Final Project

Here we go.. Union Square where you can shop organic products from small farms

                                     
                                          Fresh organic vegetables

                       You can find the best organic cheese like white cheese

                        with dried herbs

                      Raw Ruby Sauerkraut ( red cabbage )

                      I bought these vegetables to make a spinach salad with 

                      green pepper, onion,corn and chick peas.

                Cut the pepper into cubes; add to pan a little olive oil

                with onions, salt and pepper. After add the spinach,  

                chick peas and corn, sprinkle a little oregano. Ready.

Blog18

During this semester attending this class of English has been a very pleasant experience because I learned many things in special how to write an essay. After reviewing and compares with others made earlier in other classes it was a big difference, before I did not know how to structure an essay, now I know I have to include a summary, claims, reason, evidence and conclusion . For me in particular has been very hard and struggling because besides my first language is Spanish but very rewarding, anyway it has been a class in which we share and discussing different topics and ideas according with the subject, with my classmates also we made comments that it was a different way to learn how to write blogs so in general it was a wonderful learning.

 Using media and writing essay in blogs it was a dynamic and new experience, I remember the first day I didn’t know how to using and write in blogs and I asked Dr X that I don’t know how to write in blogs and she was been so sweet and patient, so she said don’t worry “here you are going to learn many things not only English’’ and she was right through different articles and topics like media, food, water, health and watching movies I believe that all my classmates and me we been learning a lot. Go online and share your writing and read with others and make comments also was great because you are able to have the opportunity to see where are your weakness and try to fix and do better. For example for my essay I believe that my favorite is blog 10 Imitation on the Film because that was an personal experience with my friend’s son also the blogs of the food unit it was a good learning about this topic I never imagine that in English class I will be learning the reality of the food industry or the ending of the bottle of water such a good experience and learning in our English class

As evidence from the above will be our final project. We have to cook or do something to show or projecting part of our learning during this class.

Where do you learn all of those things? … Only in English 099 class with Dr X, for your effort and dedication as an educator to students.  ! Thank you very much!

Blog 17

                          Facts from The Story of Stuff

According to Annie Leonard in the “Facts from The Story of Stuff” our system is a linear system in crisis not good for a finite planet. Due to the consumer society  we have to bought much stuff that we do not need and a few months will be obsolete consequently our planet will be on crisis for a accumulation of stuff  that we are not using and we have dispose it as a garbage. Nowadays consumers are the priority on the corporations of manufacture and they planned the obsolescence of the products so if you are part of consumer society you will perceive obsolescence of the stuff due to the media, marketing strategies and the society that you have to work and consume to integrate or be part of this consumer society.

I agree with Annie Leonard that big corporations are planning the obsolescence of the products and make the consumers perceive this obsolescence.

Besides the capitalist system the economy is growing base on projections from big corporation’s that are planning how much money they want, how big the production should be and how much they want we consume not only these but part of the planning strategies are the obsolescence and consequently consumer’s perception of obsolescence.

Who are responsible for this?  I think everyone are/is responsible for this.

First the government because they subsidizes part of large projects of the big corporation also because don't use mechanisms for quality control to make the companies produce longer lasting products.

Second the companies because they are planning the quality of the products that have to last for a certain time and the quality obviously is not good.

Third the media with big ads that torture consumers with products that we are supposed to consume because are good and be in fashion. 

Finally consumers are responsible because we live in a consumer society where we let ourselves be influenced by others think and fear of being criticized.

Unfortunately in our society to be part of it we have to satisfy our own ego maybe buying items don’t need or be in fashion. We have to buy otherwise they make fun or criticize your old habits. For example in the electronics industry daily change designs, computers and televisions are obsolete so people who do not buy a new electronic device feel that their stuff are obsolete or outdated but doesn’t mean that the device is not usable is just changed something is not important for the function so consumers are forced to buy a new device for which friend do not criticize.

Furthermore in this consumer society will value for how much money you make and how much money you spend..

Blog 16

                        Let Them Eat Fat

According to Greg Critser in the article “Let Them Eat Fat”, nutritionist and dietitians have been worried about the companies which sell fast food because they are selling unhealthy items especially in the poor areas where people with low income are living. Due to the economic situation, Cristser mentioned that those people from these poor areas are looking for food that represent low prices and more quantities like items offered in fast food stores where the food contains more fatness and less nutrition.

I agree with the author statement. Fast food companies are in competition against each other and care on the group of business and try increasing the profits. They don’t put their attention on customer nutrition or health as they mention in some advertisements.

Nowadays like the author Crister mentioned in the world of the fast food companies increase the size of the meals to satisfy the need of cheap meals for customers. Obviously the super sized meals are increasing calories and also adding more fat and more sugar in the beverages, even more fast food companies are not thinking how those changes are affecting at the customers health and nutrition. Those kind of food are convenient for the companies because the cost of production is more cheap, but less healthy for consumers.

For example, some statistics published from the Consumer Report Department mentioned that kids at the age of 10 need healthy meals and more nutrients in order to grow up healthy, but in the meantime at this age, 80% of kids love meals from Mc Donald’s or Burger King. Those fast food meals contain double the calories and fat than the daily diet recommended by nutritionist and dietitians. Therefore, the result in the obesity of the kids and teenagers is because they consume twice more than the regular diet that kids at these ages need. Furthermore visits at the doctor’s office were increased due to symptoms or sickness of the stomach pain, also for high levels of sugar on the teenager system and the most relevant condition kids with obesity. Subsequently these results were concern at the Health Department and other Institutions of the Government and recommend that fast food companies publish and print labels in each meal with the components and percent of each ingredient.

In conclusion the Government has to take properly care on these kind of business, they have to have more control, work close with fast food companies, and apply strong sanction make it especially low to control the quality of the food because it is not enough to publish simple labels with some information. These companies are not taking care properly on the quality of the food neither the responsibility that they should have with customers on health and nutrition. Also parents are the most important part on the nutrition because they are the ones who decide what items have to be including on kids nutrition.

Blog 15

                                 The New Industrial Migrants

The New Industrial Migrants (Part I)

In the article “The new industrial migrants (Part I)” from Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser explains that in the jobs of meatpacking during the 1980s had a big offer of illegal workers came from Mexico, Central America and Asia, therefore the high offer of  workers increase the turnovers rate the same way the profits of these companies were higher.

The New Industrial Migrants (Part II)

In “The New Industrial Migrants (Part II)” from Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser states that in the companies of meatpacking there were importing and hire cheap labor from different areas of the country so the IPB denied the use of the illegal workers in these companies therefore at some point these practice concern to the Immigration and Naturalization Services.

I agree with the author statement these companies use the migrants labor in order to avoid big wages and other expenses that will increase the cost of production so this practices go in benefice of the companies with higher profits.

According to Schlosser in the 1980 companies of meatpacking were taking advantages of the immigrants labor in order to minimize the costs of the production these companies employed thousands of workers during the year this represent a greater increase to the rate of turnover and also avoiding payments of insurance vacation and salaries under the legal rates in comparison if they use American workers those cost of benefits will be increase because they have to pay benefices under the law to the permanent employees such as higher salaries, vacations and consequently more insurance. Also the office of Immigration and Naturalization Services were concern for the large number of illegal immigrants working in the industry of meatpacking. Furthermore American citizens were complaining about the lack of jobs for the middle class. Moreover these companies import workers they are living in shelters from other states like New York, New Jersey, California,Texas, New Mexico to Minnesota with the offer of rent apartments but these companies try to use the homeless shelter as a workers home so clearly they tricked those workers and call the attention from the authorities and media.

In conclusion those companies of meatpacking they took advantage of the immigrants legal or illegal in order to accomplish their financial enrichment purpose.

Blog 14

                    SLEEP DEALER

In the movie “Sleep Dealer”, due to the decline on the agriculture in Santa Ana del Rio Memo, the protagonist dreams to move and find work in the North of Tijuana where they have the hi-tech factories and make money in order to live the American Dream. But for Memo, this dream was a nightmare.

In Santa Ana, Memo has a homemade radio and he spend many hours listening conversations from the other side, which was from The United States so he always dreamed to cross the border and experience the American dream. In the other hand, his father reminded him that the dream was in his land where they have to dedicate time and work in the agriculture. Also his brother thought that the American dream doesn’t exist, that it is only an illusion that you can seen only on television.

One night Memo hacked the security of The United States, so the American forces persecuted and located his house through a drone remote-pilot. Memo was watching the persecution on television live and tried to escape, but they attacked his house and killed his father by Rudy Ramirez, an American soldier. After this odyssey, Memo left his town and went to work in the cybermaquilas, where people were connected to the nodes that were implanted on the human bodies and worked like robots. They never crossed the border to see and live in the city where the American dream was suppose to be.

American Dream is only a dystopia because people like Memo lives in the system where it is not true where they have to sacrifice human feelings and work like robots to be part of the system.

BLOG 13

                   REFLECTION FOR THE FOOD UNIT

          During the process to learn the Food Unit we were learning different things or facts that make us to be aware how the process of the food is, also we learned the different steps that the companies have to have in order to get the final product so after the product is ready we have to brought to our homes to feed our families. Therefore in connection with the other units the food companies were created a fantasy chain using the commercials by radio, TV and the media in order to cover the truth, a world like Allegoric of the Cave were consumers we are living in the darkness world ignoring the reality like marionettes that we are moving for the need of satisfy the hunger but we didn’t know what the truth was outside in the factory world where the process of the food was done, also we are living in the darkness ignoring the reality, in the fantasy world like Truman in the world created for the big food companies in order to commit the financial purpose, furthermore we have to choose to face the truth like The Matrix so we have to pass different levels then in some case it is hard to understand why the companies are so untrustworthy and also with the truth many people will  be mad or upset  but we have to end and face the reality and try to change our habits of ate.

          My experience during the time of this unit was very helpful now I know many things about the food process before I don’t even think on how is this processed of the food before we consume the final product, also I was thinking in the pass when my grandma use to cook delicious meals with natural products that we have in our country, and the most important thing I will avoid some products that are not healthy, changing my habits of eat.

          In the CAT evaluation of the two students I have a good and bad feeling good because I was following the steps you were teaching in class like if the article have main idea, summary, and support details, in the other hand bad feeling because I am not ready to give my opinion because I know I have weakness in grammar and vocabulary. I am in the process to learn so every day I am able to understand new words and try to improve my grammar, the biggest issue I am concern is the time, at this time I am worry of it because I take too much time thinking and planning how and what I will included in my writing so the time is passed I feel nervous and I start to write and this written don’t make sense because I am in hurry in consequence have more and big mistakes.