lmao

How's everyone doing?

if you're reading this you're either really bored or really lonely.

join the club.

Better late than never

https://splice.gopro.com/v?id=Y620Lzq1D

Senior Video Finale

Adrian Roque draw my high school reflection

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gty5c9i33ek6ldi/2016-6-8-19-28-46.mp4?dl=0

My last post *sigh*

Okay here it is....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98JXFaOH2kY

Enjoy your lives

Senior Year, Goodbye highschool.

I forgot to put clean versions of my songs in this so sorry for the language. But anyway here ya go:)

charr

Senior Reflection Video

My Participation Video

Today, the President of Mayfair Computer Science Club has an urgent announcement

for the Class of 2016. Brown Suga Sweetness is here to give his Commencement Address and to give his final farewell.

A video

Patricia Cuarenta (Home)

I apologize for the lateness :o! But it was uploading to Youtube through iMovie as I slept (1-5am). It's high quality though (minus the audio)! 

I fell asleep while my video was uploading to YouTube:(
And it's ibly letting me put the link. I hope you guys like it!

https://youtu.be/dwhBvW_HTzg

Jessica Padron Commencement Video - Start of a New Chapter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5ZNw6EEkwQ

Mercedes Padilla (The Four Years That Flew By)

Daryl Chit (Reflections look back)

Senior reflection

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=A162496BF55E5CFD!3333&authkey=!AAnNvdDddUvPEyI&ithint=folder%2cmp4

its at 60% exporting omg

Cierra Pin ( High School Through My Eyes)

For some odd reason my voice over couldn't be inserted but anyway there ya go

Phew😅

https://youtu.be/6yYSCt4UuuE

Phew😅

Finished at last

hey guys, here's the link to my video.

http://youtu.be/YMCAvzsc2ao

hope you like it :)

Pay Now so we can Play Later

Senior Reflection Video

This video was actually fun to make until I got to the whole voice over thing. The voice recording alone took an hour and a half and the whole video setup took  couple hours since I did all this from my phone. The whole thing turned out alright I guess but whatevs.

here ya go, teach.

Senior Reflection

Brenden Pollard (Remain Optimistic)

https://youtu.be/pgk5S3yk9iQ

Destiny Esqueda (Senior Sixteen)

Memories to Remember

My Senior Reflection

Sebastian Rogers (Here Comes the Sun)

https://splice.gopro.com/v?id=b67y2X01Z

Revised Commencement Address Video

Video of my revised commencement speech with pictures of me throughout my life kind of

Positive Vibes

Senior class project

https://youtu.be/49t00rn0RVk

ERWC Video

Senior Reflection Video- The Next Chapter
    Not gonna lie I cried a little making this.  We have THREE days left guys!!! Mind-blowing

Noelle Huynh (Live, Learn, & Stay Positive)

Live your life the way you want it.
Learn from the mistakes you WILL make.
Stay positive that in the end it will all work itself out.
And always remember, your journey is unfolding exactly how it should be.
Enjoy!(:

How to post your Senior Reflection Videos ...

Seniors, below are some YouTube videos that provide instruction on how to upload videos. The first video explains how to upload it to YouTube; the second from YouTube to Blogger (the class blog).

When you do upload your video, please make sure to title your post as follows:

Student first and last name (video title) 

Example:
Justin Turner (Swing for the Fence)

Here are the instructional videos:

Taureece Wilson (Move With Purpose)

https://youtu.be/fyA3MdZDEI8

My penultimate blog post.

So we are done here. this place will be dead and this will only be a thought. So I will only ask one question, you can answer it if you like?

DID YOU MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR HIGH SCHOOL CAREER??? 

My answer: No.

SSR Rubric

Click HERE to see an SSR rubric that will help you reflect on your reading :]

Into the Wild Vocabulary! (ALL OF IT)

Here's the vocabulary for Into the Wild. I have chunks one and two on here. I will add chunk three once we introduce it.

Don't forget to check the unit handout/calendar for all the upcoming due dates!

Expanded Thoughts

     The past couple of weeks have expanded my opinion and choices about what I buy and consume. I was always wary about what I ate, but now I'm very aware. I'm fortunate enough to have the privilege to eat fresh foods often and soon enough I think I'll push for drinking distilled water only. I've also become aware of the equal treatment of agricultural factory workers and the animals. I was never a supporter of animal rights, and still indifferent about it, but I now understand the concerns of the subject. It bothers me that conventional and corporate agriculture has risen only for profit purposes. The business ethics seems to be to produce more for the cheapest price and profit as much as possible.

Is it fair to believe the love of money is the root of all evil?

     I recently have started my own garden. It isn't too special, I'm just growing strawberries for now. I do encourage anyone reading this to get out, get your hands dirty, and plant some plants.

In our final days...

We are in our final days of this unit and I have say it feels pretty good to finally ending it. The unit that we have been working on has had its own set of interesting features and or different interesting ideas. The whole food politics subject has brought up some new thoughts that I probably never would have thought of on my own. Things like the use  of all these chemicals in our food have been brought up to the light metaphorically speaking. However, even though there are many difficulties in how we produce our food and how efficiently we produce our food, I  do feel as though I would continue in my ways of how I go about choosing and eating my food. Though these ideas contradict each other I do feel as if things need to be changed in order to better the future. The generations ahead of us are truly our future and we need to make sure that we leave things behind as best as possible. Even new beginnings come from previous examples as proven in our past from time to time.

Milk Doesn't Make Your Bones Stronger

I was at Target with my family on Sunday and I heard someone say “we’re the only animals who drink other animal’s milk” naturally my sister and I started to laugh cause it sounded so funny, but as we kept walking we kept talking about how true this was. A couple months ago my sister did a report on milk and how it wasn’t beneficial for humans unless it was breast milk for babies. Basically milk does more harm than good. Studies have shown that milk increases cholesterol and obesity plus, the countries with high milk intake (including the U.S) have more causes of osteoporosis. Some beauty experts have said that milk drys out your skin and it’s better to avoid drinking milk. So, don’t tell your kids to drink their milk...it won’t make their bones stronger.
This is a great clip:
https://youtu.be/i3bKQO4Zu70
    This is totally off topic but I started a garden about a month ago and my baby's are blooming! I feel so happy and I find that watering and caring for them is relaxing and even my dog enjoys watching and smelling them. Right now I am growing lavender chamomile carrots (which are still itty bitty) broccoli, cilantro, basil ( it smells amazing and made my pasta taste phenomenal) mint, eggplant, cucumber, tomato, lettuce, zucchini,garlic, onions and bell pepper (a little veggie is growing). I can’t wait to cook with them! You guys should definitely start your own garden.

From Bad to Good Choices

This unit has definitely made me change my eating habits. Before we had started Politics of Food, I was had already knew that the food we consume from fast food places were bad and how food from food industries can be unsanitary. The basics of it. It didn't bother me so much, I would still eat cheeseburgers and all sorts of junk food quite often actually (which is no bueno). Now that we're at the end, it has changed me and the way I would eat. The Food Inc. video was kind of what caused me to change. Just watching how the meat and chickens were prepared and the story about the little boy who died just from eating a burger made me feel a little sick. From that point on I've just gave up on eating meat. I've been choosing to eat more things like fruits and vegetables. It's been a couple weeks but I feel like I have more energy to do things now than I did before. I've talked to some of my friends who are vegetarians and they recommend that I should try it. I plan on trying it out sometime in the near future and hopefully it'll be something I'll enjoy.

Watching What I Eat

The Politics of Food unit has definitely changed the way I pick out my food.  I am more self cautious than I was before.  It is honestly disturbing looking at all the things that the meat industry has done.  Not only has it caused us to get more foodborne illnesses, but they are also destroying our environment.  The meat industry is the second largest factor of global warming.  It's just crazy to me how most of the food we eat is meat whether it is beef, chicken, pork, or fish.  Since we started this unit, I have been cutting down on the amount of beef I eat and what certain products I buy.  So far, I am refusing to buy any Smithfield, Tyson, and Foster Farms products due to the amount of information I have found.  I am really trying to cut any beef out of my diet but it is really hard when you grow up in a society where beef is advertised everywhere.  I don't think I'm ready to become a vegetarian at the moment, but I'm ready to try and stop this nasty habit.

Do You See What I See?

As we're slowly coming close to ending this unit I have learned a lot about food and many things I never thought I'd learn in this class. It's changed many aspects of how are country is being controlled by toxic factors that we've grown used to enjoying. They include factors like our countries food process, health(not only of the people), agriculture, and the knowledge everyone has about this specific topic in politics. Our country has been blinded by the pretty colors we see in our fridge and don't intend on trying to change their food lifestyle. I know most of us in the classroom won't either because we don't even know where to begin since college is around the corner and this is probably the least of our worries. But what I do know that's changed is the way we see our food now, and every time we go out to eat we'll always wonder where the meat or salad came from, and if it was bathed in chemicals we will never know. The knowledge I have now has changed my consciousness because now literally whenever I eat chicken I always go back to thinking about the way the chickens were killed in the video "Food Inc." and always picture them killing the chicken I had for dinner. I don't feel right anymore eating meats because of the way it disgusts me, but yet I still eat it because this is something not only I have to eat in order to survive. It gives me a guilty conscious sometimes and is the reason why I don't want to carry that lifestyle forever, and won't. Any change is better than no change at all.

Last blog for food politics

It is actually sad seeing food politics go!  It is also sad how unaware I was to the conditions of meat industries.  I actually thought our government would regulate food a lot better. Like the other day when I was researching for our project I came across a video called if meat industries had glass windows something like that we would all be vegan. This is true because in that video I saw how they killed baby pigs,  not sure if they have a proper name.  Anyway they smashed them on the floor until you they died.  Not only is that cruel but they had them all in a pile bleeding which is even worse because it is unsanitary. That is just the beginning of it all.  One last thing I'll share is that they make the chickens grow so fat with meat that they eventually can't get up.  Not only can they not get up but they have them in small cages, like small they can't even move.  I wish I could say that I would stop eating meat, but it is hard.  Like there is rib eye steak, and In-N-Out.  Anyways I enjoyed food politics.  I am also enjoying this class kind of makes us more aware.

Newfound Awareness

Prior to this lesson, I had a vague knowledge of America’s eating habits and how unnatural and processed our food is. Especially with fast food, I knew that what I was consuming was unhealthy, but I still ate it anyway because it was easily accessible, quick, and cheap. Little did I know the process behind making this gross, artery-clogging, mystery-meat filled fast food. The American food production process is just as disgusting (or maybe even more than) as the food being produced. There are so many pieces that factor into the politics of food that make it easy for me, and I’m sure all of you, to say that our system is wrong and corrupt. That being said, the two factors that stood out to me the most are the treatment of the animals and their living conditions, as well as how our food system affects the environment. This lesson really opened my eyes. For the past few weeks, I have convinced my grandparents to start shopping at Sprouts or Trader Joe’s for the sake of investing our money into Organic food production companies rather than conventional food production companies. When I grocery shop with them, I now look at nutrition labels and ingredients to know exactly what I’m consuming. I am definitely not able to say that I’m even merely close to being a vegetarian, but my consumption of meat has definitely lessened because I envision a bunch of cows cramped up, disabled, and covered in their own feces. Also, when I’m eating with others, I catch myself randomly spitting out some facts and statistics having to do with antibiotics used in our food, treatment of animals, meat-industry workers’ conditions, etc. Not only did this lesson change my mindset about what I eat and my gained knowledge of food politics, but it also encouraged my ability to educate and make others aware of what they’re consuming and the process behind it as well. 

This took me way longer to do than it should have

Alright, so I've kind of been a failure at the whole blogging thing thus far, so I'll try to make this one the best yet to hopefully make up for all my missing/failed blog posts. :)

Anyway,

I love animals. Dogs, cats, lizards, ostriches, you name it, I really like all species. But I am not by any means a vegan/vegetarian nor do I see myself becoming one in the near future, frankly I like meat too much to quit. That being said, recently I have grown to appreciate the cause of vegetarians and I'm even willing to defend them. Like when people say "Domesticated farm animals can't survive on their own, they would all die off if we stopped breeding them. Is that what vegans want???" Yes, is the short answer. Farm animals are abused, in every sense of the word. Overproduction, rise of new and potent diseases, crowed living spaces, and inadequate diets are just a few ways in which these animals are abused. So yes, if we all stopped killing them and they all slowly died out, that would be 1000x better than the abhorrent end to their life they receive now.

On that note here's a super interesting you tube video talking about what would happen if mankind went vegetarian: https://youtu.be/ANUoAdXfA60

So like I said before, I'm not vegetarian, and I'm not trying to convert everyone to veganism or anything, and actually this isn't even my research topic, I've just been browsing the internet about this recently. What I am trying to do is show that not all vegans/vegetarians are pretentious pricks like the media humorously portrays.



There is actually a purpose and a cause behind all their fuss about food. That being said, I don't think eliminating meat or all animal products from our diets is the most practical option. Americans and other first world countries definitely eat more meat than is recommend, which is one of the reasons we're so unhealthy. Eating less meat would make us more healthy and would reduce the amount of farm animals which means there would be less animals to abuse. But just like expecting the world to one day go vegan, it's still too much to ask for everyone to have healthier diets. Since it's too much to ask, the only thing you could do is force, with extra taxes and limiting corporations. But then the republicans start complaining about the taxes and how government shouldn't be involved in business. But the thing that might not be too much to ask, and in fact has been becoming increasingly popular, is the fair treatment of the animals. Killing cows and pigs isn't a problem for me, it's the abuse they face when they're alive. The abuse I mentioned before like overcrowding, and diseases, really a lot of that could be solved if they just have more land to roam, as in "free-roaming" farm animals. Free-roaming, grass eating cattle is becoming a popular thing. People like the idea of cows living a happy life while they can before they're put into your hamburger.



The last point/thing, I want to make is that yes animal abuse is real and something should be done about that, but humans are also important, some would say even more important. Some 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life. That's about one in nine people on earth. The vast majority of the world's hungry people live in developing countries. Right now, everyone combined, we make enough food to feed the whole world. But we don't. Personally I think solving world hunger is more important than making sure cows have enough elbow room. I only think that because if we did eliminate all farm animals or even reduced the amount, we would technically be taking more food away from those we could feed. Once, or if, we cure the world of hunger, then the next best issue is talking about ways to replace all or some of that meat with food that has enough protein and nutrients and that we can also make a lot of to keep feeding the whole world. And yeah beans would probably be that food.

Here's another you tube video that compares your privileged existence with people who don't have enough calories to walk in a circle: https://youtu.be/-9pNeT55U_c

Ultimately, the decision to act to end animal abuse or world hunger is completely up to you. There are a million factors to consider and so few things you can actually do. And yeah, first world problems might still be problems, but if we all decided to try and empathize with these people who have nothing, or these animals who are treated exactly like bags of meat, then just maybe our perception of the world and of our individual lives would change. Maybe we would actually do something about all these problems that (for now) don't affect us. Maybe we could make the world a better place, or dare I say, Make the World Great Again. :)

Change In Perspective

This unit has been  extremely interesting but there are some facts that could have been left unsaid.  Watching videos like Food Inc. has changed my perspective on the type of food we put into our bodies. My family and I often eat our meals on the go due to our hectic schedules. We often stop by a fast food joint when it is not possible to make a home cooked meal.  When I learned the treatment many of the animals faced it was appalling. To see the living conditions many of the chickens and cows dealt with. I wish I could say that, that was enough to get me to become a vegetarian but sadly that was not the case. I did not give up meat completely but I do consume it in moderation. I know there are many students who have taken the initiative and have decided to stop the consumption of meat altogether which is inspiring. I hope that one day many of us can follow in their footsteps so that our diet will consist of fresh food products rather than food that is produced in a factory. At the end of the day I think it still has to do with the convenience and affordability of the food products.

third course

Prior to this unit, I was aware that there was corruption and malpractice going on in the food industry but I didn't know it was to the extent of what we learned about. I already didn't think very highly of our government for its ways, but after this it worsened my view greatly.  It seems as though the corruption and overall carelessness for the wellbeing of citizens that occurs not just in the food industry but in our country overall continues to worsen as changes don't seem to be mad.

In regards to what I eat, I find myself eating meat much less and not wanting to quite a bit.  If I didn't like the taste of it so much I probably wouldn't eat it at all. I have no problem with consuming animals I just don't agree with the way they are fed and manipulated to be the largest, long lasting animals they can be.  If they were fed right and not raised in filth and disease I would eat meat regularly but now I think I'm going to continue to try and eat less meat. I was blessed by a mom who is a health freak so luckily I've been eating pretty healthily my entire life. Even more so now I find myself grabbing fruits from my refrigerator over snacks that I have or buying food from other places. I'm

third course

So over all in the third course I learned a lot about the how the food companies produce more meat faster so they can ship it out to the super markets. My overall thought on this is that it's bad and it's also good. People just need to watch out on the things they buy and see if it good or if it's bad for them.  Some people in this world sometime are lazy to cook so where do they go off to the fast food restaurant. I know for me I fall in that category because ever since I moved out from my house and moved in with my boyfriend we learned that we been going to fast food place a lot more lately and we Both talk that we need to change the way we eat. I know when I'm doing my research paper a lot of the farmer don't have a say in what they do. If they talk and stand up for themselves then the major food corperstions would bring them down so that's why farmers won't make money. This third course had been a tough one on me but doing this research has taught me a lot.

Sustainability

To help our earth grow more healthier plants and raise healthier animals farmers need to find more efficient ways to far. My topic for my research paper discusses the ways we can help farming. Farmers must practice sustainable crop production to help prevent pesticide use and multicropping. They can focus on soil health and water conservation. Farmers need to keep in mind that there are many generations left to this earth and they need to care that there will always be mouths to feed. The benefits of practicing sustainable agriculture is pollution prevention, cost reduction, and environmental conservation. Farmers can make ends meet without having to be pressured my companies. If they find more efficient ways to farm the crops and animals will be a lot more healthier.

Money Equals Healthy

My topic for the research paper were the effects of the food industry on the low income class of America. Surprisingly, I found that the lower class has the higher rates of obesity. I found this odd because logic told me that if a family had low income, they would probably have to eat less to save money. However, this research paper has brought new information to me and a new inspiration. The lower class are limited in their options and fast food is a viable option because it is very cheap.. Four dollars can get you four "hamburgers" from McDonald's. But this food is unhealthy and fake. The lower class is basically forced into buying fast food for their families because they cannot afford to buy healthy food or go to farmers markets to get organic food. Something should be done for these families so that they are not limited to unhealthy products. Some McDonald's are changing the way they run the restaurant and serving different foods and is a step toward the process, but I think the organic food industry needs to make their products more affordable for all. The only question is will the organic food industry survive as an industry because their market is relatively small and not everyone buys organic crops. If the lower class was capable of buying healthy products they will be able to avoid diseases such as obesity because they would be able to make their own foods free of preservatives and GMOs. Is this possible in our country or is the food industry too corrupt to let this happen?

After A Journey Down The Food Industry

     The question is if I would change myself four years ago given that I had the knowledge of how food industry works like I do now. Ideally, I would say yes. I would want to change my habits of eating fast food, those greasy, crispy, fats-filled drumsticks, or those cheesy, juicy, and mouthwatering burgers. I would tell myself to walk away from that unhealthy path and follow the light that would lead me down to a greener and healthier one. I would bathe myself in fruits and dine with vegetables. I would cut off any products that are massively produced by huge industries, and consume more of organic farm products in hope that one day my withdrawal from consuming their products would compel them to switch their methods to something less harmful and healthier. However, in reality, I would still stay the same. I would still go to fast food restaurants; drinking coke while dipping french fries in ketchup. I would still choose the massively produced, and cheap products over more expensive organic meat. The problem is so deeply ingrained into our society that it is not easily removed. We grow up in a world where fast food is the norm for when we are in a rush, and massively produced items are what we look up to when we're budgeted. Even though we are aware that the food that we are consuming is detrimental to our health, we still have no choice but to indulge whatever is provided to us.

Regulations

     I first learned about the truth behind the food industries back in my Freshmen year. Everything about it was so surprising to me because I thought that the government would do everything in their power to protect the citizens and they would strictly regulate the industries. The more I learned about this matter, the more I realized that money is the center of the solution, not the people. After learning about the production of food, one of my friend stop eating meat completely. However, I didn't change my way of eating. Even though my mind set toward the food industries did change, there was nothing that I can do. Most of the time, my parents did the grocery shopping and cooking. I would come home to a meal that was already prepared. Now, I started doing my own grocery shopping and cooking my own food. I continue to eat meat, but I would look for a loco product instead of the products that came from the large industries. Once in a while, I do buy the product from the large industries without realizing because it's cheap and easy to find. As a teenager, I don't have much saying on the origin of the product that I consume daily. I don't have to ability to go grocery for what I desired. Most of the time I buy food because it's cheap, and I would give me the energy that I need. That also applies to most people. With the way our society is operating, we choose to go with the easy way rather than the better way.

     In order for our government to change the way the food industries operate, it must enforce more strict regulations, and they must look past the money and overcome corruption. If I have the ability to regulate the food industries, I would enforce the following regulations.

• Provide minimum wages for all workers.
• Provide health benefit and accidental cost.
• Make sure that the work environment is safe for the workers.
• All workers must be eligible to work under the United States law.
• Make sure that the process of producing food follows the standard safety and sanitary.
• Must have a standard contract that would be beneficial not only to the industry but to farmers as well.
• Must treat animal in an ethical way.
• Animal products that are corn-fed must be labeled. 

     

BRUH CHECK OUT MY SOUNDCLOUD FAM

Ok
Third course
I'm doing the innovator prompt
So
What if
We stopped giving out corn subsidies
Which would force corn producers to increase the price of their crop
Which would force the meat industry to hand out more money
Which could possibly make the meat industry rethink corn
The key to making more people do the right thing is to also make the easiest thing to do
If we made it cheaper (alternatively, making everything else relatively more expensive) for corporations to feed cows grass, they'd be feeding cows all the grass they could eat
By providing subsidies to corn farmers, our government is enabling corporations to spread inhumane practices and disease throughout the country

TL;DR START HERE

Take away subsidies, corn becomes more expensive, and the percentage of grass-fed beef in supermarkets will rise

That's the theory, anyway
But how am I supposed to know what would happen

My thoughts --> My garden

Over the course of this unit, the way I think about food has changed a lot.  My perspective of the United States food industry has drastically changed also.  The topic of my research paper is about crops so I would say I think about that and the harmful affects more than I do with meat.  My eating habits with meat have not changed at all because my family is big meat eaters. If I chose not to eat it, I would practically have to cook my own dinner every night.  The day Fletcher's daughter came to speak with us I got inspired. I do not what she did or said that inspired me so much but it did. I took all this inspiration and started my own garden with my friend.  I will admit it took a lot of effort and hard work but it's officially done.   We planted our plants and vegetables about three weeks ago and today our cilantro was ready. I brought it home and we ate it for dinner with our carne asada tacos.  I can not wait for many of our other fruits and vegetables to start growing. In our garden we have 6 tomatoe plants, pumpkin, cantaloupe, 2 water melon, 3 cilantro, 2 jalapeño pepper, green pepper, 3 bell pepper, 3 cucumber, 2 zucchini, 2 onions,  and eggplant. This stared off as a little project that grew in to a much larger one.  We have not only put in our time and money but our parents and grandparents as well.
As you can see my awareness of what I eat has changed drastically. I am now trying to grow healthier foods that my family eats a lot of. Not only will it give me food but it will also be a hobby for me to do.  So overall I like it, even though it is a lot of work.  If you guys want me to post pictures of my garden let me know!!!

The Road to Becoming Vegetarian

This entire unit of food politics was very eye opening for me. Before learning about how unsanitary and harmful our food system is, i would eat any and everything that was given to me on a plate. Although i had some idea of how bad it was, i still ate these foods because of how naive i was to it. Now, i'm glad to say that i haven't eaten any beef or by product of it in over a month now. With chicken it's a different story. Haha, it's hard but i'm almost there by giving up chicken completetly. Anyways i've figured that for me, for my health, and for our planets health that it is better to become a vegetarian. However, just because i'm following this path doesn't mean you all have to. I advise and recommend you should, but i am not going to force you or tell you you need to. Mostly because we are all old enough to decide what we should or shouldn't put in our bodies. In all, what i learned was that the process and distribution of meat is causing so much more than just severe cases of E. Coli in the U.S. and becoming a vegetarian is just one way to help make our planet a healthier. I know i usually say i'm glad we did certain units in this class, but this one goes right up there with our personal statement unit. I'm grateful for the information and knowledge i gained from this unit.

What I've learned in Erw class is...(Spongebob Reference)

Ok  so this unit was very tiresome but i learned a lot.

I was most surprised by the ethos part of this, watching the movie Food Inc. seeing a little kid getting killed by E. Coli (sounds like a ex-military murderer to me). I also recalled Supersize Me the movie about the vegan only eating McDonald's food.

If i had this info 4 years ago i'd forget it about it within an hour. I wouldn't have changed at all. I would be still eating the same and doing the same thing i do now.

I wouldn't change anything because i kind of like the idea that we don't have to worry about if our food goes bad quickly because the preservatives allows people to have leftovers for tomorrow or a few days. The Farm-to-Table Movement is a good idea and i highly support that.I love going to Farmer's Markets and eating fresh fruits and veggies sometimes. I say eat everything in moderation or don't not my life.

Go Kanye West for President 2020

New Beginings

My opinion on the United States of America has slightly changed. I already had an idea of how our unjustified and corrupted government operated, but I knew only about the surface level of the whole ordeal.When we started this unit I thought I knew everything there was to know about how our food was produced. But after furthering my understanding of the subject I learned more and more in depth about our government. After all the videos, articles, and personal research I had done, I made the decision to make an effort to try and not eat at places such as MC Donald's, Burger King, etc. Instead of these places i will choose El Pollo Loco, Subway,etc when i need a quick bite. I know these are still fast food chains but in my mind i know that this is a better alternative to other establishments.This way i feel my consciousness is less guilty or tainted because every time i think about food or eating food, in the back of my mind there is ERW saying,"Is that safe? If i could go back four years with the knowledge i have now i would definitely change the way i eat and try to make better food choices. I know it would be very challenging due to the fact that im a teenager, but i feel as though if i started making better choices , present day Charmaine would be more healthy and efficient. My Proposal: Our present day society is full of fast food chains, that circulate around the globe. These fast food places make irresistible advertisements that influence and antagonize Americans to buy their product. There isn't any harm in advertising, it gets the word out about your product, equaling sales and tons of money. But what these business owners should recognize is that they are contributing to an unsafe rise in obesity with the quality of their foods. I know the food industry could care less about American's health but you should. You should learn a valuable quality called empathy. You should analyze your food production and take account that you are poisoning America. Therefore instead of making all these greasy, caloric burgers create a healthy substitute that is still delicious and affordable and advertise the hell out of it. This will give Americans a chance.

Almost Done

The way I eat has not changed much since this unit has begun. I eat the same, but every time I pick up food I think of ERW. Every time I am with my friends and we eat meat products, someone has to say “ERW” or “GMOs” or something of that sort.  What we learned in this unit has not changed what I eat, but just brought up some more conversations between my friends and I.  We talk about the dangers of what can be in our food yet we do not do anything different about our lifestyles.  It is actually quite funny that we do that.  We know how corrupt and messy the food system and corporations are, however we do not seem to care enough to stop and think about what we are eating.

I mean I guess this politics of food unit made me more aware, but I don’t know. I am still eating what I usually eat.  Personally, I think if a food product were to affect the health of a close friend or relative of mine drastically, I would be extremely careful of what I eat and I would try to help change the system. The ethos part of this lesson hit me when the boy in Food Inc. died from E. coli, but it did not hit me hard enough for me to make a change in my diet. Overall, this was an interesting, but I am glad it’s coming to an end because the research paper was very time consuming.

Amending Our Food System

As we all can agree, the products of many food corporations are a concern considering the harmful effects it has on the health of consumers and the environment. Therefore, what would alleviate these concerns would be pushing for the government to get involved and to take action. Regulatory policies on food industries have not been enforced and government agencies like the FDA have allowed these industries to indulge themselves in their harmful practices. A shift toward more organic produce may also be difficult because popular organic foods could possibly be utilized and altered by food industries to make profits. Despite some objections to government regulation, it is needed at times to ensure a strong and stable nation. A problem with eating healthier comes down with cost; healthier food is more expensive. A solution would be to lower these prices, and raise the prices of industrial food products. In addition, we could tax industrialized food to promote better eating habits for consumers. With what I know about our current food economy, I have made small changes to the way I eat such as reducing my meals at fast food restuarants and the amount of food I put into my body. However, I still continue to consume food that is unhealthy; that is high in sugar and fat because I find it more cheap and efficient. However, I agree that a large change in my current diet would allow me to not only experience the joy of delicious food, but also feel physically and mentally stronger.

Same Old, Same Old

• 
  
  My mindset about our wonderful country has not changed at all. I was already aware of the corruption in our government and its lack of care towards its citizens (in this case, regarding food). Money is speech, and boy do corporations do a lot of talking. There isn't really much that I can elaborate on regarding money in politics. Basically, the large sums of money that are being "donated" or contributed to politicians and key organizations by corporations or rich interest groups are overpowering the voices and concerns of ordinary citizens. They get legislation pushed- or destroyed- in their favor and grow even bigger in power and influence while the masses are slowly being killed off. Food guidelines are being skewed to create larger profits for the meat and sugar industry, scientific research is being hidden from the public, and useless "solutions" and coalitions are being presented as alternatives to fixing or even addressing the real issue. It's great.
  
  Regarding my consumption, all remains the same. It's unfortunate, really. I can't really afford to purchase organic food (no job) and most importantly, won't be able to convince my family to follow my newest food interests. I'll try to be more responsible in my eating when I leave for university (Go Bears!) and slowly move toward a healthier lifestyle. It'll be in my best interest. After all, my food selection would be significantly reduced, along with my caloric intake, so no "freshman 15" for me! 
  
  Consciousness wise, I think I actually got a bit worse. Sure, it's sad and inhumane how we treat livestock for our greedy wants. The thing is, they aren't humans. Plus, we humans aren't human either. We are all animals, so this type of behavior shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Different religions praise certain animals (Hindus w/ cows) or despise them (Muslims w/ pigs). In the United States of America, the religion of money discriminates against and praises none, so all animals are treated equally bad. Maybe I've just become desensitized to all the atrocities humans commit; you'd be surprised how impactful watching executions of innocent people by ISIS can be. I'm not ignoring or belittling the morally and ethically wrong treatment of animals that are destined for our plates. Eventually, we get what we give. Before you know it, thousands and even millions of humans will be dying from tainted meat that's been genetically altered or filled with steroids. Or better yet, our treatment of the land and atmosphere will lead to greater changes in climate change and we'll burn, freeze, or drown ourselves to death! 
  
  If we want to promote a more productive, healthy, and fair society, we must attack the problem at its core: money in politics. I know that I focus too much on the politics aspect of "Food and Politics", but that's really what it comes down to. Once we get special interests out of our government and our representatives actually represent their constituents, we can begin to help shape policy that we believe is right and most beneficial for the greater good.
  
  We can do this several ways: have states call for a constitutional convention that will create an amendment prohibiting money in politics, contact local and state leaders, OR....
  
  BERNIE SANDERS 2016!
  
  
  

Politics of Food Blog - Third Course

Options: 

• How has your mindset changed about our country? About what you eat? About your consciousness?

• If you could go back 4 years with this knowledge of the food industry, would you change anything about your life?
• Innovator: what would you do to change or influence the food industry in any way? Write a proposal.

As usual your posts must be 250-300 words. Your comments can be in response to your peers' post for this or any other posts for this unit. Ideally, I'd like that you try to offer feedback to others on their research focus, but anything will do!

Due by Tuesday, April 5th (6:00 pm)  - 1 post, 3 comments 

(FYI: You will not receive ANY credit for this blog assignment if you write all of your comments after April 3rd. In other words, spread it out over the next 16 days.)

moo

Grass fed cows are great

Corn fed cows aren’t

And I’m not just talking about taste

The cows that eat grass are less prone to disease

The cows that eat corn are more prone to disease

The cows that eat grass walk to the food and eat it where it grows

The cows that eat corn have to wait while the corn grows, is harvested, then transported to the cattle lots (which uses fuel)

The cows that eat grass fertilize the lots where the corn grows

The cows that eat corn how to sit in their own manure while other fertilizers are used to grow the corn that they have to wait to eat

The whole process is whack

But of course

This process brings money to the corporations that control all of the corn

And since corn makes cows fatter faster the businessmen are all too willing to also accept the diseases and other issues that corn brings to cows
And since the meat industry is now entirely reliant on corn
The corn industry is holding the meat industry by the orbs

NOT FINISHED; WILL EDIT

FOOD REGULATION

Shout out to Ms. Colln for sending a remind 101. Haha. I Completely forgot about the blog. I hope that I wasnt the only one. My topic is focusing on the food we eat and how it is not regulated properly by the government. Some or the topics I am going to cover are gmos and the meat industry. With the meat industry I am going to cover how they don't regulate how they treat the animals and how it effects us. I am not going to only touch the treatment of animals but also all the bad things they put in them.  For example they put hormones in chickens so they can mature faster and that negatively impacts us. With gmos I plan to cover how they impact us negatively.  To sum things up I am not happy with the food regulations so I'm going against it. I'm not sure if it ia a to open of a topic. What do you guys think? I am easily able to find information on how we need more regulation. The topic of my paper would be food regulation in general or should I focus on one thing such as the meat industry or farming regulation.

Small farms pt.2

Since we began this unit, it has been clear that we have serious issues in our food industry due to the large corporations. It made me very curious that we have such clear problems but we as a country aren't doing anything about it.

At first, I was aware that the huge agribusinesses shouldn't be allowed to handle our food supply but was skeptical about there being any alternatives to them.  Whether or not you agree with their production means, the corporations are definitely able to dish out super high quantities at relatively low prices. With that being said, it didn't seem like there was a close second to corporations in terms of being able to feed the masses. This is where my question came from, which basically asks if organic, humane farms were capable of feeding at the level of the large corporations.  In my research, I have mostly found that the small, organic farms are able to feed the word collectively. Eastern Brazil and other South American countries already have systems where small farms network together to feed large populations. 

As we get more into this unit, I’ve become a bit more careful with what I eat. We have all seen the Food Inc. video and saw how filthy the animal houses are. It’s disgusting to see how hundreds of pigs are all squished in one barn, literally covered in their own poop which can lead to harmful diseases. This is what led me to do my research paper on how the poor quality living of factory farm animals can have a potentially negative effect on the foods we eat. While doing research on this topic, I discovered that thousands of people die every year just from eating foods like chicken or meat. What could be the cause of this? The diseases carried in the food from big companies like Tyson. These types of companies do not care if their products are harmful to their consumers, as long as they are making money out of it then they’re fine. I’m sure all of us hear things like this all the time but most of us do nothing about it because it hasn’t happened to us yet. So my question is: If more people become more involved with what is happening to the foods we eat then will companies start to change the way we take care of the farm animals? If so, then could it lower the risks of dying from food-carrying diseases?

Foodopolies

I am doing my research paper on foodopolies which are the monopolies on our food. Monopolies are taking over food industries and changing the way are food is produced, these monopolies are using patents on their seeds and damage many farmers. One question that continues to come up is what can we do to stop these monopolies from taking over our farms and farmer? Lastly what will happen to our farms and our food if these monopolies continue running our food? Please let me know your thoughts.

In the midst of my research, I became more aware of my eating habits and how it has changed. Knowing that most of our food is genetically modified or even bathed in pesticides, I decided to take a different approach and experiment myself. I started to cook with the plants that my grandmother grows in our backyard and didn’t realize how much time and care goes into food. It’s crazy how we can walk into the grocery store at our own convenience. I never really realized how easy we have it especially when it comes down to food. I felt like I was getting in touch with my humanity, learning to nurture a plant for consumption. Although it does require lots of work to grow your own food, I learned to appreciate the beauty behind it. Unfortunately in the end, the food industry will continue with their ways in production and that is something we can't really help. I mean I know that all of us can make a difference but at the rate that it's now, I don't see a dramatic change.

Do people actually know the truth of genetic engineering?

With my topic of research I've been reading a lot of articles that say the benefits of genetic engineering can be great, but people reject it with not much research or bad research. For example there was a French scientist that did study on ratsd by feeding them only GMO foods and in two years they developed cancer. However some time later other scientists reviewed his study and found that the breed of rats he used are known to develop cancer I two years regardless of what they eat. So he created this kind of fear of genetic engineering without good research and people disregard the second study. And there's other things too like General Mills started labeling their Cheerios as GMO free even though they never used GMO ingredients in the first place. They're just printing it on their cereal because it creates a feeling of safety from GMO. It's kind of like companies label their food as gluten free even though they use no wheat product so its not possible for it to have gluten and they just label it because people think gluten is this super harmful thing, but it's really only harmful if you have an intolerance to gluten. In addition to all this genetic engineered foods go under years of review by the FDA before people consume it so that they know its not harmful. For example this genetically engineered salmon went under 20 years of review before it was deemed safe to eat. So it's not like genetic engineered foods are dangerous because a lot of studying goes into the science before it's consumed. So in conclusion I feel like some people don't actually know that genetically engineered foods are safe to consume also people just reject GMOs just because of what they've heard. 

What's The Cost?

After watching Food Inc., I started to think a lot about the regulations that are and should be set on the food industry. The death of the two year old Kevin really sparked my curiosity in this matter and after e. coli killing an innocent child, I could not help but wonder why couldn't it have been prevented.
For my research paper I have been looking into the responsibilities of each step of the process, searching for whose fault a bacteria outbreak may be. Most of the responsibility seemed to belong to an organization called the FSIS, the Food Safety and Inspection Service. The FSIS is in charge of inspecting food and ensuring that the food is clean and safe, along with correct labeling. This kind of answered my question but as I began to research more, I began to research ways on how the food industry can improve in ensuring the safety of our food.
There are many suggestions to somewhat fixing the food industry but not many have been implemented and most are still just suggestions instead of actions. This also made me wonder what the costs are since it seems so difficult and the food industry seems to resist. Does it take a huge load of money? Who would the money be taken from? Who would be involved in ensuring these practices are executed? These questions are not part of my research, just some thoughts that came to my mind while researching.