Thai Cuisine

Since I had never eaten Thai food, I decided to go to Thai Cuisine on Drake Road near Smoothie King and Colonial Kitchen. The restaurant is close to my home in the Westwood neighborhood.

I was able to talk my boyfriend into going to the restaurant with me. He is a very picky eater and has had very little experience with trying ethnic food. The restaurant is small. There are 20-30 tables inside and set up pretty close to one another. We walked in and didn't know exactly what to do. Should we seat ourselves? Should we wait for a server to seat us? I saw a young man holding a pitcher of water near a table and assumed he must be a server. He made eye contact with us, then continued talking to his table. I assumed that meant he wouldn't be helping us, so we sat ourselves at a table near the door.

The room was decorated with red and gold wall paper featuring some kind of goddess. There were gold fixtures and décor all around, but only a few things hanging on the walls. A china cabinet containing small gold figures stood in the corner and two large gold dragon-like figures sat near the door. Another large gold dragon was near the cash register. A very large gold sunburst-looking piece of art was an eye-catcher.

After a couple of minutes, the young man approached us and asked quietly what we'd like to drink and handed us menus. He brought back our lukewarm waters, no ice, with a small slice of lemon. We hadn't asked for water without ice or with lemon, but that's what was served to us. I was confused why the water wasn't very cold and didn't have ice, but I didn't ask. The menu was very straight forward. There were a few special items listed but most of the menu seemed to be a "create your own" style dish. It said: "Choose your protein" with chicken, beef, pork, tofu or veggies as the options, and then the noodle/rice options were listed underneath.

The young man walked in and out of a door leading to the kitchen, and a young (seemingly Caucasian) girl finally came to our table and said she was our server. She asked if we needed more time and I told her about my project. She suggested I get the Bangkok fried rice, "It's the most basic," she explained. But I wanted something a little more ethnic. My boyfriend exclaimed that he wanted the Bangkok fried rice and I decided on Lad Na with chicken.

Lad Na with Chicken

It was a dish with wide noodles, snap peas, carrots, onion, and chicken sautéed in a light brown garlic sauce. The server asked how spicy I wanted it and she suggested "medium" would be good if I like spicy food. I do, so I agreed to medium. My boyfriend ordered his rice extra spicy. I was scared for him.

The food came out less than 10 minutes later. It looked and smelled delicious. There was a lot of the liquid sauce on my dish so it was hard to scoop up the noodles. The food was spicy! It left my lips and tongue burning. My boyfriend said his was "dragon spitting fire" hot, but I couldn't try it since he got his with beef. Even though the food was spicy, we both really liked it. The server came back to check on us and she was glad that we liked our food. I asked her about the spiciness and she explained that it was dried, ground chili peppers that made it so hot. She said a lot of Thai food is spicy. She didn't seem to have time to talk so I didn't ask her any more questions.

The meal was good and the experience was new and exciting. I'm glad we went there and we both decided that we would go back again. After leaving, we went to get ice cream to cool off our mouths. It was a great date night.

KPL Event: Farm City

I've never read the book, Farm City, but after hearing the presentation about it last night by the author Novella Carpenter, I'm convinced it's something I should read before I die.

 

That's Novella above. She's an urban farmer. Novella live in Oakland California and started a farm in an abandoned lot near her apartment building. Farm City is the story of Novella expanding her farm in the middle of the ghetto by raising animals for meat.

 

Novella studied under Michael Pollan, the author of Omnivore's Dilemma (one of the books we looked at in class). Another book we looked at was featured in KPL's Read Together 2014 event as well - The American Way of Eating, the book I chose to read. I can't believe how perfect the timing was for this class and this KPL series of events!

 

Farm City describes a nearly perfect way of how an omnivore should eat and live. When Novella came on to the stage, the first tings I thought of her was: HIPPY!! She wasn't extremely well put together, but she looked comfortable. Her hair was long and pulled back. She wore orange, cork-bottomed clogs that matched her oversized orange sweater. She looked like a lady that cared little about what others thought of her appearance, and I can totally respect that.

 

Novella is a very funny lady. She's very crass and has a straight forward, no questions about it sense of humor. Novella talked about her urban farm called, "Ghosttown Farm" where she grows or raises nearly all of the food she needs to eat. Novella read a couple of passages from her book that described her experiences with getting her first meat birds. She bought turkeys, ducks, and chickens to raise for meat. She later raised rabbits and pigs as well. Novella did not spare any details when it came to talking about slaughtering the pigs for meat and using every part of them to make some kind of food. "We boiled down the hog heads to make bologna. Like head cheese. It was so delicious."

 

Novella talked about her interest in bee keeping to harvest honey. She sells it at farmers' markets in her town. She also raised goats for their milk and used that to make cheeses.

 

Novella is living the lifestyle of the perfect omnivore. She eats meats and plants as much as she wants, and she knows it's all healthy because she grew or raised them herself. I am amazed at this concept. She talked about ways she used her surrounding to help sustain her farm. She dumpster dives at a local Chinese restaurant to get the food for her pigs and birds. She finds and reuses wood to build structures for the animals to live in. She is a full blown farmer right in the middle of the ghetto.

 

I admire what Novella is doing and I'm glad she wrote a book to spread the word about it. Something that struck me was said after a question was asked about growing your own food. Novella said, "You know, we all need to learn how to do this. If the world were ending, I could only feed the people around me for like 5 minutes. What will we do then? Everyone needs to learn how to grow their own food so we can all be empowered. We should all be able to be self sufficient."  

My Religion / Food Tradition

I loved Lexie's presentation about Judaism and food. I never realized how much food is incorporated into that religion. I'm very glad she shared her stories. It was very enlightening.

I grew up in a household that called themselves Christians but we never really went to church. I knew the very basic ideas about Jesus and what it meant to be a Christian, but I never felt comfortable talking about my beliefs because I didn't know exactly what they were. My family didn't talk much about God or religion unless someone was dying or people of other religions were doing crazy things. I was uneducated and confused about religion and didn't really have anyone around to ask the questions I was wondering.

In school, some of my friends talked about going to youth group or getting baptized, and I always stood silent. I felt ashamed for not regularly practicing my faith (I didn't exactly know what that faith even was). I felt judged when I told people that I didn't go to church or had never read a bible. These are things that real Christians did. Was I not a real Christian? I didn't really want to be anything different, but I didn't know how to be a Christian either. I never had family members that were dedicated to going to church or reading the bible. My great grandma taught us to say our prayers before bed which I'll never forget:

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. (And I added in these next few lines myself) God, help my family and my friends. Keep me safe from harm. Leave the good dreams in and the bad dreams out. Let tomorrow be better than today. Thank you for my many blessings. In Jesus's name, Amen."

Other than my prayers at night, I only really prayed when I was really scared or when I found out someone was hurt, in trouble, or dying. I'm pretty sure the rest of my family prayed only during those times or when money was short, which was often.

As a child, religion was a very confusing and unfulfilling thing for me. As an adult, I still don't know exactly what I believe. I believe there is a greater power somewhere. I believe there is a reason for the world and our existence. I believe in destiny and I believe that some things are just out of our control. I was raised to believe in Heaven and in Hell but as I think more about this, I wonder if these terms were created to scare people. Or to give people something to look forward to if they lived a good life? I believe in these ideas enough that I'm afraid to not believe in them. What if Heaven and Hell do exist and I'm sent to Hell simply because I don't believe in them enough? What if this questioning blog post is revealing my doubts about religion and I'm damned for eternity because of it. I don't like feeling this way and it's unfortunate that there has to be so much pressure to have a religion, believe in it fully, practice it daily, recruit others, and know all the ins and outs of it. I don't know much about Christianity but I know much less about the other religions that exist in this world, so I feel that it's my most reasonable option.

Wow, where was I going with that? Basically, I don't have enough of a religious background to say that I have any food traditions that mean something to my family's religious history. I do, however, have many food traditions. We make deviled eggs for almost every major holiday. My sister and I argue about who will be making them each time and battle about whose turn out the best. My MawMaw makes her famous potato salad for all of our major family events. My mom makes some of the best cornbread dressing known to man and brings it to every Christmas and Thanksgiving feast.

That's about it. I love food and especially love celebrating with it during holidays or special occasions. I loved learning about how Lexie's family values food and thinks about it differently than I do each and everyday (like only being able to eat Kosher). They also have special food traditions for holidays. Maybe one day I'll be able to say I have those too, but for now, religion and food aren't really connected for me.

Global Warming

Global Warming.

It's a topic that's flooded the headlines for over a decade. The term has been tossed around so many times that many people have doubted its severity or validity, and even further, lost interest in the topic all together. To be honest, I was someone who swept the idea of global warming under the rug.
There were too many differing opinions. It was too controversial. I didn't know who or what to believe and I didn't understand half of what I read or heard. I tried to understand, but I was young and uneducated. I tried to make sense of the information given to me, but I wasn't sure how much of what I was reading or hearing I should trust. I gave up on trying to figure out global warming. "Someone else can deal with it," I thought, "It's not like I can do anything about it anyway."

Many of my family members disagreed with the idea of global warming, saying it was just made up to scare people or make certain people earn more money. I went along with their statements because I didn't know any better. There were scientists that were providing evidence against the reality of global warming. They said the earth experiences periods of heating and cooling all this time, that this situation is no different and nothing to be concerned about. I believed that was enough to convince me.

I'm older now. I'm more educated and have the ability to look at evidence and decided what to believe or not to believe. I'm less easily swayed by opinion and persuasion. I no longer agree with someone just because I like that person or because they're someone I'm related to. I know longer assume a statement is correct simply because it came from the mouth of a "scientist." I have my own opinions and I have the ability to base those opinions on facts and hard evidence. After the presentation on Monday, I believe I was provided with enough real, specific data and evidence to form an educated opinion on global warming.

It's a real problem and it needs to be addressed now. Global warming will have negative effects on agriculture and the sustainability of the planet. The earth could increase 2-5 degrees Celsius by 2100. This would cause a tremendous amount of problems.

Burning fossil fuels and deforestation are the main causes of global warming. The solutions to this problem are somewhat simple. The technologies are developed and available for use. Why are they not being used? Why are they not being used? WHY ARE THEY NOT BEING USED? This question rang through my mind when the professor talked about solar and wind powered energy sources. If these technologies are available are proven to be able to provide us with more than enough energy to sustain us, WHY IN THE HELL ARE THEY NOT BEING USED?

I don't have a real answer to this question, but I have an idea. Greed. The people in charge of making these decisions are being persuaded by fossil fuel burning, tree-slashing, smoke puffing, animal killing, pocket stuffing jerks who keep their own interests at large with campaign dollars and sponsorships. The representatives chosen to protect us and vote in our honor is being swayed by money. It all comes down to money, after all.

"Farmed and Dangerous"

Chipotle is in the midst of creating an online series focused around the horrors of the food industry, especially in relation to the infiltration of petroleum and other harmful chemicals into the food we eat.


"'They wanted something that could be scripted and fun but at the same time deal with serious issues and help drive people to Chipotle,' said Piper. 'We cracked this idea in an early meeting, wrote a 30-minute pilot, did a reading for them, and they fell in love with it.'"


They came up with the webseries called "Farmed and Dangerous." It's about a big, heartless corporation that has created a food pellet for cows that's made of petroleum. The petroleum pellet causes a cow to explode and the footage leaks onto the internet. The head of the company, called "Animoil," is concerned because he doesn't want this bad publicity to decrease profitability or raise awareness to the dangers of his product.


This idea is absolutely great. I think it brings attention to the realities of the food industry and will appeal to people through satire.

Five Quarters of the Orange - In Review

Wow. What an interesting and surprising story this turned out to be. I started this assignment by reading the first 50+ pages of The Physiology of Taste. It was horribly dry and boring, so my group decided to switch novels. And I'm so happy about that decision.

I had a hard time getting ahold of a copy of Five Quarters of the Orange. One person in my group borrowed the copy from Waldo, so I knew that wasn't an option for me. I didn't want to wait for it to delivered from Amazon and it wasn't available for purchase in stores at Barnes and Noble. With a packed-tight schedule during the week, I decided I would go to Parchment Public Library on Saturday since I would be in town that night. I went there to discover they didn't have a copy of the book. Since I  had tickets to an event at the High School that night, I knew I would have to wait until Sunday to borrow the book from another library. Kalamazoo Public library is closed on Sundays, so Portage Public library was the one - and they had a copy! I waited until they opened at 1pm, standing anxiously at the locked doors. I walked up to the receptionist's desk to receive a library card, since I had never been there before. After providing my ID, the reception told me that since I did not live in the city of Portage, she would have to see my Kalamazoo Public library card first. I didn't have one, I had never been there either. "Oh, sorry. We have a reciprocal agreement with KPL which means that you can't have a library card here until you have a library card with them first. Sorry, you can't borrow anything today." I WAS FURIOUS! I didn't understand why that even made sense - does it? - and I didn't know how I was going to read the book. I ended up having to buy an ebook through Barnes and Nobel and reading the full novel, 335 pages, on my iPhone. I started reading at 2pm and didn't finish until after 2am. Oh, how I wish I had just selected this book from the beginning. Even with the exhausting and frustrating experience I had obtaining this text, I did actually enjoy the story. And here is what it's all about.

Framboise is the youngest of three children, to a mother who suffers from complicated "bad spells" or migraines that leave her debilitated. Framboise and her siblings, Cassis and Reine-Claude were adventurous young children. They conspired with German soldiers occupying their country after WWII. The children provided information to the soldiers regarding any actions people took that may have looked like resistance to the Germans. In return, the Germans provided the children with magazines, chocolates, chewing gum, cigarettes, and make-up, among other odd things. Framboise took a special interest to a particular soldier named Tomas. Tomas was very friendly to all of the children and had a special, charming way of relating to them easily. Boise loved him.

Framboise did whatever should could to avoid her mother. She hated her. Her mother was very distant and seemed uncaring. She used harsh words with the children and acted more as a dictator than a loving mother. The children's father died in war. The mother was forced to take over the farm and maintain the household by selling her baked goods and preserves. The mother suffered from severe migraines that left her bed-riden and sick. She sometimes wouldn't come out for days. The spells were usually prompted by the scent of oranges. Boise took advantage of this situation by placing oranges under the stove and in her mother's pillow case when she wanted her mother to go away for a while. Boise received the oranges from the soldier for information about resistors.

The mother kept an album of recipes and hand-written notes. The notes were written in a secret language created by the father. Framboise received this album after her mother's death. It wasn't until then that Framboise realized or understood all that her mother was going through.

The mother suffered with an addiction to morphine. She used the pills when she had the bad spells. Framboise's orange throughout the house gave her many migraines and the mother soon ran out of her supply of pills. She traded goods with German soldiers to receive more pills, and sometimes did other things to get her fix. Sometimes, it was revealed later on, she did these 'things' with Tomas, the soldier Boise loved.

Framboise is reading the album as an adult. She went back to her hometown after fleeing as a child. She renovated the home she grew up in that was destroyed by fire and attack. She started a small restaurant that was extremely popular. Boise is an amazing cook. Many of her recipes came from her mother's album but Boise has her own specialties as well. People all over the world come to her restaurant for the genuine experience and good food. Boise's nephew (Cassis's son) and his wife try to talk Boise into handing over the album so they can use the recipes in their restaurant across town. Boise fights against them and refuses to ever give up the album. The nephew and wife do horrible things to try to fail her business so they can get ahold of the recipes, and later, the story of Boise's mother.

Tomas drowns in the river trying to help Boise capture the legendary "Old Mother" pike she had been after for months. The children try to cover up his death, in fear of being accused themselves, by making it look like a resistor had shot him in the head. Framboise's mother, having had relations with Tomas, find out about his death and believes she may have killed him herself during one of her "bad spells." The town knew of her involvement with Tomas and her children's conspiracies with the German soldiers. After a mass execution of resistors in the town, a mob formed to attack the mother and her children. They burned the house down and the four of them barely escaped with their lives.

The mother moved away and changed her identity to start a new life on her own. The children were sent to an Aunt's home to live new lives of their own. Framboise had the urge to come back to her hometown and restored the home she grew up in. She kept her identity a secret to avoid banishment, until at the very end of the story, she revealed herself and her mother's story to a reporter.

Of course, there are many details included in this story that play a significant role in its overall meaning and theme, but I tried to create as brief of a summary as possible. The idea of food used to manipulate, bribe, and hurt people is a theme that catches my attention especially.

To be continued...

I couldn't stand to read any more from The Physiology of Taste so I decided Monday night to pursue reading a different novel, Five Quarters of the Orange.

Today, I intended on borrowing the book from the library to get started on the reading. However, after working from 7:30 am until 6 pm and then heading directly from work in Mattawan to the conference center in Lawrence for a two and a half hour training on Infant & Toddler development that lasted until 9 pm, I literally had no time left in the day to check out the book.

So, I've decided, I will do a summary of what I can collect from online sources about Five Quarters of the Orange until I can find the book tomorrow sometime in between classes. At that point, I will read as much as humanly possible within the next couple of days to catch up to the amount of reading everyone else has done.

Here's a summary from Amazon.com:
"When Framboise Simon returns to a small village on the banks of the Loire, the locals do not recognize her as the daughter of the infamous woman they hold responsible for a tragedy during the German occupation years ago. But the past and present are inextricably entwined, particularly in a scrapbook of recipes and memories that Framboise has inherited from her mother. And soon Framboise will realize that the journal also contains the key to the tragedy that indelibly marked that summer of her ninth year..."

This novel sounds interesting to me because I've always been very interested in WWII related stories. I'm not much of a history buff. I dislike talking about wars, kings, and colonization. However I enjoy learning about the personal, psychological, social, human perspective during times of great importance in history. The era of WWII is a time that sparks my interest  so much because there are so many emotions that are tied to this war. I love hearing the stories of the people affected during this time and trying to get a glimpse of their life during those tragic years. I'm extremely intrigued by this type of information.

I also have a huge appreciation for recipes - especially old ones! I love cooking and baking. Some of my most favorite gifts have been cookbooks filled with recipes of all types. I like the idea of incorporating the recipes into a novel. I'm excited to find out how those tie in and I'm also curious about what types of foods were described in those recipes!

A very interesting paragraph about the book came directly from the author's website :

"Five Quarters, like Chocolat and Blackberry Wine, is a story about food as a metaphor for change, but in this case the transformation is not always benign. As a child Framboise deliberately torments her mother with the scent of the orange which brings on her migraines - food here is used as a weapon rather than an agent of kindness. It is only much later in her life that Framboise is able to understand her mother and to forgive her, and at the same time forgive herself. Food continues to be a source of pleasure, but here it is far from simple; it is politicized by the fact that much of it is in short supply; it becomes a means of bartering and blackmail, both during the war and in the present day; it becomes an expression of style (much to the elderly Framboise's disgust); a gateway into the past, a means of self-assertion and finally, the agent of a long-delayed reconciliation between mothers and daughters."

Food, as a weapon, it sounds unheard of but is entirely real, just as this scenario describes. Food shortage and inequality - topics we've talked about many times during class.

I'm very intrigued by the ideas shared about this novel. I can't wait to dive into it. I'm positive that it will be much better than my first pick of novel...phew!

"The Physiology of Taste"

"Tell me what you eat and I shall tell you what you are" - Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

You are what you eat, as the saying goes, and this is what The Physiology of Taste is all about. When I first started looking at the reading (it was translated from French and appeared on Gutenberg.org ) I was instantly overwhelmed.

The book is divided into "Meditations" which are similar to chapters and there are twenty-eight of them. Each of which are divided into subcategories talking about different aspects of food. Since the reading is online, I had a hard time determining what exactly would equal fifty pages, so I read through the first seven meditations with the idea that the book has a total of two hundred and twenty pages; that makes approximately four sections of fifty pages; twenty eight divided by four is seven.

The Physiology of Taste was originally published in France in 1825. I know very little about France during this time frame but hope to find out more about it on Wednesday. The language used in this book is clearly representative of the time. I cannot help but wonder if everything was translated perfectly or not.

Brillat-Savarin talks first about the senses. He caught my attention by saying that there are six senses instead of five. The addition sense mentioned in the passage is called "the genesiac sense" which is responsible for romantic loving feelings - driving humans to reproduce. He moved on to talk about taste and its function. The ideas of appetite, flavor, hunger and thirst are introduced. All topics important and necessary when discussing food.

When reading this passage, I felt as if I were reading from an old science text book. My interest faded quickly. My attention span felt shorter than ever before. I was distracted constantly and found myself skimming through more sections than I feel comfortable admitting. I absolutely do not enjoy this book. The description said it a hilarious classic, one of the most famous books ever written about food. I was intrigued at first. Now, unfortunately, I'm regretting my decision to read this book.

I may be changing my book selection to Five Quarters of the Orange. I'm looking for a book that is more modern, interesting, and easier to relate to and follow.

The Hunger Games Part II

As I read the second portion of The Hunger Games, I couldn't help be feel all sorts of emotions. I was angry, upset, surprised, anxious, devastated, and nervous. As we follow Katniss and the other tributes through this difficult journey, we have to remember that they are doing this for pure entertainment. People are watching them as they are fighting for their lives. And they're fighting to have food sent to their District so the people they love can avoid starvation.

This made me think that maybe The Hunger Games are not so disconnected from modern day society after all. Sure, the book is pure fiction, but I don't think it is too far fetched to say that there are some connections to be made to the way society is constructed now.

People are starving all over The United States of America, and even worse in other parts of the world. The people that are starving are the ones at the very bottom of society - the sick, injured, disabled, the laborers, the people holding the jobs others don't want to have, the people just working to get by and support themselves and their families. Then, there are the people at the top of society, the 1%. These are the CEOs and large business owners, the people who inherited huge lump sums of old money from past family members, the people who are sitting pretty in their mansions without a care in the world. Of course, these are generalizations and I cannot claim that all people that fit into these economic categories are all the exact same. However, for these purposes, they are very different groups of people. The rich and the poor. The rich flaunt their money and extravagant life styles while the poor are just hoping to make it to tomorrow.

In The Hunger Games, the rich make a spectacle of the poor by watching the games. They think of it as great entertainment. They are desensitized to the death of these innocent people because they know their fate will not affect them at all. Just like some of the richest people on earth could care less about a homeless man begging on the street because they know his life doesn't affect theirs.

People are not united, they are separated and made out to be opponents. Sometimes, even the biggest enemies can come together for the common good, like Katniss and Rue, but there will still always be people out there against them. Why does this cruelty exist in this story and in the real world?

Free Choice Topic 2-26

Since Dr. Webb gave us free reign on the topics chosen for this week's blog post, I've decided to write about my recent endeavor with changing up my diet by completely cutting out red meat.

First of all, I'd like to say that I'm so glad I've made this decision. I'm doing this because 1) I'm so disturbed by the meat industry and the way the animals are treated, 2) I want to live a long, healthy life, 3) Going along with the previous point, I want to lose weight, and 4) My gut tells me this is the right thing to do - and there's no better time than now. My anti-red-meat adventure started on Monday, February 17th, and after a little more than a week, I'm still going strong. I know that isn't very long, but it hasn't been that much of a struggle so far, and I'm confident I will never go back to eating red meat.

I've mentioned before that I grew up eating red meat of all types, often. As I've gotten older, I've slowly started to decrease the amount of red meat I consume. About 2-3 years ago, I started replacing ground beef with ground turkey and I loved the change. I felt better about what I was eating and I actually enjoyed the flavor more - it had much less fat, and that made a difference in the taste. However, I still would eat a steak every once in a while if we went out to dinner or a hamburger at a family cookout. The beef wasn't nearly as much of a temptation as the pork though. I LOVE HAM. My ideal pizza? Ham and black olive. My ideal sub sandwich? Ham. My ideal holiday meal? Ham. Although I've never been one to eat a lot of bacon, I still love the flavor and smell. Sausage, brats, pork chops - some of my favorite foods. Prior to this lifestyle change, I ate a lot of pork, especially in the form of my beloved, salty ham. Giving this up is proving to be the most challenging. However, I know I can stick to my plan. *By the way, my goal is to eventually give up ALL meat, even ground turkey, especially after seeing this.

I get a little sad when I realize another food that I cannot eat any longer. For example, I make some of the BEST homemade meatballs to top spaghetti. I can't make those anymore because they contain beef and Italian sausage. One of my favorite summer meals is a grilled, spicy brat with sautéed onion and pepper. Can't have that anymore. I have to be honest, this makes me sad.

I think I feel sad mostly because of the emotional connection I've always made with food. My family loves my meatballs. It's one of my specialties. The fact that I can't make those anymore makes me feel like I'm disappointing those that enjoyed eating them. Burgers, hot dogs, and brats cooking up on a grill creates the smell of summer. Summer is a time to spend with family and friends, and these foods go hand in hand with the good times.

As I continue on this journey, making more changes along the way, I hope I'm able to find a way to cope with my temptations and cut those emotional ties. I can still enjoy a lot of other good foods, I may just have to be the person that brings them to the party or cookout. Veggie tray, anyone? Fruit kabob?

The Jungle - Chapters 27-31

What a sad, sad ending to a sad, sad book. Jurgis cannot work because he is crippled and weak. Having not read the previous chapters, I do not know exactly what happened to him. (I hate skipping around in books, especially ones that are quite so dramatic!) He turns to begging, but has little success. Jurgis is not the only one struggling in this economy. Many people are out of work and out of food - it was a harsh time in Chicago. He caught a glimpse of hope when he was hired off the street one day. Then, like always with Jurgis, his hopes were crushed when he was fired for being too weak to complete his work. How does one live on with such a depressing life?

Jurgis searches for Marija and finds that she has become a prostitute addicted to morphine. Her addiction is so strong, that she is convinced she cannot leave her new profession because she does not want to go without her drugs. She will be a prostitute for the rest of her life. Prostitution and drug addiction go hand in hand, and both are very cyclical hardships.

Stanislovas dies by being attacked my rats in an oil factory. So disturbing. Just like the rest of this book, I suppose.

Politics become a major idea in the end of this story. Jurgis is extremely interested in listening to speakers at political events. He lands a job as a comrade with a man named Ostrinksi. They talk about capitalism and revolution. In the end, he hopes for socialism.

"CHICAGO WILL BE OURS!"

The Jungle

Written by Upton Sinclair, The Jungle is a book that made history. I'd heard about it before various times, but never took the time to read it. Perhaps I wasn't ready for the content. After reading a short segment of it, perhaps, I'm STILL not ready for it.

Much of what we read talked about the working conditions and lives of the workers featured in the story. They were more than excited to have the job - they just wanted to make money to buy their house. The jobs were horrible and disgusting. There were descriptions of the conditions in the slaughterhouse and those were appalling. I was especially disgusted when it mentioned that the meat inspector casually skipped a dozen hogs a time when checking for TB.And apparently that's still happening today. No details were left out when describing the man and machine powered assembly line killing processes taking place day in and day out of the slaughterhouse. Thousands and thousands of cows and pigs were killed daily and butchered for meat to later be distributed. Blood and guts covered the floor continuously.

A section we read went into depth discussing the view point of the soon-to-be slaughtered pigs. What did they do to deserve this treatment.? "Is there no Hog-God?" Why are their lives not valued like ours? The workers couldn't even take the time to thank the pigs for their job well-done or so gratitude for their sacrifice before slinging them up and slicing their throats. All of this got me thinking deeply about these animals and their sad lives. I was very upset and came to realize that I hate what is happening to so many innocent animals out there. I recently watched a video that related directly to this subject - it brought me to tears. Watch it here.

The Jungle was published in 1906, but clearly conditions are still far from ok in these slaughterhouses and farms. Will the conditions ever be humane? I don't think they will. Over the last weekend, I made the final decision to no longer eat red meat. I told myself that starting on Monday, February 17th no more pork or beef would pass through my lips. After completing my reading of the passage from this book - I'm happier than ever with my decision and I'm dedicated to sticking to it.

My Own "Modest Proposal"

America, we are fatter than ever. Obesity rates continue to climb.  We are a country where people take no shame in stuffing themselves like pigs right down the street from people that are starving and digging through trash cans to find a meal. And the serious problem is not that we are unaware of these conditions – but that we know and don’t care about them! We often turn a blind eye to the food inequality in our nation and find a way to focus on other “more important” matters.

So here, I propose an idea. Surely, I’m aware that not everyone will be in favor of this proposal. But, I know it would be effective, and if you have a better alternative, please share.  I’m all ears.

I’m happy to introduce the Facility for America’s Trimalchios, also known as FAT. FAT is a correctional facility to withhold all of the gluttonous, disgusting beings that inhabit America. Fitness and nutrition experts and psychologists make up the staff at the facility and are responsible for whipping these pigs into shape and teaching them ways to live a healthy life style.

Every fast food restaurant, grocery store, and major business will be required to keep tabs on the amount of food each person is buying and eating. Every time a food transaction takes place, details of unhealthy food choices and amounts are recorded and stored in a nationwide data base. When a person exceeds their limit of unhealthy food, FAT is informed and a warrant is sent out for that person’s arrest.

The suspect is apprehended and examined for guilt. If the person exceeds an appropriate body weight without reasonable medical exemptions, they are put under arrest and sent to the correctional facility. Here's an ideal image of body weight, but a more lenient measure will be used.  Their sentence is self-determined by their desire to lose weight and be healthy. They are given an amount of weight to lose and they must lose that weight (in a healthy, natural way) before they can be released.  Before being released, they must also pass tests to prove that they have retained the information taught to them. All released persons will be required to wear a tether that further tracks their food intake and body measurements for a year. If they return to their old eating habits during this period of probation, they will be sent back immediately.

Their stay at FAT will include reading many books about health and wellness, exercise, proper nutrition and the food industry – specifically about the dangers of processed foods. The only TV they are allowed to watch is documentaries focused on healthy living or exercise videos. Other than ready to eat fruit and vegetables, the only food they can eat is what that they have prepared for themselves. Beef, chicken, pork, etc. are options, as long as they’re willing to make the kill and prepare the meat. Other processed foods are available as well, but are put at ridiculously high prices of required exercise or hard labor in exchange. The cells are small and uncomfortable, similar to a typical jail cell. 

Once again, their sentences are self-determined. They will stay there for as long as it takes them to make change.

Keep in mind, I do not write this proposal thinking that I am exempt. If the qualifications for arrest were based on weight alone, I might be punishable. I write this with hopes of making change in our American way of eating.

FAT will change the way Americans think about what they are putting in their mouths. They’ll think twice about stopping at McDonald’s instead of the Farmer’s Market. It could send them to FAT.

Migrant Workers

As I read the two passages, "Cajas de Carton" and "And the Earth Did Not Devour Him," I thought a lot about the book I read at the beginning of the semester, "The American Way of Eating."

I was reminded of the horrible living and working conditions these people were exposed to. Long hours, low wages, fear of being caught or in trouble, health threatening temperatures, desperation, just trying to get by. A major difference between the book and these two passages is that the passages focused around child laborers. "The American Way of Eating" did not talk much about child laborers, so this thought struck new emotions for me.

I'm a lead teacher in a toddler room at a daycare. I work three days a week for at least 11 hours a day, with only one 30 minute lunch break. My days are long and tiring. I often complain about how much I dislike it. THEN, I read things like "Cajas de Carton" and "And the Earth Did Not Devour Him" and I'm tempted to slap myself in the face. What I do is nothing compared to what these CHILDREN are doing all-day-each-and-every-day. They have to hide from school buses because they can't be caught working the fields instead of attending school. When they're finally able to go to school, they're behind, and eventually have to drop out again soon to get back to work.

What do I have to complain about? I'm going to school full time and working nearly full time - by choice. I have the freedom to decide my schedule and working conditions. I'm protected by my rights as a citizen. I don't have it that bad at all.

There are children everywhere that are desperate to help make a living for their entire families. The boys from these two stories are doing what they can to help the people they love. They are ripped away from the people and places they love constantly, dealing with move after move and death after death. I cannot imagine living that way.

The next time I start complaining about work or school, I hope I'm reminded of cardboard boxes.

"The Family"

The life testimony of Rigoberta Menchu, and her people in Guatemala is truly eye opening. She is quite an amazing woman who has lived through a life which most would not be able to endure. I know that I would not be able to handle it in the way she has.

 

As I read through her story, I found myself in constant awe. How do people live like this? How can people in charge of these fincas allow their workers to be treated so poorly? How did Rigoberta make it out alive?

 

My heart was broken for her family that had to give away their oldest son because they could not afford to feed him. I had to take that in for a long while. Parents had to give away their child because they could not provide for him. Can you imagine that happening to you? I surely couldn't. I was extremely upset when her youngest brother died and Rigoberta and her mother had no way to tell their father or other siblings of his death because they were working in other fincas and they had no way to reach them. They had to find out this news upon their arrival home. What a horribly sad situation to come home to.

 

The death an anguish in the story was overwhelming. People were dying of malnutrition, poisoning, and disease left and right. Living and working conditions were so poor and pay was not anywhere near adequate. Before Rigoberta could get paid for her work, all she did was contributed to her mother's work load - with no pay increase.

 

I think about how I may have reacted in this situation. With my mindset right now, I would have revolted or fought for better wages or working conditions. I would have refused to work. I would have stood up for my friends and family members that were dying. Then, I realize, THESE WERE NOT REASONABLE OPTIONS. Guatemalans are living like this because they have no other choice. They are oppressed and denied real rights. The people in charge are not fair minded individuals. People are dying because they cannot do anything to defend themselves. This breaks my heart. Why can we live in a country where some people are spending money on golden toilet seats and caviar while people are dying and starving in Guatemala to pick the coffee that we gulp down in the morning, afternoon, and night?

 

This makes me feel ashamed and guilty for ever complaining about my life. I truly don't have it that bad. It makes me ashamed and guilty to live in America where we take our rights for granted constantly. I'm glad I was able to read this testimony to open my eyes to the reality of the world around me. I'm sad this hasn't happened before now. 

"A Modest Proposal" My Inital Reaction (prior to reading the historical context)

As I read "The Modest Proposal" I continued to ask myself, "Is this real? Does this man seriously believe this is a reasonable and acceptable idea? What in the hell is he thinking!?"

How could any individual think that the answer to poverty and overpopulation is to eat the babies? The phrase "infant flesh" made me cringe each time I read it. This proposal was very difficult to read because I felt horribly disgusted, angry, confused, revolted, upset, and shocked the entire time.

I wasn't sure if his proposal was serious at first, but by the end, I was convinced that Jonathan Swift was quite serious and had many reasons and "statistics" to back up his twisted idea.

He thought that if beggars were willing to "plump up" their one year old babies and sell them on the market, rich Irish men would be willing to buy them to eat. Dr. Swift suggested that this would solve many problems in the Kingdom of Ireland and bring many pleasures to all classes of people. The selling of infants for food could resolve debt problems for the poor, steady the population, and provide at least two delicious and nutritious meals for the rich per baby. YUCK! NO! THIS IS A RIDICULOUS IDEA!

And isn't it interesting that this man doesn't have to worry about his own children being sold for food because, "the youngest being nine years old, and my wife past child-bearing" prevents him from being involved. How can someone suggest such a thing if they themselves would have no idea what it would be like to be in that position.

I've heard of women on drugs or women in foreign countries selling their children for money, but these women are looked at as horrible people. In Dr. Jonathan Swift's ideal world, these women would be applauded. How disgusting.

And what's even more disgusting is the thought of actually eating a baby! What type of person would be willing to do that? Cannibalism is disgusting in my eyes and I'll never be able to understand it, but it takes it to an even worse level when I imagine a small child being the victim. That idea brings tears to my eyes. I hate this proposal and everything about it. It's disgusting and immoral. It proves that humans care more about money and power than anything else, and that is truly sad.

Would you eat your own child? No. Then why would you eat anyone else's? I wonder how Dr. Swift would answer that question.

Loaves and Fishes

I'm very excited for our trip to the Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes. Before looking at their website, I didn't know much about the company and made a lot of assumptions.

I assumed that all the food they gave away was expired or out-dated. I assumed they only provided foods that were packaged in boxes or cans. I assumed it was not very widely used or deemed very successful. I was wrong.

Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes is the biggest provider of emergency food in Kalamazoo County. In 2012, over 125,000 people received food from the program. The program is making a huge difference in the lives of hungry people living in Kalamazoo and has been since 1982. Kalamazoo has a high poverty rate, so programs like this are essential.

Loaves and Fishes does provide fresh fruits and vegetables, not just boxed or canned foods like I thought. Most of the foods provided are collected by donation and quality is monitored. Part of the program's strategic commitment is to provide high quality food, and they live up to that standard. If you would like to donate, here is a wish list of the most needed items.

I appreciate the fact that Loaves and Fishes was an organization started because a group of people were looking to do the right thing by helping people in the community. Churches in the area were hearing many concerns with the increase in hungry people in Kalamazoo, so a few people collaborated to make a change. If everyone were like these people, the world would be a much better place.

The website has an interesting interactive 'game' to play to find out more about what it's like to live in poverty. This game also helps you see how programs like Loaves and Fishes can make a major difference in the lives of many people. Play here.

The Satyricon - The Dinner of Trimalchio

Yuck! This story disgusted me. If anyone could be considered a glutton, I'm sure Trimalchio would be most guilty of the sin.

It was astonishing how much food and wine was served all in one evening. It seemed as though the dinner was never ending. Dish after dish, course after course, more and more wine - it was appalling.

The foods mentioned may have been considered delectable back in ancient Roman times, but to me, they sounded disgusting. "I broke open the shell with my hand and discovered a fine fat fig-pecker, imbedded in a yolk seasoned with pepper." Umm...what is that and why would you eat it?

The thought of the pig bowels, organs and intestines spilling out onto the table after the hog being cut open was nearly enough to make me gag. And I felt horrible for the servants that were punished for such petty matters. The phrase "box on the ear" was mentioned many times in the story and I was unfamiliar with it, so I had to look it up. Trimalchio is the precise image of  a pompous, sickening, horrible rich man.

And I'm sure that extravagant dinners like the one told in this story were not few and far between. This disgusting display of wealth and gluttony was probably a daily occurrence.

  I was confused by the situation with his  wife (?) Fortunata. It seemed that she came from lower living standards but Trimalchio decided to make her his and adorned her with richness. He spoke of her poorly, saying he could've married anyone but her, after she insulted him for too passionately kissing one of his servant boys. Apparently that is something he did quite often since he had a particular liking for "good looking boys".

I was also very confused by trying to keep track of all the characters and their names. I still don't understand who was narrating the story or why they were at Trimalchio's house.

What was easy to understand from this story is that some people in ancient Rome were FAR too rich for their own good. Trimalchio is a perfect example of this. I've never read of a man so obsessed with himself and his wealth. I don't know how the wealthy people of the modern world act in their own homes, but I surely hope it isn't comparable to Trimalchio's choices. It'd be these people that we'd have to worry about.

Prewriting and Ideas for Personal Essay

In my first post, titled "Food and Me," I explored my relationship with food in great depth. However, I want to take this personal essay even deeper.

I want to talk about some of my painful experiences with food - not just the positive ones like I talked about before. Food typically makes me feel good, but that isn't always the case. That's especially true when I think about some upsetting moments in my past that involve food.

I mentioned before, and it's clear to see if you look at me, that I'm overweight. That reality in itself is painful and I associate it with food because food is the reason I'm overweight (and my lack of motivation to exercise).

Growing up in a low income household, food had a different meaning for me than it may have for others. My family received food stamps for most of my life. My siblings and I received free and reduced lunch for almost all of our lives in public schools. These things played a major role in the way I thought and felt about food.

I'll keep this short, since this isn't the actual essay, but I find it hard to not continue to talk about these issues rightthisveryminute. These memories spark a lot of emotions and ideas for me, but I'll keep those to myself for now.

I'm interested to know if any of you share a perspective similar to mine. Have you ever had to rely on government assistance to get your food? How did/does it affect you?

Documentary Review ("The Hunters" & "Bananas!*")

Unfortunately, I had a really hard time finding the documentaries which I chose to talk about. Since I really didn't want to drive around in the snow, I avoided going to the library or local Family Video to find these films. Instead, I did my best to find what I could on the internet or on Netflix.

I was able to find a 10 minute preview of the documentary, "The Hunters." This film was made in 1960's and follows the journey of 5 men hunting in the Northern Kalahari Desert of Africa. They are working to track and kill a giraffe to feed themselves and their families.

While the men are out hunting, the women of the tribe squat in the beaming, hot sun to dig for roots and tubers in the dry ground. This is their food - giraffe and roots. And they are spending hours, and days, to retrieve it.

When is the last time you had to actually work to get something to eat? For some of us that are hunters out there, surely you can understand what it means to wait patiently for the kill. But remember this, even if you don't shoot that deer or turkey today, there is likely a supermarket on your way home that you can stop by to grab dinner. For the people in this film, and many people around the world, there is no second option. Get the kill, or starve.

My mind was racing with thoughts and feelings after only watching a short portion of this documentary (and I'm hoping that I can find the full film to watch soon). We take our food for granted and forget what it takes to produce the food we eat. Maybe we would appreciate food more (and eat less of the unhealthy stuff) if we were solely responsible for hunting/gathering/producing every ounce of food we put in our mouths. People that are forced to do this for a living have a much different relationship with food and this documentary proves that. I believe this should be a major focus of discussion for our class.

The second movie I chose to watch is called, "Bananas!*" but unfortunately, I was unable to find a full version of this too. However, I was lucky enough to find on Netflix the documentary made to follow this film. This follow-up film, called "Big Boys Gone Bananas!*" is about the lawsuit the fruit company Dole made against the Swedish film maker Fredrick Gertten for his original film, "Bananas!*".

"Bananas!*" is the story of banana field workers in Nicaragua that were getting sick, becoming sterile, or dying because of the banned pesticides the company was continuing to spray on the fields. A lawyer representing the workers was named a fraud by the Dole company and therefore, Dole tried to stop the film from being shown or distributed. Dole attacked Fredrick and his colleagues personally with threats to shut down the film and the LA film festival if they decided to screen it.

Fredrick fought for many long, tiring months to keep his documentary alive. He wanted to spread the word and allow everyone to know the truth behind what was happening in the banana fields. Supporters came, slowly but surely, and soon Fredrick got help from the Swedish Parliament. His legal fight was not over for a long time still because even after Dole withdrew the lawsuit, the film could still not be shown in the United States.

Fredrick continued his fight for "Bananas!*" and after a long trial, the judge decided Dole did not have the right to fight the film. After all, the freedom of speech is what Fredrick and his supporters were counting on the entire time. Allegations against the Nicaraguan lawyer were dropped and the movie was deemed credible.

This film proved that large corporations, like Dole, are willing and able to spend large amounts of money and time to try to cover up information that could harm their reputation or business. It takes people like Fredrick, that are willing to take the risk of losing everything, to stand up for what is right to spread the word around the world. People need to know what is going on behind the curtains of the food industry. It's something that needs to be talked about.