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.

The American Way of Eating (Next 100 Pages)

The next 100 pages of "The American Way of Eating" reveal some of the atrocities of working for Walmart  and the duties of an expeditor working at Applebee's.

 

Tracie first travels to Kalamazoo to find a job in a local Walmart. She lives near downtown in the historic district. She desires to work in produce, but no positions are available, so she starts by working in the toy and general merchandise departments. Eventually, Tracie is able to work in the "grocery" section and works primarily in the baking aisle, stocking shelves. She befriends many of her coworkers and learns of their times working for Walmart.

 

Tracie mentions the idea perceived by many that Walmart has a very high turn-over rate, however, many of the people Tracie worked with had been with Walmart for many years. But apparently, those that haven't been with the company long are always in fear of losing their jobs. This was a very interesting concept to me. I cannot imagine working at a place, so powerful and large, and constantly worrying about whether or not I would be employed the next day.  Unemployment in Michigan is no rarity.

 

Next, Tracie moves to Detroit to finally have the chance to work in the produce section. After reading her commentary on the situation, I believe it is safe to say that she is unimpressed with how Walmart, or that particular store at least, was handling their produce section. Her young manager Randy proves to be careless and knows little to nothing about produce in actuality. Her coworkers seem to be knowledgeable and hard working but are over-worked and over-stressed. Walmart does not have an efficient system for storing or discarding food and cares more about just making the produce look good than anything else. I'm not convinced that will ever change.

 

Tracie ventures on to find a job as an 'expeditor' for an Applebee's in New York. Her duties include garnishing and dressing the dishes just before leaving the kitchen. Her work is fast-paced and requires great skill in multitasking and working under pressure. She enjoys working with the line cooks and servers and seems to feel very comfortable here. Tracie talks about the typical demographic of the Applebee's chain of restaurants and I believe she is right on target. Middle class, mostly black or Latino, not pretending that the food is prepared in the best way, but just looking to escape from the daily routine of cooking at home for a (somewhat) low cost.

 

I've never worked in a grocery store or supermarket but that's because I never, ever wanted to. I've never heard great things about working at a place like that, especially Walmart with it's extremely bad rep for treating its employees like crap. My first job was at Penn Station on Westnedge and my second job was at a family owned restaurant called Rykse's on Stadium drive, so I can relate to Tracie's experiences with working in the food industry. The work is hard and you have to be serious, focused, and skilled to get the job done right. People do not joke around when it comes to their food in restaurants, and not everyone is very kind. Like these people.

The American Way of Eating (First 100 Pages)

So far, I'm very pleased with my choice of book. The American Way of Eating by Tracie McMillian reveals the real life stories behind the industries of farming, supermarkets, and restaurants. Tracie is an undercover journalist, born and raised in Michigan, that travels around the United States to find out more about the food we eat. Her goal is to follow the food on its complete path, from the field to the dinner table. She discloses very little information about herself to the people she encounters while working and only says that she really needs the job and doesn't want to have to talk to people. Within the first 100 pages of the book, Tracie tells of her time spent as a farm field laborer.

Tracie first starts working in a grape field in the California Central Valley. Tracie is lucky she is somewhat fluent in speaking Spanish because her skills are put to the test right away. Nearly everyone she encounters in the fields is a Mexican immigrant, many of which are not considered 'legal.' Tracie befriends a woman named Pilar who helps Tracie in anyway she can, only hoping to get English lessons in return. Tracie is trained to cut grapes suitable to be sold in supermarkets like Walmart. Tracie quickly realizes that even though an increase in wages for the field laborers would not raise the retail price of the grapes in any noticeable manner, there is no way that the companies would be willing to pay their workers more if they didn't have to. And why would they? Unfortunately, since many of the laborers are not considered citizens and are not protected under labor laws, no one is willing to speak up in protest for higher wages and better working conditions. Tracie finds that working in the grape fields is not easy, but her journey is only going to become more difficult.

Next Tracie lands a job harvesting peaches near Fresno. Here Tracy is forced to live in a home with one of her working superiors named Lorena, and fourteen other people, many of which are illegal immigrants working on the same field. The living conditions are horrendous. Cockroaches roam the house freely and Tracie refuses to allow her bare feet to touch the floor for her entire stay there. Days on the peach orchard are hot and long. Her job is to inspect and sort through the peaches brought in by the pickers. Tracie doesn't work here long, but definitely understands the difficulties of harvesting peaches. She becomes sick with what seems to be overheating and exhaustion near the end of her time there. Tracie is optimistic though, and continues on her journey.

Finally, Tracie begins work on a garlic field in the Salinas Valley. Her job is to dig the garlic from the ground, remove all dirt and debris, and cut the stalks and roots to leave a head of garlic to be sold. Here, Tracie is paid by the bucket full and eventually finds out that farm contractors have a way of shorting their workers of their proper pay. Days on the garlic fields are long and physically demanding. The constant griping and grasping done while using the scissors, or tijeras, actually causes Tracie to develop a sprain in her right arm. This injury leads to a shift in position for Tracie that is short lived in gleaning garlic, or picking up the left over pieces after the first field pass. Tracie does not take this opportunity for granted because she knows that most people, in a similar situation, would simply be fired and turned away from work.

In each job she held as a farm laborer, Tracie developed meaningful relationships with the people around her. She was shown great hospitality and generosity nearly everywhere she went. For people that have so little, the immigrants and Mexican Americans were quick to share what they could to help Tracie in any way possible. This way of life is hard and exhausting. The labors are overworked, underappreciated and definitely underpaid. Tracie values her opportunity to experience this first step in the movement of food, but is absolutely thankful to not have to endure it forever, like so many have to.

Illegal immigration and payment of field laborers are topics too in depth and controversial to discuss in one blog post, but the first 100 pages of this book will surely get your mind thinking about those things. It's interesting to look at the topic from the perspective of the worker, just trying to make a living in a seemingly desperate, and hopeless situation. I will not share my opinions on the subject, but I welcome yours! What's your stance?

Food and Me

Food. Food. Food.

I love food! I love all types of food. There's barely anything within the realm of food that I won't at least try and it's almost a guarantee that if I try it, I'll like it! Spicy, salty, sweet, tangy, savory, tart, sour, smoky, rich. I love it all. The more powerful and extreme the flavor, the better the dish in my opinion.

Since there are so many foods that I love, it would save time to make of list of the things that I don't like to eat:

- Peas (By themselves. I don't mind eating them if they're mixed into a soup or casserole.)

- Sushi (Tried it once, the real deal with the seaweed wrap and all, and really didn't like it. I have yet to be brave enough to try it again.)

- Squid, Octopus, Eel, etc. (I don't believe these things should be eaten and I will not try them. Ever.)

- Insects (Once again, I don't believe insects should fall into the category of food for humans so I will never try those. Not even if they're covered in chocolate.) Would you try them?

- Balut (No, just no.) Don't know what it is? Find out here.

And that's about it. More than half of the items I listed above are barely even considered "actual food" in my opinion but because some people on the other side of the earth believe otherwise, I figured I would include them on my list to be fair. Surely, there are many delicacies that I have not included, but I'm not a delicacy expert like this guy so don't expect too much from me, okay?

My love for food started a very young age. When I think about food I think about all of the good things in my life. Holidays, celebrations, birthdays, family gatherings, parties, special events. How many of these great events can you think of that didn't also include great food?

Food makes people feel good. It reminds them of happy times like I mentioned above. It reminds them of special people and places. I cannot eat a potato salad without comparing it to my MawMaw's recipe. I can't eat watermelon without being reminded of the time I spent down south in Alabama, spitting out seeds with my cousins and family that I had never met before. Food is one of the greatest gifts you can give a person. The smile on my boyfriend's face when I bring him a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie straight from the oven is priceless.

More importantly, food is essential to survival. We all must eat to live. And some people, including myself, live to eat. I am so passionate about food. Cooking and baking are two of my most favorite hobbies. I'd rather be sporting my apron in the kitchen, whipping up an awesome meal, or throwing together a dessert you'll never forget, than doing anything else. I love food, always have, and definitely always will.

However, this is where the problem lies. I love food so much, that I truly believe I am addicted to it. I'm going beyond the idea that "I need food to live, so I'm addicted." Once again, I'm saying, I live to eat. Food makes me feel good. Food makes me happy. Food makes other people happy, and I like that, so I make them food. Food is like a drug that's always accessible and acceptable. My addiction to food is constantly reinforced, day in and day out.

I am overweight because my portion sizes are out of control. When I was little, I remember being told, "Finish your plate. You better not waste any food!" And believe me, I didn't. At every meal I ate every morsel of food from my plate and only stopped short of licking it clean. And did I stop there? No. I would almost always get seconds. And if I really enjoyed the dish, sometimes I'd get thirds if there was enough left over.

Notice I didn't say, "And if I was still hungry, I'd get thirds." I was never actually HUNGRY after my first serving. I simply enjoyed the food so much, that I wanted to eat more, and more. These horrible eating habits were rarely discouraged by my parents, family or peers, and sometimes it was even encouraged because it became more of an amusement just to see how much my body could actually handle before I nearly burst.

When I reached my heaviest weight during my first year of college, I realized something had to change. Two years later, I'm still trying to get my food addiction under control, but I have made great progress. I'm eating much healthier foods than I did when I was younger but I'm still struggling with portion control and my extreme sweet tooth is a major problem. My love for chocolate is unreal.

Maybe after reading and talking about the literature in this class, I can find a way to manage my food addiction. I look forward to those changes, but one thing is certain, I do not want to change my love for food. I believe it is possible to feel passionate about food and love it entirely without being addicted to it, and that, my friends, is my ultimate goal.

I don't think I'll ever love peas by themselves though. Sorry, no changing that. Yuck.