I decided to experiment with my diet and become a vegetarian for a whole week. Even though I was staying away from meat and dairy products i was also avoiding sugar filled drinks and snacks that contained a lot of trans-fats. The overall idea was to change my diet for the better and just eat way healthier than i did before. I feel that the reason that becoming a vegetarian for a whole week won't be hard is because my mother is a vegetarian, so i am always exposed to healthy foods that are good for and at the same time very tasty. For this experiment the main idea is to incorporate healthy foods in my diet such as fruits and vegetables and also stay away from meat. This connects to the food unit because by doing this experiment you actually get to feel what its like to eat foods that are good for you but most important is to step outside the norm and experience something new that could be life changing.
The first day of being a vegetarian was very hard because i did not know where to eat. I'm so use to walking down the street and getting a slice of pizza or a burger but to get a meal that was healthy and also vegetarian i had to go out my way. For lunch that day i had a mozzarella cheese with basil and pesto on wheat bread. One of the first things i realized was the price that meal came out to $12.90 without a drink. Before the experiment i could go to the chinese food store or the pizza shop and get a meal that filled me up for $5.00. Something i also realized was that the food had no taste what so ever. It made me think why would someone spend so much money on a sandwich that doesn't even taste good just so they can be , how do you get satisfaction out of meal like that. So for the rest of the day i was starving and when i got home i ask my mother what are some foods that i can eat that are vegetarian and taste really good. She gave me a long list of meals that i could buy that taste good and at a reasonable price. From that day on my vegetarian experience became easier.
The second day for breakfast i had a bagel with jelly and a bottle of orange juice. Throughout the day i was really wondering what i was going to eat for lunch. The main goal was to make sure i incorporated some type of vegetables into my meal. So for lunch I had white rice with stir fry vegetables with garlic sauce. Even though there was no meet in that meal it actually really taste good. Throughout the whole process it is extremely hard not to fall into temptations there where countless amount of times where i would walk by a Mcdonalds or Wendy's and would have to force myself not to go in and by something. While eating these vegetarian meals i always realize that when I'm done eating i am never full it's like i need more food. One of the main question that was always on my mind was What is the diet of a full time vegetarian? and What meals do they eat to fill them up?
Something i have realized is that location is key when it comes to eating healthy. Down in manhattan there are numerous health food stores and restaurants on ever block so if you are a vegetarian it is impossible not to stay healthy because you can always buy foods and materials to keep you in healthy. Where Im from there is a pizza shop and fast food restaurant on ever block the complete opposite of manhattan. While i was doing the vegetarian experiment it was hard not to go to the pizza shop and get a pepperoni slice or a cheese burger. Any time i would hangout with my friends and they want to get food it's not like there heading to the farmers market or a whole foods there going straight to Mcdonalds and getting a big mac. This whole experience really showed my will power and how i could stick it out even when i wanted to stop and go back to by old ways
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Reader Response
Chapter 19: Eating Animals
Summary: The Dilemma of eating meat. How can we eat meat and enjoy it when it is so wrong to do. When it comes to Animal Liberation you can either defend the way you live or change it. When you decide to change that is when you have to deal with the vegetarian dilemma. As a vegetarian you have to decide the rules and exceptions. When you are a vegetarian you don't eat meat or fish but you can have eggs and milk. A vegan does not eat anything that involves animals or dairy. The reason why people become vegetarians because they don't want to eat food that has come from an injured or suffering animal.
Gem: Raw-foodist: " Do not eat any food that has been heated above a certain temperature, in the belief that heat damages certain healthy enzymes in food"
Thoughts/Questions: Why does a pescatarian only eat fish? What is the difference between fish and meat an animal is still getting hurt.
Chapter 20: Hunting
Summary: Explains how much works goes towards hunting and gathering your own food. There is a big difference in enjoyment when you eat the food also, since you had to go through the hassle of getting it you enjoy it better when it is time to eat. It explains deeply how people take food for granted and just because we can go to the store and buy whatever we please, we don't take into consideration whats good and whats bad to eat. That is what he realized when he was hunting and gathering the food.
Gem: Wild pigs aren't strictly wild animals. They are really feral pigs. (Feral means domestic animals that are living in the wild.)
Thoughts/Questions: I have never been hunted or gathered food in my life so i wouldn't know what the experience is like but i do feel like there is more of a sense of satisfaction when you know the meal you made was actually made by yourself. The question have is Even though hunting and gathering food is not really apart of the food realm today but are there places where hunting is still very important and significant to a person daily meals?
Chapter 21: Gathering:
Summary: While hunting there are certain guidelines you have to follow because while hunting you dont know what you can eat and what you can't eat. How he explains this is when he was gathering the mushrooms for his meal. When it comes to mushrooms in the wild you exactly have to know which ones are eatable because most of them are poisonous. he basically elaborates on the gathering foods in the woods and how it is way different then he expected. While you gather in the woods you have to study what you can eat so you remember for the next time because it is easy to forget.
Gems: "The study of fungi is called mycology and scientist who studies fungi is called a mycologist. Someone who hunts and eats and thinks about wild mushrooms a lot is called a mycophile"
Thoughts/Question: What exactly makes mushrooms healthy to eat if most of them are poisonous.
Chapter 22: Perfect Meal
Summary: How he developed a perfect meal, the date was set to be on june 18 on saturday. He made a list to check off if he did everything that he said he would do to make sure that he made the perfect meal. Even though the main idea was to make sure that he hunted and gathered everything that he was going to eat there where little things on the list that had an affect on the meal. The main idea was to show that he could make a meal that he would enjoy by making it by himself without spending any money.
Gem: That us as the people would be better off if we hunted for out food we would be more healthier and live longer lives.
Thoughts/Questions: How much time would it take to hunt and gather a meal for a family of 4?
Summary: The Dilemma of eating meat. How can we eat meat and enjoy it when it is so wrong to do. When it comes to Animal Liberation you can either defend the way you live or change it. When you decide to change that is when you have to deal with the vegetarian dilemma. As a vegetarian you have to decide the rules and exceptions. When you are a vegetarian you don't eat meat or fish but you can have eggs and milk. A vegan does not eat anything that involves animals or dairy. The reason why people become vegetarians because they don't want to eat food that has come from an injured or suffering animal.
Gem: Raw-foodist: " Do not eat any food that has been heated above a certain temperature, in the belief that heat damages certain healthy enzymes in food"
Thoughts/Questions: Why does a pescatarian only eat fish? What is the difference between fish and meat an animal is still getting hurt.
Chapter 20: Hunting
Summary: Explains how much works goes towards hunting and gathering your own food. There is a big difference in enjoyment when you eat the food also, since you had to go through the hassle of getting it you enjoy it better when it is time to eat. It explains deeply how people take food for granted and just because we can go to the store and buy whatever we please, we don't take into consideration whats good and whats bad to eat. That is what he realized when he was hunting and gathering the food.
Gem: Wild pigs aren't strictly wild animals. They are really feral pigs. (Feral means domestic animals that are living in the wild.)
Thoughts/Questions: I have never been hunted or gathered food in my life so i wouldn't know what the experience is like but i do feel like there is more of a sense of satisfaction when you know the meal you made was actually made by yourself. The question have is Even though hunting and gathering food is not really apart of the food realm today but are there places where hunting is still very important and significant to a person daily meals?
Chapter 21: Gathering:
Summary: While hunting there are certain guidelines you have to follow because while hunting you dont know what you can eat and what you can't eat. How he explains this is when he was gathering the mushrooms for his meal. When it comes to mushrooms in the wild you exactly have to know which ones are eatable because most of them are poisonous. he basically elaborates on the gathering foods in the woods and how it is way different then he expected. While you gather in the woods you have to study what you can eat so you remember for the next time because it is easy to forget.
Gems: "The study of fungi is called mycology and scientist who studies fungi is called a mycologist. Someone who hunts and eats and thinks about wild mushrooms a lot is called a mycophile"
Thoughts/Question: What exactly makes mushrooms healthy to eat if most of them are poisonous.
Chapter 22: Perfect Meal
Summary: How he developed a perfect meal, the date was set to be on june 18 on saturday. He made a list to check off if he did everything that he said he would do to make sure that he made the perfect meal. Even though the main idea was to make sure that he hunted and gathered everything that he was going to eat there where little things on the list that had an affect on the meal. The main idea was to show that he could make a meal that he would enjoy by making it by himself without spending any money.
Gem: That us as the people would be better off if we hunted for out food we would be more healthier and live longer lives.
Thoughts/Questions: How much time would it take to hunt and gather a meal for a family of 4?
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Reading Response
Chapter 17: My Grass Fed Meal
Summary: He explains the difference between eggs on the farm and the eggs in the grocery store. he said the main difference was the yolk he claimed it was more thicker. The main idea was eating locally basically eating the food that he is around. he made a meal that he has made several times before with the same ingredients but from the grocery. Even though the ingredients are the same he feels better because the chickens spent their lives outside instead of inside and roamed the pastures. All the animals ate grass not grain or corn. Gem What he said was very interesting he explained that he might of been eating the same meal but to know the animals were treated better he felt better eating the food he made. Question How come all farmers don't treat their animals like polyface farm does what do they gain or lose from it?
Chapter 18: The Forest
Summary: The last meal he wanted to have was a meal that incorporated foods that he hunted and gathered. What he worried about was the scary foods out there like the poisonous berries and mushrooms. Hunting is apart of the first food chain and even though we cant bring back that life style it is much more easier then what most americans do today for food. It took 17 hours a week to get the food that was necessary while Americans use up to 40 hours or more to get food etc. Gem Only around 100 of nearly 10,000 different kinds of mushroom, just 1 percent are safe to eat. Question If hunting and gathering was brought back would it be easier to do in this day and age or harder?
Summary: He explains the difference between eggs on the farm and the eggs in the grocery store. he said the main difference was the yolk he claimed it was more thicker. The main idea was eating locally basically eating the food that he is around. he made a meal that he has made several times before with the same ingredients but from the grocery. Even though the ingredients are the same he feels better because the chickens spent their lives outside instead of inside and roamed the pastures. All the animals ate grass not grain or corn. Gem What he said was very interesting he explained that he might of been eating the same meal but to know the animals were treated better he felt better eating the food he made. Question How come all farmers don't treat their animals like polyface farm does what do they gain or lose from it?
Chapter 18: The Forest
Summary: The last meal he wanted to have was a meal that incorporated foods that he hunted and gathered. What he worried about was the scary foods out there like the poisonous berries and mushrooms. Hunting is apart of the first food chain and even though we cant bring back that life style it is much more easier then what most americans do today for food. It took 17 hours a week to get the food that was necessary while Americans use up to 40 hours or more to get food etc. Gem Only around 100 of nearly 10,000 different kinds of mushroom, just 1 percent are safe to eat. Question If hunting and gathering was brought back would it be easier to do in this day and age or harder?
Reading response
Chapter 13: Grass
Summary: Basically looking at grass from different perspectives when the grass is good, how cows should eat the grass, and the different types of grass that grow in a farmers field. Shows how important grass is and how it plays a big role in a cows diet and basically how all aspects of grass have a significant meaning. Cows should not be able to take seconds when it comes to eating grass. By the cow doing that it makes it extremely hard for the grass to recover which leads to the roots weakening and a field filled with brown spots. How you have to move the cows to different spots of the field so they can get a taste of all the grass thats around, what the guy had to do was move fifty stacks of bale every afternoon. Gem What was very interesting about this chapter is that there is different types of grass that grow in the fields and they all have a different taste and amount of nutrition. The question I have is that how come all animals don't eat the same type of grass?
Chapter 14: The Animals
Summary: The most important job on the polyface farm was to feed and give water to the chickens. Another thing that had to be done was the pens had to be moved every day for 56 days. The reason why it takes 56 days is because thats the amount of time it would take for a chicken to get big enough before they would slaughter it. The pens had to be moved 10 feet a day so by day 56 each pen would have covered the whole meadow. On polyface farm there is something called an eggmobile which holds 400 laying hens. Gem something that was interesting about this chapter was that the reason why they moved the chickens is because if they stayed in one spot it would destroy the soil it was on. Question By letting the animals be animals and roam free and do as they please does that make a healthier and happier animal?
Chapter 15: The Slaughterhouse
Summary: He woke up that morning knowing that today was the day that all the chickens he helped grow had to die. They way they kill the chickens is by not cutting off the head completely but just slicing the throat. After that is done the workers have to pick off all the feathers and clean out its insides. Even though the process of killing the bird is very extreme the procedure from turn the bird into food is just as bad. Gem What was very interesting about this chapter is that when they are done draining the chicken for blood,cutting of the feet, and heads of these chickens those remains just get mixed with wood chips and get turned into compost. Question: If the customers have faith in the farmers that they are being sanitary with the chickens and they are really not how can the customers figure that out?
Chapter 16: The Market
Summary: In the food industry the food typically get sent 1,500 miles before it is eaten. On the poly face farm it is way different. Their corn only travels 140 miles from the farm but the average farms sweet corn travels 1,420 miles. The reason why polyface farm does that is because they want to build a direct relationship with their customers so that they will keep coming back. By doing this polyface brings in more revenue then other farms because and even though they were not get wealthy people coming and buying but they were getting so much business from just average people. Gem What i realized is that different foods get shipped all around the world and end back in the place it was sent from. Question: What is the purpose of importing foods from different places when we can grow it ourselves?
Summary: Basically looking at grass from different perspectives when the grass is good, how cows should eat the grass, and the different types of grass that grow in a farmers field. Shows how important grass is and how it plays a big role in a cows diet and basically how all aspects of grass have a significant meaning. Cows should not be able to take seconds when it comes to eating grass. By the cow doing that it makes it extremely hard for the grass to recover which leads to the roots weakening and a field filled with brown spots. How you have to move the cows to different spots of the field so they can get a taste of all the grass thats around, what the guy had to do was move fifty stacks of bale every afternoon. Gem What was very interesting about this chapter is that there is different types of grass that grow in the fields and they all have a different taste and amount of nutrition. The question I have is that how come all animals don't eat the same type of grass?
Chapter 14: The Animals
Summary: The most important job on the polyface farm was to feed and give water to the chickens. Another thing that had to be done was the pens had to be moved every day for 56 days. The reason why it takes 56 days is because thats the amount of time it would take for a chicken to get big enough before they would slaughter it. The pens had to be moved 10 feet a day so by day 56 each pen would have covered the whole meadow. On polyface farm there is something called an eggmobile which holds 400 laying hens. Gem something that was interesting about this chapter was that the reason why they moved the chickens is because if they stayed in one spot it would destroy the soil it was on. Question By letting the animals be animals and roam free and do as they please does that make a healthier and happier animal?
Chapter 15: The Slaughterhouse
Summary: He woke up that morning knowing that today was the day that all the chickens he helped grow had to die. They way they kill the chickens is by not cutting off the head completely but just slicing the throat. After that is done the workers have to pick off all the feathers and clean out its insides. Even though the process of killing the bird is very extreme the procedure from turn the bird into food is just as bad. Gem What was very interesting about this chapter is that when they are done draining the chicken for blood,cutting of the feet, and heads of these chickens those remains just get mixed with wood chips and get turned into compost. Question: If the customers have faith in the farmers that they are being sanitary with the chickens and they are really not how can the customers figure that out?
Chapter 16: The Market
Summary: In the food industry the food typically get sent 1,500 miles before it is eaten. On the poly face farm it is way different. Their corn only travels 140 miles from the farm but the average farms sweet corn travels 1,420 miles. The reason why polyface farm does that is because they want to build a direct relationship with their customers so that they will keep coming back. By doing this polyface brings in more revenue then other farms because and even though they were not get wealthy people coming and buying but they were getting so much business from just average people. Gem What i realized is that different foods get shipped all around the world and end back in the place it was sent from. Question: What is the purpose of importing foods from different places when we can grow it ourselves?
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Reading response
Chapter 11: More Big Organic
Summary: This chapter basically builds off the last chapter but just goes more into depth about organic foods. The author explains how he visited a chicken farm, which is less of a farm and more like a factory for animals. They say that the farm is free range where the chickens get to roam free and thats not the case. The chickens are not allowed to come outside until they are 5 weeks old. The gem to me in this chapter was how the companies lies and makes it seem like the animals are getting treated properly but they actually aren't at all. The question i have is What is the point of false advertising and lying to the customers?
Chapter 12: Polyface Farm
Summary: Explains how he took a trip to a place called polyface farm, the main idea was to see if it was possible for a non industrial food chain to stay in business while in the twenty-first century. What was interesting was how he explained in the book Grass Farmer that he had never heard about a grass farmer or even knew what it was about. Joel Salatin built the foundation off of grass he said and not petroleum and thats how it was such a success. A good question i have for this chapter is in the ranking of farming wheres does grass farming come into place? and is it possible to make as much as a farmer growing corn would make?
Summary: This chapter basically builds off the last chapter but just goes more into depth about organic foods. The author explains how he visited a chicken farm, which is less of a farm and more like a factory for animals. They say that the farm is free range where the chickens get to roam free and thats not the case. The chickens are not allowed to come outside until they are 5 weeks old. The gem to me in this chapter was how the companies lies and makes it seem like the animals are getting treated properly but they actually aren't at all. The question i have is What is the point of false advertising and lying to the customers?
Chapter 12: Polyface Farm
Summary: Explains how he took a trip to a place called polyface farm, the main idea was to see if it was possible for a non industrial food chain to stay in business while in the twenty-first century. What was interesting was how he explained in the book Grass Farmer that he had never heard about a grass farmer or even knew what it was about. Joel Salatin built the foundation off of grass he said and not petroleum and thats how it was such a success. A good question i have for this chapter is in the ranking of farming wheres does grass farming come into place? and is it possible to make as much as a farmer growing corn would make?
Monday, October 11, 2010
Reading response
Chapter 6: Processed food
Summary: How much corn americans take in per year thats not real corn but processed corn. Different types of corn can be used to make the stuff we love to eat every day. Regular corn can make pop corn, livestock feed, snack foods, taco shells etc. Wet milled corn can make baby food, chewing gum, salad dressing, chocolate beverages etc. Corn is mostly in all sweeteners like fructose, glucose, sucrose and any syrup products. What was interesting to me is how corn can be used in chemical that are used to clean. The main question I have is HOW, is it possible for corn to be used in all these products?
Chapter 7: Fat from Corn
Summary: That corn is causing obesity in children an adults. Its causing health care systems billion of dollars each year to help out with this. Ever since 1976 childhood obesity has been on rise. The cause of this rise in obesity is mostly because of the extra calories. That is mostly from the syrup, "Every year approximately 500 million bushels of corn are turned into high fructose corn syrup"The question that i have is how can corn be a good and bad ingredient?
Chapter 8: Ominvore's Dilemma
Summary: Explains how animals don't have dilemma in their eating habits, basically how a animal can just eat one food and get all its nutrition from it and does not need to eat different foods to stay healthy. It's different for humans because different foods give us certain vitamins. Humans have built a way to figure out what foods are good and what foods are bad. By people not eating meat every meal and having leafy greens and fresh fruits on a daily bases thats how people solved the omnivores dilemma. Americans just go by what taste good so people usually will eat sweet, salty, and greasy foods instead of bitter. Foods that are usually bitter are plants so human taste buds avoid avoid vegetables because of the taste. Something that i read that was interesting was "Standing in our giant supermarkets we feel more lost in a forest ten thousands years ago. we no longer know for sure which foods are good and which aren't". The question I have is how come Americans know what foods are healthy and good to eat but choose to eat the bad stuff and put themselves in health issues later on in life?
Chapter 9: My Fast Food Meal
Summary: The rise of the chicken nugget and how it became so popular. Basically how mcdonalds nuggets, fries, and burgers are made to all taste the same. The author explains how corn is used in different meals at mcdonald's. That chicken nuggets are filled with tons of chemicals that can cause multiple health problems such as cancer. later on in the chapter breaks down the graph on childhood obesity and how we should all eat low on the food chain instead of high because it's more healthier.
An interesting fact was that 6 chicken nuggets from mcdonald's has twice as much fat as a regular hamburger. Question is what are chicken nuggets really made of? and how did they become so popular?
Chapter 10: Big Organic
Summary: Companies are trying their best to no buy corn or any type of processed food. The companies are trying to which to organic foods because that is what people are mostly eating nowadays. They explain that people shop at farmers markets and places like whole foods because they claim that the food is better and more healthier for you. Something interesting that i read was how the author was in the store checking the labels of foods and reading the ingredients. the author believed that each food had a story to tell where it came from and what it is made out of. A good question that comes to mind while reading this is Why do stores like whole foods hold such a prestigious name? and Is the food really that good for you?
Summary: How much corn americans take in per year thats not real corn but processed corn. Different types of corn can be used to make the stuff we love to eat every day. Regular corn can make pop corn, livestock feed, snack foods, taco shells etc. Wet milled corn can make baby food, chewing gum, salad dressing, chocolate beverages etc. Corn is mostly in all sweeteners like fructose, glucose, sucrose and any syrup products. What was interesting to me is how corn can be used in chemical that are used to clean. The main question I have is HOW, is it possible for corn to be used in all these products?
Chapter 7: Fat from Corn
Summary: That corn is causing obesity in children an adults. Its causing health care systems billion of dollars each year to help out with this. Ever since 1976 childhood obesity has been on rise. The cause of this rise in obesity is mostly because of the extra calories. That is mostly from the syrup, "Every year approximately 500 million bushels of corn are turned into high fructose corn syrup"The question that i have is how can corn be a good and bad ingredient?
Chapter 8: Ominvore's Dilemma
Summary: Explains how animals don't have dilemma in their eating habits, basically how a animal can just eat one food and get all its nutrition from it and does not need to eat different foods to stay healthy. It's different for humans because different foods give us certain vitamins. Humans have built a way to figure out what foods are good and what foods are bad. By people not eating meat every meal and having leafy greens and fresh fruits on a daily bases thats how people solved the omnivores dilemma. Americans just go by what taste good so people usually will eat sweet, salty, and greasy foods instead of bitter. Foods that are usually bitter are plants so human taste buds avoid avoid vegetables because of the taste. Something that i read that was interesting was "Standing in our giant supermarkets we feel more lost in a forest ten thousands years ago. we no longer know for sure which foods are good and which aren't". The question I have is how come Americans know what foods are healthy and good to eat but choose to eat the bad stuff and put themselves in health issues later on in life?
Chapter 9: My Fast Food Meal
Summary: The rise of the chicken nugget and how it became so popular. Basically how mcdonalds nuggets, fries, and burgers are made to all taste the same. The author explains how corn is used in different meals at mcdonald's. That chicken nuggets are filled with tons of chemicals that can cause multiple health problems such as cancer. later on in the chapter breaks down the graph on childhood obesity and how we should all eat low on the food chain instead of high because it's more healthier.
An interesting fact was that 6 chicken nuggets from mcdonald's has twice as much fat as a regular hamburger. Question is what are chicken nuggets really made of? and how did they become so popular?
Chapter 10: Big Organic
Summary: Companies are trying their best to no buy corn or any type of processed food. The companies are trying to which to organic foods because that is what people are mostly eating nowadays. They explain that people shop at farmers markets and places like whole foods because they claim that the food is better and more healthier for you. Something interesting that i read was how the author was in the store checking the labels of foods and reading the ingredients. the author believed that each food had a story to tell where it came from and what it is made out of. A good question that comes to mind while reading this is Why do stores like whole foods hold such a prestigious name? and Is the food really that good for you?
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
HW 8- Reading Response
Chapter 3: From Farm to Factory
Summary: at the heart of ever industrial food chain there is a big business that has something to do with the food whether its distribution, production,etc. The reason why factories and farms go hand in hand is because the food companies supply the farms with fossil fuel, pesticides, and fertilizer that is used to harvest and transport different vegetables but mostly corn. On farms nowadays the corn that is being grown is being fed to much nitrogen which causes nitrogen pollution. The reason that is bad is because most of it does not go to the plants it evaporates in the air and becomes acid rain which increases global warming.
Gems: The industrial food chain makes some people very rich. Big agribusiness companies take in billions of dollars in profit. Yet one person who is not getting rich from the mountain of corn is the American farmer.
What really seemed to interest me is how the businesses get so rich and the farmers that supply the food and do all the hard work stay dirt poor. It is interesting how the companies buy the corn from the farmers for a low cost and then sell it at an extensive price to the consumers and don't give back to the people who supply the goods.
Chapter 4: The Grain Elevator
Summary: A grain elevator is basically where a farmer would store his corn when the winter season was coming or if it was cold out. Through out different seasons the process of growing corn changes rapidly and the author explains how exactly what the farmer does. When corn is harvested the bushels don't just go to one thing it i s broken up into percentages and divided amongst different categories. In this case where corn goes the most is to animal feed. The main question i have is how do they preserve corn for so long? The second question is what season is the best to grow corn?
Chapter 5: The Feedlot Turning Corn into Meat
Summary: Basically the way farmers use to treat their cattle have changed throughout the years. Before corn became so popular the cows where allowed to eat grass and roam free through the pasture but no they are forced to stay in their barns most of the day. Feedlots are basically beef factories where they turn corn into beef, and what they do is take ground up pieces of beef and put it in the corn that they feed the cows and that is what causes mad cow disease. What interest me the most is how farmers changed their style of farmer so drastically. The main question that i have is what is the point of feeding cows other cow pieces? and by the farmers changing their style of farming what do they get out of it?
Summary: at the heart of ever industrial food chain there is a big business that has something to do with the food whether its distribution, production,etc. The reason why factories and farms go hand in hand is because the food companies supply the farms with fossil fuel, pesticides, and fertilizer that is used to harvest and transport different vegetables but mostly corn. On farms nowadays the corn that is being grown is being fed to much nitrogen which causes nitrogen pollution. The reason that is bad is because most of it does not go to the plants it evaporates in the air and becomes acid rain which increases global warming.
Gems: The industrial food chain makes some people very rich. Big agribusiness companies take in billions of dollars in profit. Yet one person who is not getting rich from the mountain of corn is the American farmer.
What really seemed to interest me is how the businesses get so rich and the farmers that supply the food and do all the hard work stay dirt poor. It is interesting how the companies buy the corn from the farmers for a low cost and then sell it at an extensive price to the consumers and don't give back to the people who supply the goods.
Chapter 4: The Grain Elevator
Summary: A grain elevator is basically where a farmer would store his corn when the winter season was coming or if it was cold out. Through out different seasons the process of growing corn changes rapidly and the author explains how exactly what the farmer does. When corn is harvested the bushels don't just go to one thing it i s broken up into percentages and divided amongst different categories. In this case where corn goes the most is to animal feed. The main question i have is how do they preserve corn for so long? The second question is what season is the best to grow corn?
Chapter 5: The Feedlot Turning Corn into Meat
Summary: Basically the way farmers use to treat their cattle have changed throughout the years. Before corn became so popular the cows where allowed to eat grass and roam free through the pasture but no they are forced to stay in their barns most of the day. Feedlots are basically beef factories where they turn corn into beef, and what they do is take ground up pieces of beef and put it in the corn that they feed the cows and that is what causes mad cow disease. What interest me the most is how farmers changed their style of farmer so drastically. The main question that i have is what is the point of feeding cows other cow pieces? and by the farmers changing their style of farming what do they get out of it?
Monday, October 4, 2010
HW 7-Reading Response
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Chapter 1: How Corn Took Over America
Summary: Corn has one of the biggest impacts on the food industry. Corn is basically used in everything we eat, drink, and even used in the buildings we live in. When it come to food Corn is the number 1 product that is used. Food companies like to cover it with names like glucose syrup, lactic acid, and carmel but at the end of the day it really means CORN.
Gems: "Corn is what feeds the steer that becomes steak. Corn feeds the chicken and the pig. Corn feeds the catfish raised in the fish farm. Corn-fed chickens laid eggs. Corn feeds the dairy cows that produce the milk, cheese, and ice cream." pg. 10
I never realized that corn was such a big component in food, usually I never read the back of a package for ingredients but whenever I do i always see high fructose corn syrup, and caramel color, etc. While reading this chapter what really surprised me was how corn originated in central america and then spread to America and became such a big thing. This shows the untold truth about food and how its made and how one vegetable can be the main ingredient in the food we eat on a daily bases.
Chapter 2: The Farm
Summary: When Corn came on the seed it knocked most animals, fruits , and other vegetables down the food chain. At this point and time the only two important vegetables are corn and soybeans. Even though corn is corn there is a special type of corn called hybrid corn which grows a thicker stalk and stronger roots. With regular corn you can plant eight thousand acre's but with hybrid corn you can grow thirty thousand acre's. Which shows that corn is such a dominant vegetable when it comes to discussing food.
Gems: Today the seed companies have taken things a step further. Genetically modified corn seed which promises even higher yields than hybrid seed.
What I don't seem to understand is why corn is important why not carrots, tomato, or peers. What about corn gives it that edge above other vegetables to the point where farmers are mass producing corn with different scientific methods
Chapter 1: How Corn Took Over America
Summary: Corn has one of the biggest impacts on the food industry. Corn is basically used in everything we eat, drink, and even used in the buildings we live in. When it come to food Corn is the number 1 product that is used. Food companies like to cover it with names like glucose syrup, lactic acid, and carmel but at the end of the day it really means CORN.
Gems: "Corn is what feeds the steer that becomes steak. Corn feeds the chicken and the pig. Corn feeds the catfish raised in the fish farm. Corn-fed chickens laid eggs. Corn feeds the dairy cows that produce the milk, cheese, and ice cream." pg. 10
I never realized that corn was such a big component in food, usually I never read the back of a package for ingredients but whenever I do i always see high fructose corn syrup, and caramel color, etc. While reading this chapter what really surprised me was how corn originated in central america and then spread to America and became such a big thing. This shows the untold truth about food and how its made and how one vegetable can be the main ingredient in the food we eat on a daily bases.
Chapter 2: The Farm
Summary: When Corn came on the seed it knocked most animals, fruits , and other vegetables down the food chain. At this point and time the only two important vegetables are corn and soybeans. Even though corn is corn there is a special type of corn called hybrid corn which grows a thicker stalk and stronger roots. With regular corn you can plant eight thousand acre's but with hybrid corn you can grow thirty thousand acre's. Which shows that corn is such a dominant vegetable when it comes to discussing food.
Gems: Today the seed companies have taken things a step further. Genetically modified corn seed which promises even higher yields than hybrid seed.
What I don't seem to understand is why corn is important why not carrots, tomato, or peers. What about corn gives it that edge above other vegetables to the point where farmers are mass producing corn with different scientific methods
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