HW#25

Through Sicko, the main problems in our society such as lack of insurance and a working healthcare system are demonstrated as being destructive to the community around the person who is sick as well as themselves because of their inability to better themselves as a result of the limited care that very little United States citizens are given. Using several Americans and American families as examples to show the negative impact of denial of coverage is the most powerful way that I felt I could get across the depressing nature of these stories that are only a handful from the hundreds of thousands of American people that must go through this because they have a government and healthcare system that still believes in only maximizing profit instead of providing equal and high-quality care for all.

        Actually hearing someone say that we are one of the only countries that still has a healthcare system based on maximizing profit instead of saving lives, put into perspective what our lives mean to these people that we depend on to make our lives better. Because of this, I feel that a socialist healthcare system is a viable but should be treated more like a step in the right direction. As I heard more about our Health care providers “scandals” I realized that the only examples Mr. Moore gave were of people who are American citizens and have been denied coverage for whatever reason as well as the occasional exception such as the girl who got the hearing aid implants as a result of a threat to expose the company for what they have done.

         Why are there no examples of families such as my own that consist of two parents who are immigrants and have received fairly good healthcare throughout their lives in the states without so much as having to pay a co payment for a bill. Not only because my parents were not born here but also because of are exceptional treatment, I am driven to ask why Mr. Moore did not add examples such as these that are a sort of counter evidence to his argument that “all” Americans live terrible lives filled with debt and sadness.

HW#24

Jamaica Kincaid, My Brother, FSG, 1997

    This book is a biography of my life in Antigua as well as my life in the states and how I was affected by the sudden death of my brother whom I did not know much of but shared an interesting connection with.

    The overall theme is illness and death and any other problems that come along with that. I look at my brother’s death through my own eyes as well as through his, the way I think he felt about his illness. I also discuss our family and how they dealt with his death and how our geographical location could have influenced his health.

1.)    “...And the way she distanced herself from him caused him great pain...”(pg 163)

-         Whether or not the people you know distance themselves from you or try to make themselves closer, their motives are obvious because both mean the worst is in store.

2.)”... And he knew that they knew of his situation, and so their scorn (they did not hide it) must have been especially painful...”

- Some people do not go the extra mile to make the person who is sick feel comfortable which in some cases is the right thing to do instead of acting rude.

Knowing that at some point in my life I will be close to dying, I hope that people will not look at me with pity or hate the same way people look at Jamaica’s brother because that is truly a terrible way to die, knowing that people hate you. Dying alone with no one by your side, in my perspective is the same as not having anyone that really cares for you your entire life. If people truly care about you, how can they not be by your side when you die to console and make you feel better?

HW#23

Jamaica Kincaid, My Brother, FSG, 1997

Section 2 of My Brother:

The second part of this book focuses more on the brother’s perspective and how Jamaica thinks he may have felt during the process of his illness and finally his death if he was thinking at all during his final moments. A brief history on her brother is given and it allows the reader to get more of a feel of the brother’s personality and the way he went about doing things.

1.) “That night as he lay dying and calling the names of his brothers and his mother, he did not call my name, and I was neither glad nor sad about this.”

-  Because of the lack of a bond between her brother and herself, her brother not calling out her name, affected her in a way that she was not sure about also due to their relationship.

2.) “He had read in a novel written by me about a mother who had tried and tried and failed and failed to abort the third and last of her three male children. And when he was dying he asked me if that mother was his mother and if that child was himself...”

-  Despite his being a bit slow and uneducated he picked up on the fact that the story was about him. Although he had not mentioned it before for whatever reason before, his illness and inevitable death drove him to ask whether or not that story was about him.  

3.) A great sadness over came me, and the source of the sadness was the deep feeling I always had about him:  that he had died without ever understanding or knowing , or being able to let the world in which he lived know, who he was; that who he really was- not a single sense of identity  but all the complexities of who he was –he could not express fully: his fear of being laughed at, his fear of meeting with the scorn of the people he knew best were overwhelming and he could not live with all of it openly.”

- Full description of who her brother basically was and her thoughts on how he felt even though he was so well known and liked my many people.

     The depiction of death through the eyes of Jamaica Kincaid is one that I hope I never have to deal with because of its gruesomeness and the way she is forced to think about her brothers sadness and basically carry his weight because it was something he was never able to get rid of due to his position in society and/or his position in their home. The way she describes how she thinks about her brother is something that bothers me because it makes me wonder if death always causes these thoughts amongst friends and family.

HW#21 Expert#1

-          “Men are much more reticent about seeking medical attention.”

(Gender greatly impacts a persons decisions regarding medical care.)

-          Industrialization and profit making of the medicine companies affects how patients are treated depending on their coverage and illness.

-          Never talking about death or dying or what would happen after.

-          Wanted people to see him as a human being for himself and not his disease.

-          “Honeymoon from death”

-          Looking at everyone who helped them as people not just tools benefited them and got them more care and help.

-          Cheerful doctors?

     Through Beth’s presentation, I realized something about myself that worried me. When hearing about the process she and her children had to go through I kept asking myself if I would be able to cope with losing my father or any family member, and the answer was no. Because I have never lost anyone, I have only had artificial encounters with death such as having to visit a sick family member at the hospital or hearing about someone I didn’t really know about die. Much like Beth’s older son, I feel as if not seeing someone in such a terrible state would be better for me because that sort of confrontation may affect me in a big way. The only difference is that I feel I would willingly not see whoever was sick to, as Beth said, preserve the memory of the person before that became ill and a shell of who they used to be. Despite my personal opinion of how my personality would handle something like this, in the end I would feel a need to see the person one last time because of the love I have for them.

     Gender always affects how we make our decisions; not because of what body parts we have but because of the difference in how we think. In many things including health, this difference affects what we do because we have different gender roles that we unknowingly follow. Using my own father and myself as an example, I realize that if either of us is hurt or need medical attention, we turn it into a test of strength and endurance by foolishly telling ourselves and other that we “don’t need any help” because we “are fine.”

     When I was hearing about the help they received and the multiple different medications that would have cost thousands of dollars they tried I wondered how about how lucky they were that they managed to get a government subsidy due to their lack of health insurance. Had they not received any of this help, all of the medicine and treatment would probably have been declined by an insurance company. How would Beth of felt if this occurred to her and how would it have affected her husband and family? 

HW#22

Jamaica Kincaid, MY BROTHER, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997

Throughout the first chapter of the book which is about half of the book, it is very apparent through the illustration of her brothers sickness, the differences in dominant social practices between third world countries(like Antigua) and first world countries(U.S.A.).

From the moment I begin describing my brother’s sickness and the type of healthcare he is receiving, I draw a line that accents the differences between our countries care and others. Because of less money and less available resources, our hospitals have become more like care centers while no actual medical care. This difference defines the differences between dominant social practice and the separation between wanting and needing; this time pertaining our dominant social practices. When caring for my brother, the “doctors” and “nurses” could not do more than give him a Tylenol for his pains. They were even scared to touch him because they were afraid to contract Aids as well. This ignorance further proves the difference and lack of education in countries such as Antigua that are lower on the list for resources and medicinal benefits. 

HW#19

            Using the dominant practice in our society relating to health and death as a basis, I formed a small list that included all we have learned about in class. The organization of this list was a simple yes or no format in which the subjects taking the survey agreed or disagreed with the commonplace medicines and methods of taking care of the sick. In this case, I used my parents and the survey takers and received interesting feedback about the American culture and the obvious differences in treatment. For the most part my parents felt that when a person is sick, all of their requests should be attended to and only “happiness” should be shared with them; meaning that you should agree with anything they say and laugh at any jokes and pretend like everything is perfectly fine. But at what point do these perspectives stop being cultural and become more personal? From my own understanding about our dominant cultural perspectives, medicine and hospitals are what we rely on extensively to nurse us back to health instead of directly applying ourselves to the lives of those in need. Because of the highly influential power of the government, taking care of our sick is not as easy as it should be and once was.

           Despite our biggest wishes to personally take care of the sick because of our moral beliefs and/or religion, we cannot because of the high expenses and time issues that would lead us to deal with. Because of this, hospitals have become the more common decision despite the unfair treatment you receive if you do not have health care. As a result of that, death rates in immigrants and low income families sky rocket and no one cares. Unlike some countries where healthcare is equal and the sick are treated more justly without having to determine if their financial background is suitable enough.

          When I first read this assignment I decided to write about my understanding of the dominant culture perspectives and what my parents thought about it, but in the assignment I noticed a word that I did not recognize. When asked to include modality I did not know what to talk about so I looked up the definition. The two definitions given were “a classification of propositions on the basis of whether they claim necessity or possibility or impossibility,” and “a method of therapy that involves physical or electrical therapeutic treatment.” At first I was a little confused because from what I understood, it was basically saying that it is a classification of a possible choice depending on whether or not it’s necessary, possible, or impossible. But how is this related to the second definition which states it’s a form of therapy? Despite how unrelated the two seem, its basically describing the moment in which doctors must decide if their patients are suitable for treatment of if they have to do it because if not they will die; as well as providing a summary of how the health care system works in the United States. I may be jumping to conclusions about his interesting definition but it appears to be an odd coincidence that deserves further interpretation. 

HW#18

        Much unlike other family reunions over the years, the amount of people attending has dissipated due to small quarrels and scheduling problems but the approach on the holiday remains the same if not stronger. Despite how awful I thought the turkey was this particular thanksgiving, everyone still ate more than they could handle simply because of the day and its “significance” to them.

        This common belief that we must celebrate the supposed peace between the pilgrims and Indians (neither of which we are descendants of) gives a license to drink and break out the sweatpants in case you bloat from eating too much. If you think about it, why is this over-indulgence so important to us? I believe that through this eating in which we find comfort, we can find pleasure and some sort of fake strength to cope with any tribulations we may have.

        Having family members missing because of these problems forms an environment in which everyone knows what is wrong and they struggle to overcome it by dulling themselves with these quick cures.

HW#17

Death itself is a bit of a difficult subject for me. Despite most of my families unhealthy habits including my own, no one that I know has passed away. There have been the occasional deaths of very distant relative that have affected my parents; but no one that I have met or connected with has died. This new unit worries me a little because the truth is, I constantly think about how I will react when someone close to me dies. At the same time, I look forward to learning about the in’s and out’s our own culture’s perspective on death and illness as well as in other cultures. Unlike the majority of my family, I secretly believe death is a very sacred thing because it symbolizes not only the end of a life but the end of a piece of our human existence. Opposite to this slightly dramatic view of death, my ideas on how sickness (depending on its severity) should be treated. If I was bed-ridden in a hospital I would prefer powering through the sickness myself and having occasional visitor such as my immediate family and close friends instead of having constant visits from people I barely even know that only shower me with pity and only accomplish making me feel worse than I did originally. 

HW#11

            Over the course of the past week I decided to take on the task of actually putting my knowledge about our food industries and the remaining food companies that are still natural to the test. To accomplish this I decided to become a vegetarian for the week. In doing this, I had to stop eating meat any products with meat inside of it. To make it a little lighter on myself I was able to eat eggs and fish as well as dairy products.

           During this week, I began to feel the difference in my energy and the way I felt physically. When I noticed this nice change, I began to wonder how our society might be different if everyone ate in a healthier way. The effects of this change would undoubtedly be positive for our health as a community, but would greatly affect the money that our government makes because of how dependant it is on the approximately 134 billion dollars that the public spends on fast food annually.

           Having an opportunity to experience the difference first hand, greatly affected the way I believe we should approach the changes in the food industry if they ever happen. At first I felt as if a drastic change was necessary to show the public the correct path. After this short week, I realize that being a vegetarian or a vegan is very difficult because of the money that it calls for. These expenses, in my case, ended up being around 150 dollars for an entire weeks worth of food for one person. Other people in our community such as low income families may not have as much money to spend on expensive food and they may have more mouths to feed. A situation such as this makes it difficult to spend more money than they really feel is necessary. This mind set and financial situation practically pushes them towards fast food and other foods that are inexpensive to purchase.

           Understanding the difficulties in changing the way we eat is the first step in making a difference. Although the natural foods are more expensive we need to find a way to make it more accessible to all of the socioeconomic classes.

HW#10

            Food Inc. focuses on the major food corporations that process meat, vegetables and supply fast food restaurants. The movie’s intention is to show the audience the secrets and the lies about how our food is made and where it comes from. Some specific parts show us the production of the food and the corruption of the people who run these companies as well as those who inspect mandate the promotion of these products. Within this, we learn a lot about the conditions that animals are “raised” in as well as slaughtered. A couple of the most important focuses is the overproduction of food for a very low price that only benefits the supplier and the filth that we are being fed on a daily basis without have the slightest idea where the food came from and the process of it getting to your plate.

           For myself, I feel as if watching the movie gave a certain level of detail that the book cannot give and vice versa. On one hand, having a visual gives you an exact image of what happens while the text leaves the image to your imagination but also gives you immense details that you may not pick up from the image. 

           After having read Fast Food Nation and watched this movie, I have reached an impasse in which my former ideology and the new are being pitted against each other. Having been raised eating meat and hamburger from fast food restaurants, it is difficult to imagine myself taking the extra step to eat a lot healthier and a lot harder to see myself not eating meat in any way. But having seen where the food comes from and the dreadful environment in which it is produced makes me never want to eat meat again. These two opposing ideas now hang over my head whenever I decide what to eat and force me to look past the façade of our industries and become aware of the lies we are told.  

 

HW#7d

Chapter 9:

Is somewhat of an eye opener for the general public, aside from continuing to focus on the dangers that workers in meat packing factories are exposed to, it unveils a new dangerous, dirty, and ultimately unhealthy side of the food factories. Using the E. Coli bacteria as a basis for all of the food poisoning cases I looked at, I looked deeper into how these viruses and bacteria get into our food and spread halfway around the world in days. Mostly paying attention to the cases of children infected by many different strains of bacteria, I began to question how these tainted foods get into the public. In short, the major companies usually hide these violations or falsify papers stating that everything has been checked and is “healthy” for human consumption.

·        After having been exposed to the raw truth first hand, how did that affect you eating habits?


Chapter 10:

Focuses on Plauen, Germany and its changes in history. Beginning with its very industrialized factories that crumbled soon after World War 2 began. After being a very lush and green landscape populated by thousands of people as well as the first to become a completely “Jew-Free” city under the Nazi rule, it became deserted after the rise of threat of bombing by the Americans became apparent. After being very disliked by the rest of Germany and the fall of the Berlin wall plans to build McDonalds soon arose as a result of the new freedom. I wrote the rest of the chapter to build on the ideas I present at the beginning of the chapter to express the changes McDonalds has made in the rest of the world such as Japan and over 120 countries.

•    "If we eat McDonalds hamburgers and potatoes for thousands of years, we will become taller, our skin will become white, and our hair will be blonde.” 

Epilogue:

For the epilogue I decided to look at one of the nice sides of the food industry which may very well be in danger of being shut down because of the threat it poses to the other companies that do harmful things to their meat. Sidetracking from the topic of food, I also mention the new tactics that some people who believe we should be healthy are taking. This Idea is was most commonly referred to as “new urbanism” which ,meshed together the idea of a city landscape with natural elements such as parks and open space to encourage more healthy people. I relate all this back to the problems with the food industries that feel this proposition of eating all natural food is ridiculous but only because they may lose money or even worse, their company. Much like some of the people in the city may feel that new urbanism may pose a threat to their profession. I also talk about the psychological approach that the food corporations have been taking to increase their number of consumers such as the advertisement to young children, persuading them to buy food because they can get a toy with it or there is a small playhouse within a fast food restaurant.

·        “Nature is smart as hell”

During these three years of collection data and interviewing people, did you ever feel as sense of hopelessness because of the level of corruption within the government and food corporations?

Did you ever almost give up?

Hw#7c

                 I wrote Chapter 8 as a means to shed light on the current working conditions of the workers in meatpacking factories. These conditions include harmful gas inhalations and operating around dangerous machinery and tools. Not only are these the leading causes of injury for thousands of workers each year, they are completely ignored by the managers of each of these factories. The most common excuse for no workers compensation or bosses that are completely unaware of all of the accidents occurring is immigrants. Most companies claim they do not know they are hiring undocumented illegal aliens for a minimum wage which gives them the upper hand when dealing with injury cases because a Non- United States citizen cannot take anyone to court.

“They used me to the point where I had no body parts left to give,” “Then they just tossed me into the trash can.”

• Where there any moments when visiting the meat packing factory that you were asked to leave or that you almost left because of what you were seeing?

HW#9

                  In Freakonomics, correlation vs. causation is often the focus of the many examples we are given about our modern day societies and the oddness within it. One of the first examples we are introduced to is baby names. Some believe that certain names will lead to a child having a rich and successful life or a poor and unfulfilling one. More often than not, the ethnic background of the name is the basis of the assumptions that people make of the person. One specialist conducts a test in which two resumes are handed out but one has a common “white” name while the other is a common “black” name. According to the results of the test, the difference between the callbacks for interviews is substantial thus proving that different names do have a certain impact on the person who carries it. The other specialist only bases his findings on statistics and a story.

                A young, black mother accidentally names her daughter temptress under the impression that she is naming her after an actress. This small mistake unwillingly leads her daughter into a life of promiscuity and theft as well as jail time; but is the name or the economic and social situation to blame? This doctor claims that the name may have had a somewhat insignificant impact, but the real culprit is the situation that person is in. These two very different specialists are operating under different ideas. One argues that names are mostly if not completely responsible for your future while the other figures that the two are very loosely related. These two opposing ideas are correlation vs. causation because of the different because of their differences in explaining the connections between names and their possible consequences.

              For the majority of the movie, Steven levitt and Stephan Dubner heavily rely on data and facts to prove their hypothesis on how things work in our society and the relationships between everything. All of the examples they give us are always backed up by “the numbers” and the “data” that we never really get a look at. This concealed data holds all of he information that this movies runs on as well as its credibility as a source, but what sets this movie apart is its irrefutable ability to make you wonder about what else we don’t know as well as the oddness of our society. These questions posed by Mr. Levitt and Mr. Dubner not only influence the audience to thinks deeper about what goes on in our lives but it also asks them to make connections and ask more often about why something’s happen and the reasons behind it.

                  At most, Freakonomics challenged me to take a look into our culture as well as the dominant discourses in our society, it asked me to question our methods and figure out how we got to where we are now and why we are here. I completely agree with the ideas that Stephen and Steven have because it allows me to look at things differently. Instead of looking at the physical, the outside layer of what we see and hear, we should be looking at the basics and connections. This new form of looking at things is much like us looking at our dominant discourses in why we eat the way we eat and how that affects us. This technique should be applied to our finding the truth about the food industries and the methods used in making our food. Not only should we make every effort in knowing the truth about our own culture, we should expose it for what it really is and attempt to start from the beginning.

HW#8

HW#7

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

Introduction:

In the Cheyenne Mountains there is an isolated military/intelligence base that centers on our nation’s security as well as the rest of the world. Despite it being very remote, the main source of food comes from “accessible” fast food restaurants in the general area. This is one of several examples in this book about our culture and how it connects to the fast food industry. I will talk about the civilization of the American culture and how our history and success as a country seemingly culminates in the fast food restaurants we so deeply rely on. I will also focus on our ever shifting need for sleeker more innovative machinery and its evolution and the keys to success that these corporate giants followed.

“And should Armageddon come, should a foreign enemy someday shower the United States with nuclear warheads, laying waste to the whole continent, entombed within Cheyenne Mountain, along with the high-tech marvels, the pale blue jumpsuits, comic books, bibles, future archeologists may find other clues to the nature of our civilization- Big King wrappers, hardened crusts of Cheesy Bread, Barbeque Wing bones, and the red, white, and blue of a dominos pizza box.”  

• How long did it take for you to ask yourself what am I eating, why am I eating it and how did it get here?
• What made you choose the Cheyenne Mountains as a focus in the introduction?
• What other locations did you consider focusing on?

Chapter 1:

Around 1945, Carl N. Karcher who could be considered one of the United States founding fathers of fast food was just kick starting his fast food business. Around this time many other fast food restaurants were just opening up and starting to become well known. Not only did this ideology of starting up a nice family restaurant sweep the more western parts of the nation, it came with the new era of “modern transportation”, including cars and buses. These changes soon became our new American culture and gradually made its ascent to becoming the more common way of life in the United States.

“The McDonalds brothers’ Speedee Service System revolutionized the restaurant business. An ad of theirs seeking franchisees later spelled out the benefits of the system: “Imagine- No Carhops- No Waitresses- No Dishwashers- No Bus Boys- The McDonald’s system is Self-service!””

• How do you feel your life was affected as a child when the fast food business started expanding?
• Seeing the evolution of the fast food industry must have raised some sort of questions like why are they making this financial move or releasing this type of product.

Chapter 2:

Will focus more on the socioeconomic aspect of the fast food franchise and how its primary targets are children who according to several studies are very easily influenced by the TV that they watch daily and are more susceptible to the lies of the media. Not only are children lured to these restaurants by promises of toys and bright colors, low income families from the mid 1900’s to present day are also brought in by the cheap prices and good tastes. Not only are these constant goals for the companies to reach, they are basic standards for manipulating the public and exploiting the innocence of the children by showing then cartoon characters that eat these foods and act certain ways. An example is Ronald McDonald and the reasons why he was created. During the time when the McDonald’s franchise was doing well but needed to broaden its reach, Ronald and the rest of the McDonalds gang was created in hopes of reeling in kids of certain age groups as well as catching the attention of the rebelling teenagers at this time.    

 “The bulk of advertising directed at children today has an immediate goal. “It’s not just getting kids to whine,” one marketer explained in Selling to Kids, “It’s giving

them a specific reason to ask for the product.””

• What do you think the fast food corporations would be today without the help of marketing to children and audiences of younger ages?
• Do you have any specific memories of Ronald McDonald or other mascots for restaurants?
• If so, what do you relate them to?

Chapter 3:

Takes a deeper look into the people working at the restaurant. Teenagers are a more common decision when hiring new employees because they come cheaper and are basically inexperienced enough to be taken advantage of. Not only are the majority of students that come from low income families working in fast food restaurants, it is becoming a rite of passage in the American culture. This chapter focuses on what I believe is the overworking of innocent students and the unjust treatment and conditions they are forced to work under. Not only do these jobs physically and mentally tire these students, it often puts them in danger of robberies committed most frequently by disgruntled employees.  

“Did somebody say McUnion?”  “Not if they want to keep their McJob.”

• Were you ever working in a fast food restaurant? Or did you come close?
• In the process of interviewing workers, was anyone reluctant in answering your questions?

HW#6

            Over the course of a day, I decided to look at the mental aspect of the food that I was eating. Not only did I begin to find a true connection with my food, but I realized the reason why I ate this food and found comfort in it. At about 6:30 in the morning on Wednesday, I sat down to eat a bowl of cereal. According to the calorie counting machine from http://www.acaloriecounter.com/, the bowl of cereal I ate had 128 calories per serving. When I thought about why I had chosen that cereal at the supermarket, I came to the conclusion that it was all related to my childhood.

           At a very young age I had begun to eat that certain brand of cereal, not only do I like the crunchy yet simple taste of the cereal, but it took me back to a time where things were a lot simpler, school wasn’t really a big part of life and being with my family was a priority. This mental connection was not limited to just taste and physical appearance but also to how it made me feel when I was eating it.

           

Later in the day I had a Hamburger which was 512 calories and after savoring the hamburger I realized that it was more of a superficial relationship. Sure, it tasted good and looked delicious, but that was as deep as it went. In total, Breakfast, Lunch and dinner added up to 1500   calories which was about 100 calories less than the daily limit I should have each day. Doctor’s recommendations can only go so far, it’s the patient’s thoughts that will affect the decision that they make in the future.

           Looking at what I ate from a medical standpoint, what I ate that day was not healthy although it did not go past the recommended amount. Being that I feel this was about my own decisions, why do I continue to make these mistakes daily? At some moment in my life, I most likely had a breaking point where I felt the need to deal with my emotions through food or I needed to get back to the basics and I found that in food.

HW#5

HW 5 - Dominant Discourses Regarding Contemporary Foodways in the U.S.

       I feel as if the dominant discourse can most simply be defined as the common or talked about thoughts in the U.S. as well as the rest of the world. The dominant discourse focuses on the primary ideologies of the people that are in high positions of power and have influence. The dominant discourses in the U.S. relating to food can be argued as either the necessity of people beginning to eat healthier which can more recently be heard from either the President and his wife, the national food association as well anybody's doctor. Other people of the general public such as myself may argue that the dominant discourse is the focus on fast food corporations and the common necessity for food that tastes good and ca be acquired easily. 

      One of the mostly commonly talked about ideas on food in the united states is the idea that some foods are bad for you and others can make you healthier . Fast food is most commonly thought as dangerous or unhealthy but for some reason people do not listen despite it coming from the mouths of people we consider important. Healthy food is always thought of as medicinal or having powers to make you live longer and be smarter but much like fast food no one seems to fix their diet. If the dominant discourse comes from the people with power why do the majority of people not listen     

HW #4

After having discussed with my parents the changes that they have gone through after having immigrated to this country over 20 years ago, I can notice the changes in how they eat and treat food. My parents helped me understand that in Colombia, the idea of healthy means eating three meals a day with snacks in between each meal and simply using fresh fruit and vegetables as well as good meat. An example of the differences can be seen in the products that were used for cooking.

           On my father’s side of the family, oil made from pig fat was used to fry almost every food, while on my mother’s side, only corn oil was used. This difference in cooking methods is somewhat related to economic class because one family had more money than the other to buy healthier alternatives. Food is treated almost religiously because it is considered a very vital part of Colombian culture to many people. The food is always prepared with delicacy; time is put into the meals and may take up to a day or a week just to prepare one meal.

           When my parents were children, rice, bread, potatoes, and meat were essential parts of the meals throughout the day. Vegetables and salads were also a part of the meals but they were more of an addition to the main course. My Grandmother always looked for the “healthier” alternative to frying her food and thought that she was giving her children the best food available but upon arriving into this country, she began to learn about saturated fat and carbohydrates and what sorts of food you should limit yourself from eating.

           This slowly began to affect the culture that she and her family brought to the United States. The culture did remain intact but it started accepting new ideas and began to change into something better. Because my mother was still young, she adopted these ideas and raised me on them. I agree with eating healthy and preparing food in ways to minimize the amount of fats in the food, but my own feelings on food have begun to challenge the ideals of the Colombian culture and why food is so important and must be eaten at a certain time each day. In the past couple of years I have developed the idea that food is just food, it can be eaten at whatever time you please and it should be eaten because it tastes good, not because it’s good for your eyes or strengthens you bones. One example is fish, if I want to eat it, I will because I think it will satisfy my hunger. But I won’t eat it because it has Omega 3 fatty acids that are good for you and your brain. This disconnect may be caused by the influences of modern day society to be your own person and think, act and speak liberally.

HW#3

             Visiting the Union Square Market as well as a fast food restaurant deepened my existing knowledge about the dishonesty of the food industry Aside from the enormous differences in quality and quantity, I felt as if there was a connection with the vendors of the market that you can never have with a cashier or a manager in a fast food restaurant. In the Market, I met Michelle Bulich of Bulich Mushroom Farms and I was able to gain insight on how the food industry works and how some products dominate the market no matter how they affect your health. Before, I mentioned the difference between quality and quantity in these two ever growing markets; talking with Michelle made me realize the differences in quality are outstanding.

             To grow these mushrooms the workers on the farm never use sprays or additives to make the mushroom taste better or last longer, and they are grown in a mixture of horse manure and compost. On the other hand, the fast food restaurant only uses sprays and additives in their vegetables to keep them fresh. The meat is processed and comes from the leftover meat that no one wants to eat and is frozen for weeks until a customer decides to order it. Unlike the quality, the fast food restaurant easily surpasses the market in quantity because of the frozen food that is rarely thrown out despite how long it has been sitting in the freezer. The market only sells organic products which do not stay fresh for very long and are difficult to get a hold of.

             The different approaches that these two businesses have are very interesting to me, on one hand; the fast food restaurant doesn’t care about our health because it is too busy bringing in millions of dollars in revenue daily. The Mushroom farmers see food as something to be enjoyed and savored for its natural flavors and they put the people of New York as their first priority. Price is another big factor in people’s decisions to be healthier and consciously choose what is better for them. Fast food restaurants are always ready to make new promotions that attract people to buy their cheap products and the organic companies tend to be a bit over priced because their aforementioned quality.

             Usually I tend to partake in the sad daily routine of eating the garbage that is marketed to us but now I feel as if I should go that extra step to eat healthier and always look for the natural things. These differences in accessibility and quantity only stimulate our laziness and practically promote getting your food fast, no matter what its condition may be. I now realize how spoiled the food industry is and how we let that influence or lives daily.

HW 2: Food

         Food have always been significant to me. Aside from having to eat to survive, i eat to enjoy and relax. Food provides a sort of comfort to me that is always there but has never really been a very healthy relationship. A good hamburger and soda or well made sandwich always hits the spot and relaxes whenever i decide to eat. Food is also a very interesting and beautiful thing to explore because of all the different cultures in our world that do things so differently whether they are good or bad. 

        My priorities with food are very simple but serious. I try to never miss a meal and when i am hungry i eat. These rules are not always beneficial to me because eating whenever i am hungry is not that healthy. Usually what i eat always satisfies me but at tines i feel as if something is missing and this may affect my mood. I feel as if i should change this gradually to start getting my body used to the changes. 

       Food is not really sacred to me because it is not something that my religion dictates(even if it did i do not practice it.) But i am very interested in why food is so important or even spiritual to a lot of religions. I've seen that some cultures believe that the food they eat can be blessed or that by eating it they can be blessed but to me that seems ridiculous because food is for survival although i spend a lot of unnecessary money on it but because i have it.

      Perhaps if i was in a different financial situation i would look at food differently but at the moment i think that only the best quality food should be eaten and four course meals are always a must although i know that for many people that is not possible.