HW #11 Final Food Project

I have chosen activism, I have unfortunately not accomplished anything physically in the past few days but my gears have been turning! I am already active in changing the industrial nightmarish atrocities by eating right and not purchasing anything mass-produced. I TRY! Step 2: Get the word out talking to everyone and anybody who is willing to listen to me and willing to join the movement because it is important to find others like you. Step 3: I have been working on the Added value farm in Red Hook New York City. Now to take this idea further. I live in an impoverished part of New York City, Washington Heights and most of the people from here are use to local produce because back where they came from, la Isla’s (THIS IS A DOMINICAN NEIGHBORHOOD, for the most part) most people don't go to a supermarket they grow there food buy it from the local farmer. When they come here they switch to mostly the cheapest mass-production available. My goal is to try and seese out all the locations that are abandoned and start building small urban farms. If it works here maybe it can spread, I love what added value is doing but it needs to go further than that, it needs to happen everywhere. I need to speak with the owners of added value but more importantly to the community centers in my neighborhood. I know plenty of organizations that would be willing to help and get this movement started. I also think many people around me would not like the farms for the simple fact of it bringing great value to their community but the guard it will put up against gentrification if their are no lots to take, no buildings can happen unless their abandoned (that’s another story). The question is will BLOOMBERG grant us these lots? I am not sure how all this works but that is why I need to get my thoughts transformed into action, but it is very hard for me to do so when I have so much going on around me. I WILL ACCOMPLISH MY IDEAS, I WILL. I was also riding the 5 train on Halloween morning coming from north-bubble-fuck and it was my favorite kind of ride, above ground and I saw this one huge lot completely green (ignoring pollution) and in a hill form I envisioned it as the farms the Aztecs would build with that looked like steps, gorgeous. Then 5 seconds later on the other side I saw THIS HUGE juvenile correctional facility all barbed wired up. I thought to think what are these poor kids doing in there, are they doing anything to get there minds working, and I thought WHAT IF WE COULD HAVE TROUBLED MINDS AS SUCH WORKING ON AN URBAN FARM? When will our society understand it must not simply be detention but attention? Step 4: I am part of the green roof committee at our school and am working with fellow colleges’ to get it running, with the help of parents and students. My main concern is once this happens because I know it will (the seniors will have a beautiful garden for the barbeque) is to get it really connected with the NYC cafeteria food, because I KNOW when we try and do this the official food provided by the government is not going to like it! I think it may be a great example to not simply expose their horrors but show that they could be using great ingredients.

FREAKONOMICS - Response

#2:
The directors seems to pretend that correlation is causation, when that is a fallacy, simply there needs to be correlation to have causation. I believe the directors know this but illustrate their data in a manner that correlation is causation to over-simplify their data so that the viewers can understand their points easily. I believe their arguments would have been stronger if they demonstrated the correlation and then the actual causation, and then if the correlation is correspondent to the causation, explain and if not why? At times they do prove that there must be a correlation to have causation but they illustrate such as “correlation is causation”. Such as a realtor is helping you sell your house, the price is 30k and you receive an offer for 29k he tells you to take it, he then sells his house which is the exact same, and gets 30k. The correlation is the realtor is selling your house and receiving a profit. The causation for him receiving more with the same opportunity is because the realtors job receives a profit of how much you make, but the quicker he can makes the money the better it is for him, because 1k won’t make difference worth his while. So he just wants to sell the house the quickly for his own interest. In one part of the movie they contradict their demonstration that correlation is causation, they state that the correlation is not the causation. They did a study on how you name your child, and where that child will end up in life, and it turns out that the name of our child has no effect upon weather they will be successful in life or not, it is how the child is raised. The cause for a name affecting your child is an outside factor such as someone who is racist and assumes that a person with an African-American name will not be qualified for the job. They explicitly show that the correlation between the child and the name is not the causation for their success or not.

#3: The sources of evidence that the Freakonomics directors rely on the most is statistics and finding patterns in those statistics and from their making conclusions, at times leading to theories. This is seen over and over in the movie with sumo wrestling results, Kind of name and resume call backs, incentives with children, and abortions correlation with violence rates. This is an innovative method when there are other sources of evidence to back up the patters as seen with the sumo wrestling. I think that this is not an innovative technique when there isn’t much evidence supporting the pattern besides the statistics like with legalizing abortion and violence rates. I think the patterns need to be backed up with causation and cannot only rely on the correlation of the statistics and the pattern.

Class correlation: Andy stated, "Freakonomics serves as an inspiration and good example to our attempt to explore the "hidden-in-plain-sight" weirdness of dominant social Practices." I agree with this statement, Freakonomics is a good example of the oddity accepted as normal in dominant social practices because it unveils multiple social practices and shows the true weirdness of it. Such as a real estate agent whom one hires to help you receive maximum profit from the sale of your house when it does the opposite. I think that Freakonomics itself is a strange movie and left me with un-settling thoughts. I think they stated their theories and the causation in odd manners and not very clearly for the viewers. I do think they did a good job at getting the point across that every human as a citizen of a country should not accept all that is happening around them and simply live by what the dominant discourse tells them to see. It is important to see everything from a different viewpoint to truly understand it. I don’t believe the movie is a great "inspiration" because they don’t seem to get to the core of humans emotions and what someone may hold dear but I believe it is a good example of why we need to question everything. Honne and tatamae seem to really explain our society and how we hide things from our people, but at least the Japanese have words stating it exist. We don’t! I think that food production in the United States simply works because of their tatamae tactics backed up with the propaganda, literally changing people’s lifestyles. Honne is disregarded so that they can make money and in doing so they use tatamae to act as if the consumers best interest is in mind so life can be simpler and cheaper for them.

Food, Inc. SPITBACK

Summary: Food Inc. (2008) by: Robert Kenner's purpose was to illustrate that "the way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years, than in previous centuries." and for the worst. The food industry is no longer about producing great produce from our earth but inventing food giving the company owners the best profit, at the expense of the consumer’s quality. The first agenda of this movie is to convince the viewer to eat healthy by exposing the antagonist’s food process. Food corporations objectify the product and de-skill the worker, to end up selling the product below the cost of production. The second agenda of this movie is to change the government, which simply encourages such a food system. This is done by laws such as the farm bill and capitalism fueling evil billionaires to receive what they want with bribing. Also laws facilitating their demeanors such as no health inspections, the FDA and USDA being run by share-holders and previous CEO’s and it being illicit to expose such factories.

Text vs. Movie:
The 2 forms of information both have different pros and cons, and the media forms should be used for different purposes. Most bluntly text is better at getting a lot of detailed information to the user. Movie is better for aiming at a more general population and less intelligent. This is because you can get a pretty good general knowledge about a subject in a short amount of time watching a movie. Now a day’s text is for a more dedicated and intelligent population because it takes time in our face paced society and you learn a lot more.
The movie offered an easy concept of percentages and numbers whereas when reading about numbers it is harder to realize the actual effect the numbers have, especially with percentages. For example when the movie had the pigs, cows, chickens going on an assembly line into the factory they showed how the companies dominated the market with shading the animal. This really gives the viewer how much they dominate the industry. Whereas when you simply read about it is less ingrained in your brain.
Books when you read them create a personalized image in your brain that you create, these images are more personal to one self, and have a personal feel to them. For example when reading about the slaughterhouses and the workers conditions you imagine it for your self so you feel like you are there and can really feel the workers pain and struggle. A movie creates an image for you so it is less personal and in this sense more factual because it is actually how it looks, or how they make it look. This can create a more shocking image because it is one you see but it gives you a sense of perceiving it from an exterior's view, as when reading its a view as if you were actually there, since you create it.
A movie also has a sense of brainwashing to it because it plays music behind it the scene, which can sway your emotion and create a way point of view that you might not be true to what you believe. A con from movies are that you can hear the persons tone of voice and see the expression they are making whereas in reading it is described to the reader, so the imagine it. This relates back to a book letting you create the image and a movie creating the image for you. I also think with text you really value words more and their meaning. When watching visuals you value them but on the surface one tends not to find their deeper meaning because they go by to quickly.

Thoughts: I believe the ending of the movie was intense because of the background sound and because of the words but that were powerful, but I believe the solution to their problems were made to simplistic. In thought this is what we need to change the world, we all take part by not indulging in their products because obviously the big corporations would be nothing without our money. But most viewers like Naima stated can't change their life style because of one movie, even though the incentive is clear and worth it. I believe the movie creators should have included easier things for the public to do such as the web links they provided. I also think it is very saddening that we as Americans are so brainwashed by branding and "what we 'know' is what is good" that we can't make lifestyle changes to save our health, our country, our government, or freedom, and our PLANET.

#7d

Chapter 9 – What’s in the meat?

In 1997 an outbreak of E. Coli 0157:H7 hit Colorado and contaminated 35million pounds of Hudson beef. The nations industrialized and centralized food system is causing more breakouts because of the mass-production system. Many new food born pathogens are being discovered because of this production system. The hamburger was originally considered food for the impoverished and White castle changed the face of the burger. This caused beef consumption to be pushed beginning mass production, causing major E. Coli 0157:H7 breakouts. E. Coli 0157:H7 is mutated bacteria found in the digestive system. It kills children and harms adults producing bad stomach aches, cramps, anal bleeding and diarrhea can cause harmful diseases overtime, it gets into the meat through the animal fesses. Meatpacking industries filthy factories in early 1900’s caused change but quickly they dominated the FDA ultimately giving it no authority. Slaughterhouses constantly have E. Coli 0157:H7 breakouts and suitable meat is distributed anyways. Instead of changing their procedure companies simply “clean” the meat with ammonium nitrate. The cheapest meat in the U.S.A is cooked in the public school systems and causes many E. Coli 0157:H7 outbreaks.

Gems

• “The USDA plan, however has been significantly watered down during negotiations with the meat packing industry and Republican members of Congress. The new system would shift many food safety tasks to employees. The records complied by those employees-- unlike the reports traditionally written by federal inspectors -- would not be available to the public trough the freedom of information act. And meat-packing plants would not be required to test for E. Coli 0157:H7, a pathogen whose discovery might lead to immediate condemnation of their meat. Instead, they could test for other bacteria as a broad measure of fecal contamination levels; the results of those test would not have to be revealed to the government; and meat containing whatever organisms the test found could still be sold to public.” • “The USDA chose meat suppliers for its National School Lunch Program on the basis of the lowest price, without imposing additional food safety requirements.”

Thoughts & Reflections

This brings back memories from when I was in middle school and elementary school. I felt the pressure to fit in so I would have my parents stop packing my lunch and eat the horrible cafeteria lunch. Fellow students and me always wanted to protest this food and attempted to change the quality of food in our school but we had no idea as to why the food was so horrible and, now I FULLY GET IT! We didn’t even get REAL PLATES OR FORK AND KNIFES, OR WATER. Only milk, Styrofoam trays, and sporks. The government does not care about the people. This also brings me back to my “health” classes where we were brain washed. All the information our P.E teacher gaves us came from the U.S.D.A so if the supposedly know what is best for us, then why do they ignore this fact when it comes to the money. We should have been educated on the TRUTH!!!

Chapter 10 - Global Realization

After Communism collapsed and WWII ended Mc Donald’s opened its visit franchise abroad in Plauen, Germany. This was the first symbol of their Globalization. Many natives of the countries opposed Mc Donald’s but with time gave in because of the corporations dominating monstrosity. Countries such as Turkey whom highly opposed it became a country dominated with Franchises highly imitating American "culture". The Mc Donald’s raised the obesity rates in many countries, and brought with them their mass-production methods for their ingredients changing the face of the earth. Many people tried destroying Mc Donald’s but in doing so were intimidated and hushed by the corporations, giving Mc Donald’s the leeway to continue domination.

Gems

• “The success of McDonalds, Pizza Hut, and T.G.I Fridays in Germany has helped spark a franchise boom.” • "Today 44 million American adults are obese. An additional 6 million are 'super-obese'; they weigh about a hundred pounds more than they should. No other nation in history has gotten so fat so fast"

Thoughts & Reflections

I come from an itsy-bitsy town in the south France, St. Raphael. I’ve visited every summer since I was 5. The feeling I love when landing and sense the motherland, its indescribable. One summer I realized the place I loved so much for its cultural roots was no longer the same, WE NOW HAD MC DONALDS! I didn’t even realize the tremendous difference between the bloods inside of me until; one root began growing in the other. Mc Donald’s was the opposite of the culture we come from especially my family who is in the business of food, and now here it was taking over. It made me so mad to see it and to eat it when I was there. I remember once my whole family had a huge event and for some reason there was no food and we were all starving so my aunts husband thought hey, Mc Donald’s, so we ate Mc Donald’s on my grandmothers dinning room table, all 17 of us. She was the only one who didn’t eat it. I look at it now and see it as the utmost disrespect. It pains me and ingrains in my head even more that I will never eat fast food again. It is one thing to hurt your own culture, but to hurt others that’s where I draw the line!!

Epilogue – Have it your way

Dale Lasater raises cattle the old-fashion American way very un-conventional compared to the dominant discourse. There is still chance of natural farming; Red Top and In-N-Out are fast-food restaurants that use higher quality ingredients and better staff conditions. Corporations don’t have all the power they also have to obey the laws, and with change in legislation the American people can make a change. We can also vote to change every time we eat by choosing the right food and not giving our money to mass-production.

Gems

• "Throughout the Cold War, America's decentralization system of agriculture, relying upon millions of independent producers, was depicted as the most productive system in the world, as proof of capitalism's inherent superiority" • "Every month more than 90 percent of the children in the United States eat at McDonald's.”

Thoughts and Reflections

I thought this book was amazing and it has truly inspired me to get involved in changing American legislation and food ways. I am starting with baby steps by putting love into our schools roof garden and hopefully we can start a project exemplifying how all NYC roof tops should be covered in green, imagine how many acres that would be!! I am also participating at added value an urban farm, and getting the word out there to who ever will listen. I also think the further information at the back of the book is really insightful.

#7c

Chapter 9 – What’s in the meat?

In 1997 an outbreak of E. Coli 0157:H7 hit Colorado and contaminated 35million pounds of Hudson beef. The nations industrialized and centralized food system is causing more breakouts because of the mass-production system. Many new food born pathogens are being discovered because of this production system. The hamburger was originally considered food for the impoverished and White castle changed the face of the burger. This caused beef consumption to be pushed beginning mass production, causing major E. Coli 0157:H7 breakouts. E. Coli 0157:H7 is mutated bacteria found in the digestive system. It kills children and harms adults producing bad stomach aches, cramps, anal bleeding and diarrhea can cause harmful diseases overtime, it gets into the meat through the animal fesses. Meatpacking industries filthy factories in early 1900’s caused change but quickly they dominated the FDA ultimately giving it no authority. Slaughterhouses constantly have E. Coli 0157:H7 breakouts and suitable meat is distributed anyways. Instead of changing their procedure companies simply “clean” the meat with ammonium nitrate. The cheapest meat in the U.S.A is cooked in the public school systems and causes many E. Coli 0157:H7 outbreaks.

Gems
• “The USDA plan, however has been significantly watered down during negotiations with the meat packing industry and Republican members of Congress. The new system would shift many food safety tasks to employees. The records complied by those employees-- unlike the reports traditionally written by federal inspectors -- would not be available to the public trough the freedom of information act. And meat-packing plants would not be required to test for E. Coli 0157:H7, a pathogen whose discovery might lead to immediate condemnation of their meat. Instead, they could test for other bacteria as a broad measure of fecal contamination levels; the results of those test would not have to be revealed to the government; and meat containing whatever organisms the test found could still be sold to public.” • “The USDA chose meat suppliers for its National School Lunch Program on the basis of the lowest price, without imposing additional food safety requirements.”
Thoughts & Reflections This brings back memories from when I was in middle school and elementary school. I felt the pressure to fit in so I would have my parents stop packing my lunch and eat the horrible cafeteria lunch. Fellow students and me always wanted to protest this food and attempted to change the quality of food in our school but we had no idea as to why the food was so horrible and, now I FULLY GET IT! We didn’t even get REAL PLATES OR FORK AND KNIFES, OR WATER. Only milk, Styrofoam trays, and sporks. The government does not care about the people. This also brings me back to my “health” classes where we were brain washed. All the information our P.E teacher gaves us came from the U.S.D.A so if the supposedly know what is best for us, then why do they ignore this fact when it comes to the money. We should have been educated on the TRUTH!!!

#7B

Fast Food Nation By: Eric Schlosser

Chapter 4 - Success 

Feamster, is a Colorado Springs graduate whom is a franchisee for four Little Cesar's in Pueblo, Detroit. Becoming a Franchisee is a combination of starting your own business and working for a boss, with more security of success since the guidelines is that of a mass corporation, known and successful elsewhere. Franchising began in 1898 by General motors; it was an ingenious way to expand the corporation in a new industry. Mc Donald’s ended up doing the same but they own the real estate and provided the regulations and supplies for the restaurants. Mc Donald’s Business structure has been imitated by many companies in retail and food.Many conflicts have arisen between franchisees and franchisors because of their claim "encroachment" where more of the same chains open near by reducing the franchisee's income. Congressman Howard Coble created legislation that would make franchisors obey the same fundamental business principles as other American companies. The Small business administration guaranteed 18,000 franchise loans in 1 year, of those 10% ended in default. Feamster is a respectable man who earns 2.5 million from his 4 franchises and gives back to his community regularly. He brought his 14 employees to a success seminar ran by Peter Lowe, which taught them nothing they didn't know except conventional goals don’t matter. 

J.R Simpson is now a multibillonaire who owns one of the biggest potato manufactures in Idaho. He began drying onions and potatoes and hit it big with the military. After WW2 he invested in frozen food but it was still not selling for homes because of fridge costs. In 1953 he made a deal with Kroc and opened a facotry just for Mc Donalds. The frozen french fry industry now reduced to 3 suppliers. The number of farmers is reducing and one kind of crop is being mass produced in bigger farms. Farmers are reciving less and less profit as mass corporations rake in more. 

Gems

• ""Eventually I opened a Mc Donald's across the street from that store which they had renamed The Big M," Kroc proudly noted in his memoir, "And it ran them out of business.""
• "In New York City, the SBA backed thirteen loans to Burger King franchisees; eleven of them defaulted. The chain was "experimenting" according to congressional investigation, using government-backed loans to open restaurants in marginal locations. Burger King did not lose money when these restaurants closed. American taxpayers had covered the franchise fees, paid for the buildings, real estate, equipment, and supplies."
• "Reeve says, "By the time I was 24, I was making millions, I was pretty pleased with myself... I was selfish and neglected my family... since my accident; I've been realizing ...That success means something quite different. I see people who achieve these conventional goals, none of it matters.""

Reflections 

• Kroc is really one of the most selfish people I have ever heard of and cannot wait till his greedy self gets the horrible karma he deserves, I wonder if he lives a happy life with his millons of dollars,and millons of Mc Donalds.
• This makes me sick ! SOON I AM GOING TO BE A TAXPAYER !! I am not about to pay for Burger King establishments I refuse to ever again support such franchises, but back to my life issue, HOW DO I CHANGE ALL OF THIS ?! 
• Christoper Reeves is a perfect example of Karma getting at him for what he deserved, apparently but no one will realize that money dosen't matter until they getting a PERSONAL life changing experience. 
• I wonder if the publication of this book in the least changed fast food income.. DOUBT IT ! 

Chapter 5 - Why the fries taste good

J.R Simplton is now a multibillionaire who owns one of the biggest potato manufactures in Idaho. He began drying onions and potatoes for the u.s military. After world war 2 he invested in frozen food and he made a deal with Kroc and opened a factory just for Mc Donalds. The frozn french fry industry has now reduced to 3 suppliers. The number of farmers is reducing and one kind of crop is being mass produced in bigger farms. Farmers are reciving less and less profit as mass corporations rake in more. Falovring and color additives are the magic to mass production, without such chemicals mass-produced food wouldnt sell. The fragrance industry is very secretive IFF manufactures in New Jersy and is made up of a small grouyp of chemist whoo mix hundreds of chemicals to rcive falvors and scents, to make food more appeling. This industry now makes 1.4 billion dollars a year. The Lamb Weston company uses state of the art technology to make food. French Fries go through a cleaning, sorting, peeling, cutting, cooking, drying, freezing process thousands at a time. Most of the work is done by machines and the end result is a delicious french fry. 

Gems 

• "about 90% of the money that Americans spend on food is used to buy processed food"
• "Fast food companies purchase frozen french fries for about 30 cents a pound , reheat them in oil and sell them for about $6 a pound." 

Reflections 

• This upsets me profoundly and I think it is the example of the ignorance Americans reek in foodway's, simply because they are being controlled by rich puppetires. 

Chapter 6 - On the Range 

Hank was the first person I met in Colorado Springs, he is a local rancher. He owns a Farm 2 miles south of C.S. There he raises 400 free range cattle. He is determined to help the environment because of fast growth. C.S is causing major water waste eroding land from his property, and a raceway is now over the hill from him. Ranching use to be a business with 250 different providers and now 4 produce 80% of Americans meat. Ranchers are being forced into selling for lower prices and mass-producing in order to get their cattle sold. Ranching is becoming similar to the poultry industry where Chickens, the quicker and fatter the grower can get them, the more they are paid. Companies such as Perdue own the food, the birds; the growers simply own the land. Ranching is dying in the west as land gets more expensive, and mass-production and urban life is taking over. Hank committed suicide in 1998 because of all the up mounting pressure.

Gems 

• "Today the top four meatpacking firms - ConAgra, IBP, Excel, and National Beef - slaughter about 84% of the nation's cattle."
• "Most American beef cannot be exported to the European Union, where the use of bovine growth hormones has been banned."

Reflection, Insight

• (http://www.eu-oplysningen.dk/euo_en/spsv/all/101/) states the life expectancy in the E.U is 80,8. 
• (http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/births_deaths_marriages_divorces/life_expectancy.html) states the life expectancy in the U.S.A is 77. 
• This is a big jump but in the E.U bovine growth hormones cannot be used, and the E.U over all has better health than americans, but all us Americans care about is money. 

Home Grown Sprouts !

My sprouts before they were eaten, their were more, just bad photography quality !

This is how I ate the sprouts, falafel bread, ham, avocado, hummus, and the sprouts.

I wish I would have eaten my sprouts differently, I was unable to enjoy the taste this way, the other ingredients over powered the nutty taste, but they did add just the right crunch to my lunch! I had some of Naima's sprouts in class straight out the jar, and they were scrumptious just like that. They had a fresh nutty flavor I enjoyed, but my favorite sprouts were the radish I loved the zing. I found it serial to be growing food in my own little New York apartment. I loved watching them grow little by little over the hours and transforming into green beings. I am used to farming but it is a different sensation when you do it all on your own and with no soil!!! It makes me think of all the infinite possibilities; we could all grow our own food everywhere. During my internship I was conducting interviews on public space and I met a woman who is a farmer for a roof farm in NYC, Brooklyn! I found that so cool, I think that NYC would not only be miraculous with farms on all the roofs but so productive. Growing sprouts in a glass jar is just the start!

#7

Fast Food Nation By: Eric Scholoseer

 Introduction: 

 The Cheynne Mountain Air Force Station if ever discovered by archeologist the remains of our food will be fast food packaging. What we eat has changed over the last 3 decades and this is because of American modernization causing food to be sold in franchise with the importance being uniformity. Fast food is now being exported all around the world and is a symbol of American's service economy and the horrible food quality causing deadly pathogens!

 Chapter 1: The Founding Fathers

The American Way Carl N. Karcher was one of the fast-food pioneers he began the Carl jr. Fast Food Chain. It is the story of how he began as a struggling businessman and followed what was making money in California, which was the speedee service; making food in an assembly line. Their are multiple stories of business men who implied the Mc Donald brother speedee food system and began chains such as KFC, Burger King, and Wendy's spreading fast food around the USA. Also expressed is the industrialization of things around this period, including highways, other fast-food corporations, subdivisions, and strip malls.

 Chapter 2: Your Trusted Friends

 McDonalds headquarters has a shrine (disguised as museum) showing all their achievements in mass-producing. Ray Kroc is the man who made the speedee service a chain and turned fast food into an advertising business. Like his fellow Red Cross worker Walt Disney, they created propaganda to sell their products using synergy. Setting Mc Donald’s as a trusting friend, whom makes the kids happy, and makes your life easier. Most Mass-corporation advertisement is aimed at 'kid kustomers' to create a loyal brand costumer. This has lead to marketing in schools where products such as coke are being sold and having a ' coke day' in school to promote the brand and receive funding for education.

  

Gems & Questions & Responses:

Customers are drawn to familiar brands by an instinct to avoid the unknown. A brand offers a feeling of reassurance when its products are always and everywhere the same. "We have found out...that we cannot trust some people who are nonconformists," declared Ray Kroc.." This shows that Americans have been brain washed to think everything similar is good,creating a culture where only your own is good and people become close minded And only stay in their comfort zone. "that was where I learned you could influence people with a smile and enthusiasm," This shows that Mc donalds infulences all their costumers with kindness to have them believe that they are their 'trusted friends'. "This is a rat eat rat, dog eat dog. Ill kill' em and i'm going to kill'em before they kill me. You're talking about the American way of survival of the fittest." This I foind the most disturbing because this oppitomizes mass-production belief that quality is not what matters is making the most money and doing whatever to get there. I wonder why It is legal to Advertise to children who cannot even deffend themself, I think that advertisment all together should be illegal.

Chapter 3: Behind the counter

Colorado springs was once a varied town with local stores. Has now expanded into the new L.A with replica homes, and hundreds of fast food restaurants, with a huge influx of white middle class, Republican Evangelical Christians. The number of fast food restaurants has increased fivefold in the last 30 years. Elisa Zamot is a teen that works a horrible, minimum wage no -union, un-skilled, and dangerous fast-food job. All food arrives frozen or in syrups and then is placed in machines at the chain, taco bell the recipe is simply "add hot water”. The chains have created standardized products and procedures so they can spend minimum on employees. At a 1999 conference Burger King, Mc Donald’s, and TriconGlobal meet and agreed on how to make employee expenses a minimum, including having temporary employees to receive tax reductions by the government of $2,400 for "training employees" who have no skills. Managers create schedules so workers never work more than 30hours if possible so they never get an overtime salary. Valued the most in staff members is obedience, their is NO SKILL INVOLVED. There is no Union for such staff members, they have tried but have been stopped by the corporations. Fast food relies on mostly teenage staff that is ok with minimum wage and many students give up their schoolwork. There is a protecting Youth at work regulations but is not followed by fast food. Every year 200,000 workers are injured because of minimal training; Fast food companies are also the most robbed companies by their own staff!! Causing many staff murders. And the big dogs of these companies couldn't care, simply care that slowly things are obscuring their sick work.

Gems:

• "A lot of kids at Harrison don't save any of the money earned at their fast food jobs. They buy beepers, cellular phones, stereos, and designer clothes." 
• "The turmoil of an earlier era has been replaced by a sad and rootless anomie. "I have lots and lots of kids who are terribly depressed," Trogdon says, "I've never seen so many, so young, feel this way."
• " "I see the possibility of unions," he warned. The thought "chilled" him. He asked everyone in the audience to give more money to the industry's key lobbying groups. "And [senator] Kenndy's pushing hard on a $7.25 minimum wage," he continued. "That'll be fun, wont it? I love the idea of that. I sure do - strike me dead!" As the crowd laughed and roared and applauded Brinker's call to arms against unions and the government, the talk about teamwork fell into the proper perspective."

Reflections:

• It makes me upset that kids work at these horrrible jobs, for these terrible companies and then simply return their salary right back to such companies such as nike, motorola, and so on. These are all companies who rely on cheap labor, cheap quality, and "fashion trend" and ever changing technology to make their profits. 
• Something is terribly wrong with the world we live in if so many teenagers are depressed, I thought teens were supoose to have the mind state "im unvincable" and be most determined. This leads me to the thought that so many young people find things wrong with our society but sit back and let it happen, no revolts or protest are ever happening.. I guess I should get off my ass.

FOOD DIARY ! 9//10 - 9//10

9/28 : 4 PM After school snack

cheese quesadilla (I made it)

cashews and an apple

9/28 Dinner

Parmesan 

spagetti with tomato sauce  ( I made it)

I have never enjoyed a plate of pasta so much in my life! I really at it slooooooowly and savored every bite and felt all the textures with my tongue and it was so good. The sweet yet salty taste of the tomato sauce with the perfectly cooked pasta and the rich creamy taste of the Parmesan was HEVEAN! I realized eating this meal that, I usually eat healthy and better than most Americans, BUT I am a rushed New Yorker. I throw my food down my throat and not only is not good for your health but you cannot savor the food with the respect and time it deserves. I AM A TRUE FRENCHIE !! I LOVE PASTA, I could eat it anyway and that is the beauty of it there is a million gazillion trillion ways to eat it.

salad (I made the dressing)

9/29

7:30 am egg & cheese sandwich (forgot to photograph, these were the eggs used)

with coffee

12:50 lunch time @ sof.. dollar pizza and then another one at 5pm

This dollar Pizza place is the bomb in the sense that it only cost a dollar and tast pretty damn good as far as pizza goes, but my question is what kind of crap ingredients they use in order to satisfy their profit goal. Its sad because I wish I didn't eat this crap but when not home I have no choice ! What scares me more is the place on the corner its hot dogs and fries for real cheap. The reason this guy opens this is because he knows that this is going to be a hit with all the schools and offices around. The scary part is that is what is in demand fries, hot dogs and pizza, for cheap ! You cant get a soup,pasta, or SALAD for cheap ! SALADS COST $9 ! 

8PM

Lentil salad with balsamic and onions

Skirt steak

Olives

Salad 

Yogurt

With honey

I REALLLY ENJOYED this dessert it was so simple but delicious the bitterness of the yogurt contrasting against the ultra sweet honey is so good and the yogurt is so smooth it feels like silk slipping down your throat.

Then mom came home from upstate with fresh organic natural apple cider & apple donuts !!!!

9/30

7:30 am coffee

10:30 am apple

11:45am cheese slices

1:45pm tuna salad & left over lentil salad

Tuna on toast, open face

 Then went to an open house where I had a trail mix bar & slice of gross pizza from papa johns and a cup of coke, wanted water but there was no more, i felt guilty for drinking the coke I dont drink soda anymore. 

9PM I got home late and was home alone so did tomato sauce pasta again but spicy, and pan simmered swiss chard with garlic. 

I am a little disappointed in my food diary I wanted my mom to whip out her crazy delicious mind blowing meals, I enjoy showing off her talent :D but We had a very hectic week and my mom went out of town so their was not time for such beauty. Since I did have my food diary in mind most of the time I was thinking about it on the train and I saw an ad for a place called Grub Hub.. and the slogan was eating made easy. WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT SOCIETY? Food is no longer about nourishment it’s about throwing food down your throat and not caring. Grub is just like any kind of food and its food made easy, there is nothing difficult about food it just takes time, but I guess there is not much time in our society anymore. 

Most of the food I ate this week was eaten because of convince, what ever I ate was simple and quick to make BUT everything that came from my home was all organic, fresh, healthy and so on. I really wish it was everywhere but its not. 

One thing I love and is frowned upon especially in my own home, is eating with my hands ! I hate silverware, I feel I experience my food more with my fingers. I think silverware is helpful with some items such as soup but or else I prefer my hands, I cant wait till I have my own home so I can do what I please. Or I need to move to India.