#1: food hazard
ROOOOOOOACH
Detroit is known for a wide array of things, positive and negative. But, when it comes to food, it is the center for great tasting, affordable food. One of the major restaurant chains has been under fire for recent discoveries. On July 23, 2018, the Popeye's located on 7 mile and Gratiot, on the east side of Detroit, was exposed in a Facebook live video recorded by Shakita Shemere. The video that was later aired by several news channels, including WXYZ, shows several health code violations including uncovered and expired food, food on the floor, and dirty dishes. The most alarming segment of the video was the mention of roaches. Shakita stated in the videos that she got in trouble after screaming because she saw a roach. She was ordered to “step on them and keep working”. I believe this is the most alarming part of the story because if she is ordered to act in such a calm manner, the roaches are not rare. Instead, much of what people ordered from that Popeye's most likely had an encounter with a roach. It is unpredictable what is found behind the counter, unless you are an employee.
This article evoked "disgust" in me, as it should with most people. Occasionally, disgust is relative, like mentioned in
"That's Disgusting", by Rachel Herz. But, in this case, it is universal. Shemere's story highlighted, most employees are forced to keep quiet about the situations that could potentially alarm consumers and ultimately lower sales. This relates to our class because during the “Food Inc.” excerpts we watched in class, one of our main themes was our rights to know how our food is being handled. Although this is not a direct correlation to the guacamole Warner's mother ate, the Popeye's clearly has some unidentified contents such as increased bacteria, roaches, and dirt, along with expired foods that are still being served. Warner inquires about the additives included in the guacamole to potentially expose the sciences that kept the guacamole from rotting. With her video, Shemere had similar intentions as Warner, to raise awareness for the health of others. I’m sure if consumers knew about the unsanitary conditions, they would not have been buying food from this location and health precautions would have occurred sooner. But, since the corporations can control most of its employees with threats of withholding pay, it is rare that the restaurants flaws are exposed. Thanks to her video, the location has been shut down and there have been health inspectors at all of the restaurants in the immediate area.
Source: WXYZ News Online
#2: farming
Disaster Awaits
The article I read covered some effects of Hurricane Florence, which swept through North Carolina around September 10, 2018. Personally, I have not been directly affected by a hurricane or any huge natural disaster. But, my friends that live in North Carolina and surrounding areas text us before the hurricane hit talking about their evacuation plans and I knew the hurricane was going to be serious.
Whenever newscasters report devastating effects of disasters, they focus on main cities that contain the most people and technology, small rural cities are often ignored. Ivanhoe, NC is the underdog city that was highlighted in this news article. With a population of less than 300 people, I see how the stats would be swept over. But, it is not fair. It is not fair that an entire town of people can potentially lose everything because the media isn’t covering their story properly.
Before we talked about farming in class, I did not know how important it was for people, I thought people used farming as a hobby or something to earn extra money. During our trip to the farm, Jackie, our guide, emphasized how important farming was for certain families and how it is often some people’s main source of income. With the hurricane destroying most of their houses, tobacco, and blueberry crops, the people of Ivanhoe are forced to either start from scratch with farming or develop a new lifestyle to support themselves and their families. After reading “The American Way of Eating” by Tracie McMillan, I realized the true struggle of farmers. I thought they were paid a significant amount of money because they used it as their major source of income. But, when McMillan worked on the farm for 9 hours and only earned $26 dollars, I understood the true struggles these farmers will endure due to the damages of Hurricane Florence.
Source: NY Times
The article I read covered some effects of Hurricane Florence, which swept through North Carolina around September 10, 2018. Personally, I have not been directly affected by a hurricane or any huge natural disaster. But, my friends that live in North Carolina and surrounding areas text us before the hurricane hit talking about their evacuation plans and I knew the hurricane was going to be serious.
Whenever newscasters report devastating effects of disasters, they focus on main cities that contain the most people and technology, small rural cities are often ignored. Ivanhoe, NC is the underdog city that was highlighted in this news article. With a population of less than 300 people, I see how the stats would be swept over. But, it is not fair. It is not fair that an entire town of people can potentially lose everything because the media isn’t covering their story properly.
Before we talked about farming in class, I did not know how important it was for people, I thought people used farming as a hobby or something to earn extra money. During our trip to the farm, Jackie, our guide, emphasized how important farming was for certain families and how it is often some people’s main source of income. With the hurricane destroying most of their houses, tobacco, and blueberry crops, the people of Ivanhoe are forced to either start from scratch with farming or develop a new lifestyle to support themselves and their families. After reading “The American Way of Eating” by Tracie McMillan, I realized the true struggle of farmers. I thought they were paid a significant amount of money because they used it as their major source of income. But, when McMillan worked on the farm for 9 hours and only earned $26 dollars, I understood the true struggles these farmers will endure due to the damages of Hurricane Florence.
Source: NY Times
#3: Food aid
Trump Snap’s SNAP
The article I read describes Trump’s effort to reduce benefits for SNAP participants. SNAP is an acronym for “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”, a government sponsored food program for those that fall within the guidelines. Currently, participants receive approximately $90/ month and are allowed to choose and shop for the foods they feel necessary, as long as they are apart of the available options: bread, vegetables, fruit, and other foods. Trump’s proposal aims to cut the choices families have and provide them with a pre- made food basket instead.
This poses a problem because every family’s needs are different, and creating one pre-made basket will not satisfy each family’s needs, like McMillan states, “good food should be a right and not a privilege” (McMillan 1). The basket will limit the options current SNAP participants are given, including the lack of fresh fruits or vegetables. Trump’s proposal also reduces the choices family’s have, making them feel less worthy, compared to other families that have the opportunity to use their free will while shopping. Children will also be negatively effected by these changes, not only physically, but mentally. Bullying often sprouts from social class standing and like McCoy stated in "Revenge of the Lunch Lady", "kids shouldn't be punished for their families' financial situations. Removing the ability for a family to choose the food they consume is a selfish act; the government should not be allowed to strictly dictate what families are allowed to consume, especially not for the purpose of economic profit.
Source: NPR
The article I read describes Trump’s effort to reduce benefits for SNAP participants. SNAP is an acronym for “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”, a government sponsored food program for those that fall within the guidelines. Currently, participants receive approximately $90/ month and are allowed to choose and shop for the foods they feel necessary, as long as they are apart of the available options: bread, vegetables, fruit, and other foods. Trump’s proposal aims to cut the choices families have and provide them with a pre- made food basket instead.
This poses a problem because every family’s needs are different, and creating one pre-made basket will not satisfy each family’s needs, like McMillan states, “good food should be a right and not a privilege” (McMillan 1). The basket will limit the options current SNAP participants are given, including the lack of fresh fruits or vegetables. Trump’s proposal also reduces the choices family’s have, making them feel less worthy, compared to other families that have the opportunity to use their free will while shopping. Children will also be negatively effected by these changes, not only physically, but mentally. Bullying often sprouts from social class standing and like McCoy stated in "Revenge of the Lunch Lady", "kids shouldn't be punished for their families' financial situations. Removing the ability for a family to choose the food they consume is a selfish act; the government should not be allowed to strictly dictate what families are allowed to consume, especially not for the purpose of economic profit.
Source: NPR
#4: Mcdonaldization
University McDonaldization
The article I read is a short excerpt about “University McDonaldization”. The article compared higher education to mcdonaldization by comparing the blurred focus of educating students and just “processing” them through graduation, to the processing of burgers and fries within McDonald’s restaurants. The comparison emphasizes that instead of universities instilling knowledge in students, they are more focused on the graduation rate and throwing students into the workforce, even if they aren’t properly prepared. Thoughtlessly pushing students through college is similar to making McDonald’s burgers that don’t take much thought and are pushed out to customers. Although some people rely on McDonald's simplicity in their routine, like the family from "A Place at the Table", who depended on McDonald's affordable meals, it is not the same expectation for people receiving degrees. Another main topic of the article is that higher education is shifting to more of a social norm than a privilege.
Unlike the contributors to this article, I believe normalizing higher education is beneficial and essential. I am one of the few people in my family that has pursued a college degree, especially at a major university. For this reason, I am aware of the opportunities available to students like me and the lack of opportunities available to those that do not pursue higher education. Personally, I believe the perspective of the contributors to this article is extremely selfish. Seeing that Adam Kissel, who works with Betsy DeVoss in the Department of Education, is proposing the privatization of research, concerns me because he is trying to limit what knowledge is available to the public. This displays the "control" dimension of McDonaldization, mentioned in "An Introduction to McDonaldization". I am a strong advocate for education and strongly believe it should be available at all levels, to everyone.
Source: National Review: The Corner
The article I read is a short excerpt about “University McDonaldization”. The article compared higher education to mcdonaldization by comparing the blurred focus of educating students and just “processing” them through graduation, to the processing of burgers and fries within McDonald’s restaurants. The comparison emphasizes that instead of universities instilling knowledge in students, they are more focused on the graduation rate and throwing students into the workforce, even if they aren’t properly prepared. Thoughtlessly pushing students through college is similar to making McDonald’s burgers that don’t take much thought and are pushed out to customers. Although some people rely on McDonald's simplicity in their routine, like the family from "A Place at the Table", who depended on McDonald's affordable meals, it is not the same expectation for people receiving degrees. Another main topic of the article is that higher education is shifting to more of a social norm than a privilege.
Unlike the contributors to this article, I believe normalizing higher education is beneficial and essential. I am one of the few people in my family that has pursued a college degree, especially at a major university. For this reason, I am aware of the opportunities available to students like me and the lack of opportunities available to those that do not pursue higher education. Personally, I believe the perspective of the contributors to this article is extremely selfish. Seeing that Adam Kissel, who works with Betsy DeVoss in the Department of Education, is proposing the privatization of research, concerns me because he is trying to limit what knowledge is available to the public. This displays the "control" dimension of McDonaldization, mentioned in "An Introduction to McDonaldization". I am a strong advocate for education and strongly believe it should be available at all levels, to everyone.
Source: National Review: The Corner
#5: food & climate change
Fishy Fishyyyy
Global warming and climate change are problems that I’ve been learning about for the past several years but failed to realize their importance. I believed global warming and climate change would not affect people directly, besides raising the overall temperature every few years. I did not pay attention to the way climate change could affect humans, especially not the way we ate. The article I read shines light on the possibility that we can still sustain fish even if the temperatures rise 4 degrees Celsius. Simple alterations such as managing the way people fish and reducing oil spills and dumping into oceans can aid the world in sustaining fish.
The readings from class emphasize the negativity and potential hazards of climate change. Changing eating habits can aid in leveling temperatures, in “Two Rules of Thumb”, one of the rules was to “eat fewer animal- based foods”, particularly beef and pork because they increase greenhouse emissions. The shift from a meat based diet to a diet shaped around fish may be hard but necessary to sustain life. Similar to “People Still Don’t Get the Link…”, “people who already eat less meat may be more open to hear and retain information… while people who eat lots of meat may be more inclined to deny…”. Sustainable fishing will reduce greenhouse emission and encourage people to shift to a healthier diet.
Source: The Guardian
Global warming and climate change are problems that I’ve been learning about for the past several years but failed to realize their importance. I believed global warming and climate change would not affect people directly, besides raising the overall temperature every few years. I did not pay attention to the way climate change could affect humans, especially not the way we ate. The article I read shines light on the possibility that we can still sustain fish even if the temperatures rise 4 degrees Celsius. Simple alterations such as managing the way people fish and reducing oil spills and dumping into oceans can aid the world in sustaining fish.
The readings from class emphasize the negativity and potential hazards of climate change. Changing eating habits can aid in leveling temperatures, in “Two Rules of Thumb”, one of the rules was to “eat fewer animal- based foods”, particularly beef and pork because they increase greenhouse emissions. The shift from a meat based diet to a diet shaped around fish may be hard but necessary to sustain life. Similar to “People Still Don’t Get the Link…”, “people who already eat less meat may be more open to hear and retain information… while people who eat lots of meat may be more inclined to deny…”. Sustainable fishing will reduce greenhouse emission and encourage people to shift to a healthier diet.
Source: The Guardian
#6: Future of food
Plate of the Future
The article I read gives specific examples of foods we are bound to consume in the future: crickets, algae, and lab meat, along with the paths we will take to reach these foods. The two routes aim to produce the most sustainable diets for the future: lab created meat and the use of sources we already have but may not consider food, such as soil and bugs. Lab generated meats may seem odd at first, but they are becoming more common, especially with the rise of the “Impossible Burger”, a burger that bleeds and taste like meat but contains no real meat. On the other hand, bugs, especially crickets, are already consumed in countries such as Japan and Thailand but have not reached popularity in the United States. Neither of these routes are “off limits” and scientific studies show we may need to alternate between both routes in order to sustain and feed our current and future population.
The current way of eating, especially in the United States, is extremely unsustainable and will kill us quicker than we think. The US population consumes meat at approximately 3 times the rate of what scientists deem as healthy (Link Between Meat and Climate Change). Our rising consumption does not only negatively affect our personal health, but, also contributes to the exacerbated greenhouse emissions. In “Eating Animals”, Foer emphasizes that “all of us agree that it matters how we treat animals and the environment, and yet few of us give much thought to our most important relationship to animals and the environment (74).” If people took the time to educate themselves and consider eating meat in moderation, the Western diet would not be as unsustainable as it is now and we wouldn’t have to shift to the odd foods mentioned in the article.
Source: National Geographic
The article I read gives specific examples of foods we are bound to consume in the future: crickets, algae, and lab meat, along with the paths we will take to reach these foods. The two routes aim to produce the most sustainable diets for the future: lab created meat and the use of sources we already have but may not consider food, such as soil and bugs. Lab generated meats may seem odd at first, but they are becoming more common, especially with the rise of the “Impossible Burger”, a burger that bleeds and taste like meat but contains no real meat. On the other hand, bugs, especially crickets, are already consumed in countries such as Japan and Thailand but have not reached popularity in the United States. Neither of these routes are “off limits” and scientific studies show we may need to alternate between both routes in order to sustain and feed our current and future population.
The current way of eating, especially in the United States, is extremely unsustainable and will kill us quicker than we think. The US population consumes meat at approximately 3 times the rate of what scientists deem as healthy (Link Between Meat and Climate Change). Our rising consumption does not only negatively affect our personal health, but, also contributes to the exacerbated greenhouse emissions. In “Eating Animals”, Foer emphasizes that “all of us agree that it matters how we treat animals and the environment, and yet few of us give much thought to our most important relationship to animals and the environment (74).” If people took the time to educate themselves and consider eating meat in moderation, the Western diet would not be as unsustainable as it is now and we wouldn’t have to shift to the odd foods mentioned in the article.
Source: National Geographic