Entry #10: Finding Your Way

Hello again, I have been writing a lot of entries about the food industry. Once I started looking into it I couldn't stop researching and learning more about food production in America. I think this is a very complex economy and there are many parts to it. I understand that this may not be the most interesting topic to read about but I just wanted to do my part and educate people on what is currently happening. I hope this will help to make some change, but that is not what today is about. 

Today I wanted to talk about my journey in college so far and give an update. As I stated in my first blog, giving background about me, this is my first year in college. It was hard ending four years of high school and having no graduation, receiving a gown and tassel I cannot wear, and just being handed a piece of paper as if my diploma did not matter. This was all at the start of Covid-19 when it was ramping up, and because of that I also had to start college doing all online classes as many of you also had to do. 

As of now, I am doing well in my classes, I am almost done with my pre-requisites. I just have the spring semester and then I will finish my last couple of classes next summer. I am doing the basic pre-requisites for health sciences and I am not sure what I want to do next. When I was younger I always said I wanted to be a doctor because they pay well, but I do not think I would be able to go through 8+ years of college classes at a minimum.

 I am trying to find a career that interests me, of course, everyone wants a high-paying job, but if it is not something that you find interesting you'll most likely dread it no matter how much money you make. My mom made this exact mistake, she became a nurse because she thought it was a well-paying job and it was very popular, but it was not worth it. She hated going to work and for a family of six, it was not enough money to keep her going. I want to go into the health field somewhere, I am just not sure where. Luckily, I have a good scholarship so I have not paid too much for my classes so far. I am still trying to find what exactly I have a passion for in the health field, the healthcare field does interest me, I just do not know what yet. Let me know what career path you guys plan to take and how you are doing in college so far, especially during this hard time.

Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection
or reload the browserDisable in this text fieldEditEdit in GingerEdit in Ginger×
Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection
or reload the browserDisable in this text fieldEditEdit in GingerEdit in Ginger×

Entry #9: Government Subsidizing

I saw these images on the internet the other day and I found the meaning behind it very interesting. Apparently, there is a government program that pays farmers to make crops and raise cattle to sell to the general public. I had not heard of this program before, but I think it is really important to inform everyone of what our government is doing to us. Please read to find more out about how our government is ruining our economy of food production and pushing a capitalist agenda, it is unbelievable.

               Corporate farmers v. Small family farmers

This cartoon perfectly depicts government subsidizing for agriculture. In other words, this program is a government aid meant to help small farmers from going bankrupt. These farmers get paid based on the number of crops and livestock that they grow. This government program first came about in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. The economy was in ruins and farmers were rioting because they were all bankrupt and they were fighting to even keep their families fed and stay alive. This program was meant to help these small family farmers stay afloat and keep them from going bankrupt. However, this program quickly changed at the hands of a greedy government. The government started giving the majority of the money for subsidizing to corporate farmers who were already wealthy. Instead of giving money to these family farmers, the government paid out billions to corporate farming companies that were already so big, with so much power. Illustrated by Uncle Sam portraying the U.S. government, which is handing money to a big man who represents Corporate farming companies getting the majority of government aid. While the small family farmers are represented by the small man behind the big man, the small farmers are being pushed out of the way and are receiving little to no aid from the government because of a capitalist agenda. Therefore, the program did a complete 180 and started doing the opposite of what the program was created to do, pushing an agenda of making the rich even richer and the poor even poorer. 

This government funding program was also meant to help keep nutritious food in abundance. However, when the program completely changed and helped to make the rich richer the government wasn't only funding wealthy farmers, but funding junk food. These corporate farmers made a lot of corn, which created an overabundance of corn syrup because it was cheaper to make than regular sugar. Most companies started to use corn syrup because it was less expensive than real sugar and obesity rates started to grow. Corn syrup is in the majority of sweets, processed foods, and even in ketchup which every American usually has in their fridge. Corn syrup is not only addictive, but too much of it creates very high risks of type II diabetes and obesity. Not only is this shift in agenda fueling obesity in America but also making many family farmers become alcoholics and commit suicide because their livelihoods are in ruins. A greedy government is dangerous for anyone who is not rich and really the community as a whole. Please keep this in mind when buying food at the grocery store, remember, vote with your dollars and buy locally from smaller farmers if possible.

Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection
or reload the browserDisable in this text fieldEditEdit in GingerEdit in Ginger×
Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection
or reload the browserDisable in this text fieldEditEdit in GingerEdit in Ginger×Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection
or reload the browserDisable in this text fieldEditEdit in GingerEdit in Ginger×Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection
or reload the browserDisable in this text fieldEditEdit in GingerEdit in Ginger×Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection
or reload the browserDisable in this text fieldEditEdit in GingerEdit in Ginger×

Entry #8: Ancestry

Today I wanted to talk about something very personal and interesting. I recently took a 23andMe DNA test. First, you purchase it online at 23andMe, it is, of course, a bit expensive. It is normally $200 or $100 dollars depending on the type of test you take. Right now they are having a huge half-off sell until Nov. 26 so I would highly suggest clicking on the link. First, you buy a package and you will receive it in the mail in about a week. Then, you open the package, this is what it looks like when you open it:

The box gives you step by step instructions on how to open the container, how much saline to put in it, and how to seal it back up and re-box it to ship out. It also gives you instructions on the app and creating an account with your saliva barcode on it. From there, you ship it back at no cost and the app will show you where your sample is at, from the lab receiving it to the lab analyzing data and you will receive your results on the app. I choose the health and ancestry package and this one tells you exactly what percent you are of which ethnicities and what region those ancestors of yours came from. If you have any genetic variants that could lead to any diseases now or further down the line. It breaks down all of your data health-wise and everything that makes you, you. Even the traits you are likely to possess or where any of your extended family may live if they have them in the database. It will look something like this:

This is just an example from their website, I do not want to take a picture of my results, but I will tell you what they were. I am 20% Native American & East Asian, consisting of some Korean, Japanese, and mostly Native American. I am also 2.6% Western Asian & North African, consisting of Arab, Egyptian, Levantine, and North African. As well as, .6% Sub-Saharan African, consisting of  Nigerian and West African. I am mostly 40% white, consisting of Irish, British, and Italian. I am 36% Mexican and a bit of that is also Spanish. The last couple of percentages left are unassigned so they could not pinpoint where the last of my DNA came from. I was very surprised that I was any percent African and that my white half is mostly Irish and British. As well as the big 20% of Asian and Native American, that is quite a large percent of my DNA. I always wondered why I looked mostly white when my mom is white and my dad is Mexican. I am half Mexican and half white I just assumed, half from each parent is what I was. It turns out I am more white, my mom's genes were stronger than my dad's genes so I am white and Hispanic, but just a little less Hispanic than I thought. I have still been saturated in Hispanic culture my whole life so this does not change anything for me but it sure does explain why I appear to look white and not Hispanic. This was a very eye-opening test and I am very happy to Know what ethnicities and genetic DNA I am made up of. This is a great way to discover more about yourself and even where your ancestors came from, I highly recommend this test if you have money for it. Let me know if you or anyone you know has taken a DNA or genetics test before and what you thought of it!

Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection
or reload the browserDisable in this text fieldEditEdit in GingerEdit in Ginger×

Entry #7.2: Fresh Continued (EC)

Hello! I wanted to write about the film Fresh in entry #7 to give you guys a brief summary of the film and why you should watch it. In this blog, I wanted to go into further detail after all of you watched "Fresh." After watching this important film, there were many shocking and sad scenes and facts. First of all, the film starts out with George Naylor saying there is nothing that Americans hate or fear more than having inconvenience. That is a statement that really resonated with me, it is very true and sad at the same time. That is the same exact reason most American farmers and consumers don't change their way of living or eating, Americans do love convenience. The film started out talking about crops that were covered with pesticides, the farmer tried limiting it, but still "needed" to use it. This picture shows the process of using GMOs and pesticides on crops. Even the person laying these chemicals down is protected from them, when these are the same chemicals on food for Americans. 

As well as other farmers, such as Russ Kremer, he used antibiotics on his pigs, and one day he got stabbed by a boar tusk. Since they were pumped with steroids and antibiotics Russ almost lost his life. When using these drugs the animals build resistance and the strands get much more complicated so it is not only dangerous for consumers, but for the farmers like Russ. The government also helps to keep this problem happening, government subsidizing is when the government gives out big checks to farmers that make soybeans and other crops such as corn to make fructose corn syrup that make junk food. Cheap and fast is more important than ethical and safe or healthy food. 

                                           

However, it is not always the farmer's fault, they are trying to make a living, but agricultural workplaces are not the best. There is this one company called American Business and they completely take advantage of struggling farmers. For example, Mr. and Mrs. Fox told their story about how they were not gonna make it another year farming and getting the product and the American Bussiness came in and gave them a choice to sign a contract to keep producing crop and meats for seven years and they will get paid based on the number of crops they grow and the weight of the chickens they raise. This company tells them how to take care of the animals, they place animals in their farms to raise and they will get paid when they give everything back to the company, based on weight and numbers. They looked very unhappy, with many zoom-ins on their sad faces because they even said they do not want to do this work, slaughtering animals and keeping them in horrible conditions, but they won't eat if they didn't sign the contract, they would have gone out of business. It very much bothers me and saddens me the greed of the American Business company and how they treat people, taking advantage of them. The food industry in America is a horrible cycle that keeps going. We need to vote with our dollars!

                                             

Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection
or reload the browserDisable in this text fieldEditEdit in GingerEdit in Ginger×

Entry #7: Fresh

 Over the weekend I was binge-watching movies and this one film in particular made me think about my habits and what I eat. It was a film called "Fresh" and it is about America's food system, the bad parts of food and crops, as well as activists who are changing agricultural farming in the U.S. 

This was a film released in 2009, it was a new outlook on food, at the time. It was meant to shed a light on the use of pesticides and antibiotics in our food and the dangers of using and consuming them. This is a very important film. This shows us the ins and outs of where our food in America comes from. The audience for this film is targeted at every American, we all eat, whether it is food from a store or fast food. This film is important for everyone to see, even if you are not buying produce, fast food is just as bad, even worse. The tone is happy at certain parts and serious at other parts. This film is very good at getting its point across; the way that food was being produced in America was not only harmful to the animals, but to the farmers and consumers. It needed to change so they passed the truth along to the general public so it would be up to the consumer what they buy. In the film, they said something along the lines of, consumers vote with their dollars. I never thought of buying food as me saying that I choose fast food. It is true though, if everyone who saw that film started to buy more organic foods, not only because it is more nutritious, but because it is not genetically modified or doesn't contain any harmful chemicals. Animals and humans should not consume any amount of pesticides or antibiotics meant to produce more food and crops.

Change starts with one person at a time, so your dollar does count. This film was very powerful, it makes you think about what you eat and why you eat that kind of food even if it is bad for you. At first, I felt guilty about eating a lot of fast food, but then I realized, organic food doesn't just have a label on it it is actually different, so I felt empowered and informed for my next meal. 

It is easier to just ignore this problem, even though it would actually be cheaper to cut antibiotics from animals, the farmers and producers do not want to change what they are doing because what they are doing is inhumane, but it doesn't matter because it creates the biggest and fastest profit for the farmers. It is easier for everyone to be ignorant of a problem, then to become informed and actually vote with your money and make a change. It has been over a decade since this film has been released and I do not think that too much has been done since then, we have progressed, but a lot of people would rather just keep doing what they are used to. Everyone should watch this film when they have time. After watching the movie think about your eating habits and create the changes you want to see. Vote with your dollar!      
   

 

Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection
or reload the browserDisable in this text fieldEditEdit in GingerEdit in Ginger×