Good Eats

This unit has been extremely eye opening. Before this unit I had seen videos of slaughter houses and some processes of how our food is produced. However, when we watched Food Inc. my perspective of food changed. I had no idea of the different methods of producing food. To be completely honest, I did not know cows were fed anything besides grass. Learning about how cows' consumption of corn can affect us so greatly was very surprising. When I used to go out to eat and see "grass-fed beef" as a description in the burger section of a menu, I used to wonder why that detail was included. Yesterday, I went out to eat and saw that same specific detail. Although, this time I had a new understanding of what it meant.

Food is a very uniting thing. Over this break some of my family has been over to my house, including my cousin and his wife who is a registered dietitian. They are very healthy individuals; but, they do allow themselves to be a little extravagant every once in a while. I've always wondered why they put so much effort into purchasing the right foods, checking nutrition labels, and cutting certain foods out of their diet. After this unit, I now understand why they take such measures. They're very healthy eaters and are aware of the consequences of eating the right and wrong things. My parents are always trying to stray me away from fast food and introduce me to new "deliciousness" such as vegetables, soups, salads, and much more. Their advice to eat better used to go in one ear and out the other but now I understand why they try to get me to make better food choices.

My dad has a garden full of fresh herbs, vegetables, and sometimes I grow some fruit here and there. He tried to get me involved in helping him garden when I was very young but as I grew older I slowly deviated from that practice. I never truly understood what the point of growing your own food was besides the fact it saves some money here and there. Now, I see that it has many more perks besides decreasing the amount of spending one does. It results in freshness and having the control over what you are eating. Plus, it can unite people (like my dad and I) if individuals grow food together! I love food and although I can't promise I'm going to completely eat healthy after this unit, I definitely have a new awareness of what I consume that I didn't have before.

A New Mindset Going Forward

From the first day that we started this food unit, I have learned something new everyday. My eyes have been opened to the glaring food issues in this country. The monopoly of huge corporations like Monsanto is only the start of the issues involving food in America.The healthiness and proper production of food has become second to the amount of money or profit that can be made. I've learned that many of the things that I would eat almost everyday is in fact not healthy at all, and contains biochemical products and other harmful things. This unit has definitely raised my consciousness of they way our food is produced in this country. Also, I have learned ways to still have access to healthy food, like gardening. To influence the food industry today i would propose that we build more community gardens in those areas that are considered food deserts.      

Writing process

My process to write this research essay started off with me asking myself what's something I have a lack of understanding towards that relates to the subject.  I've always been told about processed foods and how it negatively affects our health but never the environment.  So I figured if it takes a toll on us,  it probably has the same impact toward our earth.  So I searched up my question and found some articles that have informed me exactly what happens to our earth through this industrial agriculture. I saved some of these articles that I felt would benefit my research essay and then started making my first drafts.  I cited some of the drafts for textual evidence and then analyzed what I had cited.

My Writing Process

My writing process for my food politics research paper has been a tough one. To begin with, I had trouble thinking of a topic and it took some time before I actually found something I liked and wanted to stick with. After I  found my topic the research process was a little bit easier. I enjoyed finding reliable articles and writing short summaries of them for my annotated bibliography. When reading the articles I found that they were filled with lots of information about the topic. Some of the information was exactly what I was looking for, but I also found a lot of stuff I did not know, that would be great to include in my research paper. While reading several articles, I became aware of a lot of issues in our food system. For example, I learned that meat (along with many other foods) is so processed that it loses all of its flavor and has to be injected with chemicals that make it taste like meat again. That is only one of the many new things I learned while researching about my topic. Honestly this whole chapter on foods has been interesting and I enjoy writing about it in my research paper.

Broccoli Kale Salad for Dinner, and Food Policy Changes on the Menu for Tomorrow

When it comes to responsible eating, I consider myself to be pretty darn lucky. My mom is one of those slightly obsessive health moms who is constantly reading articles on food, warning everyone that Red 40 causes cancer, and shopping at Sprouts. Mealtime in the Douglass household is quite different than many households. We pour organic, non-GMO Silk Almond Milk over our Grape Nuts, spread sugar free organic peanut butter on our sprouted bread, and have broccoli kale salad for dinner. (Maybe I'm slightly exaggerating... but not much. My mom regularly feeds us all those things). Sometimes the healthy eating gets old, but most of the time I'm grateful for my mom's wisdom. This ERW unit has taught me why my mom chooses to eat carefully. Now that I see the harmful effects that the food industry has on the health of ourselves, animals, and the planet, I am so grateful that I have been taught to eat right. 

It still can be so hard to eat healthily. There are seven people in my family, and we can't always invest time and money into cooking and eating right. Life happens. It's sometimes just cheaper and easier to pick up a Costco pizza for dinner, even though we know that the environmental and human health costs of consuming it are high. Also, it is hard to be motivated to eat healthy foods when salty, deep-fried and sugary goodness can be located instantly just by telling Siri that you're hungry. What really needs to happen is changes in the food industry. If healthy food was cheaper, it would be easier for consumers to make smarter decisions. I like Mark Bittman's idea of taxing unhealthy foods, as this would be a step in the right direction in making healthy food available to all; however, several other changes, such as greater regulatory power for the FDA, changes to nutritional facts labels, and banning harmful food additives such as trans fat and artificial dyes, will have to be made if we have any intention of saving our planet. 

Overall, this ERW unit has changed my attitude towards healthy, responsible eating. I realize now that consumers have power over the food industry. If all consumers stopped buying nonorganic or unhealthy products, the food industry would stop making them. If consumers demand organic or non-GMO products (as they are beginning to do), the food industry will provide them. As an ERW class, we are no longer ignorant of weaknesses in food policy. We cannot spend our time complaining about the food system and then hypocritically support the same food system we despise by continuing to purchase their products. As Ghandi said, we've got to "be the change [we] wish to see in the world."

Policy wise, I have tons of ideas for how our food industry can be better. We can follow the examples of other developed countries and ban harmful additives such as trans fat and artificial dyes. We can improve nutritional facts labels to make product information more accessible to consumers. There are a plethora of other ideas out there that I've come across as I've worked on my research paper. Real changes can only be made, however, when consumers demand them. 

What do you guys think? Has this food unit motivated you to change your diet, even if only in small ways? And what more can be done to change our food system?

What Can We Do To Change Our Food System?

We can stop drinking sodas and other sweetened beverages.

You can lose 25 lbs in a year by replacing one 20 oz soda a day with a no-calorie beverage.
We can eat at home instead of eating out.
Children consume almost twice as many calories when eating food prepared outside the home.
Tell schools to stop selling sodas, junk food, and sports drinks.
Over the last two decades, rates of obesity have tripled in children and adolescents aged 6 to 19 years. Don't eat meat as often because that's one of the reasons there's obesity.

We should buy organic or sustainable food with little or no pesticides.

According to the EPA, over 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used each year in the U.S.
There should be a demand in job protections for farm workers and food processors, ensuring fair wages and other protections.
Poverty among farm workers is more than twice that of all wage and salary employees. I believe that if we begin to make our own healthy food or moreover our healthy meal plans, it will lead to a healthier life-style for everyone.

They Say/I Say Templates

You may want to look at these helpful templates when trying to figure out how to integrate the words of others into your paper.

Details on Blogging Course 3: Dessert

My Writing Process

My writing process has been good because surprisingly I have not procrastinated. I started my draft and bibliography days before it was due and I wrote everything as well as I could. At first I was lost and didn't know what to write but once I figured it out it came easy and I was on a roll. Now all I have left is to fix my work cited page and edit my draft/make it a little longer. Honestly this research paper has been easier to write than I thought it would be and it has helped me gain new knowledge about what I eat, after all the research I did, I’ve been trying my best to eat healthier and cook meals for myself instead of eating out or stopping at fast food places. I have tried to make my family aware of the chemicals and other unhealthy substances that are put in our foods but they don’t seem to be bothered by it and that is really upsetting. I feel as though writing about food politics has really opened my eyes to all the dangers of eating not only fast food but the stuff we consider healthy as well, and I wish my family could also know all this and try to live a healthier lifestyle along with me.

Is it Worth it to Change?

My question is, "Has organic food become the only source of healthy food for the people?" There are other foods that is healthier than organic foods. For example, fruits. Another example is that organic milk is really unhealthy. It's said to be that organic food is very expensive to purchase which is why people don't usually change their diets. Many people either get tired, lazy, or broke to find a healthy diet. People just want to eat what they want. Many say organic food is healthier and it's really nutritious but some think different. Is it worth it? I think it's not really worth it to go change your lifestyle. Also, there are other healthier foods out there not including organic foods.

-Robin Hwang
-Period 5

Why Don't We Try Alternative Food Sources?

     Imagine, a world where beef, chicken, and pork aren't the only common and readily available sources of animal based proteins. So many more various choices can be used, so many different types of animals can be used; poultry, birds, and mammals aren't the only edible proteins we can have in our diets. We need to be more willing to eat and we also have to be more open-mided with what we do eat.
     When we see an insect, whether on the ground, on a plant, in the house, or even on the big screen, we tend to think of them as docile, and passive creatures with nothing beyond them, but I see them as a cheaper, more efficient means of obtaining food for those who cannot survive on what we have to currently buy in our neighborhood supermarkets. Many compare my inquiries as lunacy, as if what I just had said was to completely shift our country to that of a third world country; to anyone who thinks that they should be above consuming certain types of food, one, you cannot be opposed to a viable solution to a huge problem we face currently, obesity and climate change are coming from overconsumption of meats and how these animals produce so many greenhouse gases, and two, you'd be crazy not to try something as trivial as a new source of food just because you think of these creatures as those who dwell crawlspaces and dirt. Just think about it, insects cost less to raise, grow and develop faster, and provide much more dense nutrition than conventional meat sources we consume today. These animals consumes less pound for pound, in this case gram for gram, compared to our furry livestock counterparts. As a result of this, we could feed the poor much easier, and also have the means to make our population healthier with an abundance of these healthier choices. As of now, there are millions of species of insects, but the most commonly, and justifiably so, consumed are spiders-tarantulas and other nonvenomous arachnids, crickets, and grasshoppers; these animals contain the most "meat" and are the most nutritious of the available choices.
     I can concede that a cultural shift would indeed have to occur for us, as the American populous, to consume food that has an exoskeleton or spindly legs, but I would love to advocate for this change. You'd be surprised how great something can taste that we normally would see as disgusting, I've consumed some types of insects, crickets, scorpions, and spiders, and they we're quite decently seasoned, just as any cut of meat would have been. Where have I had these insects, well I've ordered some and others I've had while visiting other countries. And to expand on that last notion, yes, other countries consume these animals as a viable food source, it comes cheap and is sold cheap, street food and many other types of vendors flood the streets selling these hand caught bug to roast, fry, or even bake them. Just as you could do a cutlet of pork, you could do unto a tarantula, cricket, or even ants as I have seen.
     I just hope that one day, we as a society will have changed slightly to accommodate a healthier and much cheaper livestock so our poor and impoverished can afford to live on a minimum wage. One day, I just want to see restaurants all across the United States that sell different types of insects and meats alike so we can truly have a huge variety of not only choices and foods, but prices as well.

My research question is requiring to find out how our food policy does undermine American health. The reason why I chose this question is because it’s important to understand how our government regulates our food choices also due to the fact due to these food policies is the reason why most people in America are obese and it’s due to these poorly made health policies that most of the population is on the bigger side. Simply it’s due to these policies that can cause obesity or maybe even food poisoning which may cause serious health problems/ conditions which may be dire.

False Sense of Security

My research question is "Does the government do enough to ensure our food safety?", and I argue that they do not. I chose this topic because these are the people that we look at for help when a group of individuals are breaking the law, which is exactly what the food industry is doing. They are taking advantage of the fact that they are our major food suppliers and we are forced to pretty much buy their products.  The senate also has a lot of involvement in the lack of progression in this industry. Most senators are basically owned by these large corporations and vote for whatever benefits the food corporations. This happens when a senator becomes desperate to stay in office and corporations such as these (food corporations) run their campaign in return for some "favors". The government is also starting to keep less health inspectors and are letting these companies hire their own, which is obviously a bad idea. These corporations have enough money to bribe these health inspectors off. Even the political officials that fight against this type of injustice get shut down due to the amount of power these corporations have. After the novel, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair was released the government caused us to be way more cautious about our food supply and food safety wasn't as big of an issue as it is today. As time went by the standards of our food went down and the government hasn't done anything about it since the early 1900's! If you don't see anything wrong with this than you must not really worry about what goes into your body.

Fixing a broken world

This is a tad off topic, but I wanted to talk about choosing what you want to do in life. We're at a point in our  lives where are decisions of what we want to do aren't just dreams. We're making choices that effect the rest of our lives, we aren't just being asked what we want to do like we were when we were seven.

I've wanted to be a mechanical engineer for some time now. I've always liked tinkering and taking things apart, making things, it's a profession suited for me. There's plenty of work involved in getting there, it won't be easy, but I believe I'd enjoy it and the work that comes along with it. This recent unit has caused a slight change of heart. I'm heavily considering becoming an environmental engineer, people who worked toward creating environmentally friendly machines and environmental monitors. The Politics of Food has made me realize how awful and screwed our world really is. People are corrupt and greedy and place the value of personal gain over the well being of others. We pollute and desecrate our planet and then deny that it has any effect. The world has too many problems to begin to list, but I want to be a part of the solution.

Environmental engineering would allow me to help slow, stop, or even reverse the harm we're doing to our planet. It's an incredibly important problem and, as a planet, start working towards fixing it. I want to be part of this, to make my mark on the world, however small, in a way that I can be proud of, in a way that matters and helps the world.

There's nothing wrong with deciding on what you want to do because you like it, or because the money is good, nothing wrong at all. But consider the problems the world is facing when making that decision. There's so few people trying to help the world and so many that couldn't care less. Be something important, make a lasting and beneficial mark on the world, be a part of the solution.

Food Safety

For my research paper my topic requires finding out what are some saftey problems with the food system.  I would like to look into all the sanitation problems in factories and the way the animals are taken care of regarding their feeding and treatment. Furthermore I would like to find out about the chemicals put into our plants to make them grow out of season as well as bigger and faster. Not only are the outcomes of the food system affecting us but also the environment. There is so many problems with the way our food is really made and I would like to look into that.

Try Dieting

For my research question it's actually somewhat bewildering because it is relating to how a family's income effects their malnutrition. If you notice when you go into a market place majority of the shopping carts of others is full of junk food that is piled on top of the small portion of healthy foods. It's ironic how we eat so much junk food because we are hungry and it seems to be more fulfilling to us, but yet we complain when we gain weight because of it. If you notice when a family has a small amount of money to spend on groceries they would rather spend every dime on a variety of different unhealthy snack for less money as opposed to buying a few fruits or vegetables at  higher prices.
However as I was reading more into my research I learned that majority of people without realizing it pick up bad eating habits that lead to obesity and other health problems. I feel bad because the people who do having eating disorders because their bodies are programmed to constantly eat and never get full. If we don’t watch how much we eat and the amount of portions we eat you can be putting yourself at risk, be cautious.

Food Safety

The recent E. Coli outbreak in Chipotle restaurants has flooded mass media outlets. Many victims fell ill to the norovirus; this issue with E. Coli is disreputable to the company. I drew inspiration from this incident for my research paper because I too experienced food poisoning from Chipotle’ - twice. Ironically I'm still a patron at their establishments.
Salmonella and E. Coli are two most common culprits in food outbreaks. As I was conducting research for my topic, I discovered that all sorts of food and products were recalled due to contamination.  In the past month there was a recall on Dole lettuce, Costco chicken salads, pistachios, milk and mayonnaise. I was shocked after reading these articles because I didn’t know that various foodborne diseases can happen with a month; I assumed that our food supply was safe.
Initially, my research topic question was along the lines of food contamination and food poisonings. After consulting this with a fellow classmate, he suggested that I take an approach on the political side of food contamination. However, after further research I saw my research topic evolve.The topic that I decided to research was foodborne illnesses and mass production. I want to make a connection between mass producing food and how susceptible they are to contamination. Since the majority of our food sources are centralized, a single error or a bad seed can spell disaster for the entire food supply.
I find it quite difficult to find an article that discusses the cause and effect relationship between mass production and foodborne illnesses. However, I did find a lot of sources that covered food contamination in products of big name brands. The challenge here is making the connection by finding the proper sources. Most of the sources I have under my wing are all news coverage articles and science journals. If you guys are struggling to find sources for your topic, I suggest you guys find any recent news articles on your topic.

My research paper is based around theses two questions, "Why do consumers choose to ignore the way food is made knowing the flaws in the process? What will it take for them to do something about it?" This is not only a question I want to understand from others but also from myself. Every so often there is a big story breaking on the news were something negative about a food company revealed. We are informed about some sort of contamination or informed about how they were not truthful with the labeling. I myself, have learned a great deal about the food process over the years, from how our veggies are grown to how the animals raised for meat and more. However knowing the cruel, unethical, and unnatural process of it all, I have done nothing to make sure what I am eating is fresh or not full of GMOs. I care about what I eat but do I care enough? I had a discussion with a fellow ERW student from another class and she explained to me how she doesn't care what she eats and what's goes into her body. She doesn't want to know what's in her food and even after learning things from this topic, she will continue to not care about what she eats. After this discussion I began to think, "maybe this is how a lot of consumers think?" I know there people who take it very seriously about what goes into there bodies and make sure to only eat certain food that are are organically raised and grown, However the number of people who don't care enough out way the people who do.

Does everyone have access to healthy food??

With the growing rate of obesity and other health related issues in the United States, more and more politicians are battling with these main food industries to tackle these glaring health problems of our country. We often talk about the thought of gaining environmental justice, especially in terms access to good, healthy food. You would think that everyone would be entitled to not only good, but healthy food, unfortunately, there are pockets of areas with low income, and high poverty rates who do not have immediate or nearby access to healthy foods.These tiny pockets are called food deserts. These food deserts can be combated, with more public gardens, persistent activism, and an increase of government incentives on food industries.

U.S. vs. EU

I've been researching the difference between the American Food policies and the European Food policies. Seeing the difference like how we, the U.S. and a few other countries, wash our eggs while other countries don't. What is considered healthy to eat and passes FDA approval and other food  expectations in both the U.S. and other European countries. What our government and European governments do to keep farms going and see that they are qualified to produce food to the mass majority. And what we has people are doing to make sure that what we eat is actually healthy for us and not simply trusting our governments with our food decisions.
 

FRUITS?

I have recently been researching about fruits and why organic fruits were smaller in size and more savory. I've been reading many short articles about the subject and it's pretty obvious to say that chemicals have played a major part in that process. Reading many articles about my topic was or is tough because not only was I stumped on what exactly I was looking for but even more questions filled my brain. I've learned a lot about strawberries though, and how some farmers would inject their soil with chemicals so it could help the growing process. It would kill insects and any bacteria growing in the soil left behind from the season before. This would allow the farmers to continue to grow strawberries in the same spot where as organic farmers would have to leave and find new soil to grow their strawberries on every year or so. Now, this lead me to question a lot about how strawberries were processed and packaged and how they grew which lead me to rethink my research question and just do research more about strawberries. I've read another article, however, about how scientists discovered a way to make fruits bigger, but it made me think back to the article about the strawberries where they talked about bigger fruits being blander. That's when I really started to question whether having larger fruits in our local grocery stores, really worth it. Would you rather have a gigantic strawberry with little to no flavor, if not sour, or would you rather have a smaller strawberry with an abundance amount of flavor? That goes with any fruit out there in the world...

Food Maddness

The research question that I have decided to go with is how does mass production here and internationally affect our human health? This question was directed and developed more on the articles I found. This is something I have never given much thought to until I had to do this research question and looked into it. For example pizza is a dish that was originally in Italy and ingredients that are put on pizza aren't always in season which is why switching off what kind of pizza happens. Here in America we loved the idea of pizza and what toppings we like and we produced more of it. It is now available everywhere, even to be delivered to your own house.

Animals Have the Right to Live

For my research project, my attention was drawn on the animals involved in the process of making food. My essential question is submitted but I am still putting the final touches. My main concern is about how animals get treated during the food process and whether or not it is possible for these animals to go extinct if we continue to kill them for food. I remember as a kid, I would always ask everyone, "Can pigs and cows and chickens go extinct if we keep eating them?" In our ERWC class, we have tackled tons of information about the recent food politics. One thing that stunned me was the way the animals are raised and the chemicals and medication they are inserted with to create mass production. I  personally dislike the idea about giving the animals no reason to live but to be food. They deserve to at least see daylight without having to worry about being slaughtered or watching their fellow species die before their eyes. It's torture having to watch your best friend or mother get hurt and I can't imagine how it would be waiting next in line to add onto the pool of blood and rough, careless hands of the workers. Obviously, I think it's unfair the animals have to go through this and I wished they at least had a better life before being slaughtered. However with recent research on my annotated bibliography, two statements included, "humans are more important than animals," and "animals don't know what's happening to them when they are raised and slaughtered." With this project I hope to answer my question and further discover unknown facts about the production of food today.

research paper question why do we have to pay so much to eat healthy

As i am writing my first draft and i soon start to realize that i am having trouble with this kind of question. My main problem is that i want to try to tie Animal cruelty and the prices but it is so hard to find an article that ties those two things together. I really enjoy writing this paper but at sometimes i got a little stressful. when you think about organic food prices they seem to vary some high cost then regular processed food that tends to be bad for us. this is how my question came about. i want to know the real understanding of why we have to pay so much just to become a healthy person. I remember when we watched the movie food inc in class, there was a family where they would said it easier to get a $1 hamburger then it is to go to the grocery store and buy to groceries to eat healthy. Why do we feel the need to raise prices on such healthy vegetables and fruits.  Ms. Fletcher gave me a great idea to help me with my research paper she said to get a $1 hamburger and see what attracts the consumers to this food other than it's price. I have yet to do so but i want to get my reader's perspective on cheap and unhealthy food.

How do the properties of soil affect plant growth and how do soil organisms affect the plants?

My research topic is about how soil and the organisms affect plant growth. What I've learned so far is that the soil has many different properties, and that they all have some affect on the plants growth. This topic has a variety of different things to say so that's why I decided it would be a good topic to write my research paper on. So far I've learned that the soil is the provider for roots to anchor and grow, the organisms affect the soil by building passageways through the soil, they also affect soil by aeration, drainage, moisture, fertility, nutrient availability, and structure. I didn't even know that organic matter or different types of soil affected a plants growth. Bacteria can also help improve the soil structure by their glue and threads. I've already found so many different things to talk about in my research paper, since I picked an easy topic. Its easy to find multiple articles on the topic, and I find different articles by searching different wordings of the question and still get many articles on the matter. Different organisms that live in the soil do various things for the soil that affects the growth of the plant.

Soil

I have been researching about the soil where our food comes from. An article I read was about how they are trying to use a new system called the water system. The way it works is the nutrients is dissolved into the water and they grow the fruits and vegetables from the water. It seems likes a cool idea to me. This new system would allow them to grow more fruits and vegetables than they do right now. When I read this article I was very interested in learning where our food is coming from. I never realized how interesting dirt could really be. 

For my essay I'm  writing about how food producers and companies are too protected by the law. There have been too many occasions that people up on the account of a food producers negligence. Like in recent events the whole E.ColI issue in Chipotle. I don't it was Chipotle's fault at all. They got their meat from a producer that had tainted meat. In Food Inc., it was mention that feeding cows corn is what caused E.Coli. Cows are not made to digest corn but they feed them it anyway because it is cheap and gets them bigger. The other issue I'm addressing is how the government allows Monsanto's genetically modified beans are appearing in fields that are only supposed to produce organic soy beans. Why isn't the government  saying anything in this matter? It's hurts small farmsize while keeping Monsanto on top. I'm not really  sure if my research questions is approved  but I think it is strong enough  to be stretched to different issues in three food industry.

Food Reasearch

"Slaughterhouse Workers." Slaughterhouse Workers. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
Slaughterhouse Workers is an article and goes into depth of the employees and the known dangers of working in the slaughterhouse. Many of the workers are aware of the dangers of this job, but many of the injuries that occur can easily be prevented. Many of the companies just don't want to spend the extra money and one to ensure the safety of the workers. They also work 8 hour shifts which are normal,but for this specific type of work, it is much more exhausting physically and mentally because of the fast paced assembly lines. The employees are mainly trained to do one specific job that they specialize in to make the process most efficient. The conditions that are provided for the slaughterhouse workers are not safe because the companies are more concerned with being efficient and making money rather than a positive and safe work environment. I believe that with this type of work, the employees should either work shorter hours, better work conditions, or more breaks. This job is both mentally and physically exhausting because it is not the most pleasant job. There is also no individuality in the type of work because they are trained to specialize in a specific job so the assembly line is as efficient as it can be regardless of what's in the workers best interest.

Food Waste

Research question: Is the way we feed our livestock affecting food waste on a global scale?

    This is the question that my research paper will be centered around, and I feel that my question requires a bit of an explanation. First, let me start where this idea first came from. I was watching a "TED talk" in Ms. Fletcher's class that talked about the globa food scandal. The "talker", Tristram Stuart, first began to define what food waste was and it's impact on a global scale. What stood out most in his talk was the biggest source of food waste on this planet. To my surprise, it wasn't about how many restaurants, homes, fast food places, etc. throw out untouched food (although, this is a reason behind global food waste, it is not the leading cause), but it turns out we waste majority of our food on feeding livestock. Traditional farm animals such as pigs and cows don't have a very strict diet; in fact, pigs can consume almost anything and it will still lead a healthy life; they are considered the farm industries walking garbage trucks. Yet, we spend millions of  tax dollars on feeding our livestock meals that people in 3rd world countries will never be able to eat. Stuart goes on in his "talk" to say that if we didn't focus so much on the nutrition of our livestock we could potentially end world hunger. Of course, the question of how we would feed our livestock after neglecting their diets sprang up from the crowd. Stuart responded with bringing up the vicious cycle of food waste. Food waste is almost inevitable, since not everyone finishes the food off of their plate, and restaurants or places alike throw out food by the dumpster, we can then use this remaining portion of food waste to feed our livestock. There would need to be health code regulations to this change, but it is a movement that could end world hunger and minimize food waste to a fraction of what it currently is. 

My research paper is going to be about "Why fast food is cheaper than healthy foods?" I've learned a lot of information after only doing a little bit of research. I learned that fast food isn't necessarily cheaper, it's just more convenient. You can cook a home cook meal at home, that's way cheaper but most people don't have time to stay and cook at home, since most American's are always on the go. Fast food is more convenient but not necessarily cheaper. I think if most American's new that, they'd still choose fast food, when really cooking a meal at home is way better. I'm going to start having more dinner's at home, rather than going out, so I can save more money!

Help me, fellow ERWians!

So far, I have done my research on how planting and growing our own foods can benefit our mental and physical health. I have research involving "Gangster Gardener", Ron Finley who grew up in South LA and decided to plant in vacant lots throughout the city. I began using the Victory Gardens as reference as well. In World War II, people began to plant fruits and vegetables to get through the food shortages, and to help contribute to need of the items they were planting. Also, Roger Doiron, the TedTalks speaker of "My Subversive (garden) Plot", discusses how gardening our own foods can help us to take our diet back into our own hands. The government has taken so much control over the farming and the way our farmers go about their farming ways, we rarely have control over what we are consuming. Doiron suggests this as a way of showing the government that we have control as well.

I am reaching out to my fellow classmates for help. I continue to vary what I am researching, only to come up with the same sources. Can any of you think of another source I may be able to include? It would be greatly appreciated. :)

My research question is about how the industrial food industry impacts our environment.  I chose this question because I am always told the effects of how are diets impact our health but I have never been told how it effects our environment.  Through research I have found a number of things.  The way food is processed in today's world impacts not only our diets but our climate.  Also our soil used for farming is becoming nonusable due to the way food is made.

The Big Paper

In our ERW class we all have to write this paper on a question that we made up ourselves. The question has be on something about food, anything about food. Then we have to do research on are question. This is very difficult to do because we have to make sure are question is re-searchable. My question for this research paper  is " What makes snacks food so addictive; what is in the some of the snacks?" It took me a while to figure out this question, because a lot of the questions I had in my head were taking. Just like other people in ERW class might be having the same problem. We might also have problems with writing the body of the paper. But if we all work to and make sure we get all the research we can get; we should just be fine. That's one thing Peter Elbow taught me, was to think, plan, and research. WE GOT THIS GUYS!

Benefits and Drawbacks of Organic and Conventional Foods

I often confused the words "healthy" and "nutritious". I now understand that"health" refers to well-being of an individual while "nutrition" refers to the content of vitamin and minerals in a food product. From my research, I read an article that credited Stanford University for finding that organics were not anymore nutritious than its conventional counterpart. Does a strawberry grown organically have more vitamin C than an apple grown by the means of efficiency? It's not, but the processed strawberry would cost much cheaper in markets due to government subsidies. The researchers did admit that the organic fruit contained more antioxidants and phenols which reduce the risk of some cancers. Otherwise, they concluded that there were no meaningful difference between the two foods that are produced differently since the extra nutrients that organics fruit had were not essential. People who preferred organic farming would say that the researchers failed to appreciate the advantages that organics have over regular foods. In addition to the higher amounts of antioxidants and polyphenols that organic food has, it also contains two key flavonoids, quercetin and kaempferol would then be the nutritional advantages. Conventional farming does use pesticides, but the traces found in the food products are apparently in amounts that are "within safety limits". But what are the boundaries and who decides them? Organic foods are regulated so they do not contain synthetic pesticides, hormones and additives. If you want to be completely confident that you are not putting yourself at risk, then organic is the way to go. The extra cost of it is to ensure your safety. It's like paying more for an extended warranty. But are organic foods really worth it?

Is the environmental impact of industrial farming worth the risk?

My blog title is my latest form of a question I have been trying to perfect. I know i want to talk about the environmental impact and the footprint we are leaving and will eventually have to fix but to what extent do i want to go to. Do i talk about the economic as well as environmental stress industrial farming will cause? It seems that in todays world talking about economic factors is the only way to get through to government and corporations-- it's not the health or environmental issues because they could care less, whatever makes them money. We as a species are destroying earth to make room for genetically modified crops and livestock and only see the short term issues nobody seems to be planning for the long term issues. What happens when E.coli becomes such and issue that we can't reuse the manure to make fertilizer because we've stuffed cows so close together that everything is contaminated one box at a time, are big corporations planing to spend millions even billions to improve conditions for the animals? The answer with the greatest possibility is no, the best case scenario is they move the manure somewhere else and now we've destroyed two areas where E.coli was never a problem because it's the cheaper choice at this very moment. How many circumstances will come up to make corporations and the government see the real threat of how industrial farms operate? Is the environmental impact of industrial farming worth the risk?

My Project: Organic Food

I have started researching about my project and i have found some interesting things. For instance, Organic food taste better and is a truer flavor then regular food which is injected with pesticides and other types of chemicals.Scientists now know what we eaters have known all along: organic food often tastes better. It makes sense that strawberries taste yummier when raised in harmony with nature, but researchers at Washington State University just proved this as fact in lab taste trials where the organic berries were consistently judged as sweeter. Plus, new research verifies that some organic produce is often lower in nitrates and higher in antioxidants than conventional food. Organic food I believe is the healthiest but Non-organic food has some good sides too.

Is a World Without GMO’s and Growth Hormones Possible or Practical?

Today, GMOs are in practically everything we consume, unless it directly states ‘organic’ or ‘GMO free’. Although GMOs are almost everywhere, it wasn’t always that way. GMOs didn’t hit grocery store shelves until 1994. So how did a relatively new invention work its way into our lives so rapidly and can we reverse it, or are we in too deep? Not only are GMOs a growing threat, but the growth hormones given to cows are causing damages to our health as well. The hormones allow cows to produce more milk to meet the consumers demand but the have serious consequences to our health including a higher risk for cancer. As the world’s population grows, surely our demand for food will also. The consequences of GMOs are not fully known yet, but there is mounting evidence, that they don’t have a positive influence on our health. While there are other alternatives to GMOs such as eating organically, that isn’t possible for everyone. Eating organically is definitely not economical. We all know it's way easier and more affordable to go to McDonald’s and get a $4.00 Big Mac than it is to shop for organic ingredients and prepare a meal. In order to fight the war against GMOs everyone needs to stand up against them, but we all know not everyone will. This leads me to wonder if we can even have a world without GMOs….  

Food Being Taught To Children

So food has been the topic lately. I've been searching up information about kids being taught food and why it is important. It basically says that kids are our future and the food that people give them today is so unhealthy that it will shorten their life span by at least 10 years. That was said from Jamie Oliver who did a Ted Talk about teaching kids food. He also gave statistics about how many people die from obesity and diabetes. More than there are homicides. I've found a lot of interesting information about what food is doing to kids bodies and how to prevent it. The articles pretty much just talk to the parents of the children and what they should be doing and not doing with their child. Jamie talks about everything though. He talks about how people should be cooking at home again how it used to be and how school should also be teaching children about food. He gave some good points. I suggest watching it.

Criminal Masterminds and Nefarious Nutrition

When most people envision a crime scene, they imagine a place crawling with cops collecting and bagging possible evidence. Yellow caution tape haphazardly thrown around the scene wards off curious onlookers, and a chalk outline of a human being tells the mysterious story of missing persons and unanswered questions. As iconic as this crime scene is to most people, there's another image that pops into my mind when I think of crime. The image is that of my local grocery store, and the victims of the crime? You and me.

Food fraud is a term used to describe the food industry's practice of intentionally selling a product with false information on its packaging or with harmful ingredients in it that are not listed. Food industries do this because they can sell food cheaper or gain greater economic profits by using fake ingredients. One of the grossest examples of food adulteration is in alcohol. Industries sometimes add harmful chemicals such as antifreeze to alcohol to increase the intoxication effect. Antifreeze is highly poisonous when consumed, but because alcohol is known for its dangers to human health anyway, food industries get away with putting it in their products. Other commonly adulterated products include milk, honey, saffron, and coffee. Testing for adulteration in food is extremely difficult because there are so many different substances that food industries use in replace of  real food ingredients. In our crime scene, the FDA is our policing agency, but the ineffectiveness of food adulteration tests and the ineffectiveness of the FDA in general lets food industries get away with the serious crime of food fraud

Besides outright putting harmful ingredients in our food, food industries also pull the wool over consumers' eyes in more subtle ways. An example of this is the trans fat label. Years ago, the FDA began requiring nutritional facts labels to list the amount of trans fat in foods. Trans fat is an especially harmful fat that contributes to heart disease and has other adverse health effects. On the surface, the trans fat rule seemed like a heroic move on part of the FDA; however, the rule contains a loophole. Any foods with less than .5 grams of trans fat in them can be advertised as having "0 grams trans fat". Although this seems like a negligible amount of fat, repeatedly eating these types of foods adds up to a high consumption of trans fat.  

I return to the scene of the crimes, as previously discussed. It is March 10th, 6:48, aisle 3 of your local market. There's no yellow caution tape warning of danger, no food police searching for evidence of food adulteration, no criminal behind bars. You're on your own. And if something isn't done, if something isn't changed, the next victim will be you.

Are food industries safe and reliable? Can they be trusted?

So ever since we started learning about food politics I find myself questioning the food I consume, I ask myself where it was made, what's in it, and whether or not it's good for me. For my research paper I will try to answer these questions and just try to figure out if food industries are actually safe and reliable. So far I have found out that many ingredients in our foods are actually banned in other countries because of health issues. This means some of the things we consume are bad for us and we don't even notice we are eating it because it is hidden in the complicated food labels. Food industries in all honesty are filled with many secrets. Most food industries favor more processing because it means more profits but typically it makes food less healthy. Food that is processed more is also less filling. For example an apple will fill you more than apple sauce because apples are filled with fibers and nutrients that are mostly lost when made into apple sauce. The food industries try to trick consumers into thinking their product is healthy by adding labels such as "zero trans fat" or "whole wheat" when in reality it is unhealthy. Although what the label claims may be true, the product can still be filled with tons of salt and sugar. They will do anything to convince people to eat what they produce. I do not think food industries are reliable. They don't have our best interests in mind, all they care about is how much money they can make by selling us what they produce, even if it is super unhealthy.

Future Modifications

So, I'm actually writing my research paper about what I did my last blog post on, which is whether or not there will be enough food for us in our future. The population is growing at a very fast pace and by 2050 there will be a predicted 9 billion people on earth. With the population increasing, it will be difficult to keep up with the food supply and raising animals for us to eat. Through doing some research what I have found interesting is that there is a company called Modern Meadow that uses 3-D printers and tissue engineering to grow meat in a lab. I can't help but think that this may be the way of the future. Along with 3-D printing there are meat substitutes, as there have been for a while, such as burgers made with soy. Some individuals claim it tastes the same as a "real" hamburger but I think I can speak on behalf of several others that it's simple to tell the difference in taste between a hamburger coming from a cow and a hamburger derived from soy. Some other points brought up in my research have been that developing countries, such as Nigeria, have larger family sizes but less access to food while developed countries, such as the United States, have smaller family sizes but higher access to food. This was thought provoking for me because I have come to think of it in a way as a supply and demand system. If there are more people in a family then the demand for food is high but developing countries have less money in general so how can they possibly afford food? Perhaps the solution is to only have as many children as you can afford. In general, a lot of food goes to waste, especially in the United States. It seems we have an infinite amount of food but in reality food production is hard to maintain with all of our greedy desires. I think it's important to prepare for the future and learn to accept that someday we may be forced to change our eating habits. Finding protein won't be difficult, we can simply get it from the same place the cow got it.

What triggers the high rate of obesity?

As our unit consists of food politics, it has come to my attention on how obesity ties into food politics because food is everywhere we go in the U.S  you simply can't go a mere 5 blocks without running into a fast food restaurant. I believe that the main source of obesity in the U.S is the amount of fast food people eat simply due to the fact that it's convenient and very economically cheap. But the type of fast foods served upon these restaurants have such a high concentration of fats, sugars, and carbohydrates it no wonder how people can have obesity and other types of medical conditions due to obesity such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, gallstones, and other chronic illnesses. Surprisingly obesity has become such an epidemic that over 2/3's of adults are either overweight or obese and 1in 3 Americans is obese, same with children, obesity upon children has steadily increased. Obesity can be caused through various ways but the most common seems to be people consuming a higher calorie intake than what they're able to burn off and simply not burning the excess calories leads to weight gain. But some different ways of gaining weight can be caused through genetics, metabolism, your environment that you live in, the type of culture you may have and maybe even your type of behavior   

http://www.medicinenet.com/obesity_weight_loss/page3.htm

What are we really eating?

What are we really eating? These past few day I have been really thinking of what is going into my body. Everytime I want to eat something, say a hamburger, I'll start thinking how the cow was treated or even how the tomatoes were grown. Now like most people, I think this as I'm eating the hamburger. We have all these thoughts but we never do anything about it. I read an article called What are we really eating by Brenda Cobb and it really made me think about my food. If you really think about it, many hands touch your food before you do. From the Processing plant to the grocery store to the checkout clerk and not to mention the people in between that. Brenda Cobb talks about not only the chemicals and other things put in our food but the energy that's in our food. She explains that if you buy cookies and the guy that packaged them hated his job, then you are now eating that negative energy. Cobb also talked about the chemicals in our food. Chemical fertilizers have greatly impacted our greens. Making fruits like oranges bigger and bigger. But how much chemicals do we actually put in our body? Like Cobb said might as well drink it. What happened to eating raw food? You don't really see kids carrying bags of cucumbers or celary or broccoli. Instead they replace it with bags of hot (delicious) Cheetos. Let's not even mention what schools are serving. Like most kids my age, I waste a lot of money on food. But not the healthy kind. But what I've noticed is that everytime I eat fast food, I get really sleepy and just want to lay down at home and watch tv. Whereas when I eat fruits and drink water, I am wide awake and not to mention with a lot of energy. But now that I've read Cobbs article, even fruit is contaminated with harmful chemicals. Unless it's completely organic. But others think that even organic food isn't good for us or the environment. Like  Norman Borlaug, he thinks "the idea that organic farming is better for the environment is “ridiculous” because organic farming produces lower yields and therefore requires more land under cultivation to produce the same amount of food". As I keep reading and learning more of what I consume, I notice that each question I have just leads to another question. Like how the animals we eat are treated to the energy in our food to chemicals in our food to organic food actually hurting our environment is just a big and confusing mess. I have yet to take responsibility of what I consume and do something good for my health.  

Do GMOs cause Health Problems?

When thinking about processed food now, after watching the Food Inc. movie, makes me really want to know what's going into my body. It's so crazy to think that that's what our world has come to, making our food quantity over quality, if that makes any sense. We want to make food of larger quantity and not care to check what or how it's being made. The fact that I have become so careless to look at the ingredients and check what's being put into my body. Now I question everything I eat, Is this actually good for me? How will eating this affect my body in the near future? Also, watching the Ted Talks video, to see how they're growing the vegetables with GMOs. In an article I read called 7 Ways GMOs Affect Your Health by Alana Marie Burke explains all the harmful ways that GMOs can affect humans. Eggs, Milk, Soy, Wheat, Fish, Shellfish, Peanuts, and Tree Nuts are the most common allergens that GM foods intersect and can cause food allergies. Also, GM crops can be toxic to the kidney and liver. The GMOs might have caused a raise in gluten sensitivity. Can GMOs cause cancer or birth defects in children? Thats the question I think that most of us don't think about. I think if people were to ask themselves that question there would be a panic because those are serious affects to our bodies. http://www.newsmax.com/t/newsmax/article/622630 

I think we all need to really be concerned on how this will affect each and every one of us in 20-30 years from now. 

Organic Foods: Worth Making the Switch or nah?

We can all say that organic foods are more nutritious than conventional foods, right? According to Earth Island Journal, scientific studies show that your average processed fruit does not hold more nutritional value than one that was fresh from the farm. So what of it is a driving factor for people to make the switch? Conventional foods are raised in "farms" that treat their crop with pesticides and other chemicals whereas all-natural foods are not. Pesticides contain "chemicals that can lead to birth defects, endocrine disruption, and neurological and respiratory problems." However, it is reported that chemically-grown have pesticide levels within safe boundaries. If you were to compare the prices of organic foods and processed ones, you would find that the organic foods are generally more expensive. This factor would prevent more people from making the decision to buy the farm-fresh food. Since the government subsidizes big food producing companies, their products are cheaper in the markets. Basically when you buy organic food, you are paying to lower the risks of potential health problems. So why are people making the switch from conventional foods to organic foods? The time and money it takes to obtain an organic food product does not seem to outweigh the benefits. It could be that eating them would make people feel good about their health.

Fighting the Big Dog

I never thought I'd look at chicken the way I do now. I'm not mad at the bird, or even the meat packing industries. I'm a little more disappointed in myself and the fact that  I turned a blind eye to where my food comes from. I know I'm pretty misinformed about it since no food corporation will openly explain how they get the chicken to your dinner plate, so I can't be completely disappointed in myself, but it's definitely changed my perspective on several things concerning this. I'm now paranoid about every food that I eat. I can't eat without wondering where this animal once was or what types of GMOs were added to it. Now, al these things are very traumatizing, but what I fear the most is big name corporations. We can read and discuss every article and "TED talk" video that concerns this topic, but, realistically, what can we do to change things? These big corporations have millions of dollars in their pockets and they could sue the heck out of a little guy like me just for questioning their methods. We (the little guy) have to come up with something to drive the big dog (meat packing corporations) insane. Any ideas?

How animals are mistreated in company farms

After watching the movie Food Inc i looked up some articles to explain how companies treat their animals. The article that caught my eye was Factory Farming: Misery for Animals on the Peta Website. The Peta website says that most of the factory farms now a days have their chicken cooped in a dark shed with wires cages and metal crates. These can easily make the animal feel tortured and unsafe. It is important for animals to feel the fresh air. The big corporations want to sell their animals at a low price so they have low quality farms that don't care for their animals. They have them in small beds and very uncomfortable. They also have antibiotics injected into them bodies to make them grow faster. These things really affect the way animals think and a feel, is it really worthy to torture animals to satisfy our stomachs. They has  to be a safer and more careful way to eat these animals. I am not saying that we should all become vegans. I am just implying that we should look out for more organic stuff because they are really treat the animals the way they need to be treated. 

It's Lunch Time, It's Lawmaking Time

Lunch is probably many students favorite time of day at school. It's fun to relax with friends, take a break, and eat some good food. As most of you know, however, the food offered at  our school's cafeteria is less than appealing. It's not fresh, healthy, tasty, or even cooked at all, just reheated from deep freezers. For students who have to eat lunch in the cafeteria, their options are dismal, and too often, kids skip out on school lunches and buy a bag of hot Cheetos instead.

While reading through different articles, I found one entitled "How School Lunch Became the Latest Political Battleground" by Nicholas Confessore. It talked about the problem of school lunches that we see at our own school. Confessore described how political legislation designed to better school lunches has failed or simply been ignored by schools. School lunch ladies struggled to meet calorie limits and nutritional guidelines set by the government. Even when schools were successful in meeting the standard,  students wouldn't eat the lunches made, instead throwing away the fruit or veggies. I've seen this problem at our own school, and I'm sure you guys have noticed this as well. On top of kids not getting healthy, fresh food, kids also began wasting more food and going hungry. 

With the amount of control our government has over what we eat, it's sickening to think that they use their control over school lunches so badly. Attempts have definitely been made to improve lunches, but they have just been unsuccessful. Examples of legislation talked about in the article include Michelle Obama's healthy lifestyle campaign and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which sought to establish stricter nutrional guidelines on school lunches. Both were part of the Obama administration's attempt to wage a war against obesity. These political attempts to improve students health really are just drops in a bucket. We have so far to go. In Condessore's words, it will be a constant "battle" to make school lunches better, and it is a battle we all must wage. The food industry and Congress are too buddy-buddy right now to result in big changes; however, if we as concerned, informed, soon-to-be voting citizens seek to make a difference, we can hope for more smiles and more full stomachs for kids all across America. 

What do you guys think? How can we make school lunches better? 

It’s quite shocking how our food is produced. You would think that companies that handle our food would have the decency of giving the human population something that healthy not something that just edible. Most American would wander what’s the different well, something that healthy is something won’t give you a heart attack or give you an upset stomach. Something healthy like fruits and vegetables, things that would give you vitamins and other things your body really needs. Edible food is something you just simply eat and it doesn’t really help your body, it doesn’t even satisfy your hunger unless you eat a bunch of it.  And because you have to eat so much, obesity and diabetes rates have spiked to an unbelievable rate. Even our government has to step in and start telling people “hey how about eating an apple or something”. But that’s all they’ll do because government won’t interfere with how these companies produce our food because our all so trusting food companies have scary powerful lawyers and policies that protect them. Now why would a food company need lawyers and policies to protect them, well because what they do to our food would make you want to chase them out, for example in Food Inc., one female farmer decided to show us how they actually rise chicken, what ends up happening is the chicken aren’t even good for us to eat because the chicken is altered so much that it shouldn’t even be called a chicken it should be called something else. Things need to change, companies need to be stopped, government needs to up their standards on what should be called food because it absolutely disgusting what is passed off as food.