Sicko

Precis: in terms of healthcare Americas health insurance hurts more people than it does help. That is compared to other places around the world. Most People in America do not have access to affordable healthcare.

Evidence:

I. The healthcare system is primary based around capitalism where the objective of big healthcare companies is to get rich.

• What parent wants to move in with their child? The very first couples shown in the movie, Larry and Dona Smith were forced to do so. Two hard working individuals both supplied with healthcare. All until one was overcome with heart attacks and the other suffered from cancer. Medical bills piled up despite their insurance coverage. They needed so much money they could no longer afford to owe their home. Getting sick is not affordable even with healthcare.
• Almost 80 years old and still working hard cleaning bathrooms. The only reason he stills works is because this job provides him with healthcare. Without it, he has no other opinions due to the mere fact there is no way to afford it. Healthcare companies do not make healthcare easily accessible to people.

II. Healthcare providers and politicians tell the public what they want them to believe.

• In a article published in the New York Times the author sheds light on the topic so positively talked about by politicians. Initially starting by a claim made my Giuliani where he explains America’s “best medical care in the world. The movie Sicko was brought up to mention the United States healthcare. Although the author spent time critiquing Sicko, for its representation of healthcare in other countries as perfect the author mostly agreed. He questions America’s healthcare using both facts and observations. The author points out the shocking number of “45 million people without health insurance” in America, which does not include the people with poor healthcare. He also mentions the nonexistence technologic advances dealing with patient paperwork, we “still operating in the dark ages of paper records and handwritten scrawls” World’s Best Medical Care?." New York Times(2007): n. pag. Web. 20 Dec 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/opinion/12sun1.html

I thought Sicko was interesting. As I’m sure many of the people who have seen it would have thought the way. For reasons being that we are simply unaware. Once again these issues are hidden behind a veil that’s easy to see through but no one choices to. Politicians, healthcare providers go about their busy and tell the public what they want them to believe. This movies points out the clear fundamental issues with the healthcare in the united states regarding the cost, access and how much is actually done.

Tuesdays with Morrie III

Tuesdays With Morrie

By: Mitch Albom

Publisher: Random House

Year published: 1997

Precis: We are all just small fractions apart of something bigger.

"We are afraid of the sight of death...people act as if death is contagious" pg 171

People are afraid of the sight of death because it reminds them that one day it will be them. Most people avoid the uncomfortable thoughts of the unknown. It goes back to the idea of isolation. Weathers it’s an institution, or just a room the sick are isolated. People tend to stay away in order to not get sick. The dying is also isolated from others, sent to a hospital, maybe another intuition like a nursing home. Once again, people are content sending the dying away to avoid any experience with facing death. Even further evidence of isolation are cemeteries, used to isolate the dead from everyone else.

“That’s what we’re all looking for. A certain peace with the idea of dying. If we know, in the end, that we can ultimately have that peace with dying, then we can finally do the really hard thing.” “Which is?” “Make peace with living.” pg 173 if a person can accept the limited time they have, then they potentially will live a more fulfilling life. But I feel as though this idea can go both ways. I think Morrie was so accepting of dying because in the end he was happy with his life. He lived a life, teaching people, forgiving people and addressing his regrets only then was he able to accept dying more willingly.

After finishing the book Tuesdays with Morrie, Im left questioning dying, death, and overall life. Ive read the book before, however reading it with prior knowledge of illness and dying I took away a different impression. i went from feeling a little offended by Morries acceptance of dying, to now blaming some people in the book for making his death somewhat of a public event. After being diagnosed Morrie took on the role of teaching people about dying. He spent time with people who came to vist him and ask questions. But who made him the expert? Does a person have to have a direct experience with facing death to be an expect? This book succeeded in bringing up questions related to our units, ones that probably wont ever get answered but are always up for debate: simply Whats on the “other side”? Where do we go? Do we ever come back?

Tuesdays with Morrie Part II

Tuesdays With Morrie

By: Mitch Albom

Publisher: Random House

Year published: 1997

Precis: accepting death makes for living a more fulfilling life

"Don't cling to things, because everything is impermanent." (p.103) Morrie addresses the point that nothing lasts forever. He suggests that a person should not become to closely evolved with something that they know is not going to last. Existentially Morrie is talking about the idea of detaching yourself. I think for a person to be satisfied they need to have a sense of togetherness. Usually fulfilling that position in a relationship. Which brings up a other, somewhat contradicting point that Morrie expresses, "Death ends a life, not a relationship." (174) Morrie states that even if death separates two people the love they shared with go on. So he could be implying that relationships go on forever. Which contradictions what he previously said about everything coming to an end. On the other hand, other personalities aspects of Morrie shown within the book could show that he is implying relationships will go on as long as people remember them. So if they don’t die with death they will die later by simply being forgotten. Which makes more sense to me in the way that it still supports that nothing goes on forever.

"When you learn how to die, you learn how to live." (p.104) Meaning that a part of living is accepting dying. Easier said than done in my opinion. Its understandable that people constantly try to ignore or comfort themselves when thinking about death. Some simply don’t want to believe it so; they choose to ignore it, To isolate themselves away from the dying or dead. Others, comfort themselves with ideas of what might be true. People fear the idea of the unknown. So people develop explanations, answers. Either way It’s inevitable.

"If you're always battling against getting older, you're always going to be unhappy, because it will happen anyhow." (p.118,119) Getting old is a guaranteed about living. Morrie says that fighting about the things that are inevitable is not worth it. Addressing your focus on things you have no control over will only cause you to be unhappy. And I think he is right. In relation to this quote I thought about the process of living. As kids, we want to big kids, grown-ups. When we get older we wish to be young again. I don’t really understand it. I guess it’s the same idea that people don’t want to die but they also don’t want to live forever.

Morrie talks briefly talks about losing his mother to an illness. He talks about being child and no being able to understand the complexity of the situation. As a child he made the chose to pretend she was not sick, he purposely ignored her when she shows signs of the illness weaken her. Most of us choice the preferred course of pretending, we pretend everything is ok to ignore the quality of our immortality. How one deals with death is different for everyone. A part of the mourning process depends on a person’s age. As a child Morrie was not sure what was going on, he felt abandoned. He was over come with sadness. A child who can’t fully grasp the situation might feel abandoned. Where as a person who is older might more easily accept it and be thankful for the time they did have. This is where I think a person’s knowledge plays a part in mourning process. A person who has come to terms by accepting that death is inevitable, that everyone’s time is limited, well then they, like Morrie, is likely to be accepting of dying or losing a loved one.

Tuesdays with Morrie part I.

Tuesdays With Morrie

By: Mitch Albom

Publisher: Random House

Year published: 1997

Precis: A students is reunited with his dying professor. Together they embrace death, and reflection on their lives.

“Do I wither up and disappear, or do I make the best of my time left?” (p.10) Morrie is diagnosed with a terminal illness. He can let the disease slowly take over turning him into a vegetable or he can make a final accomplishment with the time he has left. Most of us believe we would try and make the best of our last months of living. However I also think that most of us wouldnt. It is not a secret that our time is limited, yet no one lives everyday to the fullest. Do we have to be sick to appreciate being healthy? Do we have to experience some event with death to appreciate life?

“There are some mornings when I cry and cry and mourn for myself. Some mornings, I’m so angry and bitter. But it doesn’t last too long. Then I get up and say, I want to live . . (p. 21) Morries illness is slowly taking over, he does not always know how to react. He is completely helpless and has begun to rely on other people for the most simple tasks. In his helpless state, somedays he feels sorry for himself, other days Morrie is angry and frustrated. In the end Morrie wants to make the best of the time he has left.

“Everyone knows they’re going to die, but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently.” (p.81) Death seems like such a distance thing to us. We dont know when it happens or how it happens, and not knowing is scary. It seems as though in the back of our minds we know we are going to die but we choose to ignore it. We comfort ourselves by pretending its not going to happen, least not for a while. If somehow people were able to accept that their lives could end at any point , I have no doubt that they would chose to live their lives differently; by taking more chances, saying things they normally wouldnt.

"We really don’t experience the world fully, because we’re half-asleep, doing things we automatically think we have to do" (p.83) Everyone lives within a routine. Never stopping to notice all the things that your missing. Weather its going to work, school or the littler things like sleep, brushing teeth. Illness disrupts the routine people have.

Death is not a comforting topic, not to think about not to talk about. The very little anyone knows about it makes it something we fear. Although death is inevitable and happens all the time,. even then, people find it challenging to accept the reality or have a difficult time dealing with an experience related to death. Unlike most Morrie is an elderly man who is surprisingly accepting of death. I couldn't help but read the story and feel some what offense. Morrie has accepted that he is going to die and he is fine talking about whenever to anyone. Maybe I show some resentment because i do not have the same outlook on death as he might. on the other hand, I feel as though Morrie is giving up. He is fine with dying and now relies on other people to do everyday tasks for him.

Comments

On partners blog:

I. To Johnny,

I would like to focus on the depth of your post. You start with several good bullet points. All of which focus on a different detail in Eriks story. While writing about these points you continuously express how they must felt, like in the line "this Must've been very stressful ... not knowing if Erik would get medical help. " In addition you include you own personal experiences similar to Beth's, you said it " reminded me of all the family members I had lost." You really seemed to make a deep connect with Beth's story. Through your writing you were able to show that you understood the perspective she was coming from and that you were able take away from the discussion with some deeper insight. Your detailed deep thinking made for an overall good blog post.

II. Sharif,

I really enjoyed reading your post. Your post addressed this topic from many different perspectives. You managed to take the basics of Beths story and create a deeper understanding for yourself through connected it to class and other aspects of life. You were able to find the parallels in her story to your own personal experience. I appreciate your honesty and thoughtfulness through out the post. I particularly like line when you said "I tried to keep my self away from the illness by keeping myself away from the ill." Which helps explain why the ill are so isolated. It seems as though the ill want to isolated, but others do not want to be around them either. This is what puts a stress on peoples relationships.
great job!

Had said...

I think the way you added your feeling into your writing, is what really made it powerful. Your writing is beautiful and makes me connect to my own life. I loved how you said "it’s the people who are alive who get most effected by death." I liked this quote because its true. When people die, it greatly affects the people who are living. I think by using a story to convey your ideas it makes the reader more interested in the meaning of it. Another quote i like is " Being someone who has no close personal experiences death seems unworldly" because this quote is so honest. And even though you dont have any personal experience to death, you seem like you can really relate to those people who have experienced death, which is very impressive.

Guy said...

Thinking about dying or losing a loved one is uncomfortable and so ignoring signs that expose one's sense of mortality often becomes a preferred course. Once death or fatal illness becomes evident the mourning process begins. Everyone mourns differently: some cry, some give thanks for the person's impact on their lives, and some throw a wild party like in New Orleans. Since death is a part of life, maybe more time should be spent developing a philosophy about life, so that when it ends, we can put it into better context and be less surprised, and thus, less effected. Maybe, just maybe, life is "Hell", and "Heaven" is the place you go to when you die. Maybe, just maybe, when you die, you go "home". Maybe the tough part is the lessons each person learns as they travel through the winding paths that are life. If true, shouldn't we be celebrating their return "home"? Maybe, just maybe, we feel sad only because we selfishly know that we have to complete our journey without the presence of the one who died. If we were truly thinking about them, then maybe we should celebrating the time we had together; celebrating their return home; and be happy to know they will be waiting for us when its our turn.

Expert #1

1.Addressing sickness is not a top propriety for most. Erik convinced himself he was ok and ignored the physical state of his body to continue with his art show.

2.Erik was hesitant and defensive when his sickness was called out.

3.Ignoring how Erik felt he continued to accomplish his work on producing his art show. Like Erik most people tend to convince themselves they are fine, they do not want to deal with the burden of getting sick. Only when it becomes unbearable do they seek medical attention.

4.Erik and his family delayed getting medical attention before they had insurance. there are certain preparations that are made before going to see a doctor.

5.There was never any discussion related to death or the process of dying in Erik's experience.

6.Beth avoiding her husband being known as his disease, or just another number. It was important to her that people see him as the artistic people he was.

7.Once there were no other alternatives, Erik’s final stages were made as comfortable as possible for him.

8.Illness is the reality that humans are not immortal, and this gave Beth anew found appreciation for the everyday simple things.

9.When Erik died, everything was taken over by stillness.

To Beth, it never seemed possible that Erik, her upbeat husband could be defected by a termination illness. Being faced so close to death Beth was hit with the reality of immortality. For many of us it feels like such an unknown, unlikely, distance thing. Being someone who has no close personal experiences death seems unworldly. It is well known that death is inevitable. All of our days are numbered. Facing the challenges of dealing with an illness Beth developed with a newfound appreciation for the everyday simple things.

Addressing illness is not a top propriety. Erik ignored the state of his body and was determined to pursue his career goal. On several occasions he was asked if he was ok. Erik was defensive; he avoided the feeling of being weak. He was able to convince himself and others he was fine. Even though the symptoms where there; Erik would no longer sleep lying down, he coughed, and had noticeable weight loss. Moving down the list of priorities, Erik finally seeked medical attention. Like Erik most people tend to convince themselves they are fine, they do not want to deal with the burden of getting sick. Only when it becomes unbearable do they seek medical attention.

I respect Beth’s strength and courage coming to tell her story. It must’ve been easy for her to talk so openly about something so personal to a bunch of strangers. During the discussion I couldn’t help but feel bad. I couldn’t help but have the urge to apologize, like most of us do when we hear about a death; “Sorry for your loss” “Sorry that happen”. But it doesn’t change anything; it doesn’t make anything better, why do we say it? The way most of us handle someone’s loss is by throwing them pity. by doing so, we should a side of sensitivity, without being able to ever understand how they feel. I can’t imagine every losing someone that close to me. It is well aware that death is inevitable, no one gets out alive, is there a way we can better prepare for it? Beth mentioned dying before everyone you cared about. It occurred to me that sometimes it’s the people who are alive who get most effected by death.

Family thoughts-illness and dying

Everyone in my house was busy when I asked to talk. Out of luck and out of resources I sat down and joined my six-year-old brother. I did not expect him to understand the issues I had in mind. However I gave it a shot. I began by asking him how he felt when he was sick? He replied “blah.” Joking around I asked him what he ment by that. Taken by surprise he answered, that he did not feel good, “I can’t do anything.” So I asked him what he wanted to do but couldn’t do when he was sick? And sure enough I was surprised by a response. My brother explained to me that he likes having play dates with his friends. But when you’re taken over by some illness that’s the last thing you want to do. Somehow my brother described the feeling we have all experienced. When most people get sick, they turn into blobs. Unresponsive and sad they choose to isolate themselves from others as a healing process. Why do we choose to isolate ourselves? Curl up on the coach, hide away in our rooms? Why do people want to be so alone? Well my brother told me the reason he did not want to see his friends was because he was embarrassed. Discomforted by what they might think of them. Personally, I just don’t feel like myself. I don’t want to see friends; all I want is to be alone to be better. Often times ill make a commitment to myself that I will change my lifestyle to avoid getting sick again. But honestly that does not last very long, and then once again Im stuck in the same situation.

In our society that’s how it works. People are divided, the ill get sent away to a hospital with the other ill. We don’t like being uncomfortable, useless, embarrassed.

What other methods are there? My brother told me about taking medicine, “the yucky stuff” that makes you better, and the quick fix to getting better. In his mind, when a person is sick they take medicine, because that what will make you better. In my house there is no objections to taking medicine. If you feel lousy, headache, stomachache, cough, running nose, well take some medicine. To restore and regain yourself this is the quick easy allopathic method. Would changing a diet, doing some exercise have the same effect? My mother does not seem to think so, “A longer course of action should be taken when you’re dealing with something serious.” Could you please define serious mother… in her opinion, Systematic change is only necessary when medicine cannot “cure” you.

These really weren’t the answers I had expected or wanted to hear. I prepared my self for a discussion a little deeper. Maybe one that had some personal experience involved. I feel as though I received answers all that I have heard before. Boring. So I started to think, about my family, my family’s history, my history.

I remember very vividly getting sick once while at my grandma’s house. The reason I remember this so intensely was because of how strange I thought it was. I was dealing with the common types of flu symptoms and my grandma refused to give me medicine. As a kid who despised the taste all I wanted was to get better ASAP. So instead of taking me to the doctor or filling me with medicine, she handled it her way. My grandmother put me in bed, and tended to my needs. Which was nice, I liked getting pitied I enjoyed the attention. The weird thing about it was that my grandmother didn’t resign to any allopathic method. In her mind some tea and a simply prayer would do it. She instructed me to close my eyes and talk to God. Tell Him what was wrong; tell Him what I hoped for. Guess it couldn’t hurt, but unlike her I had no belief that it would make things better.

Thanksgiving

Year after year celebrating Thanksgiving for me was always with the family and included, turkey, stuffing, and pie. It is an annually ritual that the whole family partakes in. Whether it was spent with my Mom or my Dad it was the same celebration of food and togetherness. It was always absolutely vital that each member of the family was together; interestingly it was a different focus of execution with my mother than with my father.

This year, I woke up early on Thanksgiving to spend the morning watching the parade. There was no real plan for the day. From the parade we went home and relaxed. My mother did not want to put aside the time to cook and prepare the traditional "feast" in our small kitchen. Therefore as an attempt to limit the losses my mother had the whole meal ordered and delivered directly into the fridge. She did not want the hassle of picking out all the ingredients, or dealing with the heavy bags all the way home, and the preparation and frustration to follow still. So dinner was all set. My aunt arrived later, adding to the chaos with her four kids, yelling and screaming as they came through the door. None of us were thinking about our clothes, we wore whatever we wanted. Everyone coming over was exciting and yes, it was loud and hectic but it was nice having both of the families come together. We had football on the television in the back round. The kids were playing together in our new apartment. No one had to worry about cooking anything; no one had to worry about time management. So instead of concentrating on the preparation of the food our focal point was each other. We sat around talking and just enjoyed each other’s company. When everyone was hungry, well, then dinner was simply unwrapped and heated. I would go on but my sister and I left before the main event of feasting happened. This year we were scheduled to spend with our Dad.

At my Dad’s house the celebration of Thanksgiving is a much longer and more thought-out process of production. The preparation for Thanksgiving starts as soon as it is November. My grandparents uncover all their tacky extravagant decorations. While the list is formed with everyone’s name is placed next to that is what they to bring to the dinner. The whole event is filled with traditions I don’t even know the meaning of. For example, someone is always responsible to arrive with banana bread. I have no idea where this tradition came from, nor do I have no objections to it. Also, the location of the feast rotates around the family. Unfortunately, this year it was set to take place at my Dad's house which comes with the tasks of playing the right music, having each room clean and presentable, and having enough room for people. So as you might imagine as soon as my sister and I got to the house we were put to work. We weren’t done until we were dressed in something appropriate for the occasion. Showing up in just anything you set yourself up for those deadly glares. One after the other after the other people started to arrive. My great grandmother who is 97 years old showed up by surprise. She was not feeling well, which was a good enough excuse to let her stay home. Even though she spent most of the night in the chair in the corner she was present. She was not the obvious lady she normally was. It was just nice to see her there though; everyone went over to her at least once to say hi. Usually being a very interacting lady I imagine she felt uncomfortable and helpless being talked down to. The fact alone that she was there seemed enough just to make her and other people happy. Another family member came all the way from California. His ticket was booked so far in advance because he too knew he needed to be there. A lot of faces I have never even seen before. My uncle had one of his really good friends tag along with him. Until Thanksgiving everyone had only ever heard about him. Which makes me curious why more people don’t spend thanksgiving with their friends? We are thankful for friends too. It was suddenly a bunch bigger crowd compared to the thanksgiving that was set up at my mother’s house. Which made the atmosphere more hectic by far and happy too.

The main focus point of our Thanksgiving was the food. Food was being prepared in my house all day long. People were bringing food. There were so many different types of dishes. Most of our conservations were based on where the food came from. People were asking about recipes. From beginning to end people told the stories about each of their creations. To talk about the food was honestly a bonding experience. A friend of the family brought a couple of vegetarian dishes. To be honest it did not look very good. She explained to me how easy it was. Although it you asked me to make it I probably couldn’t. I tried my best to be open-minded and to my surprise I did really like it. There was not a dish that was fried. However there were dishes that people just decided to buy, like the pie. The heavy task of making the banana bread was taken on by one of my uncles.

Illness and Dying

The common cold, cancer, diabetes. We have all had experiences involved some type of sickness. Weather it being a person we know or have experienced ourselves, it is bound to happen. So what do we do?

Ever heard of Advil, Tylenol, and exceberian? The common cure for the common symptoms. And if that is not good enough, there are other ways to cure our illnesses. We have doctors; the specialists who know rely on to know what’s wrong and how to fix it. What makes a doctor certified to say what’s wrong with someone? Do they always know the best cure? Can they fully understand what it is like to be the one who is ill? Along with doctors there are hospitals. The buildings that are coded with white halls and white walls. They’re spilt into different units, each designed to accommodate certain illnesses.

My five-year-old brother still afraid of doctors. At a young age I to remember being so afraid of the doctor. So convinced they wanted to hurt me. Their cartoon character uniforms were so misleading. Because little did my brother or I know the needle waiting to price our skin was being held close at hand.

I remember visiting my great aunt Dorothy in the hospital. Her body started to weaken due to her old age. My whole family went to see her. By that I mean my dad, sister, cousin and I. at that age the hospital was a terrifying place. I to my father afraid of what I might see if I looked around. I thought if you somehow ended up in the hospital something really must have been wrong with you. We walked down the solely colored white hallways. We came to my aunt’s room. Again painted white, there really was clingded isn't anything comforting about this place at all. The only symbol of happiness I saw was the flowers that lay beside her bed, and even they looked sad and uncomfortable. They looked like they had been there for a while because they to looked frail and weak. Which makes me wonder: why do people bring flowers to the sick? Why do are there always flowers at a funeral? My old tired aunt was lying in her small sized bed. When I saw her it was hard not to feel sorry for her. I was confused, didn't know how to act, what to say, what she wanted. And so, I didn’t dare start the conversation, I didn’t know how. What should I have said? So what’s life like in the hospital? Uh hey, how’s the food in this place? To avoid the awkward situation, and possibly humiliating one I just kept my mouth shut. My father started with something like how you feeling? Or good to see you. Further n the conversation she just came right out and said it: I know im dying. It was a thought that crossed everyone’s mind, but no one wanted to believe it let alone hear it is said. How could she say it so casually? I stood there appalled, still at a loss of words. The entire visit she would make comments like that. She was completely aware and readily prepared to face whatever was in her future. Death is inevitable, she accepted that. I was inspired by the way she spoke without any fear. She must have known what she was talking about because she died 2 weeks later.

Can a person know? How does a person prepare for such an event?

thats me a Vegetarian

Wednesday 10/27/10

I started my experiment as a pescetarian. Based off the opinions of a few vegetarians, my experiment was lacking. it thats was not good enough just to be eating as a pescetarian. In their opinion fish was still meat and i should not be including it in my experiment. I agreed and therefore decided to continue the remaining three days as a full on vegetarian. I'm confident that the next couple of days wont be that hard. I like meat but I do not need it. I'll eat vegtables and pasta.

I went to the grocery store today. i spent a significant amount more than what I normally do. Due to buying so many fruits, vegetables and organic items. My mother was not to pleased, however she supports my experimental decisions. I told my dad about the experiment too. Although he supported it, he himself would never take part, "Make me a vegetarian and you might as well just put a bullet in my head."

Thursday 10/28/10

I ate yogurt and granola this morning which was awesome. I felt good afterwards, i felt awake and pretty ready to go. But In all honesty it is allot harder than I thought. I realize now how much meat is included in my diet. and now I feel so limited, which only makes me want meat even more. My biggest challenge at this point in the experience is finding good alternatives. I want to know why so many people decide to be vegetarian. And so I googled it. I want to know what makes being a vegetarian so much better than a meat eater? What are the benefits? I found that Plants hold 10 Times more protein per acre than meat. Im still not convinced it is a better way of life though. i continued and I also found that in one year more than 7 billion animals die for human consumption. That to me just adds to the whole nightmarish system.

Tonight, Instead of a burger I tried a veggie burger, Which i have never had before. In my opinion it is no where near as good as a regular burger. No offense to any vegetarians out there but it was discussing.

Friday 10/29/10

Will power i can do it! my carnivore instincts firing up away, and I started to think; what is it that makes meat so appealing in the first place? Honestly its a little gross. Me, I love chicken fingers. When you think about it, well, its a slab of chicken that fried and served to you which the expectation of you eating it with your hands. Or a hamburger (YUM) parts of a cow griended up and put in between two pieces of bread. If anyone tried to describe it to a person who did not know, the idea of this food is gross.

Tonight for dinner my mother ordered from firehouse. which if you do not know already is an all american greasy food restaurant. Which normally i love, but unfortunately still cant eat meat. So I ended up just having cereal. yum......

Saturday 10/30/10

Last day being a Vegetarian. Its actually gotten easier to do for me at this point. I have tried new food that I might not have before. Through this experiment I have found alternative although it wasn't easy at first I continued to try. I guess that goes to show that people adapt, they can get used to a certain life style fairly quickly. Which makes me think it is not completely impossible for everyone to change their eating ways. I succeed for a while. Although Im pleased with the experiment, Im not going to stay vegetarian. A diet that included meat is better for me. However know that Im aware of what goes on past the grocery store i plan to make some changes.

Finshing food

Thesis: People living in todays society are convinced of the normality of these dominant social practices, and oblivious to the nightmarish industrial atrocity.

Major claim: People are vividly unaware of the food companies system of production.

Argument 1: Manufactures purposely have a veil covering what people know about the food production system.

Supporting Evidence: The harsh treatment of animals as shown in the movie Food inc.

• chicken being kicked
• animals never seeing day light
• being over feed to the point they cannot stand
• intake of antibiotics

Argument 2: Manufacturing companies care solely on mass production and profit rather than the health of the animals or the consumer

Supporting Evidence:

• obesity rates of people in the united states "Mississippi is the fattest state for 5th straight year, Colorado still leanest." Calorie Lab (2010): n. pag. Web. 8 Nov 2010.
• expansion of fast food restaurants
• false labeling on grocery store products
• "Reading food labels isn't as easy as you think.." daily green (2010): n. pag. Web. 8 Nov 2010. .

FOOD inc.

I dont want to believe it but food inc was reality. The movie begins by saying "the way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in 10,000 years." It gave viewers a chance to see what goes on behind the wall created to keep us out. the truth to the ways we think are normal. the film illustrated the key faults to our food system. The need for mass production and companies doing anything to get ahead.

Unlike reading a book, or just hearing about some story the movie Food inc showed people. People shared real stories about their lives. The difference between it being in a movie rather than a book is that you can see the person. You can see their passion and emotion towards the event they are describing. A example being Kevin. The little boy was died 12 days after eating meat with ecoli. Seeing the mother stuggle to talk about her family was heartbreaking. As people i think that helps us connect and relate to her.

And still, the only solution i consider to be a realistic start is to get informed. By changing first what we eat. Then opening up the hidden world of food to other people. I think if people really knew where their food came from they wouldn't eat it. If people were informed i think he would be the start of a noticeable change.

Summing up Food

Thesis:

I. People live according to dominant social practices, and are oblivious to the nightmarish industrial atrocity.

II. People living in todays society are convinced of the normality of these dominant social practices, and oblivious to the nightmarish industrial atrocity.

Project: ( And my rules and exceptions)

I. Vegatarian for a week: eating none of the same meals twice.

II. Planting and growing plants as food: multiple plants (in case one dies), including the product in a meal.

Book Talk D

Chapter 17

Humans all have equal rights to not being eaten by one another. Why dont animals have those same rights? Singer suggests these ideas in his book Animal Liberation. Seems to me that singer is implying that the live of the animals is sacred. Pollan begins to read Singers book in order to learn more about the routine of eating meat. Pollan decides to takes in what the book says and decides to try being vegetarian. (I imagine that is not a quick transition.) Although after speaking with Singer he rules against it. The book argues that meat eaters have a difficult time understanding the point of view of thinking about the treatment of the animals. Maybe they convince themselves otherwise in order to escape the reality of what is actually taking place. But do these animals suffer? I think that eating meat is a part of life. It is all-apart of a food cycle. However I do agree in the sense that animals should not be miss treated. From what I know so far I think yes they are. I do agree with Pollan in the sense that there is a difference between pain and suffering. Animals should not be mistreated. But under what circumstances is that preventable? We slaughter these animals for meat, while growing crops pesticides kill insects. We can let the animals live as they normally would naturally and then humanly slaughter them. So what’s the best way to go about it? Well maybe Temple Grandit was on to something when she devises a method to humanly slaughter cows, so that they were not in such distress.

Chapter 18

Pollan and a group of other set out in search of their next meal, a wild pig. A gun makes all the difference when walking around in the woods. He feels the adrenalin rush, and describes it as “One of those experiences that appear utterly different from inside than from the outside.” Which to me sums up the over all food system investigation. Everything I thought about food has turned out to be so much more complex and different.

In the woods the group comes across a wild pig, unfortunately Pollan does not have a ready gun. He is determined to be the one to kill the meat himself. The next time they set out on their expedition Pollan find a cluster of pigs, this time successfully kills a pig. I would imagine after killing something yourself, you would feel both accomplished let guilty. At first Pollan feels reacts out of grateful and happy. Later while tearing up the pig he comes to realize what he did and begins to have feels of guilt, but its only “reality of our own animal nature.” Pollan found anew appreciation for food, when he tracked it done and killed it himself.

Chapter 19

Be a gatherer. Pollan sets out on a mission to gather the second part to his self-made meal. Collecting fungi is a tricky task, because Pollan needs to be careful which ones he picks. Some can turn out to be harmful rather can helpful to your body. Mushrooms unlike plants do not rely on sunlight as their supply for energy; they get their energy from materials like decomposing dead vegetables. Pollan finds it more challenging than he thought because the mushroom are hidden and found in secret places. However Angelo has no trouble. People adjust to meet the survival standards of living. He is used to it, this is a way of life, just like we are all pretty used to our way of life. So Pollan felt more comfortable with the mushrooms Angelo found instead of the ones he did. Which was probably a smart idea, “happily follow the lead of a fellow omnivore who has eaten the same food and lived to talk about it.”

Chapter 20

The very last chapter in the book, its meal time! He first sets a list of rules and exceptions for himself. One of those exceptions including the salt from then San Francisco Bay because of how horrible it turned out to taste. So he had to rely on Angelo for some of the necessary ingredients. But after a long time of preparation and collecting, Pollan starts cooking. The very last chapter in the book, its meal time! He first sets a list of rules and exceptions for himself. Like no including the salt from then San Francisco Bay because of how horrible it turned out to taste. So he had to rely on Angelo for some of the necessary ingredients. But after a long time of preparation and collecting, Pollan starts cooking. Main course: Wild pig, cooked two ways. Side dishes: fava bean toasts, bread. Without any big problems the meal turns out. Although it is not practical for people living in today’s world, Pollan was very pleased with the outcome of his meal. imply himself to gathered and collect everything that was apart of the meal made him feel accomplished. Most people do not understand the value of food until they themselves have to hunt and gather it themselves, a meal that is eaten in full consciousness of what it took to make is worth preparing every now and again, if only as a way to remind us of the true costs of the things we take for granted.” The complelty oppisite end of the food system compared to the McDonalds meal he ate. With this method, It takes a few dedicated people to change their eating habits to eating healthier to result in a bigger change. Pollan suggests educating people on where food comes from, which make a big enough impact to cause a change in thinking.

Freakonomics

Majority of People are truly oblivious to some of the problems that are all around them. people believe what they are told, not knowing if its actually true or not. Freakonomics provides explanations to the way things work in our world. this movies takes a an idea that expresses a dominant view of people and studies it. it helps prove why people do the things they do. The way these economists prove their theories of behavior of humans is by making it simple to understand and by using statistics and conducting experiments. By doing it this way it allow people to grasp the concept and using evidence through data makes the argument more believable.
Starting with incentives, which can easily be found in almost every situation. A segment brought up by freakonmics was school. People have accepted school as if it was natural, necessary part of life. Attending years and years of schooling where good grades are are associated with intelligence and success. The dominant view is that people need to go to school, get good grades, to get an education and be successful. plenty of incentives right there. good grades = success. Freakonicimnos tested the way people react to certain incentives. The went to a high school, and told the students that they would get paid if they got good grades. A student needed to work to get their grades up to at least a C in order to get paid. that would have worked for me. the experiment focused in on one black and one white student, who both were underachievers. And what about the students who are already doing well? that gives those students the incentive to keep their grades the same. if they were not getting paid , it would give then the incentive to do worst in order to get paid. The results at the end showed some students including the black one did improve their grades. Urail King, the black student was thrilled to see the limo that he had the chance to ride in. He worked on his grades just for that incentive alone. It was only until he had these incentive that he really tried for the those grades. However other students like Kevin Muncy, the white kid , is not content with the money incentive, "I don't think I would take any money for giving up my social life." So did the incentive work? how can if be changed to created more of a positive result? how can any incentive be changed in order to produce a result through wide ranges of people? Maybe if people were given more of an incentive to adopt healthier eating they would. but so far what incentives have people found? What if it was money? what if it was more money? Student can try their very best but might just not have what it takes to fit the requirements, "you want milk and cookies. well if the oven is broke you only getting milk." What if student could be promised that good grades would lead to success?
This overlaps with the segment of having success based on a persons name. Well, one researcher believes that a child's name has no impact what so ever on their success . He talks about a father who chose to name one son, loser and the other son winner. in this situation turns out that the more successful one was in fact Loser. While the other son, Winner did not live up to his name. Now what exactly does that prove? Another researcher admitted that in his company names do matter. He helped prove his theory with a much more fact based experiment. where he took the same resume, summited one with a primary white name and the other with a primarily black name. This Resulted in the white name getting a call back much much sooner than the black name. It took some where like 5 weeks longer for the black to receive a call back. why is that? He seems to believe that people associated black names with harsh living condition, and poor education. While the white name is thought about with a respectable family situation and a high level of education.
In seems to me people feel more comfortable with hiring a person with a primarily white name than a primarily black name. which I can relate to eating foods that people feel more or less comfortable with. in my mind, foods with certain names are uneatable. I, tend to proceed with cautious when eating foods like veal, , calf's liver, tribe. Foods like those or foods like rabbit are just foods that make me feel uncomfortable. in the same sense that company chose white names over black because of comfortably.
its funny the way our world works, and almost impossible to understand. Being told so many different points of view it is hard for anyone to distinguish the truth. advisement's purposely tell us what they want to and we chose to believe it. Part of believing has to do with what you want. majority of the time people will chose to believe something because they simply want it to be true, which is easier than accepting reality. All these ideas overlap in so many ways, and all contradict each other. Freakonics tries to answer the difficult question we face, but there seems to be different answers all over the place. Is one more right than the other? does data, statistics, experiments prove it to be true? is there anyway to get a clear true answer to our question?

Book Talk C

Chapter 11

Rise and shine at 6am. The Salatins are already up and working on the farm. Pollan spends a day learning the pieces of the whole operation. Morning chores consisting of: Feeding and watering the boilers and moving their pens. The movable pens allow the chickens to eat the grass after the cows and fertilize the soil with what comes out the other end. Then there is the Egg mobile where the laying hens are. This impressive device makes retrieving the eggs easier. Everything functioning at the farm runs on a schedule, which leads to its success. And everything functions in a way where it is all connected, “This farm is more like an organism than a machine.”(213) The rabbit-chickens there in pens suspended over an area where the chickens get to mine for worms. The making of manure to compost takes place in the barn itself, which conveniently saves on heating costs. It both hard to describe and understand since a system like this has countless variables involved.

Chapter 12

A farm produced food. Having animals on the farm eventually ends in killing them. I cannot imagine what it was like for Pollan to witness the ‘slaughtering’. I would imagine for some that might make eating the food more challenging. So, Pollan describes the process beginning with rounded up the chickens into boxes. Then they are individually placed into cone like tools that slit their throats. Although it is not senseless killing Pollan is not to comfortable killing all these chickens. But if you can see you food being killed you know that it is fresh. Although this might not prove that it are well healthy, but at least it is fresh. Having a cleanlier, less painful for the animals and more organized way of slathering animals allows fro a success business. More places should take this example.

Chapter 13

Once the food on the farm is ready to be then what? where does does all this food go? Still living on the Polyface farm Pollan shadows their way of life. It starts early in the morning when the brothers deliver the food to local restaurants. he does the deliver so people can get what they want. "dont you find it odd that people will put more work into choosing their mechanic or house contractor than they will into choosing the person who grows their food?" I mean there is just way to many of us to each have a certain farmer who supplies us with food. A form of this is shown with people who have nutritionists. Even then people still dont know where their food is coming from. its such a simple idea that is not addressed in peoples lives. where does your food come from? seems like such an easy answer. But yet no one knows, no one knows where their freaking food comes from. The substances we fuel our bodies with multiple times a day and no body knows? honestly its just getting frustrating. people are getting careless, they dont consider where it comes from. no one asks questions. Pollan points out that americans currently spend 10 percent of their salary on food, decreased from the 20 percent people used to spend in the 1950's.

Chapter 14- THE MEAL

After his experience on the farm Pollan plans to cook a meal. He gathers what he needs on the farm, the chickens that he took part in slaughtering, the eggs that he gathered. A long process of working, but Pollan does it and seems pleased with the result, , "There was nothing terribly subtle about this meal, but everything about it tasted completely in character." He can take ease when eating everything because he knows the whole life cycle of each part of the meal. I think it was a little creepy he pictured the chickens when eating the prepared meal. In my mind, Pollan lacked some sensitivity there.

Chapter 15

This was the first part on the way to creating Pollans last meal, the one that he prepare solely on ingredients that he hunts, gathers and grows. The hunting-gathering position is not a common life style anymore. That’s because it is unnecessary, we have everything accessible to us. A task most of us today probably could and would not do. The lifestyle we have developed is creating a shattering effect on our survival skills, now that’s only a theory I believe. Unlike today’s world, this method of hunting and gathering shows a person "in full consciousness of what was involved" in making the meal. But today we are hidden from the world where our food is produced? We have evolved into a lifestyle where people are blind consumers. Can it be fixed? We can’t use the method of hunting and gathering, Pollan points out that there is simply to many of us.

Chapter 16

Omnivores = eats a wide range of foods. Therefore can live in a variety of climates and places. The only challenge is to consider if the food being consumed is safe or not. Through eating with reoccurring uncertainty we have become more aware of what we should and should not eat, along with our taste preferences. By memory we get a better understanding of the boundaries of our food. We have been able to develop through this whole life style, unlike koalas that are stuck eating according to their strict diet. Human have figured out the different ways to obtain, cook, and eat food. Which fortunately has put us on the top of the food chain. Pollan does not fail at seeing the problem with this.

Pollan started with this idea of America having an eating disorder. At first I did not understand what exactly he meant. After reading as far as I have Pollan is on the verge of fully exemplifying this idea. He explains how a single magazine article has the power to completely change the way people interpret food. We do not have a culture that is deeply rooted with traditions about food, so our mind are easily changed.