Response to Food, Inc.

1) My biggest impression after watching Food, Inc. was definitely one of pure disgust, yet pride. I was truly disgusted at how these multi-billion dollar corporations treated their workers, treated their farmers, who they claim to treat well and praise daily. However, I was even more disgusted at our American government see how these corporations falsely inform the public, how they treat their employees, how they toy with illegal immigrants, and yet they do not blink an eye. They keep their mouths shut because of how much money these corporations bring in to the country. Not particularly food issues, but the way that the poultry/meat companies treat their farmers, and the way that they import and export illegal immigrants stood out to me the most. The food conditions, the bacteria outbreaks, the way the chicken and cattle are treated, I already knew about most of that. So it wasn't necessarily shocking. In my junior year of high school, we spent a good two months talking about these same food issues in my AP Language class. The food itself aside, I never really saw how these employees, the suppliers were treated by the supposed "good guys". It mortified me how a company could be so relentless, so brutal, so heartless against the people who supply them with their product. If I ran such a food company, I would make the treatment of my employees one of my top priorities, because essentially, they are the ones who put the product on the shelves. I would make sure to take care of my farmers especially, because they breed and take care of the main source of the product; of the chickens, the cattle, the pigs etc. On the topic of immigration, I never could have imagined that the government would let these corporations get away with importing and exporting them daily. With how how hard the U.S. government cracks down on illegal immigrants, how could they let it happen so regularly and smoothly?! That is what honestly baffled me the most about this film. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this film very much. I felt much pride in these journalists for exposing such horrible conditions, for going after every possible outlet to tell each side of every story in terms of such food issues. I was left with no questions about each topic, that's how I know that it was an overall good film. I actually found it really funny when Michael Polan came on the screen. Because in my junior I read his book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, and I had to write paper after paper on that one book and it's discussed food issues. Polan's introduction into the corn part of the movie was actually lines from his book, which I found amusing yet annoying because I couldn't stand reading over 100 pages about corn. 

2) The food mantra that I personally live by is, "Eat until you're satisfied, not too much, not too little, and drink lots of water." In Michael Pollan's essay, Escape from the Western Diet, he basically pushes eating more organic, healthy foods that processed junk food. Which yes, I agree with, but most Americans cannot afford to live such a lifestyle. Yes, food companies and the government need to rearrange the prices so that healthy foods are less expensive that the unhealthy foods, but that is obviously not going to happen anytime soon. I know that I cannot afford to live like that all day everyday, even thought I try my best to. On the other hand, Mary Maxfield, in her essay, Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating, argues that food is neutral, that the ideas of "healthy and unhealthy foods" are programmed into us by society. I agree with Maxfield more than I do with Pollan, society has told us what's right and wrong, and once we accept that, we can freely make our own choices on what to eat without a second thought. 

Eric Schlosser's Argument

            Eric Schlosser's argument is that fast food corporations have changed America in every possible way. Schlosser gives the general overview of his argument in the third paragraph of the excerpt of his book, Fast Food Nation "During a relatively brief period of time, the fast food industry has helped to transform not only the American diet, but also our landscape, economy, workforce, and popular culture. Fast food and its consequences have become inescapable, regardless of whether you eat it twice a dat, try to avoid it, or have never taken a single bite" (Schlosser 3). He describes in the introduction how large fast food industries such as McDonald's have become part of everyday American culture. How they have become a large part of our economy, especially when it comes to providing jobs. How they have even manipulated the government in order to be able to do whatever they pleased. Schlosser uses all main nine methods in his introduction, Narration, Detail, Description, Argument, Process Analysis, Definition, Comparison & Contrast, Cause & Effect, and Classification. Because this is the introduction to a larger book, it needs to describe everything that is going to be discussed in the pages to come, which is why he blends together so many methods, because a book is essentially every method combined into one genre. 

            I particularly like his writing style very much. It was all very cohesive, easy to follow, and interesting at the same time. I learned a lot in 7 1/4 pages, more than I thought I could have. The way he constructed this excerpt definitely makes me want to read the rest of his book. I thought that his argument was very relevant, especially now in this day and age when it's changing so fast. The argument itself was very well put together, even in the introduction. I can't imagine what the rest of the book is like if the introduction was this informing and engaging. 

Comparing & Contrasting

        Bharati Mukherjee's essay "Two Ways to Belong in America," describes the differences and similarities of her and her sister's views on immigrants. Most of the essay consists of the differences, however. The main subjects of the differences are how she defines herself as being an "immigrant nobody," yet she defines her sister as a "expatriate." Both sisters moved from their homeland of India, to the United States in order to work and attend universities. They both stayed in America, continued working and studying, and eventually got married in the states. Bharati's sister, Mira, stayed within their culture and married an Indian man. Bharati, on the other hand, married a Canadian-American. Mira still has her heart and mind in India, as shown by how she has not conformed herself to the ways of America. "My sister is an expatriate, professionally generous and creative, socially courteous and gracious, and that's as far as her Americanization can go. She is here to maintain an identity, not to transform it" (Mukherjee 274) Mira is staying in America to simply keep up her immigrant status. To be able to keep her job. She does not want to become an "American" in the sense that she transforms herself to the cultural norms. Bharati, did the complete of Mira, "In one family, from two sisters alike as peas in a pod, there could not be a wider divergence of immigrant experience. America spoke to me - I married it..." (Mukgerjee 274) Bharati adopted every single one of America's cultural norms, from it's fashions, to it's language, so it's lifestyle. 

In this essay, the purpose of comparing and contrasting the two sisters is to show what Bharati thinks are the only two ways to define being an immigrant.  I disagree with the idea of their being only two ways. These two ways, are the complete extreme opposites of each other. Yes, some immigrants adopt these ways, especially those who are new to the country. However, most immigrants take the middle ground, they adopt and accept American norms, yet inject their own home culture into it. That's what makes American so diverse, the fact that so many immigrants infuse their outside cultures into America. 

Response to "The Ways We Lie"

By far, this is my favorite essay that we have been assigned to read. It was entertaining, sarcastic, easy to follow, and very informative. I one hundred percent agree with how categorizes the lies that humans tell. She categorizes them in quick, efficient ways that anyone could understand. Especially with the anecdotal examples, any reader could understand and relate to the classified, described lie. I think she covered every lie there could possibly be. I even learned new types of lies while reading this. For example, I had no idea that stereotypes were considered lies. I think this essay got published because it was detailed in such a way that it was relatable. That people could pull up the essay, and classify the lies they tell themselves everyday. 

Okay kind of random, but I just need to say how much the little anecdote about the myths of Lilith shocked me. I literally dropped my book and sat with my mouth open for I don’t even know how long. This myth literally made me question every form of the story of Adam & Eve that I have ever heard, every my own faith itself. But it completely makes sense of why women have believed that they are the lesser sex because of the omission of Lilith’s story. Even though every myth about her has posed her as a Mother of Demons, she was the only strong woman in any ancient religion that stood up to a man. If that story had been detailed in the Bible, or the Quran, in any religious book, women would have thought of themselves much, much differently throughout history. 

Why did Robert Connor write "How in the World Do You Get a Skunk Out of a Bottle?"

Robert Connors' essay is titled with the question, "How in the World Do You Get a Skunk Out of a Bottle?" because that was the question that he pondered the whole time during this particular situation. Connor was running on the side of a road when he saw a skunk struggling to get his head out of a glass jar. 

I think Connor wrote such a detailed, analytic essay because he himself could not explain why he turned back and tried so hard to help the skunk. He went against his own strong urge to just run home and not do anything, his own instinct. "I have a sudden desire to turn go, keep running, get home. . . . But now I realize that this skunk is my responsibility." (Connors 8 & 11) He had an overwhelming sense of responsibility over this skunk, because he knew that if someone else like the police found it, they would kill it trying to save it. He was the only one there, so he assumed the responsibility himself. I think the purpose of this essay was to say to readers that it's okay to do things on impulse, things that you know will benefit someone in the moment. Connor literally saved a life here, even thought he could have gotten sprayed or attacked. He could have just kept on running, and forgotten about the slowly dying skunk. It couldn't have earned him anything if he did it. But after the act, he felt a sense of happiness and relief, which he never really connected to the skunk, probably because it was indescribable. It was something that he just felt and couldn't place the source. Which is probably why he wrote this essay now, because he finally placed all of the feelings and actions from that day. 

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As a girl, I generally like to shop, especially shop online. I primarily go on sites like Forever 21, Topshop, Etsy etc. And while I browse the internet for my next online purchase, I like to listen to music, especially to my stations on Pandora Internet Radio. Every time I simultaneously am online shopping while listening to Pandora, specific advertisements pop up on the sides of Pandora,  advertisements that just so happen to be from the exact company I was just browsing online, with the exact products I was interested in but didn't purchase. The internet is a funny, sadistic thing. In order to sway me to buy their products, to spend my own precious money, companies advertise their products all over Pandora, specific to the person. How in the world, the internet manages to know what we were contemplating buying, and put in directly in a place where it knows we would see it, I will never know. Clothing and accessory companies are quite clever in manipulating the internet like this, because it causes customers to buy more and more, giving the companies exactly what they want, more money.

No Jewelmint, I will not go back on your site just because of Free Shipping & Easy Returns. 

Response to Alissa Steiner's "Depression in College Students"

I believe Alissa Steiner's thesis to be, "Understanding depression, its symptoms and its consequences, can help us identify and help friends and family members who may be suffering. Also, if counseling services on college campuses were better able to publicize and reach out to students, perhaps more students could get help they need before it is too late." To me, she doesn't support this at all. She doesn't give any examples of how understanding depression, and/or, college counseling helps people who are truly depressed. She only tells the short stories of two students who were perfect on the outside, then turned out to be so depressed that they committed suicide. To make a claim, any claim, you need to give two or more examples supporting that claim. She doesn't do that at all, she only restates the same thing over and over again. I don't like how she basically used the essay as an advertisement for counseling on college campuses. She didn't analyze in depth why exactly college students are depressed, she only said that if they perhaps had gone to a counselor on their campus, they wouldn't have committed suicide. This essay really frustrates me because she never went into depth about the real issue; how colleges are depressing to students. If she had actually, fully analyzed that, with actual true facts, this would have been a much better essay.