When ever I eat with my relatives its more of a party type of thanks giving with dancing, and guys trying to out do each other in sports and other games like domino's. But this year although it was fun it didn't feel "live" mabe because I had to eat double my intake for the sake of tradition.

HW 17

First Thoughts On The Illness/Dying Unit:

  Death is the one certainty in life, and accepting its finality is hard for anyone. Facing one's own death with equanimity is hard for people in many situations. Much harder is the acceptance that those near and dear to one will also die, when feelings of grief and anger, and of loss and often loneliness, are inevitable. Such feelings are worse when a life has ended prematurely. In view of this, it is scarcely surprising that so many people, whether religious or not, consciously shut the concept of death out of their minds and only face up to it and cope as best they can when they have to. This pattern is particularly common in countries where death is no longer an everyday event and has become virtually a taboo subject. People in many western countries often go through life never having seen a dead body.

  A social norm on death and illness would be to ignore it, the whole out of sight out of mind theory. Both death and illness have a lot of baggage to begin with. They both bring experiences, memories, and emotions making them one of the topics that people don't talk about a lot.Plus there is a whole negative vibe that most people get from it. Firstly life is short and thats an indisputable fact. Also from the moment one is born they are dying. People fear what they cannot understand and death is not understandable Since death is forever and its also inevitable its a topic which makes people feel uneasy.                       

  In my own experiences with death it has numbed my senses towards it, partly because Ive lost a lot of people in my life.Ive been taught not to shun the idea of death and since I know its inevitable that made me want to embrace its concept rather than avoid it. That wasn't true for my whole life. The first time I lost someone I never wanted to talk about death again, but after the 4th funeral I went to I realized that this is something that just happens.

  One thing that I found really interesting was how humans view death differently from animals.One of the single most important characteristics that separates humans from animals is not that we speak, or have technology or intelligence, or use forks and spoons, but the fact that humans are the only creatures that are aware/cognizant of their own mortality. 


Thoughts:
There is an African tribe that has a saying that when interpreted goes like this: "Unlike the birds, man knows that he will eventually die; thus he will never fly free"

HW# 12

Over-Arching Thesis: Sustainable and humane alternatives to nightmarish dominant social practices in our culture fail the tests of scalability, achievability, and/or desirability  

Major Supporting Argument: Due to the changes that would have to occur in the social practices of the people and the food industry, alternatives to the nightmarish practices are out of reach

Supporting Claim #1: Although some changes have been made not enough major ones have been made

Evidence #1: Political system would have to change
Evidence #2:  People don’t want to eat healthy
Evidence #3: Prices of better foods would have to drop

Supporting Claim #2 Changes that can be made are being limited

Evidence #1: Infiltration of the food industry in government
Evidence #2: Dropping Economy
Evidence #3: Dominant social practices

HW #11

  For my final experience in the food unit I decided that I would go on a fast for 2-3 days, this depended how I felt on the 2nd day. The reason I decided to do this was that after learning from our food unit course, food nowadays is taken for granted. What I mean by this is how since food is so easily accessible (there is a Mc Donald’s everywhere) it is taken for granted; also it is very cheap adding on to how accessible food is. I also learned from one of the films that 25% of the food produced by the industry is thrown out. I decided that this fast would be a good way to experience what a large percentage of the world goes through daily.

  After taking on the assignment I thought I should make some rules so that halfway through I don’t cheat myself out of the experience. At first I was just going to eat nothing and drink nothing but when my mom heard about this she thought that if I was to get sick it would be "cumbersome" if she had to go to a doctor, so she "suggested" that I at least have liquids. So I had to change the rules, I would have liquids (water only because in a third world country I don’t think they have soda). Also I intended on "stocking up" before the fast because I didn’t know how I would do during it, but after serious debate I ate before the fast but not enough for three people. Lastly I would decide if it was going to remain 2 or go to 3 days on the second day, now I was ready to fast.

 When I awoke the morning of the fast I knew I could not eat that day, and I love to eat, but surprisingly that still did not bother me (proberablly cause in the morning I’m not that hungry). So while my siblings ate cereal I got 2 cups of water and went to school. At lunch although I was kind of hungry so I got a bottle of water and went about as usual. On the way home I spoke with one of my old teachers and told him I was fasting after telling me of a time he fasted for 10 days I felt encouraged and missed my dinner without being bothered. (What also helped was the fact that I hid in my room) I thought to myself this isn’t so hard and went to bed. The next morning it hit me like a bag of bricks, ....I’m hungry. I was able to miss breakfast by leaving for school earlier, and man I never knew I would miss a bowl of Frosted Flakes like I did. At school I knew lunch was around the corner and I didn’t trust myself, so to keep me from buying something I left my money at home even though during lunch I wish I hadn’t because I wanted to drink something. When I got home throughout the day I drunk water, but I was miserable I wanted food, I was tired of watching my friends and family eat all this food. After dinner and another 3 cups of water I decided that 2 days was going to be my limit for now, and at 12:01 I had rice and happily went to bed. My fast was over.

 A famous English novelist and critic by the name Aldous Huxley once stated that “Most human beings have an absolute and infinite capacity for taking things for granted”. Here in America food is very accessible more than we think. Here in America we don’t think about not having food because food is cheap, and food is everywhere. A thought came to mind after my fast, I couldn’t make it to 3 days but there are people who don’t eat for weeks at a time. Also during my fast water was in abundance, while in other places there is a scarcity in water. Even though America at the moment is going through an economic decline, no one is dying of starvation and our currency is holding strong. When compared with the economy of a country like Zimbabwe, which is also going through major economic issues, America couldn’t even come close in a comparison. The economic situation there is so bad and their currency is so weak that in January of this year they introduced a 50,000,000,000 note. They are now even introducing plans to issue 10, 20, 50, and 100 trillion bank notes. What made my fast have any importance at all was the fact that it helped me to get an understanding of peoples (and my own) ignorance of abundance. This is important because like Micheal Pollan tried to say in his book, it is important that people can get an understanding of what they are doing and not be ignorant of their food ways.

Food Inc. Response

  The main theme of the movie was, how much do we really know about the food we buy and eat. The film showed us the dark truth behind the food we eat how it is run by a food empire which turns our food into "food" from tortured and infested meat to the cycle of endless pesticides. The authors thought that it is important for the viewers to learn and do something about their food ways because it’s a very important issue, just as Michael Pollan said: "I think it's one of the most important battles for consumers to fight: the right to know what's in their food, and how it was grown."

  One of the differences between the movie and book was the movie was more emotional, and the book was more intellectual. What I mean by that is how the movie was made to "tug on the heart strings" due to the graphic horror displayed in the film, the book on the other hand although it said that there was all these terrible things but seeing is believing. When it comes to the intellectual side, in the book you get to form your own opinion since Omnivores Dilemma showed evidence for both sides, while movies are usually made to be one sided and makes the watcher lean towards one side of the argument. Also the book was trying to give the reader greater knowledge of the situation (to make them scholars) and not necessarily that they will change their food habits but just to be informed, unlike the movie.

  After watching the movie and reading the book I find myself actually looking at the nutrition’s fact on the covers of the things I buy. Although my diet has not changed that (We don’t buy ground beef anymore, but I still eat fast food) much I feel more aware of what’s in the food I eat.    One thing I thought that was very important was how the author described how we should eat:"For we no longer need any reminding that however we choose to feed ourselves, we eat by the grace of nature, not industry". I think it’s important not to eat ignorantly, industrially, and after reading and watching I can make decisions and be conscious of them.

 

HW 7d

Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollan

Chapter 17:
Precis:
"The food we're eating once had feelings?....."
The phrase above might sound stupid but people nowadays are "just" now realizing this. The foods we eat were once animals and as living things they had feelings. The fact that we slaughter (note that I didn’t say kill, that be down playing the situation, I said slaughter) animals unrelentlessly and without restraint is sad, and it should come as no surprise that people would want to become vegetarians or would'nt want to pay no mind to the situation, because when given to much thought its disgusting (guess that’s why the author was reading an animal’s rights book in a steakhouse).

Gems:
"Nowadays it seems we either look away or become vegetarians. For my own part, neither opinion seemed especially appetizing; certainly looking away was now completely off the table. Which might explain how it was that I found myself attempting to read Peter Singer in a steakhouse"(page 307
"No other country raises and slaughters its food animals as intensively or as brutal as we do."(Page 333)


Thoughts:
 In kindergarten we were thought the word "Pig" and learned that it was an animal, but now were taught the word "pig" and learned that it’s a commodity. This not only goes for "pig" but for other animals as well not to mention plants. Although there is the inevitable fact that animals will be killed, (There will always be a person with a crave for fatty proteins, just as there is a crave for sugar) there is no need for it to be so brutal in abundance.


Chapter 18:
Precis:
 Hunting at one point in time was a natural way for humans to get food. Based on genetics also it would seem that it is somewhat hereditary in the way that. Besides this is the way things were done before the "magic" of agriculture came in the picture.

Gems:
"The fact that you cannot come out of hunting feeling unambiguously good about it is perhaps what should commend the practice to us"(page 361)
"Perhaps it is the joy of a creature succeeding at something he has discovered his nature has superbly equipped him to do, an action that is less a perversion of that nature, his "creaturely character'" than a fulfillment of it."(Page 361)

Thoughts:
As stated in another post the death of animals is inevitable, but when it comes to how it is killed that’s where it varies. The differences between a hunter's kill and a slaughterhouses' slaughter is huge. I’ve went hunting three times now (for turkey and deer) and one thing we were told was that we were never to just harm the animal and to kill it as quickly as possible firstly for the fact that an injured animal is a dangerous animal and for the fact that its just wrong to see in animal in pain or tortured. I remember my first kill: I shot a bird, clipping it underneath the wing. As I ran up to it to kill it, I remember feeling a bit weird since I was up and close ending a life(of course it ended a couple of seconds later after the adrenaline and praise from the others came in). I find this interesting because a hunter kills an animal that has been "living its life" until then, while a slaughterhouses animal has been "living a life set out for it" until it’s slaughtered.


Chapter 19:
Precis:
People naturally have urges to see if they still have the skills to provide for themselves wither it be hunting for animals or plants. Although people downplay plants when comparing them to hunting for animals, they in themselves are a challenge, mushrooms especially. Mushrooms unlike garden plants need to be hunted for. They don’t beg to be picked like an apple or orange that flashes its bright colors and is usually in the eye level area, while in the contrast fungi is not brightly colored and actually "hide" itself. Guess that’s why one hunts for mushrooms instead of harvesting them.

Gems:
 "An economy organized around a complex division of labor can usually get these jobs done for a fraction of the cost, in time or money, that it takes us to do them ourselves, yet something in us apparently seeks conformation that we still have the skills needed to provide for ourselves. You know, just in case."(Page 364)
"Oh, it can be hard work, hunting and gathering, but in the end it isn’t really the work that produces the food you’re after, this effort for that result for there’s no sure correlation between effort and result. (Page 389)

Thoughts:
When you take time to think about it hunting for mushrooms is no joke. Based on what was said in the chapter, you can get lost trying to find them. Not only that but when someone harvests food they usually don’t have to worry about dying if one eats the wrong kind. Make me wonder how it worked when humans first started eating mushrooms? (Trial and error comes to mind, but error would just be death. No pressure.)


Chapter 20
Precis:
What is a perfect meal?...
To some that might be mashed potatoes with steak, and others a BigMac with extra secret sauce. To the author, a meal in which one is totally aware to what they are eating. Although he is not trying to convince us to sharpen the spears of our ancestors he reminds us that people should eat "by the grace of nature", rather than in full ignorance, eat industrially.

Gems:
"It's impossible to prepare and eat a meal quite so physically, intellectually, and emotionally costly without thinking about the incalculably larger debts we incur when we eat industrially"(Page 410)
"For we no longer need any reminding that however we choose to feed ourselves, we eat by the grace of nature, not industry, and what were eating is never anything more or less than the body of the world."(Page 411)

Thoughts:
 Michael Pollan is one of the few people in America that in full consciousness ate a meal in which he knew what he was eating. What I mean by that is he knew where I came from, how it got on his table and what it truly cost to get it. Not a lot of people can say they caught, grew, and saw their food from start to finish! This really makes me consider what a world without fast-food would be like. A day where food is neither fast or slow but as the author puts it, food would be food, a time when people eat with a idea of what they are doing.

Freakonomics Response

 One of the tools that the economics used from their tool box would be evidence to find the truth, a more specific name; causation. This is seen in the experiment they did at the school. The author was betting on the fact that if given the incentive one will try to work over an obstacle to get it, in this case it was money for the winner’s college. They offered money to the kids for something they did not want to do, so most kids did not work for it. In the end of the experiment a low percentage of the kids actually improved their grades. Another tool used would be surveys. Throughout the whole thing surveys were heavily used like when they were trying to show if names affected ones success rate. The one in particular was the dad that named his son Winner and Loser. Although one would expect that their names would imply their destiny the outcome was on the contrary, Loser grew up to be a success and Winner wound up a convict. They also tried to read between the lines. Sumo was supposed to be a sport buried in honor and culture but if one takes the time to look at the data one can easily see how cheating was in plain sight.

The author’s acknowledge the lack of evidence behind correlation. Correlation is when things are tied together but no one knows what caused what, and causation is when one can tell what caused what. In the movie they proved the actual causation of the issue in their example. They showed the difference between correlation and causation in the example of the crime rate growing down. According to all the charts people would believe that crime went down in the 1990 because of the rise in the police force (correlation), when the actual solution was that abortion was legalized and thus reduced the birth of babies and bad neighborhoods (causation).

I would have to agree with the statement: "Freakonomics serves as an inspiration and good example to our attempt to explore the "hidden-in-plain-sight" weirdness of dominant social practices". Although I wouldn’t say it did a very good job of it, due to the fact that it did not talk about the "weirdness" of dominant social practices, but it did talk about dominant social practices. It mainly stuck to the idea that opportunities/incentives matter. People tend to make/pick opportunities that work for them. This connects back to our investigation of U.S food ways in the way most would rather plant, grow, and use corn for most things rather then grass. Farmers would rather grow corn than grass because there is a bigger incentive that they actually want to work towards; Its fast and produces more money and the consequence of not growing it would be going broke.

Growing Your Own Food

I didnt know what to eat it with at first, but finally I made a tuna sprout sandwhich with cheese:

 Although it did not have the best flavor, the fact that I grew my own food is a really cool experience. This is so because I saw the plant as a seed and then saw it turn to a plant and then (less exciting) eat it. The fact that I knew where it came from made me want to enjoy it even more, like when I grew tomatoes in my backyard. Every time I put it in a sandwich I know that its fresh and you can actually taste a difference, juicier redder. In conclusion I wouldn’t say the experience was magical, but rather satisfactory.

Reader Response 5

Chapter 10- Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollan (Precis):

America land of quantity over quality. Why did America turn its head on the environmentally friendly way of producing natural food? The answer would be how it does not meet the standard of the industrious process. The grass farming method of growing livestock is against the principle of industry: time and money. If livestock is not grown and fattened up fast enough in a certain amount of time, it will not meet the standard of industry and produce less money.
“Our civilization and, increasingly, our food system are strictly organized on industrial lines” (Gem)
To connect all back, plain and simple: corn works within this system, grass does not.

Reader Response 4

Chapter 6, Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollan (Precis):

Due to the over production, the result becomes huge/excess proportions and over consumption. In this chapter the author also discussed similarities in eating binges and drinking binges. The similarities being, turning excess corn into a non-perishable form with encouragements for people to eat more of it. Something interesting about this would be the play of human psychology here: When food is placed before people majority of the time people will finish it. This may be a result of parenting which teaches/encourages their kids to "finish their plate", whether its rice to vegetables which kids may not like but grow up with the urge to finish their plates. To conclude the chapter, the author places the blame of unhealthy Americans on their agricultural policies: “we subsidize high-fructose corn syrup in this country, but not carrots.” Until we change our policy, “the river of cheap corn will keep flowing.”(Gem)

Chapter 7, Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollan (Precis):

 The author takes his family to a McDonalds to eat and enjoys their meal in the family car, and takes a closer look at the highly refined foods. One of the results of all this processing is that a brand new type of "food" has been invented, one which is no longer associated with the plant and/or animal it came from. Does the chicken nugget taste like chicken? Sadly the answer is no, rather it just taste like a chicken nugget. Does the patty in the burger taste like real beef? No it does not. Using McDonalds as an example of this over-zealously over corn, the author summarizes his thoughts on the corn-empire: "The farmers going broke cultivating it; the countless other species routed or emiserated by it; the humans eating and drinking it as fast as they can, some of them—like me and my family—in automobiles engineered to drink it, too"(Gem)

Chapter 8, Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollan(Precis):

Grass is as difrent from industrial farming as can be. There are many diffrences of these is the natural cycle that is made when animals eat what they were made to eat. Cows for example when they eat grass.In the cow-grass cycle there is no such thing as waste, firstly when they eat grass they make fecis and the fecis in turn goes to the grass as fertilizer making the cycle start over."We never called ourselves organic- we call ourselves 'beyond organic'. Why dumb down to a lesser level then we are?"(Gem)


Chapter 9, Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollan (Precis):

So the items labeled with the nice "Organic" sign on the store shelves are not what they seemed...
As it turns out, the mainstream organic should be called "Big Organic". Although it started as a bunch of organic farms owned by hippies in the 70's, which used no chemicals to grow produce things started to change as time went on. After experiencing growing pains and limitation in agriculture, they went to industrial machinery to help them extend business. This somewhat ironic that the same people that once "raged against the machine" eventually turned to it (industrial organic).

Thoughts:

 "Are we the masters of corn, or is corn the master of us?"
"Will we ever be able to escape the fast food chain?"

Reader Response 3

Chapter 5- The Omnivore's Dilemma-Micael Pollan(Precis)

We are the industrial eater, it takes a certain kind of eater, the industrial eater, to eat corn that has been broken down and put back together but as processed food like “margarine, Tang, Cheez Whiz and Cool Whip”. All of which are, essentially “food imitators” they can provide sustenance but they won’t really sustain us. Chapter 5 explains how since there is a large surplus of corn, industries need to get all that surplus biomass somewhere. This is where we come in, exploiting the human desire for sweet stuff, High Fructose Corn Syrup is born. Following this logic leads to the conclusion that Americans are unhealthy for a reason; they are doing their part to consume all excess biomass, as efficient as possible.

Thoughts:

One response made by a New York food additive manufactrurer in the book was that natural food is a: "dubious substance, came to be eaten by humans at thier own risk", my response: "WHAT!!!!??!!"

Reader Response 2

Chapter 3-Omnivore's Dilemma Michael Pollan(Precis)

Turns out Old McDonalds’ happy farm isn’t so much a farm nor is it happy. In chapter 3 I found out Old McDonald (the average meat maker) upgraded from farm to a feedlot or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation which feeds our cows low quality corn and leave them in low quality holders and in turn eat a whole bunch of low quality cow (and I mean a lot, specifically 100 million beef cows).These feedlots, like cheap corn, brought the work ethic of quantity over quality when making meats. Paraphrasing what was said on page 68; when animals live on a farm the very idea of waste cease to exist due to their ecological loop, on the other hand feedlots take this wonderful idea and neatly divide it into two new problems, a fertility problem which is "fixed" by adding chemical fertilizer and a pollution problem that is hardly "fixed" at all (Gem). More importantly the chapter discussed how "You are what what you eat eats" and something interesting that I never thought of, is how in America we do an amazing magic trick which is turn excess bushels of cheap corn into steaks.

Thoughts:
1. The more I read this book the more I find out that I really don’t know what I’m eating and what I’m eating is eating
2. When did these facts become acceptable?

Reading Response 1

Chapter 1- The Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollan(Precis)

 Do we really know what we are eating? Although the author, when following the industrial food chain, expected his investigation to lead to a variety of out lets, majority of comes from or is corn. Ever since the food line processed food is not what it seems:
"In recent years some of this supermarket euphemism has seeped into Produce, where you will now find formerly soil encrusted potatoes cubed pristine white, and "baby" carrots machine-lathed neatly into tapered torpedoes. -page 16"(gem)
 From our so called chicken nuggets and the soda we drink to wash it down to the very store we purchase these items from corn is there. 

Chapter 2- The Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollan(Precis)

 The people of America are corn. I mean that in every sense of the phrase. Chapter 2 explicitly shows that although we American would like think that we eat a diverse diet everything from burgers to Twinkies, when we look at what makes up our food on a molecular level majority of it is processed corn. Most importantly we have become what we eat, corn with legs.

Chapter 3- The Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollan(Precis)

Corn is not just a food anymore, its a commodidty. Chapter 3 tells how some corn went from being a crop grown by farmers who actually gave a .... about what they grew to corn that is grown just to apease the masses. In fact there is corn made that actually has little to no nutritional benifits.Somthing that stood out to me was on page 60 was:
"A commodity is like a filter stripping qualities and histories from the harvest of a particular farm an farmer."(gem) This made me wonder, when did we start to put quantity over quality in food?

Thoughts:
1. When did we become so dependent on this one crop?

2. Is this corn issue a triumph of capitalism or failure of imagination? or both?
3.when did we start to put quantity over quality in food?

HW #4 - Your Families Foodways

  Although some of the foods that my family eats remain the same, most of the food that is eaten between me and my family has changed over the years. My grandmother’s food consisted of mainly Caribbean food and vegetables like plantain, chicken, eggs, fish (bacalao), maduro, legume, conch, eggplant, and tons of rice some of which she grew. My mother’s diet is exactly similar to my grandmothers except that the only difference between them is that my mom will eat some West Indian food like curry and maybe Chinese food and although she eats some different food this is rare because like my grandmother, she prefers the Caribbean food. My dad on the other hand, coming from Ireland, has a different view on what should be eaten. He loves potatoes (boiled or mashed), steak, corn, string beans, pizza, and any kind of pasta. Funny thing is they would rather die than to eat each other’s meal. My diet unlike my parents and due to them is very diversified. My diet consists of pretty much anything under the sun, American, Indian, Caribbean, Spanish, etc… I don’t think I've ever run into a food I don’t like, I mean I have my preferences but if it’s on a table I'll eat it. Possibly from the variety of flavors I ate starting from childhood (Guess growing up in a multicultural house has it benefits).
Here is what a typical meal from my mom and dad would look like:

Dad                                                                                                                  Mom

                                       

   Time is a huge factor in how generational food ways are changed. In my grandmother situation she had to grow her food and was affected by that, my parents were affected directly by what their parents ate and due to a combination of culture my diet has been spread abroad.

   I believe another main cause that diversifies the generational food way is the environment. The area I live in is very diversified and so are my neighborhood friends which come from India, China, England, and D.R. When we go to each other’s houses the meals are always different thus affecting how they and I are diverse when it comes to food not to mention other things. I totally agree with a quote from New York Times' Natasha Singer:

"The real problem is a landscape littered with inexpensive fast-food meals; saturation advertising for fatty, sugary products..... In other words: it’s the environment, stupid." Along with family culture, the environment that one lives in also plays a large role in ones food ways. My mom and dad where exposed in their own environments and ate accordingly and so and so do I. Most people when surrounded by expensive healthy foods and inexpensive junk most people, including myself, will head for the inexpensive junk. Due to the fact that my parents do not believe in steady allowance, and in fact think that all chores are a way of the child paying back the parents for living under their roof, when it comes to eating outside the best choice would be to to eat off of "dollar menu's".

Fast Food Insights and Green Market Realizations

 
While getting insight on both place, a McDonalds and a Green Market, I realized some important things. Of these things would be the differences between a fast food place and a green market. Firstly McDonalds was very adult oriented although McDonalds used to be child oriented. It has a modern look to it and it plays Light F.M radio, like a Starbucks that sells burgers. The people buying food here were obviously in no rush even though it was working hours. They workers looked miserable, like if someone ordered another burger they would hop over the front counter and drop kick them. Which is in contrast to what they said when I spoke to them. I asked if the work place was upbeat and friendly and the lady I asked said yes although you could see she was lying.

  This was very different from the Green Market. In the Green Market for the most part it was a very happy environment. People where smiling and enjoyed selling the products they had and when I spoke the vendors of a milk stand there was no rush for me to buy anything and our conversation was one of that between a friend. Its outside which is a pro or con, pro because on nice days (Like the day I went) just like an upbeat painting makes the viewer feel upbeat so does a good sunny day. The con is on a rainy day or snowy day I don’t think business would flourish. Although it was mostly filled with adults there were parents with their kids. In conclusion most stands had a good vibe.

  Although the McDonalds was not as impressive as the green market it still made more business. The reasons for this though is clear, most people when faced with a choice between quantity or quality for food most people will pick quantity. Due to the fact that McDonalds can give you more for your dollar people would pick this place over the green market. Which make me wonder if the green market had a dollar menu would it make more business?...

Food-Initial Thoughts

  Food is an important topic because it is part of daily life and has its own effects entirely and although it can be thought of as simple there is a lot going on when people think about food. One example effect of food would be how it can bring happiness, I mean I’ve never seen someone angry while they are eating (yet obviously is someone yelled at them or punched them thought it would be a different case). My view on food would be that although I don’t agree that people should just eat anything and get obese I don’t think people should stress eating healthy as much as they do, like spending $15 dollars on a vegetable wrap. This leads to an interesting aspect on today and food. An aspect of food that I find interesting is how people eat according to what is popular. People buy food that makes them skinny. People generally want to be nice and skinny and eat accordingly to get this way. People also eat a little even if they are still hungry which makes no sense. I like to get full when I eat. What I mean by this is I won’t be happy with the meal I got and would feel ripped off if by the time I’m done eating I’m still hungry. This view showing how some foods are looked down on and how looking really slim is dominant can be found in media all over the place. I don’t ever think I’ve seen a commercial of a fat guy going to a party and having a great time unless he was fist pumping with one hand and had a burger in the other.

  There are different priorities that come to mind when i think about food. First taste is a very important role in food. Plain and simple if I don’t like the way it taste I’m done with it but because I’m not a picky eater I don’t run into that problem often and if it taste good that makes me want to eat it and lots of it. Next would be my hunger status. What I mean by this is whether I’m starving, or I could go for a bite, or I’m just not hungry. Lastly money and convenience, frankly sometimes food is just too expensive and it just makes sense to go to a McDonalds or pizza shop because it doesn’t cost that much money and they are usually located everywhere. To paraphrase what I heard on the Man vs. Wild show "Never put in more energy in getting food then what the food will actually give you" I say this because if my allowance is but so much and a food cost a lot and its not close its just not worth it besides skipping a meal or two wont kill me.

  My typical home meal does not meet the standard ideal food meal because it would be considered too heavy.  A dinner for me can consist of mashed potatoes, string beans and steak to rice, beans and chicken, also there is occasionally pasta. Although I’m very athletic I don’t force myself to eat extremely healthy. When I’m not at home on the other hand  I tend to go for cheaper meals like Chinese or pizza. Now a days though its all about the salad and other low fat foods but these things fail to meet my standard of what i like to call "tasty food" so I tend to stick with my pizza. You can say your $6 salad tastes as good as my $1 pizza, but who are you fooling you or me?