HW 18

Every year that I have spent in the United States, I have received the same hype for Thanksgiving as the last. Since Thanksgiving is the only original American holiday, I have noticed that a lot of people here like getting very excited over it. This behavior is not at all weird since it involves eating and putting of your problems to another time with no immediate solution to them. I guess you can say that people deserve a break from all the problems that are going on at the moment. What amuses me is that the way Americans choose to give themselves that break. By inviting all their close relatives to a dinner that they would usually not be able to afford and then spend the rest of the day watching television or playing sports outside. How is that different from any other Saturday or Sunday? I guess the difference would be that the dinner is far more body-centered than any weekend dinner but I guess that’s justifiable since Americans could always use more comfort food.
If you haven’t guessed already, my family doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. Which is weird since my understanding of the origins of Thanksgiving is; the Pilgrims and Indians sharing food. (This might come off as offensive) Even though I am not the right type of Indian, I do not recall being invited to anyone’s Thanksgiving dinner party. Maybe it was because they all know that my family would not attend even if we were invited. Or maybe it was because in the past, my family is known to ignore all pointless gatherings where the only purpose was to “have fun”. Whenever I tell this to people, they always look at my family and I as unsocial. In no way is this true. We love talking to people. When there is an actual point. Otherwise, it is just a waste of time.
I just realized that I have written what I would consider two paragraphs without even addressing the question for this blog entry. How was my Thanksgiving experience? I woke up at 11PM and spent the entire day doing SAT practice problems. At around 3PM I had a very satisfactory lunch and continued to do SAT practice until 5PM. Then I put on my video game pants and got ready for my daily Call of Duty session. I was quite disappointed since all the people I usually play with were wasting time somewhere else instead. I had to fall back to my foreign friends (It’s funny that I refer to people from my own country as foreigners now). I stopped playing at around 7PM and was getting ready for bed since I had to wake up the next day at 4AM for Black Friday. That brings me to my favorite part of Thanksgiving. Black Friday. The one American tradition that I have no complaints on.
In conclusion, my Thanksgiving was more of an anti-body experience than a body-centered one. Which means that I tried spending my time according to what would be better for my mind. In no way do I say that I succeeded, but “I tried my best”.

HW 17 Initial Thoughts on Illness and Dying Unit

Illnesses and deaths are a part of everyone’s life. Everyone I know has at some point gotten sick in their life. I do not personally know anyone that has died from an illness except my grandparents. My grandfather on my dad’s side died from a heart attack and my grandmother, also from my dad’s side, died from kidney cancer. My grandmother on my mom’s side also died from a heart attack. As for illnesses, thankfully, none of my close family members have even been seriously ill and neither have I. We all had the occasional fever and runny noise every winter but nothing serious. As far as I can remember, I have only been to the hospital as a patient once in my life. That was because I had accidently ran right through a glass door and I had to get 83 stitches on my thigh. I still have the scars to prove it! I also remember having chicken pox when I was around 8 or 9 years old. I had to be isolated inside my room since chicken pox is extremely contagious. My mom would bring me food and water and leave it outside the door. Fortunately I had an attached bathroom with my room so it wasn’t all bad. I also got to skip school for 2 weeks which is always a plus.
As I said before, my family has never been seriously ill before and therefore I have been taught to look at illness as something that you should never have to go through. If either my sister or I fall ill, my parents look at it as if it was our own fault so we deserved it. Until last year, my entire immediate family would eat the same meals when we were at home. So, if only one of us was sick, it had to be because of something that person did wrong. If anyone in my family gets sick, we still get the same care any other family would give their loved ones but we also get a lecture so we try and never be sick again. I have been taught to look at death as a stage in life that everyone eventually has to go through. Since my family and I believe in heaven and hell, I have also been taught to look at death as a judgment call. Which basically connotes to; do not be too attached to life since you will eventually have to let go.
Death is something that scares everyone. I am no exception to that fear. People try extremely hard to try and please everyone around them. Most of the students in my grade are trying extremely hard to improve their grades so they will be able to go to a good college and have a successful life. Sometimes I question these norms that everyone has created for themselves. Why are we working so hard? We all know that we will eventually have to die and none of this will matter anymore. So why am I sitting in the train right now writing this essay the day it is due? If my grades do go up and I get into of the best colleges, and lead a successful life, meaning I have a lot of money, I will still die and that money will not account for anything. “The one who dies with the most toys, still dies” I read this quote in our social studies class last week and it really got me thinking about what my life goals should be. Does it really matter that I died rich? No. It doesn’t. So I have decided to use whatever money I have earned and saved up in my lifetime for something that will benefit other people for years to come.

HW 11 - Final Food Project 1

Experiential

For the last part of the food unit, I decided to put the things that I had learnt by reading Omnivore's Dilemma and by watching Food Inc. into action. Both the book and the movie stressed the point that industrial production of food is a cruel and unhealthy system. So for the last leg of this unit, I decided to not eat anything for 72 hours that is made in an industrial factory. This included all kinds of meat, vegetables and fruits grown with pesticides, dairy products from industrialized animals, and eggs from industrialized chickens. This may sound preposterous and extremely difficult but to be honest, it wasn't.

I started my special diet from Friday and I ended it today (Sunday). Being raised in a family who always eat meat for lunch and dinner, it was quite difficult for me to convince my parents that I would be a vegetarian. My job got a lot harder because my sister was coming home from college and we would be celebrating her "outstanding success" my going out to a restaurant. In the restaurant my mom was getting quite annoyed with me because I would not touch any of the food since I did not know where it came from but I was pretty sure that it was industrialized food. So to be on the safe side, I didn't eat any of the meat. I really didn't want my whole family to be angry and upset so I decided to eat some Nan bread with lentil. I figured those had to be hand made for the most part. Right?

I was really hungry when I got home that night and my family talking about how delicious the meal was did not help. I went straight up to my room, played some video games and went to bed. I did not want to think about how hungry I was. I woke up very late on Saturday. I had completely forgotten about me being a "non industrialized food eater" and was about to go eat some breakfast when my mom reminded me (very pointedly) about my diet. She also said that we didn't have any food that would (and I quote) "fit the majesty's liking". But to my surprise my dad had woken up really early and gone down to the Grand Army Plaza green-market and would be coming back any minute. I was really happy when I heard this because I felt as if I had accomplished something great! I had inspired my dad to eat healthy! My mom didn't really like this since she had a whole meal planned that we would be eating as a family which is a rare occasion since my sister lives in long island.

My dad had come back with enough groceries to last the weekend! He also added that if I wanted to turn into a permanent vegan, I would need to go look for a job since the groceries were really expensive compared to our normal ordeal. Since my mom was overpowered, she had given up trying to change my mind and started cooking our lunch with the new groceries and I made breakfast for everyone. Breakfast was a little different since I couldn't eat cereal, I made everyone omelettes and just a glass of milk with one tablespoon of sugar. My family wasn't really satisfied with the meager meals at the end of the day but I felt pretty happy that I was able to share my experience with my entire family.

After my near 72 hour diet I really didn't feel any different. Some people say (especially in my country) that they cannot survive without eating food X everyday. I used to think the same, I didn't think it would be possible for me to survive without meat for 3 days. It was a little difficult since I didn't have my mom's full support because she did cook meat on Sunday for lunch and it was just torture not to bite into a big chicken drumstick. This experience really made me think of my food values in ways that I never thought of before. I don't think I can ever be a vegetarian for life let alone a vegan. Maybe if I changed up my diet every month or so to be the same as the one i had for the last 72 hours, I could possibly get used to eat and one day not really on meat and cheap food so much.

HW 12 - Final Food Project 2 - Outline

Thesis:

The procedures that the major food industries use to process meat is a nightmarish industrial atrocity that involves many unhealthy chemcals added to sell more for less work. Many people in the US do not know about this and hence it is considered a normal routine, and if everyone knew about the outrageous process that their food is made by, there definitely would be a drastic change in eating habbits in the US.

Argument 1: Increased rates of people getting sick from eating food that is considered normal but is actually very weird.
Evidence: Obesity epidemic
Evidence: Diabetes rates in children and immigrants
Evidence: Death toll from food related incidents

Argument 2: Not enough press

Evidence: You will never see an article in a well known newspaper (ex: NY Times) about what the inside of a slaughter house looks like.

Evidence: Unhealthy fast food industries are still making billions.

Evidence:Industrial slaughterhouse structure compared to Polyface farm structure



Citation:
http://www.obesityinamerica.org/
Diabetes Article
Text: Fast Food Nation
Text: Omnivore's Dillema
http://www.vegansoapbox.com/help-needed-require-video-cameras-in-slaughterhouses/
http://www.socialistalternative.org/publications/fastfood/ch3.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1286537/

HW 7D

Chapter 17

Precis

It is considered politically incorrect for a person in today's community to be racist. But as little as 150 years ago, it was a norm to have slaves. Is it too much to hope that it will be possible that in another 150 years it will be politically incorrect to kill animals for their meat? Animal Rights activist, Peter Singer, is one of the most motivational authors. His writing convincingly refuted all the little things I could think of that would support eating meat.

Gems

“Half the dogs in America will receive Christmas presents this year, yet few of us ever pause to consider the life of the pig – an animal easily as intelligent as a dog – that becomes the Christmas ham.”

Thoughts

Animals that are fed in CAFOs suffer unimaginably. Not just physically, but mentally as well. They are treated as if they are machines in their money making factory, not living beings. Fortunately, they do not live long enough to suffer extensively.

Chapter 18

Precis

I was very excited for my first hunting experience. We started really early and headed to a popular hunting spot for pigs. I wanted to know what it would feel like to hunt somewhat similar to how our ancestors did back in the old days. To Angelo however, it was all about the meat and having a good time. When we finally saw a pig, all the hunters gave me the go and I was felt ready but I missed the shot. I hadn't pumped my gun. I eventually however did kill a pig, a pig that probably weighed around 190lb. Same as me. I was excited when I had taken the shot and heard the pig slam to the ground but while we were cleaning it, I wanted to throw up.

Gems

-“Here, I decided was one of the signal virtues of hunting: It puts large questions about who we and the animals are, and the nature of our respective deaths, squarely before the hunter, and while I’m sure there are many hunters who manage to avoid their gaze, that must take some doing.”

-“And what was I so damned proud of, anyway? I’d killed a pig with a gun, big deal.”

Thoughts

If I ever go hunting, I will always think back to this time right now. I will always remember how Pollan felt when he had shot his first game and try to compare it to how I was feeling. Pollan is really talented and describing events that meant something to him. He uses vivid description of very second and of all of his thoughts. and to me, that is just amazing reading material.

Chapter 19

Precis

Its time for the last leg of my "Paris Hilton" journey, foraging. Being an omnivore and eating from an industrial food system all my life, it is hard for me to identify which mushrooms are good for me and which aren't. It was quite difficult to find someone that would show me where I can find mushrooms because the spots are very rare and precious. I now understand why, now that I have a spot of my own, I won't tell a soul about it.

Gems

-“Wild mushrooms in general throw that dilemma into particularly sharp relief, since they confront us simultaneously with some of the world’s greatest rewards and gravest risks,”

-“If the soil is the earth’s stomach, fungi supply its digestive enzymes – literally,”

Thoughts

I have never liked mushrooms. They always tasted weird to me so I cannot really relate to how Pollan was feeling when he first found his mushrooms. However; I watch a lot of movies about medieval times and in those, mushrooms are treated how gold is treated today. They will fight over it, protect it, and trade it for safety. Since mushrooms all look similar, I would never go out to the forest and try to live off of mushrooms, one mushroom can be delicious, while the other can poison you.

Chapter 20

Precis

Now its time to put everything together. Combine all of experiences in the different food systems and make the perfect meal. I won't focus too much on the industrial system since it can kill you... I will focus more on the natural stuff. Giving my friends and me a connection between what they are eating and the environment.

Gem

-“Another thing cooking is, or can be, is a way to honor the things we’re eating, the animals and plants and fungi that have been sacrificed to gratify our needs and desires, as well as the places and the people that produced them,”

-"The fact that just about all of those hands were at the table was the more rare and important thing, as was the fact that every single story about the food on that table could be told in the first person."

Thoughts

Wow! I always thought that eating healthy and sufficiently would be expensive! Pollan made so much but it cost him almost nothing compared to all the benefits he was getting. I feel smarter after reading this book but kinda dumb at the same time. All this information was right in front of me my whole life, yet I never willingly tried to figure it out.

HW 9 - Freakonomics Response

In Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephan Dubner, the dominant discourse of correlation being the same thing as causation is examined. One of the things that they studied were the fact that many people in our society today have very unique names compared to names that are very common. Since the beginning of modern civilization, people have believed that there are some names that will increase a person's chances of success in life. Freakonomics showed an experiment done by a Harvard professor to see if there was indeed any correlation between names and a person's future. The study showed that a white man with the name, Greg, will get a job faster than someone who has a very stereotypical black name, Tyrone. The two men have the same qualifications and were applying for the same field of work. The results showed that Greg would get a job 5 weeks faster or 33% faster. That is a very long time. Especially for someone that is unemployed. This was one of the few examples where they showed that correlation and causation is in fact the same thing.

In Freakonomics, the authors seemed to have relied on ethics and moral beliefs of people rather than statistics. For the example with the Sumo wrestlers, all the sumo wrestlers are honored and even feared by the people of Japan. However; "If there is an incentive to cheat, they will cheat." A lot is in the balance if one person loses a match. I personally did not feel very convinced by the sumo wrestler cheating data because I felt like it was more speculation than concrete fact. This is probably because of the fact that the data was so vague since cheating is punishable by death/banishment.

I agree that Freakonomics serves as an inspiration and good example to our attempt to explore the "hidden-in-plain-sight" weirdness of dominant social practices. This movie explored topics that I thought I knew something about and enlightened me further. There wasn't a single segment where I felt as if it was absurd or weird to me. It all seemed to be issues that I already know something about but in more detail than I would have ever indulged in. For example, I have read a lot about why abortion should be illegal and why it shouldn't, but I would have never thought that abortion could be related to drastically reducing crime rates. The makers of Freakonomics seemed to be able to perfectly send the message they wanted to to the readers/watchers.

HW 7C

Chapter 16

Precis

The anatomy of the human digestive system is marvelous. It lets us eat a variety of food. Compared to the very picky Kaola Bear, who only eats eucalyptus leaves. Because of the thousands of immigrants in US, there is no one traditional food. So there is not nationwide food that everyone likes. This makes marketing companies's job a lot easier. Americans don't have their minds set to one type of food. They will eat everything that tastes good. That is the omnivore's dillema, they have too much choices. They cannot decide between healthy and cheap.

Gems

“Meanwhile, the kids, and Dad, too, if he’s around, each fix something different for themselves, because Dan’s on a low-carb diet, the teenager’s become a vegetarian, and the eight-year-old is on a strict ration of pizza that the shrink says it’s best to indulge (lest she develop eating disorders later on in life)."

Thoughts

Michael Pollan has changed the food habits of many many people. But those people are almost insignificant to the number of people who follow the commands of the big industrial marketing people. What the people need is a man (or woman) of power who can motivate the people to a different level. If only there was a person who was elected to govern the people by the people...

Chapter 15

Precis

I have educated my self first hand with the food from industrial farms and organic farms. Now it is time I must learn about the last category of food. Food that is hunted by me. I have never gone hunting in my life. In America, hunting is more of a recreational sport that you do with your dad. My dad was more of an indoor type guy so he never taught me anything related to hunting or foraging. Fortunately, I had met a man called Angelo who would be helping me through my journey of finding out everything about where food really comes from.

Gems

“…you have to have had a certain kind of dad in order to join the culture of hunting in America, and mine, one of the great indoorsmen, was emphatically not that dad. My father looked upon hunting as a human activity that had stopped making sense with the invention of the steakhouse.”

Thoughts

This Chapter gave us a little bit of insight into Pollan's life as a kid. Especially with the mention of his father. I finally understand why he is doing all these studies and experiments to understand where food comes from. It is not to make money from writing a book or making a documentary. It is to educate people so that people who grew up with parents like his, but aren't open minded enough to do the studies themselves. It is a study meant for lazy people who are willing to accept the truth only if people tell it to them but they will never go out to find it for themselves.

Chapter 14

Precis

After my experience in Salatin's farm, I decide to make a meal for my friends. The healthiest and the most delicious meal I can make. Fortunately, my friends like the food. That would be an understatement, they loved the food. I dedicated the dinner to the chickens that I bought from Salatin's farm. Without the chickens, my friends and I would not have the pleasure to enjoy this wonderful meal.

Gems

“One of the reasons we cook meat (besides making it tastier and easier to digest) is to civilize, or sublimate, what is at bottom a fairly brutal transaction between animals.”

Thoughts

After reading this Chapter, all I wanted to do was visit the country side and get some chicken and ask my mom to re-create Pollan's meal. But alas, with me living in the city, going to a Polyface farm is near impossible. It will probably be a 3 hour drive one way. One day, I will go to a Polyface farm and maybe then I will truly understand the beauty of organic food. Why not just go to an organic market here in the city? Like Salatin says, if you want the truly pure food from the farm, you gotta go down and get it.

Chapter 13

Precis

Salatin has a strict code of conduct; never to feed food that has been genetically modified, meaning, corn. Salatin believes that food should never be shipped cross country. This uses up fossil fuels that could be used for something else. Even though Satalin's food may look more expensive than super market food, it really isn't. With supermarket food you need to deal withthe cost of food-borne illnesses, of crop subsidies, of subsidized oil and water.

Gems

"Oh, those beautiful eggs! The difference is night and day- the color and richness and fat content. There's just no comparison. I always have to adjust my recipes for these eggs- you never need as many as they call for."

Thoughts

The consumers should always know where their food is coming from. The problem with industries is that the meat that they process is never just one animal. Beef for example, a hamburger sold in McDonald's won't contain meat from only one cow, it will always be a mixture of 5-6. This increases the chances of diseases spreading from the cattle to consumers.

Chapter 12

Precis

Today was the day. It was my turn to experience first hand what it is like to slaughter an animal. Many of Salatin's neighbors showed up to help with the slaughtering of the animals so it was more like a family activity rather than a job. It was hard for me to first get used to it. I tried not to look at the animals that I was given to kill. But once or twice I would glance at their eyes and I would only see fear. The chickens were placed upside down in cones so they would be calm and I was supposed to slit their throats. The chickens were later placed into a dumbed down version of a centrifuge where they are cleaned and their feathers plucked. After all the chickens are slaughtered and cleaned, they are placed on a separate section of the farms where people from all over the county showed up to pick up their healthy meat.

Gems

-“We do not allow the government to dictate what religion you can observe, so why should we allow them to dictate what kind of food you can buy.”

-"Make no mistake, we're in a war with the bureaucrats, who would like nothing better than to put us out of business."

Thoughts

Pollan's description of his first time slaughtering an animal was simply stunning. It made me actually imagine my self standing in his place and doing the things that he thought he was never capable of doing. Some people may argue as to why they should buy organic because the animals have the same result as industrial animals. They get slaughtered brutally. To them I say, it is not how their life ends that matter, it is how their life was that truly makes the difference in the end.

Chapter 11

Precis

Efficiency is everything in Joel Salatin's farm. What we consider early is time being wasted to the workers at Salatin's farm. Everything in the farm works in a cycle and in order. Chickens feed from broilers and their feces helps the grass grow, which the cow eats and the cow's feces also helps the grass grow which more cows/pigs can feed on.

Gems

“One of the greatest assets of a farm is the sheer ecstasy of life.”

Thoughts

Industrial farms are cheap but they harm the environment and their consumers at a rate that is unthinkable and food from Salatin's farm costs considerably more but is very healthy and good for the environment.