I think the product of my collaborative research project was an accomplishment, because I learned about the food industry, and how you can not trust supermarkets. In the beginning of this project I was a passive consumer unaware of what the food industry was doing to our food. However, now I am aware of what the food industry does, because of this project and the research I have done on this topic I am now eating healthier foods. Although I am not going to stay a vegetarian I learned different ways to eat better, for example I can now go to supermarkets and look for meats that are hormone free beef and RBGH free dairy products. Also, I can look for food that carries the USDA certified organic label, I can also start shopping at organic supermarkets. I never realized how bad factory farming was until this project, but now that I am aware of what goes on in farms I would like to try and make a change to improve how factories treat their animals and workers. This part of the reasons why I took on the challenge to become a vegetarian for this project was because I want to try and make a change and inform people about our food industry. Even though I have not stayed a vegetarian since then I have made many healthy changes in my life, and I do not think I will ever touch a fast food restaurant like McDonald's or Burger King. They just gross me out now. My group’s research project does inform people about the food industry and how to make changes in their lives, not just by becoming a vegetarian but by making better choices and eating healthier.
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At first I thought I was going to be by myself for this project, but then Nadia and I both looked at each other and decided that we were going to be partners. After that we watched the movie Food Inc and took lots of notes. We were trying to come up with a primary research topic but found that we could not decide on just one because there were so many. So we decided that we were going to think about it over the weekend then make a decision during the next class. During the next class we noticed that Jen did not have a partner yet and asked her if she wanted to be in our group. At first I thought that this research project was going to be extremely hard because we were already having problems making decision on our primary research topic. We went through two research topics before we found ours. I found so many research topics interesting like E. coli and organic foods. Then we finally found the right one for us.
Once we found our topic I realized that this research paper was going to be fun! Not only was I learning about the foods I ate but I got to experience being a vegetarian. We had to find reasons why we wanted to become vegetarian, and the points we were trying to make. We wanted to inform people about the food industry. We recorded our eating habits and how we felt about becoming vegetarians. I can honestly say it was hard. Considering I am always on the run and I live a very busy lifestyle with running to and from work and school mostly everyday, I did not eat healthy at all. I mostly eat fast foods. I did not know what I was going to eat now, because alls I knew was quick, easy food. The hardest part was when I was being with other people who eat meat. The process of becoming a vegetarian was very interesting but I realize that I love meat and can never give it up because I am a natural carnivore, but through my research I found healthier ways to eat meat. This article talks about E. coli and salmonella and how the ammonia is a good apart of the process because it kills off these bacteria like E. coli and salmonella. It also talks about how the USDA supports this process of ammonia being used to kill bacteria. The article goes on to talk about how this process is mainly used in beef because of fast food places like McDonalds and Burger King. Also how they do not want ammonia being part of the ingredients in meat but instead they want it to be known as a processing agent.
The New York Times Top of FormSafety of Beef Processing Method Is Questioned By Michael Moss Published: December 30, 2009 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/us/31meat.html “The Omnivore's Dilemma” by Michael Pollan’s talks about how eating habits, lifestyle, and farming has changed the production of processed foods and how the eating habits have lead to eating disorders. Today everyone is always on a busy schedule; everyone is always rushing around so people are not paying close attention to what they are eating. People want there food fast, and on the go. In this article it talks about how at one point the producers and the consumers which are us used to care about eating healthy, however; the food industry has changed the way we view our diets. People today do not care nor do they look at the labels of there food. This article shows what we should eat instead of all of that bad stuff like soybeans and corn. He also talks about how corn has become a significant part of our production of food, which is bad for us.
Pollan, Michael. "Our National Eating Disorder." Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: The Penguin Press, 2006. 1-11. Pollan, Michael. "The Farm." Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural HIstory of Four Meals. New York: The Penguin Press, 2006. 32-56. At first I thought this article was really hard to follow; it was hard for me to read it. However, as I kept on reading and started to understand the article I became more interested and started to follow the story. I did understand that this article was about the depression, it mad me extremely sad. This article really touched my heart because it showed what people went through. I felt the people of that day’s heartbreak and their problems they had to go through during that time. Many people were laid off and could not find work anywhere it was horrible! I liked that this story was a personal experience and it makes me realized that I don’t have it so bad.
He is trying to get people to go into the right direction which he believes is the Good, Clean, and Fair food movement. They are trying to perseve different cultures from the consequences of industrialization and globalization. He believes that fair food is when the produces and consumers are treated equally.
Schneider, Stephen. (2008) Good, Clean, Fair: The Rhetoric of the Slow Food Movement. Before watching the movie Food Inc, I never thought about where does my food come from. Who makes the food I eat. Until after watching this movie. This movie exposes the big corporations like Tyson. This movie shows the reality of our food industry and how corporations like Tyson are controlling us and the farmers who distribute our food. These corporations do not want the farmers talking and if they do talk then they will face grave consequences. This documentary truly exposes the food world. It shows interview and investigations that prove that we are consuming food that had been chemically altered. Also it shows the abuse of animals. It also shows how they are not worried about the quality of food just the quantity and cost in how much food they can produce. These companies are growing a 5 ½ pound chicken in just 7 weeks, which is a full grown chicken. They are also feeding cow’s corn because it is cheaper than grass I’m guessing. However, what they have realized it that when cows eat corn it produces E. coli 0157:H7 in the cows gut. They see this and still give the cows corn, what is happening that they still using that cows meat and mixing it with other meat, so that sick cow is now on other meat. These companies are still manufacturing the bad meat and people are dyeing form E. coli poisoning. Furthermore, because of this ammonia is becoming part of the process of processing food because it kills the E. coli bacteria that are growing in the cow. This movie brings out the truth in food processing. They are compromising our health.
Kenner, R. (Producer, Director) and Scholsser, E. (Producer). (2008). Food, Inc. At first this article talks about the potato factories and how potatoes came to be about. Then they soon started to dehydrate potatoes. After that they patented the flash freeze. This was going to be the next best thing to food world. During that time which was the 1920 after they invented the flash freeze people started buying refrigerators and freezers. Then people started buying the refrigerators with freezers they called the 1950 “the golden age of food processing”. So after that people started eating more of the frozen fries, and Simplot wanted to create an inexpensive way to create the French-fries. Basically this article is about the process of the French- fries, and the, many ways they came up with ways to create a fries that still has that great taste but that could fry quicker and less costly. However, this article did not say exactly what they used.
Schlosser, Eric. "Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation: Why the Fries Taste Good (Excerpt)." I’m just going to say this article made me never want to go to a fast food place again because Berry states, “The passive American consumer, sitting down to a meal of pre-prepared or fast food, confronts a platter covered with inert, anonymous substances that have been processed, dyed, breaded, sauced, gravied, ground, pulped, strained, blended, prettified, and sanitized beyond resemblance to any part of any creature that ever lived.” That is gross and I feel like things really need to change. He thinks that the food industry is controlling our consumption of food. They are controlling the quality and quantity of the food we eat. They are also controlling the cost. However, what people need to realize about this food is the process which are used to produce the food we eat. If we knew what they used we would not eat the food but people do not question the food they eat. He looks at this food and knows it’s fake. He knows the food industry is covering up how they process this food by advertising. He then shows us some techniques on how to eat better and what to do. He thinks that we should grow our own food and prepare it. I agree that everybody should know how to grow their own fruits and vegetables. Also we should learn where our food come from.
Berry, W. (1990). The Pleasures of eating. In What are People for? North Point Press. I had so much fun with this project, and learned a lot about my interviewee’s jobs. I was so excited to learn the truth about prison, because I never understood how someone could work in a prison. I never questioned my parent’s jobs until now. I was always worried that one day I would get a phone call from the warden of both of my parents jobs saying there was a fight today and you mother or step-dad got hurt. That scares me, but now that I understand what they do and how it is just like any other job I feel secure now. I was always nervous to ask them about there jobs because I thought I would find out something I did not want to hear. However, I found out mostly good things about working in a prison, which have changed my whole perception about the staff and the inmates. During the interviews I herd the word respect many times and never understood how important respect was in a prison, but now I know that respect is important to inmates because it is the only thing the inmates have to hold onto.
While doing my interview I had difficulty staying focused on one question at a time. I realized I had so many question that I wanted to ask my parents about there jobs. Some of my question did not even go with my interview, so I had a problem staying focused on the points I was trying to make about prisons. I believe that I did very well at conducting these interviews. Even though it was hard for me to stay focused on my main point and I wanted to ask other questions that had nothing to do with my point, I feel as though I got my points. I realized that I was going off topic and fixed it, plus I edited out the parts that I did not want in my oral history. I was very professional even though I interviewed people who were close to. If I were not professional in conducting my research then I would not have the great end results I have now. I learned many new things during my interviews about my parent’s jobs that I did not know before. All of the thoughts that I had about prisons were gone because it was nothing that I thought it was. I found a lot of things interesting as well. Like what reasons are inmates locked up for etc… |
AuthorI'm getting over my fears and going with the wind wherever that may be. |