Blog Experience (Entry 1)

 

                I don’t know about you guys, but I have definitely always been a frequent visitor on the internet. I’m on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr all the time. Even so, this blog is a new experience for me, and a positive one at that.

               There are some people that waste so much time on the internet, but I don’t think anyone realizes how powerful it actually can be. A single message can get out to millions within a few hours. There is so much good that people could be doing by using this tool in the right way. Being able to control a blog like this one helped me to realize its significance. If you need to get a message out to the world, all you need to do is share a link with some of your friends, and before you know it, the information has caught on like a wildfire.

                The things we have been discussing in all of our blogs have to do with food, going green, and the environment, as well as ways we can help improve it. All of us Global nerds know from McKibbon’s book that people need to know about the world’s environmental issues. In fact, it’s vital that this information be spread, and quickly. I believe that things such as these online blogs are exactly what we need to do so. Learning how to create one and make posts for it is really useful and even pretty fun. I find this especially true with our topic being food; one of my favorite things in the world. There’s a lot that we can learn, as well as teach to others by using our blog. Overall, I’d say the blog experience is an extremely awesome (and tasty) one! :D

-Becca

Fast Food = Unhealthy Food

          Have you ever noticed that when you get a hamburger from McDonalds or Wendy's that it never looks quite the same as to when you saw it on that mouth-watering commercial? I most certainly have. I have an expectation of it to be a giant, colorful burger with ruby tomatoes and fresh green lettuce all placed on top of a perfectly grilled patty with a nice sesame bun. I have not gotten one of those! Instead, I get what looks like a burger thats been run over with a car and mashed into the paper sack that it comes in. I guess that's the fast food business for you. But why is it that companies falsely advertise their food? Obviously, if the burger you really got was advertised no one would buy them. 
          The fast food industry attacks with catchy phrases ("I'm lovin' it!"), songs that get wormed inside your head, and completely unreal depictions of what you will receive upon going to a given chain. They advertise $1.00 menus and free refills. (Yes, on top of the super unhealthy food they are serving you, they also give you free sugary sodas to wash it down with!) The food is loaded with MSG and ingredients like dimethylpolysiloxane, which is used in Silly Putty. Yummy... The fast food industry has gotten so out of control with false advertising, unhealthy choices, and also targeting certain types of people (ex: children). The food is cheap, fast, and "delicious." What else could a person want? ...How about some delish veggies or an apple? Since when did fast food have to be unhealthy food?


Check these sites out for more information!
http://www.naturalnews.com/
http://www.fastfoodmarketing.org
http://facts.randomhistory.com/

School Lunches Go Green?

As the youth of America are adapting less healthy eating habits year after year, it seems that parents are losing more and more control over what their children are fed on a daily basis. At large public schools, parents attempts to voice their opinions about lunch services are largely overshadowed by the elements of assumed costliness of changing a lunch program and the conflict over foods that children will actually eat. Of course, if every elementary and middle school child was able to construct a lunch menu, it would most likely include pizza, chicken tenders, cheeseburgers, french fries, and all of the foods that parents dread seeing their children eat on a daily basis. So, where can these conflicting aspects of expected costliness and foods that children will actually eat meet up with the demands of parents upon school lunch programs to make their menus healthier and more sustainable?

First of all, the process to completely change school lunch programs lies in education, both on the parts of teachers and parents. Teach kids what it means to intake a balanced diet and not simply foods that contain little or no nutritious value to them! Over the last 20 years, childhood obesity has increased more than 50 percent. There is certainly something to be said about teaching children to eat in moderation and to not always go for the most fatty foods in the cafeteria or dining hall because ultimately, the decision is in their hands.

If the children are complaining to the school administrators that their lunch programs do not enough offer healthy and sustainable alternatives, then parents this makes your argument much more viable. Suggest changes that may include switching to buying produce from local farms because believe it or not, its, most likely, no more expensive than where the lunch service is currently getting their produce. Small changes like this go a long way for children in terms of learning how to eat healthy and sustainably and form habits that will be kept for a lifetime. So, parents work with your kids and the school lunch service to revise lunch menus because this really is a change your children will thank you for.

For a list resources and advice on making changes: http://www.sustainabletable.org/schools/

Bigger Isn't Always Better

Have you ever wondered how a place like Sam’s club or Costco has so much food all the time? Or why is it that chicken breast and stakes so large? Its because the farming industry has drastically been altered in the United States over the last 25 years. Gone are the small farms, which have been kicked out by industrial factory operations, and animals and the natural world has become mere material in the process. Today, if the average size and quantity of food isn’t XL, than it isn’t meeting the antiquate norm.

Factory farms confine animals by the thousands in massive warehouses, treating them like production units rather than as living individuals. Millions are packed in cages and crates so tightly that they can’t walk, turn around or even stretch their limbs. It has not only become a moral issue but is now effecting our environment. Factory farming is one of the top contributors to our planet’s most significant environmental problems. The livestock industry, in  particular, is a greater contributor to global warming than the transportation industry. The livestock industry generates as much as 37 percent of anthropogenic methane, and 65 percent of anthropogenic nitrous oxide, mostly from manure. The livestock instudy also consumes 8 percent of the global human water use, which is a large a number considering we only have a drop or so left.  It’s important to lessen our transportation footprint, but we could have an even larger impact by changing the foods we put on our plates.

Our food system is in desperate need of reform; people, animals and the Earth are suffering. Thankfully, we are beginning to pay attention. Many citizens are demanding more transparency around how foods, and especially animal products, are produced.  We are no longer comfortable accepting how agribusiness keeps animals who are raised for food hidden from us. When the food industry introduced legislation to ban the average person from documenting abuses on factory farms, their proposals have triggered widespread popular revulsion and have been defeated.  We are waking up to the cruelty inflicted on animals and demanding better for them, and for ourselves. If we do not open our eyes to Agriculture industries new found of growing and killing animals faster and on a larger scale than ever before, and the results of this so called cheap food system are severe for all of us. 

For a more in depth look watch http://youtu.be/L_vqIGTKuQE

Misleading Labels

Manipulative labels

Have you ever been scanning the isles of the grocery store and seen the label “0 grams trans fat”? I have. And I immediately think it must be good for me if there is no fat, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case. Regardless of the various laws the FDA has passed, companies can find a way to manipulate the system and use certain wording to trick consumers into thinking their product is healthier than it actually is. After realizing I have fallen for this trick a time or two I started to wonder what else were companies keeping from me about my food. I did some research and found out that there are quite a few things that companies fail to advertise on their labeling.  

             After digging around I found that the most talked about topic right now is environmental labeling. There are many misleading or absence of certain environmentally related labeling on many foods. The idea of “going green” is a hot topic in the world right now, so companies use this to pull consumers in. Most companies claim to be “eco-friendly” when they actually aren’t. A company can claim they are “eco-friendly” because they reduce one environmental impact, but does that really mean they are eco-friendly? In most cases, they are hurting the environment in many other ways by producing their product; such as in the areas of energy, global warming, water, or use of pesticides. One of the most common misleading “green” labeling is “all natural.” There are a lot of things that fall under the category of “all natural”, including the pesticides most companies pump into their products, however they fail to explain that to the consumers.

I’m sure most, if not all, reading this are realizing they have been tricked a time or two by these manipulative words. To make sure you are actually getting an “all natural” or “eco-friendly” item, take the time to pick up the product and see if they have a description of their green effort. More than likely, if they don’t have any sort of elaboration on their claim it means its phoney. So next time you are at the grocery store take the extra time to read the whole label so you too wont be fooled!

Here are some interesting articles that elaborate on the problem of misleading labels!

http://moneyland.time.com/2011/05/23/greenwashing-nearly-all-products-eco-friendly-claims-are-bogus-or-misleading/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101028073916.htm

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Most+green+products+misleading+offering+friendly+options/3728064/story.html

Think Organically Not Industrially

Yesterday, in global class we discussed the importance of water supply and endangered rivers. Just like me, you might wonder what does food have to do with this topic? So, I went beyond our class discussion and discovered some pretty interesting stuff.  Surprisingly, both issues share a close symbiotic relationship. Did you know that U.S. agriculture provides sustainable economic and humans benefits, yet according to the organization Save the Colorado, it consumes nearly 90% of the Colorado River entry. That is equivalent to 4 TRILLION GALLONS! just to have some fresh fruits and veggies at your dining table. Wait fresh? How fresh are the fruits and veggies you consume? Treehugger informed that the U.S. food systems contribute to almost 20% of the nation´s carbon dioxide emissions.  As mentioned in yesterday´s post, the only real difference between organic and regular food is the chemicals and preservatives and the differences in prices. What about organic farming? Curiously, Treehugger introduced that this type of farming removes about 7,000 pounds of CO₂ emissions per year! Currently the U.S. has 434 millions acres of cropland. Imagine if each cropland engaged in organic farming. It could help reduce CO₂  emissions to the equivalent of 217 millions cars operating in the streets.

Organic farming not only bring benefits to the environment, but also to the agricultural industry. During wet season it limits the erosion, but in droughts more carbon in the land helps the organic farming retain more water. Organic farming feeds itself from its natural ingredients, hence providing a more fresh meal for you. In contrast, current agricultural practices spend a lot of money on pesticide and other chemicals that affect not only the environment and yourself, but also the producer´s pocket. Thus, organic farming is win-win situation, don’t you think?

As all of you might know, cutting down trees for suburban expansion triggers CO₂ emissions, hence global warming. Guess what? Deforestation in search for useful fertile land has the same effect as the one previously mentioned. I think we should reconsider the myth we learned in elementary school. If you cut down one tree, it is necessary to plant 10 more; sadly that is not enough. As environmentalist Bill McKibben explains in his book, “Eaarth”, there is no way back, so it is important to learn how to thrive in this new eaarth. Stop thinking globally. Think locally! Because being smaller is now the new GREEN!

Click on the following links to read more about organic farming and U.S. agriculture:

http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/organic-farming-could-stop-global-climate-change.html

http://www.savethecolorado.org/river.php

http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/how-to-stop-global-warming-and-hunger-at-the-same-time.html

http://www.crwua.org/ColoradoRiver/RiverUses/Agriculture.aspx

Organic Food? You Decide.

Every time I go to the grocery store, I come across the fruits and vegetables isle like we all do, to buy some healthy foods to eat. I’ve always noticed that there is normal food in these isles, and there is also organic food. We’ve all heard about organic food. The rumor is that it is much healthier than normal food, and those who buy it are extremely aware of their health. I never really questioned this, although recently I’ve heard from a certain health teacher that organic food really isn’t all that different from normal food, and that it’s not worth the money.

            This made me curious as to what the truth about organic foods is, so I went to the internet to look for answers. Apparently, the only difference between organic foods and non-organic foods is the way that they are grown (and that is the only difference besides the fact that they may taste a little bit different from one another). I found this particularly surprising, because I had the impression that organic foods were like really special and extremely healthier. But the difference is just that organic food does not contain the pesticides that normal food gets from being grown with their use. And this factor has led people to believe that organic food is exponentially healthier, with their defense being that the pesticides in normal foods could cause us health problems.

            It has been believed that organic foods contain more nutritious minerals. However, organic foods are really no different than normal food, and the amount of pesticides on the normal food is so miniscule that it would never really affect anyone. The small bits of pesticide on normal food can easily be washed off when you clean the food before eating it. This being the case, I would think that organic foods are not worth the money, because they’re not any more nutritional or healthier than normal food is. One upside to it though, is that it helps the environment when buying foods that don’t use pesticides to be grown, which is pretty cool. So in the end, whether or not you would buy organic food really just depends on personal preference. One is not healthier than the other. If you think it’s worth it to pay more (whether you like the taste more or want to help the environment), then go right ahead and get them! Yummy~!

Click the following links to read more!

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1595245,00.html

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/organic-food7.htm

http://kidshealth.org/teen/expert/nutrition/organic.html