HW 27

During the holidays I took a visit to a family members house. She's been in the hospital a couple of times, her most recent visit was because her lung collapsed. She is always falling and getting cuts and bruises but we all think of her as a warrior. After coming out of the hospital she got this really bad cough, she turns red and hacks up a bunch of mucus and she's unable to speak for a while because she try's to gain her breath back. As I was leaving her house she stated that she never wants to go back to a hospital and if she's going to die she wants to die in the comfort of her own home.

Hearing her say this wasn't too surprising because if I was in her situation I would want to do the same. The thing that surprised me the most was she doesn't take much medication and just deals with all the pain and discomfort. If she took an Advil here and there i believe she would be more comfortable and not always complaining. I brought up the idea of going to the doctors to get some medicine for her cough and she threw a tantrum like a two year old. It is possible that she doesn't want to feel like she is relying on medicine to keep her alive and she wants to die "naturally" and if it's her time to go she wants to just go.

One thing that made me sad was she stopped something she loved doing all her life, which was art. She tells us that her arthritis is so bad she can't hold the utensils necessary for working. If she wasn't so stubborn I bet she would be able to find something that helped the arthritis enough so she would be able to do some art. I wish she wasn't so stubborn and was more open to some medical assistance so she would be in less pain.

HW 26

Insights

1. Don't dwell on your illness, try to make the best of it (Tuesdays with Morrie)

2. really appreciate loved ones while there still here (quest speaker)

3. Health care is an illness within its self. (Sicko)

4. Keep doing the things you enjoy regardless of your illness (quest speaker and Tuesdays with Morrie)

The book Tuesdays with Morrie really impacted me and helped me think deeper into dying and illness. It was so helpful because I really looked up to Morrie even though I didn't know him, the way he dealt with his illness was very inspiring and opened up my eyes to the little things in life. He did this by explaining and letting us in on his last couple of months alive and being very open with the affects of his illness. He made jokes such as being so sick he will soon have to get his ass wiped by a stranger and how normal it was having people help him pee into a bottle, simple things like this made me respect Morrie.

In the last few weeks of this topic I believe we should explore how to deal with illness. Not the simple things but explore how to make our loved ones more comfortable, I guess that is more of a personal task but brainstorming general ideas could be beneficial to others. Another thing we can explore is certain illness's and the affects they have on people. This would keep us aware and we could learn how to prevent certain illnesses.

Hw 25 Response to Sicko

Precis: Health care in the United States is no were close to helpful, other countries such as Canada, France, and Britain have health care and it actually has wonderful benefits and patients get helped with little to no fees and they don't wait hours for help like us Americans do. While seeking for help within the health care "community" there are many rules and laws set so the chance of people getting help for free is slim to none. If America decided to work together our health care could be improved tremendously and we could all benefit from those changes.

Evidence 1:

What caught my eye was when the movie was getting into detail about Hillary Clinton and how she was fighting for better health care. This caught my attention because the more she fought for it the less attention she got and she was told to stop bringing it up. This only made me believe that the people (government) working for health care are just in it for themselves and not for the actual patients. To this day health care has not changed and us Americans are still assed out.

Evidence 2:

People in other countries have better health to the point that the poorest people in other countries are healthier then some of the richest people in America. That is a big argument which has been proven and this should have American health care workers. the government on there toes. Doctors in Britain are also paid more when patients illnesses improve, why can't America work a plan like this so the government is eager to make health care cheaper?

These two pieces of evidence are relevant because they both show/prove that other countries have better health care which improves the life's of most residents/ patients.

Thoughts and ideas:

After watching Sicko I was shocked by how differently patients in other countries were treated, I was actually quite jealous. A week before I saw the movie my mother complained to me how her health insurance had gone up and how she still had to pay at least 200 dollars for medicine every month. If we moved to Canada she wouldn't have to worry about spending so much on something that everyone should get free.

If doctors are prescribing these medicines to certain people, its obviously because they need them not because they want them, so in my mind patients should not have to pay for medication, because in the long run those medications ad up to a big amount.(money wise)

Book part 3

Title: Mountains beyond mountains

Author: Tracy Kidder

Publisher: Random house

Year published: 2003

Precis: Paul's journey through Haiti and his life as a devoted doctor helped made Haitians through there health issues. Paul was in the business for the pure sense of helping others, his selflessness lead him to great things. Although it didn't lead him to tons of money, it lead him to the great feeling of helping others and that's what he yearned for. He became a spoke persons for the Haitians because they was unable to do so with there poverty and illness as constrictions.

Quotes:

"Never underestimate the ability of a small group of committed individuals to change the world." page 164

The first thing that came to mind after I read this was Paul. I thought about him because he was just one person who made a huge difference in many people's life because he was so committed and passionate about his job. I agree with this statement because if someone is confident enough and have there mind set on doing/ accomplishing something I believe they can succeed. (A rational goal helps)

For him, the reward was inward clarity, and the price perpetual anger or, at best, discomfort with the world..." page 210

For Paul the reward wasn't money, the reward was simply knowing he helped someone, or improved there living (illness wise)

"If only you saw patients, you might not be happy" page 281

Although some of the sights Paul witness were disturbing, he still continued to help the people of Haiti and didn't give up on them. His dedication was unbelievable and inspiring.

Final thoughts:

When I first started this book I wasn't to touched and it didn't really mean much to me. As I kept reading on i realized that I could actually learn from this, not simply learn that helping others is a courteous thing to do, but that being selfless at times can actually be a wonderful reward. I tried being selfless for the day and to be honest id didn't work out as I planned, but after I would do something selfless I felt "happy" actually quite relieved. I'm still not sure what this feeling meant but I enjoyed it, on the train I tend to let older people sit, I try and hold doors open for people, and with close friends instead of asking for favors in return I simply help them out because I know its the "right" thing to do. The situations I just mentioned might not be actions of selflessness but they are acts of kindness and being kind is a good first step to being selflessness in my eyes.

Illness and dying book part 2

Title: Mountains beyond mountains

Author: Tracy Kidder

Publisher: The random house publishing group

Year published: 2003

Precis: With the research Dr. Paul realized that the program DOT had many flaws. Instead of helping patients it made people sicker. He works with the sick Haitians and gives them all his attention and heart to the point were he gets sick himself. His selfless continues and he only wants the Haitians to be taken care of and given a fair chance with their health conditions.

Quotes:

TO BE CONTINUED

HW22 Book part 1

Title: Mountains Beyond Mountains

Author: Tracy Kidder

Publisher: The random house publishing group

Year published: 2003

Precis:

Being raised in a family that wasn't very wealthy Paul Farmer found ways to make his father proud. Paul was a very good student and got a full scholarship to a great college. After college he soon fell in love with helping the poor people in Haiti with free medical care. He devoted most of his life to helping those in need with medical issues for little to no pay. He was a very selfless person.

Quotes and responses:

"he was one himself-who held apparently contradictory beliefs, such as faith in both medicine and prayer" Page 35

I picked this quote because it was interesting and it made me think, if Paul was trying to help people how could he help if he wasn't completely sure about what he believed in? How could this serve as another obstacle for his long journey?

"Looking back, Jennifer would say that her brother Paul and her father shared certain qualities. Above all, she thought, Once they'd focused in a goal, neither one would quit" Page 57

When Paul or his father would want something they would seek out that thing and give it 150% percent. This quality definitely helped Paul during his time in Haiti.

"A doctor who didn't understand local culture would probably mistake many patients' complaints for bizarre suspensions, or at best be utterly baffled" Page 83

Along with giving the Haitians most of his time for little to know pay, Paul had to learn about there culture and learn there habits in order to fully help each patient. The more I read the more I am amazed by how much dedication Paul truly had to his job.

HW 21 thinking partners

Sarah's blog comment:

Your 10 thoughts and insights from the talk were very similar to mine if not the same, so I agree with the ideas you chose to put down. Your insights about how Erik continuing his art work till his late stages of illness were very powerful, I agree with your ideas and think you got into depth and really focused on how he didn't let his illness stop him from doing things he enjoyed. Your last couple of questions confused me a bit and I didn't see how they connected, next time you can possibly explain your question and how it connects. Other then that I'm looking forward to your next post.

Megumi's blog comment:

Your 9 insights from the speaker were powerful and you went into depth with each one which made your blog powerful. Your connection to your grandfather in the first paragraph was a great way to connect everything together and it really showed how much Beth's words affected you. One thing I would say to do is to proof read because I saw a couple of gramatical and spelling mistakes. Other then that i look forward to reading your other post.

Jay's blog comment:

The way you chose to list your insights and experiences was creative. unlike other blogs you intertwined the insights into your paragraphs and explained them with depth and thought. I believe if you connected your thoughts to yourself in more depth your pst could have been more powerful. other then that i really enjoyed reading your work and I look forward to reading more.

HW 21 excerpt

Insights:

1. Never mentioned death or dying

2. Erik was mostly home with the kids instead, while Beth worked. (Traditional gender roles switched)

3. Didn't stop making art

4. When Erik started feeling sick he did not go straight to the doctors, he waited some time. Beth stated this was one because of health care/ money issues but also because as a male her husband was stubborn

5. Family really helped Beth out with day to day things such as laundry, so she could spend more quality time with Erik

6. Erik and Beth wanted people to look at Erik as a regular person not a person with cancer

7. Once Erik passed on there was a stillness and feeling in the room that she couldn't describe

8. Although Beth wasn't a Buddhist she found comfort in a Buddhist, who explained what to expect once Erik was ready to pass on

After hearing Beth's story I was very touched, not touched as in "aw I miss someone who left my life" but touched in the way were I wanted to let everyone know I appreciated them even if I picked on them ever so often. Hearing Beth talk about how her husband and her never mentioned death or dying stunned me. I was actually quit jealous, Erik was able to live the rest of his life without really thinking about his death and just enjoying the time he had left with his family and doing "regular" things. Now that I think about it if people didn't have to worry about there death and were always surrounded by people who loved them, there passing would be more peaceful an a lot more relaxing (minus the pain factor depending on the persons illness) Like my mother always tells me "some things are better left unsaid" and I agree this statement fits perfectly with how Beth and Erik treated not mentioning death or dying during Erik's different stages of kidney cancer.

When Beth first started her talk she mentioned that since she was good with computers, she was the one who went to work everyday and earned the larger paycheck. This meant that Erik stayed home with the kids. I found this to be powerful because the "normal" thing is for the guy to work and the women usually stays home and raises the kids, but to hear that the roles were switched gave me some hope that "normal", might not be so normal after all.

Some questions that popped into my head when listening to Beth speak was why did she choose to speak to a Buddhist? Why not a priest or a Rabbi? Another question was how did Erik's illness affect the rest of the family? Such as any of his brothers or sisters, or even her sisters or brothers? She only talked about how Erik's illness and death affected her and her two sons, not those who he had encounters with. My last question was how was she able to hold her composure (tears) while talking to all four classes about her husbands death? I would personally be in tears and unable to hold myself together and just brake down. Having Beth come in and talk to our class really affected the way I act towards people, although its only been a day I am more grateful for the people in my life and I've told all my closest friends that I enjoy there company and would miss them dearly if they ever went anywhere.

HW 19

Me:"Are you afraid of death?"

Mom:

I use to be but as the years go by I become more comfortable with the fact that I too will pass away. The more you understand, the more you appreciate the gift of life and that alone can make me become afraid all over again....

Me: What about death scares you the most?"

Mom: It would be the pain that often comes with dying and will my caregivers know when enough is enough.

Me:"Do you think grandma appreciated her illness?"

Mom: In the earlier stages of her illness, I think your beloved grandma was a bit angry about what was happening to her mind but she was never angry at others around her because of her confusion. She eventualy accepted her lot, relied on and enjoyed her caregivers, continued to adore her family and slipped into being totally present or living completely in the moment which many healthy humans aspire to do.

Me:"Am I in your will"

Mom: Yes, and Mary Ann and I have provided for you in a way that will take care of you if you are still a minor...under 21....so that you can get a great start in life with a solid, meaningful education. Because the economy has taken a turn for the worse and may take a long time to rebound....later on there may not be a lot of money for you to inherit....so my advice is to be wise about how you manage your financial affairs...and if you do inherit....it will be a nice surprise.

Me:"If you could choose how you die, how would you choose to die?"

Mom: Peacefully without horrible pain and with the opportunity to have quality time with my closest family members including our pets.

Me:"Did your family discuss death with you when you were younger?"

Mom: Yes in a meaningful way and perhaps that is why I'm not "deathly afraid of dying".

Me: "Did you teach me about death and illness the way your mom taught you?"

Mom: I've been trying to share my beliefs with you so that you can understand that death is a part of life....and we are all spiritual beings having a human encounter and when this human encounter has been completed as we die, we will return to where we belong....

After looking over my mothers answer, I was really surprised by her responses. We never really talked about death before so hearing about her thoughts on it actually inspired me. When I asked my mom how she would wish to die, she mentioned the normal regurgitated answer, "in a peaceful and painless way." What caught me off guard was she added shed like her pets to be with her in her final days. I never realized how much she appreciated and adored the cats so it was nice to see another side of her.

Hearing my mom say she's no longer scared of death but that realizing how much she appreciates life could scare her again it kind of confused me, how could realizing how much you appreciate life scare you. I took a pause and thought... wait that really does make sense, if I'm having the time of my life and realize that I could die at any moment of course that would scare me. I never thought about death in that way and when I'm having a great time I tend not to really think about my life ending. I personally think that's a good quality but anyone could disagree.

I like how my mom is very open about her thoughts and not afraid to talk about such a touchy topic. Hearing that her family was very open death and illness explains why death isn't such a soft topic for my family. When my grandmother passed away we never really talked about her being gone or about how she passed away. We only talked about all the good times and tried to cover the fact she was really gone. Now I don't disagree with this method it actually makes my mother and I miss her less but the pain of not seeing her is still there.

Interviewing my mom actually brought us closer and the tension about my grandmothers death is now less, we have a better understanding of each other and our personal views. After interviewing my mom we went on to talk about religion and if we believed in heaven and hell etc. This assignment actually impacted my life more then I thought it would.

Hw 18

Thanksgiving morning my family and I were up around 9 and started eating food at 11. By the time the actual thanksgiving dinner was ready most of us were full. My two elderly aunts came to dinner and as they were eating I noticed that my aunts arthritis in her hand really effected the way she held her fork. She barley had a grip on it and her food kept falling off, it made me sad inside but I just got her a bigger fork and for the moment it helped. Later that night she said her hearing aid was acting up and she wanted to go home. I tried putting myself in her shoes and I just couldn't picture it. After dropping my aunt home I tried driving with the music really low, so I could try and feel what she was feeling and I got really annoyed really quickly because I knew music was playing but I couldn't make out exactly what was being said.

After paying attention to my aunt's disabilities I was very grateful for my good health and my parents health. Other then feeling sad, I felt overly stuffed and after vacuuming in all of my food I sat on the couch with my moms and watched football. The dishes stayed on the table until 1 in the morning and everyone had at least 2 helpings of pumpkin and apple pie. Laziness definitely kicked in and no one wanted to do anything. During dinner i brought up how I was getting tired from all the food and one of my moms brought up an interesting fact, she said that there's a chemical in turkey that actually makes people tired. Now I haven't checked if this was exactly true but it made some kind of sense.

If thanksgiving wasn't made to be a holiday were a lot of eating is done, I doubt people would use thanksgiving as an excuse to eat so much. My mother made so much food I have left overs for at least a week and a half, and everyone knows that thanksgiving food is probably not the healthiest food out there. So to hear people complain about how fat and unhealthy they feel after thanksgiving is extremely annoying. Thanksgiving is suppose to be about giving thanks to your loved ones and enjoying all the good in your life, not to complain about how fat you feel because of how much YOU decided to eat.

Growing up death was never an issues for me, It didn't scare me and It didn't really affect me. During sophomore year my grandmother ended up in the hospital, shortly after she passed away. I feel that hospitals just make everything 10 times sadder and 100 times harder (for coping reasons). They have an odd smell, and odd sounds (personally the beeping noise on the life monitor freaks me out). Growing up I always thought that once someone went to the hospital they weren't going to come back. Of course I was wrong but no one ever explained to me what hospitals were.

It blows my mind how a simple cold can turn into bronchitis or how making love with someone who has AIDS and be transferred. If we know about all these problems why hasn't someone found a cure? Technology is so advanced that it should be easy by know. In my family illness is not really talked about, for instance another one of my grandmothers has cancer and diabetes, I can count on one hand how many times we have talked about it. I see how that could be a good thing, that we don't worry about it and just try to savior the good times but its something that could potentially and probably will kill her, and I'd personally would like to know what exactly it is that is inside of her.

Its interesting to see how most people are afraid to take about death and illness and try to hide from it, when in reality it effects everyone and you can't run from it. I feel that if people were more open to discuss certain topics we wouldn't be scared once it came into our life. Illness is a great way to appreciate the little things in life and to not take people for granted, it just sucks that that is the way some people have to learn.

Disability is a illness I see almost everyday, and taking pit on them is something I don't do. Instead I try to treat them like any other person and look at them for who they are inside not there physical appearance. One of my friends mother is blind and she is one of the most intelligent people I know. Disabilities is just another aspect in life that i feel makes someone stronger, physically and mentally, and we can all learn from them.

hw 11

I decided to do two experiments. 1 being trying different types of tofu and not eating no meat for 2 meals, and the 2nd being an activist.

I went to this Japanese market called JAZ mart and tried different types of tofu. I started with normal tofu which my mother makes ever so often and I enjoyed the taste. I then found tofu that supposedly tasted like shrimp. I made it and shrimp is one of the many things I didn't taste. I found the shrimp tofu to be very bland and have more of a chemical taste then anything. That chemical taste could have simple been me cooking the tofu wrong. I was on a hunt to find tofu that tasted like chicken, I made my way to west 4th and found another JAZ mart and to my surprise the famous tofu chicken was found. This time I asked my mother to cook it and when i tasted it the chemical taste did not exists, but neither did a chicken taste. Although it didn't hold the full taste and consistency of chicken it wasn't that horrible.

On Thursday i tried to have a meat free lunch and dinner, and without even thinking about it my mother asked if I would like a sandwich and i said yes. It shocked me how even after finding out about all the qualities of how certain meat is taken care of I was so easy to say yes to a ham and cheese sandwich without even thinking about asking my mom where the meat was from. Friday was more productive, I had pizza for lunch and pasta for dinner. Although I was still hungry after I ate, (both meals) it felt nice to know I didn't eat another animal. I'd like to change my eating habits and have less meat but still maintain all the nutrients I need.

Ally gave me and a few others a brilliant idea one day in the computer lab, she said we should get flyer's and put pictures of slaughter houses on them, then write quotes on them informing our community of how fast food meat is taken care of. Although we didn't do this as a group I decided to print a few photos out and write sayings across the meat, such as E Coil, death, and feces. I hung them up on the sliding glass doors of the Gristides by my house and in my elevators. I was surprised when I saw the flyer's stayed up a whole night in my elevators before people started complaining about the disgusting images. I was unable to go back and visit the Gristedes but I'm pretty sure management ripped them down right away.

This project changed my views completely, I respect people who go out of there way to advocate for things they believe in, I would like to start paying them more attention and contributing to my community more.

Hw 12 Outline

Thesis:

The corporations profiting from dominant social practices in the U.S. hide the industrial atrocities involved in production from the consumer.

Supporting claim 1: Truth behind the counters of fast food franchises

Evidence 1: Slaughter houses and there affects on the meat and the way the chickens are raised and killed. A statement made from the movie we watched in class is going to be used as the evidence.

Evidence 2: The risk slaughter house workers take in order to satisfy customers "Indeed, the rate of these cumulative trauma injuries in the meatpacking industry is far higher than the rate in any other American industry." Page 173 "They used me to the point where i had no more body parts left to give." Page 190

Evidence 3: The kids who died because of infected meat "She was admitted to the hospital on Christmas Eve, suffered terrible pain, had three heart attacks, and died in her mother's arms on December 28, 1992. She was six years old." Page 199

Supporting claim 2: Icons are used to distract customers from the truth

Evidence 1: Ronald McDonald is used to attract the kids http://marketingtransformationforum.com/mtf/marketing-news/ronald-mcdonald-time-call-it-day

Evidence 2: Happy meals and the toys that come with them A "Happy Meal" is a meal specifically marketed for children, sold at the fast-food chain McDonald's since June 1979. A toyis typically included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a small box or paper bag with the McDonald's logo

Evidence 3: Associating eating Burger King with being/ feeling like a king afterwards (totally not true) My evidence for this will be one of the burger king commercials.

Works cited:

Fast Food Nation

Wikipedia

Marketing transformation forum

Hw 10 Food, inc

Corporations such as fast food franchises don't respect rules, they make there own and don't respect how the animals or employers are treated.

The movie offered more visuals (obviously) but also gave me the visuals I needed to get the full affect of what I had read. Reading Fast Food Nation got into deep details about the history of the founders and other historical things that I found was not needed to understand the full meaning behind how the food was made and taken care of. The movie got right to the point and showed both the good and the bad side of slaughter houses and seeing actual people talking about there experience in the slaughter house and seeing how they handled the animals hit me a lot harder then when i just read the book.

What still blows my mind is why do people still buy from fast food franchises after knowing the dirty truth and if people know fast food franchises and corporations bend so many rules why aren't they being sued and being held responsible for the illnesses caused by there products?

I'm glad my mind was open up because I really am against eating meat from fast food franchises knowing how poorly everyone there is treated and especially how the meat is cared for. I don't plan on being a vegetarian but I do plan on buying my meat in a healthier fashion.

Chapters 9, 10, epilogue

Chapter 9: What's in the meat

Precis: With out the right sterilization of the meat, it is very easy for meats to have outbreaks of E.Coli. Fast food restaurants are very prone to getting disease.

Gems:

"She was admitted to the hospital on Christmas Eve, suffered terrible pain, had three heart attacks, and died in her mother's arms on December 28, 1992. She was six years old." Page 199

"But the recent changes in how cattle are raised,slaughtered, and processed have created an ideal means for the pathogen to spread" Page 201

"Stomach and intestines are still pulled out of cattle by hand; if the job is not performed carefully, the contents of the digestive system may spill everywhere" page 203

Thoughts:

There are defiantly ways this could have been prevented, if only workers and corporations weren't lazy and actually cared about the consumers.

Why didn't all the parents of the children who died (because of this disease) rebel and protest against this and make sure something was done to fix this outrageous outbreak.

If workers no that if the meat isn't cleaned properly it can have many bad side affects, why are they being so lazy and careless?

Chapter 10: Global realization

Precis: Americans tend to try and follow the American way but that might not always be the way to follow if our ways lead to obesity and disease that are caused by laziness and carelessness.

Gems:

"Global realization" Page 229

" A decade ago, McDonald's had about three thousand restaurants in more than 120 countries. If currently opens about five new restaurants every day, and at least four of them are over seas." Page 229

"The high unemployment rate in Plauen has created social and political instability." page 251

Thoughts:

After almost finishing the book its obvious that McDonald's has more cons then pros, so why do people put so much money,time and effort into it?

Although i totally disagree with the way McDonald's runs and operates, there way of selling there products to consumers is very brilliant.

Epilogue: Have it your way

Precis:

Eating from fast food restaurants is a choice, if customers choose healthier ways to consume their meat many things can be avoided, such as E. coli, diabetes. United States was claimed to have the safest food but soon later the real evidence came out and we no longer hold that claim.

Gems:

"Their philosophy of cattle ranching is based upon a simple talent: "Nature is smart as hell" (Pg. 256).

"He has come to believe that our industrialized system of cattle production cannot be sustained" Page 257

"There is nothing inevitable about the fast food nation that surrounds us- about its marketing strategies, labor policies, and agricultural techniques, about its relentless drive for conformity and cheapness." Page 260

Thoughts:

Reading Fast Food Nation really opened my eyes, and finding out the complete truth about how the meat is handled and how the employees in slaughter houses are treated blew my mind. Although I would rather not know the exact details i found it really important to find out at a young age so i can warn others about the risk in all fast food meats.

Ally asked "How can we avoid eating this food." I believe an easy way is finding out exactly where your food comes from and changing the places you buy your meat from. There is also the vegetarian idea but personally I'd rather shop at a market.

Knowing the truth about fast food franchises is highly important and everyone should be warned, simple things like diabetes is only one of the many side effects that can be caused by fast food reasturants. This topic should be taken more seriously.

FFN chapter 6,7, and 8

Chapter 6

Precis: Corporations such as fast food chains such as McDonald's, gain control over meat industries.

Gems:

"Ranchers and cowboys have long been the central icons of the American West." Page 136

"The chicken grower provides the land, the labor, the poultry houses, and the fuel." Page 141

"Most chicken growers can not obtain a bank loan without already having a signed contract from a major processor." Page 141

" The suicide rate among ranchers and farmers in the United States is now above three times higher than the national average" Page 147

Thoughts:

If the suicide rate is up for farmers and ranchers why aren't corporations trying harder to lower the rate instead of possibly raising it by stressing out the ranchers with all the demand for these franchises.

Ranchers are actually in more control because if they start demanding more pay for there poultry then franchises and corporations will have to work harder and charge customers more, which might push customers away.

Why do all popular franchises rely on icons to help make them more popular? All they want is as much money as possible

There has to be a solution to all this madness, customers should try and take charge so they get more "bang" for their buck.

Chapter 7: Cogs in the great machine

Precis: Meat industries are being dominated over by illegal immigrants, they work for little pay and have no health insurance.

Gems:

"Mexington"- as it is now called, affectionately by some, disparagingly by others-is an entirely new kind of American town, one that has been transfigured to meet the needs of a modern slaughterhouse" (Pg. 165).

Thoughts:

If workers complain it is easy to assume that they will be fired because it is so easy to find an illegal immigrant who will work for cheaper.

If employees do get fired why don't they ever go to the government and tell them about all the horrible things that occur in the slaughter house's?

A television show should be made and it should be based around the secret life of a slaughter house employee, so we can all really understand the conditions in which the employers have to work.

How doe having a job at a slaughter house affect the house holds of each employer?

Chapter 8: The Most Dangerous Job

Precis: Little cuts and bruises are supported by the IBP so these little things don't have to be reported to the OSHA, but just like the animals in the slaughter houses, employee's aren't taken care of and many work until they no longer can stand, or handle the pain of their injuries.

Gems:

"Indeed, the rate of these cumulative trauma injuries in the meatpacking industry is far higher than the rate in any other American industry." Page 173

"Many women told me stories about being fondled and grabbed on the production line, and the behavior of supervisors sets the tone for the other male workers." Page 176

"The system now leaves countless unskilled and uneducated manual workers poorly compensated for injuries that will forever hamper their ability to earn a living." Page 185

"They used me to the point where i had no more body parts left to give." Page 190

Thoughts:

Why do women put themselves in a working community where they are not respected?

After receiving 2 or more injuries why don't workers find a safer job in the slaughter house, where they are less likely to injury themselves?

Workers in the slaughter house end up being treated like the animals that get killed and mistreated .

What about a slaughter house attract people to work there and stay?

Why don't slaughter house workers, work in the franchise restaurants instead of risking there health and well being? The benefits are probably the same or better.

Freakonomics HW 9

Through out the movie the sources used/ relied on where statistics and surveys taken by researchers. One main survey was taken in the streets an researchers asked random pedestrians what they thought about certain topics such as the typical white and typical black names and how that affected some one's future.

Another tool that was used was bribery, researchers when to a high school and told a group of 900 9Th graders that if they maintained a c or higher they would receive 50 dollars a month. At the end of this "experiment" it was found that only 5- 7% of 9Th graders accomplished what was being asked of them. Another tool used was explaining and examine the data in order to find patterns. Such as when they were explaining sumo wrestling people started noticingcheating and in order to figure out how the cheating was occurring they checked the data of the wrestlers. After checking and evaluating the data of the wrestlers researchers found that sumo wrestlers who where already in the final rounds would let a wrestler who only needed one win, to make it into the finals, win the match in order to move on.

Statement: I agree that freakonomics serves as an inspiration and good example to our attempt to explore the hidden in plain sight weirdness in our society. Freakonmics used experiments and bribes such as giving a 3 yr old m and m's every time she used the toilet and giving students 50$ a month to keep there grades up. These experiments/ bribes where a great way to help explore the hidden secrets of business and teenagers. With business and corporations if the outcome results in a good income everyone is willing to work and put their part in, and they soon find ways around the outcome to get a better income such as the 3 yr old did in the movie.

This applies to our food unit because franchises such as McDonald's bribes everyone to like them by having a popular mascot that blinds customers from wondering why the food taste so good, and how the food is made.

It'd be interesting to see if researchers paid a group of people not to eat McDonald's for a month how many people would actually do it, and if having a break from McDonald's would change anyones food habits in the future.

Hw 8

I didn't grow my own seeds, but i did help my friends and watch the process that happened when taking care of the seeds. Every day the seeds had to be watered twice, and by the third or fourth day i saw progress in every one's seeds. Little white stems (i don't know if that's what they would be called) started to grow and it looked like arugula. I wouldn't have minded the whole process because i enjoy trying new things and experimenting, farming little things such as these seeds seems like a great way to make an easy profit. I tasted the seeds and I didn't like the taste at all, there wasn't much flavor and felt like grass in my mouth. I should have taken your advice of putting it in a sandwich but i was unable to make one. In the future id like to try and grow something bigger such as tomatoes or mushrooms and see how they differ from the ones in a grocery store or food market.

Fast food nation

Chapter 4: Sucess

Precis: Fast Food chains attract people and people with more money can escape most fast food and franchises such as fast food places get so popular because so many people invest in them.

Gems:

"At the heart of a franchise agreement is the desire by two parties to make money while avoiding risk" Page 94

When becoming a franchise with a restaurant it only cost a third of what it would cost if one wished to become a franchise with McDonald's.

"Tell me friends, in your lifetime, have you ever been on a diet?" page 107

Thoughts:

Fast food franchises are great ideas as long as new and more popular franchise doesn't take over

People who work in these franchises get the short end of the stick because most of the workers are minorities, and teens.

If McDonald's changed there appearance and the there setting but kept the menu and the service the same maybe they would attract different people. Instead of a fast food "look" they could look like a Red Lobster

Chapter 5: Why the fries taste so good

Precis: If we all follows trends such as franchise's it will be harder to make money and be successful.

Gems:

"The fast food companies purchase frozen french fries for about 30 cents a pound, reheat them in oil, then sell them for about 6$ a pound" Page 117

"The fallacy of composition" is a logical error page 119

"If potato farmers don't band together they'll wind up sharecroppers" (Pg.119)

Thoughts:

All costumers of McDonald's are being ripped off in price

Why don't people pay this much attention to bagel shops or donut shops?

What would it take for the farmers supplying the potatoes to boycott McDonald's?

Fast food nation by Eric Schlosser Introduction, chapter one and two.

Introduction: Since fast food has become such a big thing in American i want to dig deeper into the pros and the cons, and how fast food effects our community.

"Almost every facet of American life has now been franchised or chained" page 5

"Fat food is now so commonplace that it has acquired an air of inevitability" Page 7

"Elitists have always looked down at fast food, criticizing how it taste and regarding it as another tacky manifestation of American popular culture" Page 9

Thoughts:

How could the progression of food been more healthier when fast food restaurants/ chains started happening?

I hope this book gets interesting and more to the point.

How is it that the beginning of the book doesn't even pull me in, it was really dull and boring.

Chapter one: McDonald started a trend for fast food and many of those trend followers became huge in the fast food Enterprise.

chapter two: McDonald's employees are taught to act a certain way so they carry the image of McDonald's. Our main source of marketing are children.

Gems:

McDonald's is as common as blue jeans.

"The fifty white stars have been replaced by a pair of golden arches" page 32 chapter 2

"His company inspired more imitations, wielded more power over the American economy- and spawned a mascot even more famous than Mickey Mouse." Page 33 chapter 2

"If you believe in it, and believe in it hard... It's imposable to fail" page 34 chapter 2

Thoughts:

How can something so bad for us be so good?

If Carl would have stayed Ohio, could he have been just as successful or more? If so how?

If the progression of cars and trolleys didn't improve/increase how would that have effected the profit of all the fast food restaurants being built? Besides the obvious fact of the drive through.

How could changing the McDonald's mascot ( Ronald McDonald) change McDonald's profits?

Chapter 3: behind the counter

Fast food became popular after world war two and because of such the popularity of fast food restaurants workers have certain patterns they must follower.

Gems:

"Despite more than three decades of failure, every now and then another group of teenagers tries to unionize a McDonald's." Page 77

"The injury rate of teenage workers in the United States is about twice as high as that of adult workers" Page 83

Thoughts:

If there are so many problems with the employers how come McDonald's doesn't work harder on making McDonald's more comfortable for workers and safer?

It's interesting how when people say they work at McDonald's or any fast food place they are usually looked down upon, but fast food restaurants are very popular amongst Americans and serve as a good job.

Do people's ethnic or financial background have a lot to do with the position u get when you work with McDonald's.

Food diary

On the night of Tuesday the 28Th I had tuna casserole with pees, mixed veggies (half cup),egg noodle pasta, 1 cup of tuna. I then finished my evening off with chocolate Swiss and a Pepsi max ( on the Pepsi can it states it contains zero calories). The next morning Wednesday the 29Th i had 2 Quaker oatmeal packages, 2 pieces of toast with raspberry preservers and jelly, and 2 glasses of Tropicana orange juice with no pulp. My lunch consisted of 2 cups of coke and a slice of pizza from Bravos pizza (there pizza's are extra cheesy). I then came home to have two servings of meatloaf and half a plate of broccoli with another half plate serving of mashed potatoes. My dessert was another Swiss pudding snack with an ice cream bar.

So far i believe my meals have been pretty healthy and equally balanced. I guess adding more vegetables and water to my meals could help making my meals healthier.

Thursday September 30Th i had 2 packs of Quaker oatmeal for breakfast with and egg mcmuffin, followed by one glass of orange juice.

I went to the McDonald's website and looked at there nutrients chart and I found out that an egg mcmuffin contains 300 calories, 12 grams of fat, 30 grams of carbohydrate, and an interesting 10 percent of vitamin A. Since i know nothing about daily intake of nutrients i decided to look up and first thing i saw was that our daily intake of calories is around 2,000... if some one such as myself eats 2 or 3 egg mcmuffins in the morning almost half of our daily intake of calories is finished . I found this so interesting that one small breakfast sandwich could take up so many calories. Later today for lunch i went to Wendy's and hand a medium fries, cheese burger and a medium coke. When looking at how many carbohydrates the cheese burger had, i found it interesting that it had only had 43 but yet an egg mcmuffin had 30, what about the cheese burger was different? (besides the obvious)

Having to log what i eat and then look up the nutrient facts have really opened my eyes to what i should, and how i should be healthier in my choices. Tonight my mom said i could have whatever i like and instead of having healthy left overs (broccoli, and meatloaf) i chose chef boyarde, which i know for a fact without even looking at the nutrient facts is not even close to being healthy for me. In one can of chef boyardee there are 425 calories, 50.6 carbohydrates and 19% of iron. Although i probably have daily calories and carbohydrates left it is gross to think how stuff in a can is made in order to stay good.

To finish off my food diary i had 2 more cups of Swiss pudding, and because they taste so delicious and make my taste buds go wild I don't mind what there nutrient facts are. Having this food diary was a great experience and for fun I'm making my mom do her own this weekend and where going to compare the outcomes.

Hw 5

As I was browsing through the Internet i found that when people were talking about food they like or things they dislike about food they weren't very open to other points of view and were set on just there opinion.

I typed the word "Vegetarian" into the google search bar and one of the first things that loaded was a recipe and the page then filled up with more recipes and places where they sell vegetarian food. After typing in vegetarian pros and cons not to many articles popped up but the one that i did look at had more pros and didn't get to into the cons. Now i know being a vegetarian is healthy and helps with people's diets but doesn't every good thing have a bad side as well? Its very obvious to see that when people are trying to pursue an individual or group of people into liking something new dominant discourse comes into play.

After reading Doctors orders: eat well to be well i was very perplexed by the ideas Dr. Preston Maring was trying to push across. "I like to put doctor's on the spot...We tend to be exalted, and i want to show the staffs that many of us don't know how to mince garlic" There are reasons why doctors are doctors and not chefs, if your going to bring something new to an enviorment (such as an organic food stand) you should be prepared for people to wonder about the stand and not know how to prepare whatever it is you brought to the enviorment such as an organic stand. "We get so little training in nutrients that i wanted to provide some basic knowledge" If not everyone is given the certain amount of knowledge to completely understand a topic how are we supposed to widen our intelligence? Boundaries such as these cause discourse and limitations on what individuals and do/improve on because there is just so much more to learn as you grow older.

Reading through Senate Bill on Food safety Is stalled I had a brain blast when i came across the word farmers. Most organic foods are grown on farms and farmers work very hard to produce good healthy food, but what about all these outburst of salmonella and other viruses that organic and farmed food give us. Such things like this are never really talked about as much as the good part of farming is. Our community is very biased and only like to talk about positive things instead of trying to fix and improve the bad. When it comes to not being biased i believe discourse plays a major roll and people only like to talk about the good things to a certain point and once they get to that point they no longer want to discuss the topic.

Discourse plays a major role in most of our lives and we don't usually pay attention to it. Our conversations are usually limited and don't go any further then we usually have to, for example ask your friends where they want to go to lunch. The conversation usually ends right when a place is decided instead of going further and seeing whether or not the place is healthy, or if there are more options that could be cheaper or what not. Discourse limits our daily lives and effects how we get/ interpret what we are taught or read.

HW 4 - Your Families' Foodways

Our families definately affect how we approach food. I eat and enjoy whatever my parents eat. Yes there are some differences between what we like, but in general, I eat what they make. You grow up eating what your family likes, and in a way, you are forced to like it too. However, cultures, gender norms, and economic class also have an affect on "how"/"what" we eat. For example, Hispanics eat and prepare their food very differently than the Irish. Different cultures have different traditions. Generally, "Italian food" consists of carbs, sauces, and pizza. This is a "food way". Lastly, your social class also alters what you eat. If you tend to be higher class you eat things like filet mignon and escargo; if you tend to be in the lower class you may eat fast food everyday or things less expensive but just as delicious. Therefore, these variables affect our daily food routines.

My parents are very healthy, they like to have an equal balance of different types of food. For example, at dinner they will have the meats, the greens, and then the carbs. According to them, they try to make their meals as healthy as possible because that's what their parents did for them. I feel that what you eat comes mostly from what your family eats; and my parents are a great example of this. They also said that now a days children are starting to eat whatever they please. If given a choice between a salad an a cheese burger most teenagers would pick a cheeseburger. My parents said that when they where younger they were forced to eat whatever was put on their plate whether they liked it or not.

The inside of my fridge supports how my parents try and be healthy. There is healthy food, such as lettuce, tomatoes, lamb, turkey, cheese, milk, etc. However there is also junk food, including pudding, ice cream, etc. Although my parents strive to be as healthy as possible they still have sweet tooth's and slip back into their childish ways. The fridge is the perfect example of how my family and I eat and try to compromise with every ones wants and needs when it comes to food.

Field trip

After touring both the green market and McDonald's i found it interesting how although there just across the street from each other they both contain a very different feeling when your around them.

When i walked into McDonald's the atmosphere was kind of dull and there wasn't much talking except for at the register's and everyone behind the register was a minority. Across the street at the green market almost all of the people running the stand where Caucasian. Something i also found to be very interesting was that there were two men emptying an ATM and when Andy asked them if the money was tempting the big muscular African American guy totally ignored him and just held his bodyguard position. Yet there was another African American guy sitting next to my friends and i and was very open that his cousin Stanley only goes to McDonadl's to have there pancakes. Since McDondal's is known as one of the best fast food chains when people come in they tend to be in a big rush or iratated by something, at least last what i noticed today on our visit.

Once I stepped foot across to the green market the whole atmosphere changed and everyone seemed a lot happier and eager to help you pick what you wanted. The food was fresh and most of it was picked or made upstate. Everyone was walking slowly and even smelling the fruit and smiling after they would pick the right size. At the green market a lot more people where intreseted in aswering our questions and explaining how there food or item was made, which made the area at the green market genrally more inviting.

If i was alone or with friends i would probably stop by a fast food place like McDonadl's but if i was with my mom she would most likely make us stop at the green market because my parents tend to eat a lot healthier then me. Rosi stated in class "our parents and genrations before us are much healthier then us" I stronglyagree with his statement becasue as I stated earlier I would choose a McDonadl's over a Green Market anyday, yet I am starting to gain some of my parents habits. During meals that I eat with them I try to eat healthier and add more "green" to my plate eachtime, although my progression is increasing very slowly I am making improvements on my eating habits.

This"feild trip" was an eye opener because it is very easy to see how atmosphere and surrounding help sell food products. The happier someone is to sell their product the more income they make, the more grumpy and unappealing a place looks the less income I believe they will make. It would be interesting to compare how the time of day (breakfeast vs lunch, or lunch vs dinner time" effects our observations.