Food project
In this project we explored the food industry and all the different farming methods. We wrote a paper about a desired topic I chose a diet based on wealth.
Is Fast Food Really Cheap?
Some Americans with a low socioeconomic status often think they are saving money by buying fast food. A lot of the time they can't afford good food, they need a meal that is quick and easy because they work all day and don't have time to shop or prepare homemade meals. Some don't know just how bad fast food is for them. The fast food industry targets economically unstable citizens with their marketing, influencing their buying habits. Most people don't realize the costs of developing an unhealthy eating habit.
For some people, eating healthy isn't always a choice. Some of the time people can't afford to eat healthy and because of this, millions of people eat at places like McDonalds on a regular basis. A lot of people regularly eat at McDonald's because they don't have much of an option. For these people food isn't always right there for them when they need it. A lot of people think they just can't afford fresh organic food. Fast food is an easy and cheap meal that is quick and inexpensive, which is important for people who don't have a lot of time to shop and prepare food or extra money to purchase food that is actually good for them. An eating habit like this isn't very healthy.
So if fast food is bad for you why do people keep eating there? In a recent study Jayashree Pakhare (food advocate) stated that “Unhealthy eating among fast food lovers eventually causes obesity.” Many people are aware of this fact, so what makes them keep eating at places like McDonald's day after day? The answer is rather complex. First, Fast food companies have a huge budget and they spend over 2 billion dollars of it a year on advertisements. We see advertising and branding everywhere, these draw in new costumers and increase the loyalty of their current 'regulars'. Secondly, the human brain is hardwired to enjoy food that is high in fat, sugar, and salt. That pretty much sums up all of the fast food restaurants. This is a habit we developed during the hunting and gathering stages of human development. Unfortunately we have such high amounts of this kind of food that we over consume these “comfort” foods. Finally, as I stated before, fast food is cheap. Most people don't have the money or time to dine out at expensive places so fast food is always an easy option.
Because McDonald’s brings in millions of customers each day, some very unhealthy eating habits have developed. More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese (CBS News). The most common illness from obesity is diabetes. There are serious threats that this disease presents including, increased risk of heart attack, kidney failure, blindness, and many other minor complications. Diabetes has spread through our nation like a wildfire. One in 10 united states residents are currently suffering from diabetes. By 2050 this number could be 1 in 3. Diabetes is responsible for about $170 billion dollars in healthcare costs and is the leading cause of death in the United States. Regular fast food eaters are at a high risk of developing diabetes if they do not already have the disease. Doctors say that the most effective way to stay diabetes free is to simply stay healthy. This means, eating foods with a lot of vitamins and limiting your calories to your recommended intake. Exercising regularly also greatly reduces the risk of developing diabetes. If people keep eating at places like McDonalds because it saves them money, think again because paying for illnesses such as diabetes costs much more than a Big Mac.
An interesting aspect of the economics of fast food is government subsidies. Farmers that grow crops such as corn do not receive very much money for the corn that they are growing. In fact they would lose money if it weren't for government subsidies. Government subsidies are when the government actually pays the farmers to produce cheap crops like corn. Fast food restaurants like McDonalds buy tons of corn every year. It's hard to believe but about 93% of the carbon in a standard McDonald's meal can be traced back to corn (Omnivores Dilemma). Government subsidies are one of the main reasons fast food is so cheap. If it weren't for government subsidies a Big Mac would cost about $7 dollars because the farmers that grow the corn that goes into the meal would be forced to sell their corn for more money resulting in higher priced meals at fast food restaurants. If the meals at McDonald's weren't so expensive people wouldn't eat there just because it's cheap.
"While it seems shocking or cruel that a corporation such as McDonald's would intentionally market its unhealthy food to low-income people and minorities, this marketing decision seems to support long-standing structured inequalities between these groups and white to upper-class Americans," said sociology instructor Justin Hoy. McDonalds purposefully markets to minorities and people with a low income. They put out advertisements featuring minorities and common situations that someone with a low income would come across. While McDonald's may be an easy option for someone without very much money in the long run it is a losing battle. “You can either pay the farmer or the doctor” (Bhaer TED Talk). This quote explains how it may seem cheap to buy McDonalds everyday but paying for diabetes medicine or other illnesses is much more expensive.
Some Americans with a low socioeconomic status often think they are saving money by buying fast food. A lot of the time they can't afford good food, they need a meal that is quick and easy because they work all day and don't have time to shop or prepare homemade meals. Some don't know just how bad fast food is for them. The fast food industry targets economically unstable citizens with their marketing, influencing their buying habits. Most people don't realize the costs of developing an unhealthy eating habit.
For some people, eating healthy isn't always a choice. Some of the time people can't afford to eat healthy and because of this, millions of people eat at places like McDonalds on a regular basis. A lot of people regularly eat at McDonald's because they don't have much of an option. For these people food isn't always right there for them when they need it. A lot of people think they just can't afford fresh organic food. Fast food is an easy and cheap meal that is quick and inexpensive, which is important for people who don't have a lot of time to shop and prepare food or extra money to purchase food that is actually good for them. An eating habit like this isn't very healthy.
So if fast food is bad for you why do people keep eating there? In a recent study Jayashree Pakhare (food advocate) stated that “Unhealthy eating among fast food lovers eventually causes obesity.” Many people are aware of this fact, so what makes them keep eating at places like McDonald's day after day? The answer is rather complex. First, Fast food companies have a huge budget and they spend over 2 billion dollars of it a year on advertisements. We see advertising and branding everywhere, these draw in new costumers and increase the loyalty of their current 'regulars'. Secondly, the human brain is hardwired to enjoy food that is high in fat, sugar, and salt. That pretty much sums up all of the fast food restaurants. This is a habit we developed during the hunting and gathering stages of human development. Unfortunately we have such high amounts of this kind of food that we over consume these “comfort” foods. Finally, as I stated before, fast food is cheap. Most people don't have the money or time to dine out at expensive places so fast food is always an easy option.
Because McDonald’s brings in millions of customers each day, some very unhealthy eating habits have developed. More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese (CBS News). The most common illness from obesity is diabetes. There are serious threats that this disease presents including, increased risk of heart attack, kidney failure, blindness, and many other minor complications. Diabetes has spread through our nation like a wildfire. One in 10 united states residents are currently suffering from diabetes. By 2050 this number could be 1 in 3. Diabetes is responsible for about $170 billion dollars in healthcare costs and is the leading cause of death in the United States. Regular fast food eaters are at a high risk of developing diabetes if they do not already have the disease. Doctors say that the most effective way to stay diabetes free is to simply stay healthy. This means, eating foods with a lot of vitamins and limiting your calories to your recommended intake. Exercising regularly also greatly reduces the risk of developing diabetes. If people keep eating at places like McDonalds because it saves them money, think again because paying for illnesses such as diabetes costs much more than a Big Mac.
An interesting aspect of the economics of fast food is government subsidies. Farmers that grow crops such as corn do not receive very much money for the corn that they are growing. In fact they would lose money if it weren't for government subsidies. Government subsidies are when the government actually pays the farmers to produce cheap crops like corn. Fast food restaurants like McDonalds buy tons of corn every year. It's hard to believe but about 93% of the carbon in a standard McDonald's meal can be traced back to corn (Omnivores Dilemma). Government subsidies are one of the main reasons fast food is so cheap. If it weren't for government subsidies a Big Mac would cost about $7 dollars because the farmers that grow the corn that goes into the meal would be forced to sell their corn for more money resulting in higher priced meals at fast food restaurants. If the meals at McDonald's weren't so expensive people wouldn't eat there just because it's cheap.
"While it seems shocking or cruel that a corporation such as McDonald's would intentionally market its unhealthy food to low-income people and minorities, this marketing decision seems to support long-standing structured inequalities between these groups and white to upper-class Americans," said sociology instructor Justin Hoy. McDonalds purposefully markets to minorities and people with a low income. They put out advertisements featuring minorities and common situations that someone with a low income would come across. While McDonald's may be an easy option for someone without very much money in the long run it is a losing battle. “You can either pay the farmer or the doctor” (Bhaer TED Talk). This quote explains how it may seem cheap to buy McDonalds everyday but paying for diabetes medicine or other illnesses is much more expensive.
So how can we fix this on going problem? No one really knows a perfect answer to this question but there are many theories. Some people say that we need more government subsidies that pay small, local organic farms. In turn taking away from huge corporations that just grow cheap corn. People think that this would definitely help but they do not know the effectiveness of this proposal. I think that one thing we can do now is stay local and support small organic farms. This may limit options and may be significantly more expensive but in the long run it is worth it.
SHAKESPEARE PROJECT
Project Reflection
In the shakespeare project we spent a few weeks really getting to know one of shakespeare's best plays, McBeth. We started off by reading and understanding shakespeare's writing. When we were familiar with the play we started putting it into a puppet show. My roles were, lighting/stage crew, documentation crew, and producers assistant. In lighting/stage crew we set up the shadow puppet screen and stand, we also picked out the colors for the lights and we controlled them during the performance.
My favorite part of the shakespeare project was reading McBeth as a class, It was fun to explore the different ways that shakespeare could be read aloud. My best moment was when I had to get a spotlight to face the live acting stage but still have it be controlled from backstage. That took some critical thinking and problem solving. Before this project I had never done anything remotely related to acting in a performance. It was really cool to discover that it was a lot of fun being a character and relating his life to yours.
This project had some difficult moments. In my opinion the most difficult thing was collaboration. It is hard to get everyone's ideas into the final piece when there are 20 students all working on it. A time that I persevered through something difficult was when I forgot an important set piece. I was supposed to bring in a cauldron for the live acting and I did not remember to bring it. So instead of just forgetting about it, a couple other students and I found some materials that we ended up making a nice cauldron out of.
I learned about myself in this project. I realized that collaborating in a big group is a challenge. First of all everyone has different ideas. There is no way to absolutely please everyone when working in a group that size. That being said, I think that it taught a lot of students to be accepting and make the work beautiful even if they aren't entirely pleased with it. Another thing I learned was that it is easy to slack off in big groups. Everyday I had to make sure I was staying on task instead of messing around in a corner. I think this was a learning curve for me because I realized that a big project will never work perfectly unless every student is thriving to make it perfect.
William Shakespeare is a brilliant play writer. To answer the question: Why, 400 years later, does the English-speaking world still gravitate/celebrate the works of William Shakespeare? I would say that people still celebrate his work because in some way everyone can relate to it. He wrote plays that capture and exaggerate the everyday problems that people have been facing for hundreds of years. Shakespeare is an amazing person to learn about and I think that if it is not taught correctly it can be ruined. I am glad Jessica knew how to get me exited about his plays.
Short Story project
In this project we explored our writing skills in writing a short fictional story.
Blinded By the Light
Al Thomson
(Based on a true story)
It is dark. Perhaps dark is not the right choice of words. There is an abundance of nothingness. Neither light nor dark, neither white nor black. The nothingness is familiar to me. I have grown used to it. Throughout my whole life there has been visually nothing. I can tell it is morning now because I feel the sun's early rays warming everything they touch. I feel the familiar rub of soft fur against my leg. I reach down and pet Max. Max is a pure bred German Shepard. He is my companion, he is my guide through the nothingness. There is something reassuring about his presence this morning. It's as if he knows something important is going to happen.
I get dressed for the day, and with one hand resting on Max, I am led to the kitchen. I recognize the familiar sound of Anna's feet making soft 'thuds' on the ground as she prepares breakfast. Anna is my wife. She has soft skin and long flowing hair that cascades off her shoulders. I have always wondered what she really looks like. The only details I know is what others have told me and what I've touched. I met Anna in San Francisco senior year at Stanford. We both attended the same sculpting class. We started going out and had a really good time together. After that we got married and moved into a small one bedroom house in the country, about one hour away from the bay.
Anna greets me and places a steaming breakfast on the table in front of me. I smell the familiar sent of eggs and bacon. I thank her, and start in on the feast in front of me. I soon finish my breakfast and I begin to get ready for the big day ahead of me. Today I will be able to see! The procedure is scheduled for 2:00, but they said it could be sooner. The technology is fairly simple, the doctors replaced my useless eyes with bionic eyes about a month ago, so that my brain could get used to the new eyes. The bionic eyes connect directly to my brain and will eventually let me experience life like everybody else. Today is that day. The doctors will switch on my new eyes. I've never experienced the gift of sight, and I am slightly anxious. I have no idea what it's going to be like. To be able to see the things that I touch, smell, and hear seems unimaginable.
It's time to go to the hospital for the procedure. Anna leads me to our old station wagon and I sit in the familiar worn leather seat. She drives to the hospital which takes about 20 minutes. The whole time I think of what it must be like to be able to experience life in this whole new way. We arrive at the hospital, and with one hand on Anna's shoulder, we enter. The smell of disinfectants and vitamins fill my nose. I hear my wife talking to the receptionist but I don't listen. I am in a daze. I get lead to the operation room where Anna is forced to leave. She is in tears as we say goodbye, and I assume I would be also if I was capable of making tears. A surgeon comes in and helps me onto the operating table. He then asks if I am ready for the anesthesia and I tell him I am. I feel a mask getting placed over my nose and mouth, and he asks me to count backwards from ten. I barely make it to six before I am in a deep sleep.
I can feel myself regaining consciousness and my memory starts flooding back. I remember why I am here and I cautiously open my eyes. It starts with a splinter of light, I then start to see black and white lines spiraling across my line of sight. The lines turn into blobs, white blobs silhouetted by darkness. I then start to see the first real images. I see the ceiling, I am astonished by the white drywall above me. I roll my eyes around and they reveal even more colors. It is so bright and I am so confused, this is pure magic. I am overwhelmed by what I am experiencing.
It is so bright, perhaps too bright. My mind goes crazy, it cannot process everything my new eyes are taking in. It's too much to take. I begin to feel nauseous. I jump off the operating table, ripping needles and tubes from my body, and run through the hallway using my hands to guide me. While I am running, I close my eyes. I don't want to experience this feeling anymore. I find the elevator, and click what I think is the button for the top floor of the hospital. I run down more hallways, until I find a door with braille writing marked “roof access.” I run onto the roof and feel the cold ocean breeze on my face. My eyes once again open, and I look down. I see the blue of the what must be the ocean in the distance and all the buildings around me. Tiny figures on the streets are walking in separate directions, separated by hundreds of cars. I realize how small everybody is from 20 stories up, like little ants scuttling around all in search of something different.
There is so much going on in my head, I feel trapped and scared. I don't like all the confusion, it's just too different. I hear the door open behind me, and I see the surgeon trailed by panicked nurses. He starts coming towards me, but I can't let him take me back. I step back and then run towards the edge. A tinge of regret hits me as I wonder if Anna will be able to handle being alone. I jump. The figures on the streets get bigger and bigger and then it is over. I am back to experiencing nothing. Comforting and familiar nothingness.
Al Thomson
(Based on a true story)
It is dark. Perhaps dark is not the right choice of words. There is an abundance of nothingness. Neither light nor dark, neither white nor black. The nothingness is familiar to me. I have grown used to it. Throughout my whole life there has been visually nothing. I can tell it is morning now because I feel the sun's early rays warming everything they touch. I feel the familiar rub of soft fur against my leg. I reach down and pet Max. Max is a pure bred German Shepard. He is my companion, he is my guide through the nothingness. There is something reassuring about his presence this morning. It's as if he knows something important is going to happen.
I get dressed for the day, and with one hand resting on Max, I am led to the kitchen. I recognize the familiar sound of Anna's feet making soft 'thuds' on the ground as she prepares breakfast. Anna is my wife. She has soft skin and long flowing hair that cascades off her shoulders. I have always wondered what she really looks like. The only details I know is what others have told me and what I've touched. I met Anna in San Francisco senior year at Stanford. We both attended the same sculpting class. We started going out and had a really good time together. After that we got married and moved into a small one bedroom house in the country, about one hour away from the bay.
Anna greets me and places a steaming breakfast on the table in front of me. I smell the familiar sent of eggs and bacon. I thank her, and start in on the feast in front of me. I soon finish my breakfast and I begin to get ready for the big day ahead of me. Today I will be able to see! The procedure is scheduled for 2:00, but they said it could be sooner. The technology is fairly simple, the doctors replaced my useless eyes with bionic eyes about a month ago, so that my brain could get used to the new eyes. The bionic eyes connect directly to my brain and will eventually let me experience life like everybody else. Today is that day. The doctors will switch on my new eyes. I've never experienced the gift of sight, and I am slightly anxious. I have no idea what it's going to be like. To be able to see the things that I touch, smell, and hear seems unimaginable.
It's time to go to the hospital for the procedure. Anna leads me to our old station wagon and I sit in the familiar worn leather seat. She drives to the hospital which takes about 20 minutes. The whole time I think of what it must be like to be able to experience life in this whole new way. We arrive at the hospital, and with one hand on Anna's shoulder, we enter. The smell of disinfectants and vitamins fill my nose. I hear my wife talking to the receptionist but I don't listen. I am in a daze. I get lead to the operation room where Anna is forced to leave. She is in tears as we say goodbye, and I assume I would be also if I was capable of making tears. A surgeon comes in and helps me onto the operating table. He then asks if I am ready for the anesthesia and I tell him I am. I feel a mask getting placed over my nose and mouth, and he asks me to count backwards from ten. I barely make it to six before I am in a deep sleep.
I can feel myself regaining consciousness and my memory starts flooding back. I remember why I am here and I cautiously open my eyes. It starts with a splinter of light, I then start to see black and white lines spiraling across my line of sight. The lines turn into blobs, white blobs silhouetted by darkness. I then start to see the first real images. I see the ceiling, I am astonished by the white drywall above me. I roll my eyes around and they reveal even more colors. It is so bright and I am so confused, this is pure magic. I am overwhelmed by what I am experiencing.
It is so bright, perhaps too bright. My mind goes crazy, it cannot process everything my new eyes are taking in. It's too much to take. I begin to feel nauseous. I jump off the operating table, ripping needles and tubes from my body, and run through the hallway using my hands to guide me. While I am running, I close my eyes. I don't want to experience this feeling anymore. I find the elevator, and click what I think is the button for the top floor of the hospital. I run down more hallways, until I find a door with braille writing marked “roof access.” I run onto the roof and feel the cold ocean breeze on my face. My eyes once again open, and I look down. I see the blue of the what must be the ocean in the distance and all the buildings around me. Tiny figures on the streets are walking in separate directions, separated by hundreds of cars. I realize how small everybody is from 20 stories up, like little ants scuttling around all in search of something different.
There is so much going on in my head, I feel trapped and scared. I don't like all the confusion, it's just too different. I hear the door open behind me, and I see the surgeon trailed by panicked nurses. He starts coming towards me, but I can't let him take me back. I step back and then run towards the edge. A tinge of regret hits me as I wonder if Anna will be able to handle being alone. I jump. The figures on the streets get bigger and bigger and then it is over. I am back to experiencing nothing. Comforting and familiar nothingness.