Food Values in my Family

I really enjoyed Lexie's presentation yesterday and I'm glad she shared from her religion and family values, very educational!

My family's food values have definitely evolved over the last decade. When I was about eight, my mom decided that she wasn't happy with our family's diet; we were eating a lot of beef and other kinds of meat as well as baked goods that are heavy in butter/oil/fat. She educated herself about healthier ways of cooking(tofu is a great substitute for beef in a casserole) and found better ways to make carbs (homemade bread, substituting yogurt/apple sauce for canola oil in muffins). I'm so thankful to her for introducing those changes early on; they've really shaped my food choices today. Because my mom proved to me that lots of meat isn't necessary for protein, I am completely meat free and LOVE tofu.
I think back to how my Grandma cooked; she was very skilled and we always loved what she made, but high in meat and fat and while there are recipes from my Grandma that I truly cherish, I have to say that food values in a family evolve and I respect my mom for finding a better path for all of us.
Since my dad grew up in a family with a very traditional diet, my mom, while still concerned with lessening the family's red meat consumption, will still make it a point to cook beef in a healthier way because that is one of his food traditions. Food is certainly a great way to demonstrate respect for someone!

Perspectives on Global Warming/Agriculture

Monday's talk on agriculture and climate change was really eye opening and aligned with so much of our class discussion. There were so many moments that just clicked for me and these insights hand't been presented to me in the past. I wish more of this information had been made available in the media, I really appreciated that the simple facts were presented and solutions given. I want to discuss some of those issues below. 

The perspective of climate change in reference to worldwide crop yields was completely new to me and so important in light of world hunger. As the Dr. Karowe indicated, the persons who will suffer the most from decreased crop yields projected (wheat 50%, corn 35% approximately in the next hundred years) are the persons who had nothing to do with creating the problem. I have the privilege of knowing many international students from different parts of Africa and Asia, and I feel a keen sense of disappointment in my culture that we created this crisis that will one day hurt their homelands. 

What really captured my attention was the solutions to creating greener energy sources and how logical and imperative it is to switch to these methods. Once again, I've never been exposed to this type of comprehensive research and solutions; I wish I had been sooner. You hear, of course about personal responsibility and reducing our carbon footprints, which is vital, but the whole system is going to have to be redesigned if we want to avert the crisis that we have before us. 

Thanks to Dr. David Karowe for bringing this information and giving a new perspective on a controversial topic. 

Food Justice: Does it Matter?

Karika Phillips spoke this Thursday at a Kalamazoo Public Library event on the subject of food justice.  Her talk focused locally, stressing the importance of making fresh food available to every neighborhood of Kalamazoo. As someone who is not only raising a family in the area, but who grew up here as well, she had quite a lot to say, especially in regards to the plethora of liquor stores that replace grocery stores in the poorer sections of town.  These stores are often registered at the city and state level as 'grocery' sources, but are unregulated, leaving the availability of groceries virtually nonexistent.  In addition to eliminating food options for families who have a fixed income, they bring down the safety and standards of the community, and that is something that should concern all of us. As Karika points out, when her eight year old son is uncomfortable entering an establishment in his neighborhood, that is a problem.

What I loved about Karika's talk was her focus on community responsibility; this issue is so much greater than me worrying about how I can afford produce. This is about families in the Edison neighborhood accessing tomatoes and fruit, about the alarming number of liquor stores that deprive local families of food options, and the health of the person living across the street. As Karika said, food is about relationships. We need to care for our community members' food needs, just like we take care of our own. It broke my heart to hear stories about kindergarten students whose parents couldn't afford to buy them fresh fruit and having to eat processed food instead.
This talk really aligned with class explorations and I hope that it will make a difference to many in this community.
http://www.kpl.gov/reading-together/2014/
http://www.kalamazoocity.org/kalamazoo-farmers-market
http://www.kalcounty.com/hcs/che/kphillips.htm

An Indian Lunch: An adventure in Cuisine

 

Anita, Jordan, and I had lunch at Saffron's on West Main. The restaurant is family owned and had a personalized appeal. Their $10 lunch buffet was fantastic, featuring a variety of authentic dishes, including  meat, vegetarian, and vegan selections.This dish above is call Navrathan Korma, a delicious blend of vegetables and spices in a coconut milk sauce that the three of us were simply delighted with. The flat bread or Plain Naan was home made and liberally sprinkled with herbs. 

The spices are arresting and sophisticated to a Western palate, as most sauces and dishes feature over 30 spices. 

Also highly unusual to a person used to American cuisine was the salad that featured both fruit and vegetables in a vinegar sauce. I never would have thought that combination would prove good, but it was probably our favorite dish, judging by the number of times we went back for more.  In addition to quality food, the servers were very friendly; I didn't even have to ask the waiter to answer some questions, he saw my notebook, handed me a menu and asked me what I would like to know. When asked, Abhi told us that the food is carefully selected, especially the meat. The chicken is procured in Grand Rapids, where the chickens are slaughtered in a more humane way than the typical slaughterhouse. The owner of the restaurant is deeply invested in the quality of the food and is responsible for purchasing, preparing, and supervising the food. If he is not able to be present at the restaurant, then it is closed until he returns.  This really impressed me and draws a sharp contrast to the fast food corporations that have taken over our diets. The sauce that is used in many of the dishes takes three days to make, adding the spices  and simmering the vegetables, a very involved process. Once you taste it though, you understand why. Saffron's started ten years ago when the owner decided to start a restaurant like the one his brother owns in Boston, also called Saffrons. Since then, this restaurant has been serving quality Indian cuisine.                               

In addition to telling us about the restaurant itself, Abhi outlined a typical Indian diet for us, explaining that meat consumption is much lower in his culture and that they eat a variety of beans and grains. While this sort of diet seems unusual or even impossible to many Americans, this restaurant is proof that it is both healthy, ethical, and delicious!

Video Game Presentation and Food Satire

 I found Casey and Joe's presentation really educational and appreciate their insights on video games and food. I have never been into video games, so to hear from 'gaming' experts was interesting and new for me. The two games that really stuck out were Border Patrol and Grand Theft Auto. Our explorations into the migrant worker plight illuminated so many misconceptions about these persons and that game really brought that home to me. I would have considered that game distasteful before this class, but understanding the underlying prejudices that led to its creation is sickening. 

It was also really insightful to watch the Cluckin Bell commercials embedded in Grand Theft Auto; I hope the people playing those games actually stop and recognize them for the satire that they are. 

Speaking of satire, Chipotle launched four 50 minute videos called Farmed and Dangerous, kicking off a series of tongue in cheek satire directed at fast food chains. The trailer is hilarious, probably because it is so completely accurate about factory farming. A scientist grows an eight wing chicken and the bureaucrat who is always thinking about the bottom line says that 'Those people died from eating, not starving. That's progress.'  References to chemicals  used  on the animals to enhance growth are all throughout  the clip and for a person who was never confronted these issues, I think it will be impacting and eye opening. 

The motive behind Chipotle's efforts is to raise awareness regarding ethical agricultural practices and treatment of animals. I like that they are addressing broader issues instead of just trying to sell burgers.

 I wonder what our food system would look like if more companies addressed broader, community issues instead of just trying to sell more of their product?

Farmed and Dangerous Trailer

Conclusion of Ham on Rye

Ham on Rye is a harsh, extremely blunt commentary on a lot of issues in 1930s America. I don’t think 20^th century literature has seen such an angry, confused, bitter character as Henry, who is the alter ego of the author.

And indeed, who would not be these things if your father beat you regularly for missing a few blades of grass when mowing the lawn, or having such extreme acne that you were quarantined for months and no one wanted so much as to lay eyes on you.

I kept expecting a breakthrough of some sort throughout the story, that the character would find in some sense, a purpose or at least if he was going to be eternally against everything, he would at least be content in the role he chose, but the story feels so unresolved.

I suppose this style of writing is very much in keeping with the Russian authors that Henry immersed himself in such as Maxim Gorky, Ivan Goncharov, and others, and having read some of this literature, I can understand how Henry connected their message to his life. The lack of hope for the common man and lack of opportunity because of limited income certainly is a theme in our class readings and in this book.

Even though this book was difficult to read and while Henry certainly does not embody the traits that a protagonist usually demonstrates (honor, decency, etc.) I find that I still like aspects of his character, such as his honesty and absolute fearlessness about what others think about him. I’ve never encountered a character so utterly indifferent to punishment once he sets his mind on something.

And while this book did not end with a resolving conclusion or give closure to the events of the story, at least the person who was at the center of the story all along (the author) did go on to become a famous writer and hopefully find some justice after all.

Ham on Rye...or Expletive on Expletive

Well, where does one begin when a story is completely saturated with every variety of profanity, vulgarity, et cetera? I'm not entirely sure, and since I am not prepared to tackle young Henry's escapades through sexual awakening and violent tendencies, I will focus on some of the other themes in the reading.
It's interesting that Henry, who has very violent, very disturbing impulses also feels things very sensitively. When neighborhood boys are gathered around, watching a spider devour a fly, Henry destroys the web, saving the fly, much to the consternation of his companions. Later on, Henry experiences fierce pangs of helplessness, feeling nausea because his friends are torturing a cat and he is too scared to intervene. His thought is that  'the cat didn't have a chance against humanity' and you can almost hear his next thought being that he doesn't have a chance against the persons in his life.
It also goes without saying that a group of fifth graders who daydream about violent sex with older women are obviously way older than their age(and seriously messed up as well), and this is a huge theme throughout the book. Henry even says that when he is describing how the kids are sullen and even controlling of adults at their school and in the community. The times have made them impatient with their adolescence.
 While the depression isn't a central theme, it is definitely appearing in the peripheral of the story, with the children's fathers losing jobs and a general lack of money. It seems as if even Henry's parents' compulsion of having roast beef every day has been thwarted by poverty.
Food did not seem to play any sort of role in this portion of the book, I am curious to see how it will in the coming chapters; that is, if the there is any room left over after 50 pages worth of sex, expletives, violence, older women....you get the idea.

Ham on Rye

This story starts in 1922, in Germany and is told from the perspective of a young boy, Henry Buskowsi. Even his earliest memories are of discord in his family. His father is controlling and hateful, his mother a passive observer, and his grandmother a bitter, hateful person. This scenario does not bode well for young Henry. The family moves to L.A. where Henry enrolls in a hostile school and the family is distant from the rest of the community. Even though Henry's family is of the same income bracket as the rest of the neighborhood, his parents consider themselves better than their neighbors and forbid Henry to play with the other children. It would seem as though this family did not have the corner on hate, as the children at school bully any child who is weak or otherwise vulnerable, making Henry's existence a living nightmare. 

One of the most disturbing elements of the reading is Henry's inability to express himself. His father does not wish to hear his son communicate, saying that children should be seen and not heard. One of the family's relatives perceptively noted that 'still waters run deep', referring to Henry and I think that insight will be prophetic as the story progresses. 

Even this early in the book, I can tell that I haven't read anything remotely resembling this narrative. It is crass, harsh, and offers a version of reality that no one would desire. I am curious to see where the author takes young Henry, but I must say, I am not too optimistic about the boy's future.

Character contrasts in the Hunger Games

This book was impossible to put down, with its ceaseless suspense and cutting insights into today’s culture. Like many, I completely fell in love with the tenacity and determination of Katniss and I am curious to see how she develops in the next several installments in the series. 

One of the most interesting aspects of Collin’s story is the contrasts between Katniss and Peeta; both are thrown into the ring, and both are fighting to survive and yet their strategies are radically different. Katniss immediately alienates the ‘career group’ and strikes out on her own while Peeta works the career group and befriends them, to protect himself and Katniss. Katniss is uninterested in people, Peeta works situations and people for his benefit. I found this two approaches very interesting; during the first part of the Games, Peeta seemed weak to me. Compared to Katniss’s impressive skill set and tenacity, Peeta with his cake decorating abilities, did not seem like a comparison.

However, Peeta is strong and brave as well; he warns Katniss when the careers are coming after her and part of his involvement with the group is to protect Katniss. His level head and strategy is quite impressive, especially considering how violent those tributes were. 

This contrast illustrates that strength comes in many forms and bravery is not always demonstrated by fighting.

The role of violence in the Hunger Games

Having finished Hunger Games, I can say that I think the author had a dual purpose; to draw some parallels to modern society and to write one heck of a suspense novel.  When asked about the vivid violence portrayed in the book, Collins said that she wants young people to consider the brutality of war. She also questions how the younger generation is spending their time. “What’s your relationship to reality TV versus the News?”, was her query to persons my age. 

I appreciate Collin's concerns about how we view violence and where we seek our opinions. I hope that readers consider violence and its place in our society. I also am intrigued by the fact that if it wasn’t for the violence portrayed in this series, it wouldn’t be nearly as popular.

Let me explain that statement.

When the Hunger Games came out, they became immediately known by their controversial plot line: the brutal games that pit adolescents against each other in a desperate fight for survival. It wasn’t so much the violence that was portrayed in the books that bothered me so much, it was the fact that people were reading the book in droves because of this unusual storyline. The ‘bait’ so to speak was the violence portrayed.  

My concern about this is that the real message of the Hunger Games is not forgotten; unmitigated violence is a terrible evil, especially when used by a government to control others.  I think that violence can control us and when we read a novel like the Hunger Games just hoping for entertainment, it does just that.

 http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/suzanne-collins-hunger-games-trilogy-speaks-to-a-generation-of-teenage-readers-like-no-other-literary-creation--but-whats-the-big-message-8958113.html

http://hungergamesmovie.org/13082/author-suzanne-collins-on-the-heavy-message-of-the-hunger-games/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/reviews

Entering the Capital

Katniss Everdeen is a spunky, stubborn, and determined sixteen year old who has been taking care of her family since her father's death. Since then, she has braved punishment at the hands of the so called 'peacekeepers' who hold all twelve districts in a choke-hold of fear by escaping her district's limits and foraging in the woods to feed her family. This perilous existence has remained unchanged; until now. When her frail younger sister's name is drawn in the annual 'Hunger Games', a tradition devised by the ruthless capital to hold districts in fear, Katniss volunteers herself as tribute. Taking the place of her sister, she and a boy she knows only vaguely, Peeta, are taken to the capital to 'be trained in the art of survival' and to undergo frivolous makeovers to entertain the capital audience. And while Peeta genuinely seems to care about Katniss, she knows that only one tribute will leave alive. And she is determined for the sake of her mother and sister that that person will be her.
There are many commendable character traits to admire in Collin's cast of characters. Katniss is fiercely devoted to her family and will stop at nothing to protect them, even risking her own life to do so. Her alliance and friendship with Gale, a boy from her district is also to her credit; they meet while foraging for food and decide to look after one another and their families.
This story, with all of its rampant injustice reminds me of Rigoberta Menchu's testimony. I remember being struck with the strength and beauty of her spirit and the characters from this book are no different. Sometimes in the midst of the greatest evil, light is most visible.

Jurgis: A 20th century migrant worker

Chapters 21 through 26 fulfill all of the foreshadowing of gloom present in the first five chapters. Many things have changed since the innocent, naïve, Jurgis, Ona, and their family arrived in Chicago. Jurgis has lost his job at the slaughterhouse because an injury prevented him from working for three months and his employers won’t take him back. Ona died during the premature labor of their second child and Jurgis is weary and embittered. After his child drowns in the street, Jurgis deserts Teta  Elzbieta and the family, becoming a tramp. Even after everything Jurgis has suffered physically and emotionally, he is still a fine worker and the farms where he pays for meals all offer him seasonal work. Jurgis, now no stranger to the ways of the system, refuses, knowing he will be out of work as soon as the winter comes.

While Jurgis is traversing the countryside, he meets many tramps some who work, but many of whom beg or steal. Jurgis has reached the point where he knows that as an honest man and worker he will never get ahead. This point reached, he does whatever he can to survive.

The necessity of winter forces Jurgis back to Chicago where he finds work digging freight tunnels. After another injury and a hospital stay, he again loses his job and becomes a beggar. When a rich and very drunk young man gives Jurgis one hundred dollars, Jurgis can’t believe that something actually worked out. This feeling quickly dissolves when in the attempt to get change; Jurgis is swindled by a bartender. After a fine and a short jail stay, Jurgis encounters Jack Duanne again, and the two partner in a life of burglary and crime.

This leads to working for a corrupt political boss, and enables him to earn eleven dollars a week, go to music halls, saloons and to ‘wear a linen collar’. His life settles into a routine until he happens upon Phil Conner, the man who raped his wife. Attacking the man and beating him lands Jurgis into trouble again, losing his job, and all meager political connections.

In the earlier section of this reading, Jurgis’s travels through the country, encountering farms that will turn him off the minute the harvest is in is so reminiscent of migrant workers today and our class discussions. After our discussions and this reading, I think one of the greatest crimes against humanity is withholding the fruits of a person's labor and not giving them what they have rightfully earned. How horrible that this continues today.

Entering the Jungle

Jurgis and Ona, recently arrived in Chicago from Lithuania, have high hopes for a better life. Both are young, strong, and hardworking, and Jurgis is sure his strength and work ethic will support a decent life for them and Ona’s family. At their wedding reception, Jurgis and Ona discover that they are short of funds to pay the saloonkeeper, as many of their guests have not contributed to the festivities, as is the custom. The first chapter closes with Jurgis’s determined declaration that he will work harder to make up the money.

Because of his youth and physical strength, Jurgis lands a job at a local slaughterhouse, and initially is thrilled to be part of the ‘marvelous machine’ as he terms the innovations of the enterprise. Indeed, the activities of the slaughterhouse, hundreds of animals slaughtered every day with each worker doing the same task over and over until the workers themselves operate like so many cogs in a great machine seem like a miracle of nature to Jurgis.  He does not understand his neighbor Jokubas’s cynicism about the slaughterhouse, Jurgis is still caught up in the innovation and his quick hire. 

Both Jurgis and Marija settle into their respective jobs enthusiastically, bringing strong work ethics and eternal optimism to their grim surroundings. When they visit a house that they are considering purchasing, the agent talks incessantly and glosses over the house’s defects, leading the family to purchase the house. The family is elated with their purchase, also buying furnishings and utensils for their new home.  During all of this, Jurgis is making new friends and finding differing opinions. He doesn’t understand yet why the other men hate their work and wish to work at a slower pace. Jurgis is convinced he can rise and become a skilled worker, that the quality of his work will facilitate a promotion. Unfortunately, this is just the first of his errors; for ‘nobody rose in Packingtown by doing good work’. For indeed, good work is not valued in Packingtown; meat from a pregnant cow or ‘slunk’ meat is still used even though it violates government regulation. 

When reading this account, several things came to mind. First, the incredible optimism and strength of these immigrants. Just imagine how different our history could have been if we had embraced these people, made honest work available, work that utilized the intelligence, goodness, and spirit of these people. How much better, both for us and them.

I know more heartbreak is in store for Jurgis and Ona and their story was not an isolated one.

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Upton_Sinclair/The_Jungle/index.html

http://www.capitalcentury.com/1906.html

http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/sites/default/files/ssn_key_findings_sheingate_on_food_safety.pdf

Through the eyes of children: the plight of migrant workers

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Both portions of assigned reading for this week were told through the eyes of children. As adults, it is easy to be caught up in the technical, economical, practical side of things, but these accounts have to be the most accurate, truthful, and poignant of all. Cajas de Carton is told from the eyes of a migrant working family's young son. Working over nine hours a day in the fields, along with his father, this young boy has to miss school until November, when the harvest has been reaped. He goes through an agonizing morning, signing up for school and realizing that his English has become rusty in the last few months. During lunch, a kindly teacher offers to give him trumpet lessons, sensing the boy's interest in music. Elated with his new friend and exciting opportunities, the boy comes home only to discover that his family once again has to uproot and leave in search of work. 
And the Earth did not devour him is a similar account, also told from the perspective of a young boy, filled with helplessness and rage in the face of his family's illnesses and struggle. Seeing the futility of his arduous labors, watching the work literally suck the life out of his family, this little boy's passionate rejection of his brutal reality is so powerful. 
This reminded me of all the challenging jobs I have had in the past few years in the effort to pay for my education; I have worked eleven hour days in an 100 degree kitchen and I have worked in a factory wiring the insides of slot machines; nothing I have ever had to do for a living as a healthy adult compares to what these children did before reaching adolescence. 

http://www.migrantclinician.org/issues/migrant-info/migrant.html
http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/treaties/migrant.asp
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/migrants.html

'Let them eat bananas': A modest proposal

Bananas are the best food on the planet: they have all of the protein, vitamins, and carbohydrates that a person could ever need. Who needs black beans, whole grains, and vegetables anyways? I mean, do you think the United Fruit company (aka, Chiquita) would have allowed the Banana Massacre to occur (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_massacre#Massacre) just for their own profits and control?! Of course not! They really had our best interest at heart! They were really concerned that we should be eating as many bananas as possible and we were paying  as little as possible for these bananas. Using military forces to open fire on men, women and children who were protesting laborers, hoping for a fair wage was for the worthy cause of bananas! Likewise the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état was also further concern for our fruit consumption! Of course, it is out of the question for local Guatemalan people to have control of farmland in their country and make a decent living, the United Fruit Company obviously should be able to own large amounts of farmland and then neglect it, who are we to criticize?

As you can see, bananas are the only food we should be eating. All of these destroyed economies and even lives have been for this one sole cause: for us to eat bananas. The most frequently purchased item at Walmart is bananas: go buy some today and support your banana republic!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_republic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uneven_and_combined_development

Guatemala's Story

Rigoberta Menchu was doing the work of an adult before she was ten years old. Taking care of her younger siblings and helping her mother pick coffee was an everyday experience for this hardworking and persevering young lady. Her family toiled for years, scrimping measly wages together until they could afford their own farm, but even with their own land, the only way for the family to survive was to work at a finca, a coffee plantation owned by a rich landowner who more often than not was a politician as well. This meant that everyone who worked on the plantation had to vote for the owner (this was accomplished with armed soldiers and a public ballot, the workers were not told they were voting, just ordered to mark the ballot as directed). As disgusting and unfathomable is this situation is,  a greater atrocity was that many times, Rigoberta’s family and community members, were not paid their monthly salary, because the overseers could report field workers received wages and keep the salaries for themselves. As if this wasn't enough, two of Rigoberta’s brothers lost their lives in these fields; one brother died due to toxic fumes that were dusted over crops while the workers were in the fields and the other brother died because in order for his mother to retain her job, she had to keep working, even while her son was convulsing and suffering a slow death.

These adversities would be enough to make many persons give up, but Rigoberta persevered through all of this. After working all day picking coffee, she would go home, complete chores, care for the livestock her parents entrusted her, and then weave cloth to pay for food for her animals.  This strong and hopeful spirit enabled her to become a leader in a workers movement that actively opposed both the government and brutal landowners. Her efforts were joined by other women, who together led and fought for justice.

What is so striking to me is the beauty and strength of Rigoberta’s spirit; instead of being bitter or hating her people’s oppressors, she seeks change for her people through demonstrations and her eloquence. Early in her narrative, Rigoberta talks of how she loves the earth and the animals she takes care of. What a gift, to see and appreciate good in the midst of such trials.

Perhaps the harshest reality of Rigoberta’s testimony is the fact that her story is the story of the Guatemalan people.  Because of the land and produce monopolies owned by ruthless corporations (such as the United Fruit Company), this story is a common one. With some background research, CIA involvement comes to light in these unjust dealings; a U.S. enacted covert operation that deposed Guatemala’s president because he strove to reduce the United State’s economic sway over his country.  As can be seen from this narrative, the actions of our government have destroyed communities and lives. 

After reading this powerful narrative, I think the most powerful message that we can take away is that in order for this madness to desist, we must keep an active interest and demand accountability from our leaders and companies. If we don’t, the generations of ten year old Rigobertas, picking 40 pounds of coffee a day, will not only be the happenings of the past, but the reality of the future. 

http://homepages.wmich.edu/~acareywe/menchu.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigoberta_Mench%C3%BA
http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/guatemala.htm

Swift’s Modest Proposal: his underlying message

So many times in life, society is blind to the huge inconsistencies evident in every day; people are either so burdened or indifferent that the truth no longer holds the power to provoke action. This phenomenon can certainly be seen in many aspects of our culture, such as prevailing wage inconsistencies between men and women, the huge divides between those in poverty and the very rich, and the rapid disintegration of small American farms when the need for whole foods has never been greater. These issues are right before our eyes every day and most of us seem indifferent to them, so understanding how the Irish population took such a passive approach to England’s tyranny is better understood in light of our own passivity.

That being said however, passive as the Irish population was to England, nothing prepared me for the extent of Swift’s mockery of the situation. His anger seems directed in both directions: the abusers and the abused. Sarcasm is often used as a means to communicate real concerns, and this piece is no exception. Through the absurdity of Swift’s solution, infant cannibalism, we begin to fathom the desperation of the poverty dilemma. In fact, cannibalism is the most logical parallel Swift could have made to the real situation.

That might sound strange, but it is true; consider England’s treatment of the Irish. All of Ireland’s valuable land was under the thumb of disconnected English landowners who had no interest whatsoever in their tenants. Trade was not lucrative for any Irish person, the English made sure they dominated the market. In other words, the English owned every facet of power, including the ability to produce food. Most of Ireland’s population was in desperate poverty and this was a direct result of England’s selfish occupation.

What Swift was trying so hard to convey in his sarcastic diatribe was very simple; Wake up, the English are literally starving you already; denying land and trade rights. They are sucking the life out of communities and families and to sell infants to English gentry as a food source is no less an accurate portrayal of the situation than what is literally happening.

Swift was right; the English might not have made an overt market out of the Irish population, but they sure created a system where they withheld basic human rights of dignity, the right to an honest living, and readily available food sources. Swift’s comparison is not strange at all; it was a very literal interpretation of what was happening and an honest reaction to a horrible situation.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1080/1080-h/1080-h.htm

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/19/1171343/-My-Favorite-Authors-Jonathan-Swift-and-an-updated-Modest-proposal

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/19/1171343/-My-Favorite-Authors-Jonathan-Swift-and-an-updated-Modest-proposal

Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes: Making an Impact

Already in this course, a huge part of class discussion has been directed towards personal efforts; in others words, how does our new knowledge and concern translate into viable changes?

For Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes, this question of using food to help others is nothing new. Organized in 1982 by several local churches, this food ministry was founded by concerned persons who wanted to help the community’s needy and struggling. Through the years, these dedicated efforts have grown to include more area involvement and nearly 127,000 persons received food from Loaves and fishes in 2012. Their goal is simple: a hunger free community. This is ambitious in light of the data. In 2009, 40.9% percent of Kalamazoo residents were below the poverty level. That’s double the state percentage. As the data demonstrates, Kalamazoo residents are no stranger to need, and many have felt deprivation keenly.

               Even though Loaves and Fishes was started by a conglomerate of churches, their current values concur with the beliefs of many: inclusion, respect, diversity, and stewardship rank among the most important. Their mission is one that all of us can come and work together on achieving. Their strategy is simple; Loaves and fishes partners with local businesses and runs regular food drives to distribute the food and provide for the needs of the community. A great deal of their efforts goes towards procuring the food and distributing it to other food banks in the community. What is particularly impressive about this food ministry is that they ensure their users get fruits and vegetables. Families can obtain four days’ worth of food, providing for each family member.

What impressed me about this ministry is their focus on providing good quality food to persons on limited income. So many food pantries distribute mostly boxed, premade food that is of the lowest quality, but this ministry has a higher standard. These days, that is rare.

Here is the link to the Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes website and other resources:

http://www.kzoolf.org/

http://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Kalamazoo-Michigan.html

http://www.kzoogospel.org/

What Trimalchio can teach us

Imagine a dinner table piled high with every  luxury, with hordes of servants bringing a plethora of new dishes every other minute. Imagine a man who is so ridiculously wealthy that he stuffs his cushions with precious scarlet wool and tosses around human life as if it is worth less than his shoe. His dinner guests are disgusted and discomfited by his outrageous behavior and to put the capstone on the nightmarish evening, he enacts his death, having his household and guests grieve as if he is dead and describes the elaborate plans for his monument.

If you can picture this scene, you already have a good understanding of Trimalchio's dinner, part of the scandalous and outrageous Satyricon. This work is considered one of the world’s first novels and this portion of the book is written in menippean satire, which means that the author’s intent is to oppose mental attitudes instead of individuals.  This makes sense in light of the Satyricon’s writing structure; Trimalchio’s character and lifestyle  is the primary focus but the author clearly has another motive in mind when he paints this outrageous picture for us. This was a serious issue in the author, Petronius’s time.  The reign of Nero was well under way, wreaking havoc with the Roman life with his unruly, dangerous behavior. Throwing scholarship aside, Nero was a determined hedonist, whose extravagance is still legendary today.
 Of the many connections this work has to our materialistic culture today, I think the most important one is to each of us. I know that many relate this passage to the modern day privileged few that make billions off corrupt trading practice overseas and the devaluation of employees here. Assuredly, many names come to mind. However, I think it is too easy to read a piece of literature such as this and blame someone else. I think in a real and legitimate sense, we are all Trimalchio in some way and finding his likeness in the people around us is taking the easy way out.  If we could see the food, resources, possessions, time, and materials we have all wasted or used irresponsibly, we would no doubt rival the excess of Trimalchio’s groaning banquet table. The food we waste because of preconceived notions of what we deserve and the shameful way we behave if food or possessions are not what we wanted is just as wrong as Trimalchio’s antics. I appreciate Becky’s comments about this issue in class; the reason why stores and restaurants waste resources so shamelessly is because we told them that in order to keep our business that is what they must do.
If our supermarkets  resemble Trimalchio’s table with the ridiculous excess, then we resemble Trimalchio, banging his fist as he demands more and more. We have to realize that responsibility starts with us; if we change, then the individuals that are the Trimalchios of today will have to change too.



http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5225/5225-h/5225-h.htm#linkVOLUME_II.
http://www.chow.com/food-news/83216/7-shocking-food-waste-stats/
https://utahrecycles.org/get-the-facts/

Personal Essay

So I've been experiencing a bit a writer's block with this essay and I think the mostly likely reason is that I am unused to such a free structure in writing. The past two years have been filled with technical and academic writing, so this essay is definitely something new. An idea that came to me yesterday about how to approach this essay helped my structure dilemma., which might help you if you are in a similar circumstance.
Because of the number of really insightful, thought provoking questions generated in class and on the syllabus, I have decided to structure my essay as a 'framework' of questions that are connected to each other. For instance, my family eating history, my current views, and ideas for better cooking are all related and if I have learned one thing from this class, many of the questions we are asking are connected in some way.

Supersized Problem

In the documentary Supersize Me, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock embarked on an experiment that could have killed him. It certainly increased his chance of liver failure, heart failure, and did cause heart palpitations and a 30 pound weight gain. At the start of the documentary, Morgan is a fit, active man who enjoys exceptionally good health. As the film unfolds though, we see him accumulate a  hefty gut, huff at climbing two flights of stairs, suffer headaches, unnatural cravings, and worst of all, we witness the mounting alarm of his doctors as they beg him to give up his experiment. Perhaps the most terrifying aspect of this film is that the effects of eating at McDonalds three times a day were manifest well before the month was over.

I know that none of us eat at McDonalds three times a day and probably most of us don’t eat there very often(I hope) or not at all. However, this film makes several important points about fast food, personal, and corporate responsibility that are good for all of us to keep in mind.

McDonalds is not the only dangerous fast food

Really, all fast food has the potential of McDonalds, in that this diet will harm our bodies, increase cholesterol, cause heart disease, and weight gain. Some fast food chains strive to present their food as ‘healthy’ such as Subway, but there is danger in eating too often at these places as well.

Is it the food or the chemicals that’s addicting?

In the film, Morgan talked about how he grew to crave McDonalds food, even though it was literally making him sick.  That made me wonder if the chemicals that are used in the food are causing the cravings, these shady substances that no one is supposed to think about that aren’t regulated. If this is true, a lawsuit and enforced changes could be possible.

Corporate Responsibility

These companies are wreaking havoc on national and international health, and while it is our responsibility to eat both healthily and ethically, these corporations have much to be ashamed of, with their shameless marketing tactics and use of harmful substances. When Morgan attempted to make contact with a spokesperson from McDonalds after his month, he was ignored. I wonder what would happen if more of us held this corrupt corporation accountable?

http://www.endalldisease.com/mcdonalds-fast-food-toxic-ingredients-include-putty-and-cosmetic-petrochemicals/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbf_pmT6duA

http://www.supplymanagement.com/news/2006/mcdonalds-tops-index-of-unethical-companies

Food alternatives

Raj Patel’s Stuffed and Starved leaves the reader with many hard truths, often ones that we would rather avoid. Perhaps even harder to live with than the truths about our companies, country, and trade policies is the incrimination of ourselves as witting or unwitting accomplices in this corrupt system.

I eagerly anticipated the conclusion or ‘what can I do’ portion of Patel’s expose into this system and it is this portion of his book that I will reflect on. As many of us realize, the financial limitations of college students are hardly compatible with a total locavore diet, but I would like to share some of Patel’s suggested actions and some of my own ideas.

Transform our tastes

We have been born, raised, and saturated in an artificial food environment where we are manipulated to crave substances not natural to our bodies. Turning traitor on our senses and food desires will be challenging, but not impossible. Cooking is a time investment and one that requires a certain level of planning and basic skills, but this is an investment that will drastically improve our quality of life (as well as one that saves money).  Taking time to prepare healthy recipes and learning to savor the natural flavors of vegetables and fruits will lead to healthier cravings and while it is easy to fall for the'affordability' of fast food, it is much cheaper to buy groceries to prepare healthy food. (example: I made 15 black bean burgers for under $8, whereas it would have cost me at least $15 for the lowest quality burgers at Mcdonalds)
Support local business
This can be challenging when Walmart offers such undercut prices that a local business can't hope to compete but I think once we accustom ourselves with what food should really cost, and the higher caliber of food to be had at smaller grocers, we will consider our money well spent. 


Ethical wages
Most of us probably understand the near impossibility of living on a minimum wage job and trying to fund our education at the same time. In a snap decision, it is easy to go to supermarkets and take advantage of cheap products, but by taking our business elsewhere, we are supporting more ethical wages and dignity for our fellow workers. Supporting local businesses creates better working conditions as well as improves the quality of our food.


Be aware
This system has been enabled mainly by ignorance, hence the great starvation and gross excess that are the order of today. By being aware of the actions of food companies, our government, and international organizations, we too can have a say. 

Below are some links referencing healthy cooking and local food resources.

farmersmarketkalamazoo.com/

www.pbs.org/now/shows/344/locavore.html‎

http://www.cookhereandnow.com/

The truth that America is starving for

Raj’s Patel’s expose on the evolution and current state of the world food system is no easy read.  As each chapter unfolds, we are taken on a tragic journey, witnessing coffee farmers in Uganda who cannot afford to feed and educate their children, women in India who shoulder the weight of providing for their families on 95 cents a day after their farmer husbands commit suicide, and the skyrocketing obesity levels in Mexico due to the influx of American food companies. We are presented with information that incriminates our government in the cold and calculated manipulation of other countries, bending the rules of international trade to fit their profit-mongering agendas. The conditions of trade are written entirely by one party: the large corporations who hold sway in the United States and who possess influence in such superstructures as the World Bank. As Patel drives home again and again, the dizzying array of food choices that the West is drowning in comes at great cost: the horrific suffering, struggling, and eventual starvation of persons all over the world. How ironic that the food we are literally starving millions of persons for is killing us in the process.

Patel examines the trend of farmer suicides, which have been consistent since the 1970s. These are directly related to large corporations not paying farmers a fair price for their crops and not properly compensating them for time, labor, and quantity. This, in addition to occurring in Uganda, India, and Mexico, also happens in the United States. In India, many farmers are driven to take loans in order to purchase agricultural implementations in a desperate attempt to increase production output. When the rain fails or the price of their crop diminishes, these men frequently take their own lives. This leaves the wife to shoulder the responsibility of a debt ridden and failing farm as well as care for the children. These women often must relocate to cities where they take meager paying jobs and some are so bereft of options that they enter prostitution. 

As I was reading through this book, the emotions that kept recurring were anger and a sense of helplessness. This system wields all the power and holds all the cards, so it would seem. This is a system which all of us have been living in, whether we comprehend it or not. I grieve that these people’s lives have been destroyed

by the corrupt system that supports my access to thousands of unnecessary choices every time I set foot in a

supermarket. I know that even our smallest choices can act as opposition and protest the system in which we were raised, and I wish today was the last day I ever have to buy food at the great cost of another human being.  But the reality of our world and the reality of being a college student on a very tight budget prevents many things, including buying all my food locally. I can only pray that my new knowledge of this system and the small acts of opposition that I can afford will take root and grow into something more.

I have included several links below, including the link to Raj Patel’s website and other resources related to this topic. 

http://rajpatel.org/blog/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evoFFHsB3pU

http://www.foodfirst.org/ 

Finding better food

When I decided one year ago to completely give up meat and embrace a vegetarian lifestyle, I was at my wit’s end. For the past two years, I experienced these bouts of sickness which lasted for 24 hours and included me not being able to keep food or liquids down.  Meat has never been a substantial component of my diet, but when I examined these incidents more closely, I came to the disturbing conclusion that they were becoming more frequent. I connected the dots and found meat to be the culprit; I had eaten some type of meat 24 hours before getting sick. Having implicated meat in these incidents of what I had originally thought was stomach flu, I decided I had had enough and completely removed meat from my diet.

Since then, I have had many adventures in food, finding new and more interesting ways of getting protein (soy bacon is an acquired taste in case you are wondering), giving traditional recipes a new twist (never try to make a meatloaf with tofu, it will not cook, no matter how many times you keep putting it back in the oven) and trying to maintain a healthy diet on a budget. I have found recipes that are easy, inexpensive, and efficient that anyone can do. I have found that with some thought and planning, I can eat both cheaply and healthily and I have felt the benefits of this lifestyle. Having experienced both lifestyles, eating meat and fast food and the more healthy alternative of abstaining from meat and minimal convenience food, I can definitely say that the latter makes for a better and more interesting life.  Food can be an adventure and one that is well worth the effort.