Important characteristics

3P Letter!

Consumer Knowledge on GMOs

With the increasing use and advances in technology, science has reached the tables of many families across the world. Genetically modified organisms have been around since the 1990’s and have been used to improve the nutrition and reliability of the food supply, but these benefits come along with unknown effects in the long run. Although the adoption of new gmo crops has increased, consumer knowledge about them remains very uncertain. The journal entry from the link discusses the dangers of having misinformation or not really knowing about gmo products that we are consuming. In the research they conducted, the findings showed that most of the American public do not feel that they know much or anything at all about gm products and the knowledge they have is just misinformation. This shows how important it is for there to be consumer education on the pros as well as the cons of genetically modified organisms.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4642419/

- Samantha Covarrubias

Consumers should be put in the dark about what’s in their food.  They have the right to know how their food is being made, where it’s being made and also what’s put into our food that we so blindly consume.  According to a FDA “Trade Secret”  article that I read, companies are not allowed to be forced to reveal trade secret ingredients and that basically means anything they consider their secret ingredient they can hide it from us.  Although according to the article you can send a trade secret request to the FDA and they will review it within 180 days.  They also noted that just because you make a request it does not meant that it will receive a final answer within that time span or an answer at all.  My idea behind using this source was to tie it to my question of why the FDA allows hidden ingredients to be put into our food when the consumer has no idea about what they are eating and aren't allowed to see the ingredients on food labels.


Source: https://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/Labeling/ucm414211.htm

childhood obesity

My research paper is about factors that contribute to childhood obesity. At first my question was about how food advertising alone affects childhood obesity, but as I was writing the first draft of my paper and did more research on the subject, I realized that advertisements aren’t the biggest cause for it. It was also hard to just find articles about food advertisements so I’ve been researching more about childhood obesity as a whole and all of the factors that go into it. One source I found gives statistics on how much childhood obesity has risen in more recent years and gives a few examples of factors that affect it.  This source is helpful providing basic background on the subject that’s helpful to know before doing more in depth research.
http://www.apa.org/topics/kids-media/food.aspx

 

School Lunches

The link I have inserted takes you to a reputable source that discusses how school lunches fail to improve students health. Among many other reasons I am looking into for my paper, this source focuses on school lunches failing to improve health because students simply do not eat the healthy food. A study explained in the article talks about even when students in a random survey choose healthy items on their tray seventy five percent of them took barley a barley one bite of protein and an even sadder twenty four percent had only one bite of whichever vegetable they took. Something that surprised me in this article was the talk about how environmental factors affect what children eat. Things like noise level, eating with administrators, longer periods of time, and other factors showed impacts on the amount and types of food eaten. As short as a few years ago, schools used to find loopholes in health regulations and serve worse lunches, and now with stricter regulations schools have to use trial and error methods to find out what students most enjoy. Not enough has been added to the regulations to ensure school lunches are properly prepared. The new “healthy” foods fail to account for processing additives and 90% of the time the food is frozen and pre prepared. If you are like me and your question involves the school lunch program you may want to look into this article.
Link-https://www.google.com/amp/www.medicaldaily.com/students-arent-eating-healthy-school-lunches-despite-availability-how-cafeterias-fail-310934%3famp=1

-Brooke Sasse

Vegetarianism

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/becoming-a-vegetarian

This post is about vegetarianism and its health benefits and risks. There isn't just one type of vegetarian so you can pick what kind is better suited for your health. It goes a little more in depth with how vegetarianis may have reduced risks of getting major diseases, however, the more pressing concern is how they sometimes lack in certain vitamins and nutrients they need presently. Some of the vitamins they don't get often can cause serious damage so being a vegetarian requires discipline. In this source, there are other sources that explain their reasoning and evidence even more.

Alyssa Maneja

Organic Benefits

So I'm doing my research log on things relating to organic foods, if they are healthy and things of that context.  As such, comparing organic foods and traditionally grown foods is a topic that is a major part of my whole paper.  One of the sources I found from an article about the benefits and differences between the two types of foods.  It describes what is and what is not used in the organic farming methods, as well as how to tell if a food in a supermarket is organic or not.  Such as how there are different types of organic foods and the goals that come with organic farming.  The last couple paragraphs on the page also clarify the difference between organic and natural, which are different.  So if you are doing any sort of research on organic foods or differences between organic and conditionally methods, this is a nice article to get some more information in there or if you just want another source for your research log if you still need some more to reach the twelve mark.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/organic-food/art-20043880

-Brendan Stilwell

Benefits of learning how to cook

Learning how to cook is a life saver in every way. It is a basic strategy that also benefits your pocket. In the article "The Benefits Of Learning To Cook" by Michelle, he lists reasons why people should cook at home more often. One can save so much money by preparing and eating his/her own meals rather than spending money on foods in restaurants. Sure it costs money to buy the ingredients as well however proportion wise, the amount of food one could cook with the money to buy one meal could be double the proportion. This eliminates any kind of service fees as well that could've been added to the expenses of eating out. Comparing a basic PB&J sandwich made at home to a juicy steak bought at any restaurant would make the steak much more tempting and an easier option. However  just because it is the easier option, it doesn't make it the better option. Cooking skills are just like a muscle that will expand and grow over time with practice. This will also increase your creativity level my mixing in desired ingredients and will get the food exact to your liking. It's not only the cheaper option but also the healthier one. Not every plate comes with a list of ingredients and quantities or salt or other chemicals added. Fast foods usually grease up their foods or add more salt or other chemicals to make it more flavorful and more appealing, however this is not beneficial to your body. Because there is no nourishing factors in grease, it can cause one to gain an insignificant amount of weight and could lead to further health problems.However in cooking at home one can control every single ingredient and chemical being added to their meal to make it healthier and more nutritious.

article link: http://healthfoodlover.com/hfl/2010/06/the-benefits-of-learning-to-cook/

hunger

This article talks about the hunger in Yemen and what two Yemeni have to say about the calamity in their country of Yemen. All 28,723,951 Yemeni people are at risk of famine or are in famine. The reason for this hunger and starvation is the Yemeni War. The Yemeni War began in 2015 but can be dated back to 2004. Yemen is the sixth hungriest country in the world but only makes up .42% of the people in the entire world who are hungry. This lack of food and water has caused cholera and malnutrition. Cholera is often caused by contaminated water. Malnutrition is the lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right things, or being unable to use the food that one does eat. 3.3 million of the Yemeni people are malnourished and 2.1 million of those are children. There has been 10,000 deaths in the country due to this crisis, yet we hear nothing about it. The war is so severe that people are either dying from bombing or from hunger. The rebels, whom the Yemeni are fighting, are destroying all the Yemeni’s property so even if there is food available to them, they can’t even afford it. Hunger is a problem that affects the whole world. There is more we need to do. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/feb/08/yemen-food-crisis-we-are-broken-bombing-hunger

Equality and Longevity

In regards to the link, it talks about food rationing in Cuba in which it has positively led to "impressive levels of longevity, and low infant mortality."  This is due to the fact that after 1959 they made it a point to have a socialist and food production system, that can ensure "a level of heavily subsidized food for everyone."  Now seeing that Cuba has been cut off from trade, its highly impressive to see what they have done with their automobiles and food sources.  Regarding America, when we think about all the poverty stricken people who can't afford the food they need to survive, it's only right to consider a different approach called food rationing.  I know this seems like a communistic approach in which everyone is considered equal when it comes to food rationing, but everyone's a beneficiary no matter what financial class you are in.  This will then correlate to having better food products, because the food industry will make better use of their resources to meet the, perhaps, monthly quota of dishing out boxes of food to everyone.  Additionally, fast-food restaurants will lose it's power because there would be no need to go to a McDonald's if the government steps in and feeds everyone equally.  From there it would drastically limit the rise of obesity and starvation, making everyone happy in this win-win situation.  Of course, I'm not saying that this food is absolutely free, so therefore, there should be something of a "National Food Tax" legislated in such a way that is affordable and more than enough for government spending.  As I mentioned before, with the fast-food restaurants decreasing in sales, I'm not completely pro for eliminating them.  After all this is a free country, so I think, inspired by what my friend Javen Pacion mentioned in his post, there should be a junk-food tax.  Then that tax money can go to those who may be so poor, that they can't even afford the "National Food Tax".  The whole purpose is not to take away peoples' freedom, but to ensure our sustainability of our food resources, as well as presenting a healthier and equal alternative that will benefit everyone in the long-run.  -LaVanton Gilmore

www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/24/cubans-food-struggle-rations-consuming-obsession.

Flaws in Locavorism

https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/winter-2009-food-thought/locavores-dilemma is a source reporting on the possible problems of relying on locally grown food and the flaws in locavore beliefs.  For example, locavores, people whose diet consists of locally grown food, believe that they're helping the environment by eating locally.  However, this website argues that distance isn't as relevant as the mode of transportation used when transporting food across the country.  The author uses the example of cows, which are grown by both large corporations and small farms, to demonstrate that both producers are generating greenhouse gases through their raising of cows.  Therefore, locally produced food doesn't necessarily reduce environmental damage.  Another instance of the article revealing flaws in locavore ideas is when it mentions that more resources would be needed to grow food compared to the current way of producing food.  This is because not all places are properly suited for growing certain crops.  If we were to grow crops in poorly suited areas, then resources would have to be diverted to those areas to compensate for the lack of suitability.  With such limited space in our world, it would be inefficient to use unsuitable land for food growth.  Finally, the article brings up the question of whether locally grown food could sustain the world.  This is especially concerning considering that there are countries that rely on industrial food growth in other countries, such as the U.S. and Europe, to maintain their standards of living.  The article is effective in emphasizing the flaws in a local food growth system, however puts little attention on the benefits of such a system so further research into the topic would be necessary.

-Jaime Izabal

Ways to Reduce Food Waste

Food waste is ultimately affecting the starving population. It may mean nothing to a person with a stable income when they throw away leftovers or unwanted food but to a person starving and in need of food, it means their life. Taking small actions to end food waste is an easy way to help the hungry.  Start by limiting how much food you purchase at grocery stores and food markets. There is no reason to buying in huge masses unless you’re throwing a party but either than that it is likely that you will not be eating everything due to expiration dates and signs of rotting despite how appealing it is to have a large menu of food. Storing food is also a huge must. Properly storing food will increase the lifespan of many food from take out to home cooked meals to leftovers. Containers that are airtight and as well as zip locks will drastically increase lifespan and freshness of each meal that you want to save for later. Though preserving food is a great solution to reduce food waste it would mean nothing if it’s not eaten. Eating whatever is left in the fridge goes hand in hand with storing food. It may be a drag to constantly eat the same food over and over again so planing is the next best thing. Organizing meals from what was left in your fridge for specific days throughout the week will help with encouragement and motivation to eat the scraps and leftover from previous meals. Adding new ingredients will also help spice up your food so you won’t get bored of it.

https://www.epa.gov/recycle/reducing-wasted-food-home

-Sean Pacheco

Food int the Future

In my food research paper i decided to talk about what food will be like in the future. I'm pretty sure people don't just sit round and ask themselves what they'll be eating in the future, which is why i decided to research it. A lot of the articles i read pretty much had the same ideas. I'm sure we've all heard about what a good source of protein insects are, just like meat. Also 3-D foods, i read about how a company tried to make a 3-D cheeseburger, it looked like a cheeseburger, but tasted nothing like it. Most 3D printers are deposition printers, meaning they deposit layers of raw materials in a process known as addictive manufacturing, some examples would be pizza, stuffed pasta, and brownies. They also talked about how there would be GMO everything, which stands for genetically modified organism. Today, a lot of food crops, such as corn and soybeans, are genetically modified.However,  I didn't realize how important algae could be. If scientists can get a good understanding on it, it could be another source of food we'll be eating one day. It could provide a solution to food shortages. Some futurologist believe that in the next five to seven years meat will double in price, making it a luxury item. "The best possible change for the American diet would be less meat and less processed food. More real cooking. If we reach young people now and give them better options, they could open the current way of eating in one generation." - Daniel Patterson

The Benefits of A Tax on Unhealthy Foods

My research paper discusses the potential effects of a junk food tax. While surfing the web, I found this article on the International Journal of Obesity. The experimenters did a study which examined the effects of warning labels and a junk food tax on food options. After raising awareness of harmful ingredients and increasing the prices of unhealthy foods, the study demonstrated the influence the government can have by enforcing these requirements. With these changes, consumers became discouraged to purchase unhealthy foods because they were aware of the risks in eating particular products and these products were also unhealthy. Cost play a huge role in the decision-making process of consumers. In regards to the law of demand, with an increase in price, the demand of the product decreases. This relates to the food industry as well. By increasing the price of unhealthy food, there is a lower demand for the food. Also, it opens the door for an increase in demand for alternatives. With fewer people wanting chips and cookies, healthier options such as tomatoes and bananas can gain a greater demand. People want to save money, so they will buy inexpensive items while pricey products remain on the shelves of grocery stores. With the growth of obesity in America, the implementation of a junk food tax can help curb obesity levels in the nation. The study revealed that the increase in price of unhealthy food caused consumers to make healthier diet decisions. The change in price caused people to consume less, intake less energy, and lose weight, providing consumers with a better opportunity to adopt healthier lifestyles.

https://www.nature.com/articles/ijo2010228

-Javen Pacion

The psychological effects of food on your mind and how big business exploits them

In my research paper, I talk about the psychology of food and how businesses exploit our psychological tendencies when it comes to food. Most people don't know why smelling their favorite food really makes them hungry they just assume that's the way it is supposed to be. When you smell your favorite food the brain increases in metabolism which fires neurons to the Hypothalamus which is the part of the brain that makes you hungry. Businesses understand this and they often leave doors and windows open when they are cooking so that consumers walking by unknowingly walk right into this psychological trap and we spend money when we might not have if we didn't smell the food. One would do well to watch themselves so that we don't fall for many of the business tricks that are used today.

Harvard Article on Pesticides and GMOs

While I was researching my topic, I came upon an in-depth article published by Harvard regarding the usage of pesticides and GMOs. It provided a lot of information by giving examples while comparing and contrasting how pesticides and GMOs help and harm. The writer brings in concepts about how these practices help us to sustain the economy and agriculture but at the cost of health risks. On one hand, it helps us purchase our foods and clothing at low prices and also keeps us safe in our homes from pests like termites. However, one of the studies they referred to in their article was related to how prolonged exposure to pesticides leads to an increased risk of diabetes which would probably surprise a lot of people. While these chemicals are considered relatively safe, there are still a lot of mysteries about how long-time exposure is affecting our bodies. Doctors have been noticing an uptick in neurological related illnesses in farm workers. The writer also brought awareness about how there are certain plants with natural pesticides that get rid of the annoying critters without the harmful artificial chemicals that come with the pesticides we commonly use. With the constant use of these chemicals that farmers employ, crops and pests are quickly becoming resistant and no longer responding to them. This particular source was really helpful because it's from a prestigious institution that gave unbiased, educated insight into the issue. Not only that but Harvard is one of the leading institutions in science and innovation.

http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/gmos-and-pesticides/

Peter Nguyen

I can't talk about it

My Dear Students,

My best friend, and my daughter’s best friend -- our dog Hank -- has all kinds of medical problems that we did not know about until last Friday afternoon.  He is dying.  Maddy came home at 3:00 on Friday as usual, but he barely lifted his head.  Usually when one of us comes home, he will grab the nearest thing he can find -- a box of kleenex, a stuffed gorilla, a cardboard box, the laundry basket -- and trot around like a little tease.  So when he acted so dispirited, Maddy started feeling around and looking into his mouth, and she noticed that his gums were pale -- barely pink at all -- and cold to the touch.

I left MHS in a hurry, and met her at the vet’s office.  Dr. Bang was already sending us off to the 24-hr. ER vet on South and Palo Verde.  We got there by 4, Hank was put into an oxygen cage, and a series of tests began.  We were sucker punched by this turn of events.  He was fine in the morning, and he’s only 8 years old.  He’s active, well-exercised, well-fed -- a loved and cared for dog.  But they found either cancer or blood clots all over his lungs, and a later ultrasound revealed that he had lots of fluid in his pericardial sack -- that little purse that holds your heart.  Because the fluid was exerting so much pressure, his heart could not pump out mightily to distribute blood throughout his body.  His body was oxygen-deprived, which made his gums pale and cold (they’re better now, but this is the first thing we keep checking).  His heartbeat is erratic and wildly out of rhythm.

None of this good, and none of it is hopeful.  We could embark upon the path of more and more medical intervention, chemotherapy maybe, or a cardiologist to figure out what is the matter with his heart.  We probably could even get a heart transplant.  But we asked ourselves, “what does quality of life mean to a dog?”  JK Rowling quoted Seneca in her commencement speech -- “As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.”  We could spend all of our money chasing down a cure, keeping Hank on operating tables and in oxygen cages, or we could bring him home, and make him happy.

So we asked the vet to draw off the fluid that had collected around his heart.  When that was done, the vet told us it was bloody, so he now suspects a slow leak from a tumor in Hank’s heart.  How this happened, and so suddenly, I’ll never understand.  But Hank perked up quite a lot after that fluid was gone, and we brought him home to spend his last days at home with us, and his toys, and his neighborhood.  When his time comes, we will call a vet to the house.

Leaving the vet on Saturday night, after 30 hours in the hospital, we did not expect Hank to make it to Sunday night.  Or to Monday.  And especially not until Tuesday.  But the boy is hanging in there, and Maddy and I have to go back to work!  As much as we want to, we can’t just stay home and watch Hank sleep, and feed him little bits of chicken and grassfed beef, and freeze-dried duck treats, and scratch his ears and tell him how handsome he is.  Every minute we’ve had with him has been a gift -- a miracle, really.  We made a nest in the living room with blankets and a futon mattress, and we’re hanging out with him.  The doctor was not saying encouraging things at all, but here we are.  Lots of people are praying for us, and I think we’re living in a little bubble of grace somehow.  We’ve asked Carlos to come over and stay with Hank for the hours that we must be at work, so I’ll be back to school tomorrow. 

I cannot talk about this, or I will cry. I’ve been crying a lot already, and I don’t think I’m done. So let’s just do our work, and be kind to one another.  What do you say? 

And right now, I’m going to take Hank for a slow, slow walk around the block so he can smell on his favorite things, and pee on stuff.

See you Wednesday.

PS.  I am out again on Thursday, for a previously scheduled professional development day.  I’m just not going to see you very much this week.,

Why Factory Farms Aren't Sustainable

http://www.worldanimalfoundation.org/articles/article/8949042/186280.htm

With the world's growing population, the demand for food only increases. This article addresses the insanity of factory farming and how it has proven to be unsustainable for the planet and its inhabitants. The article highlights how the bulk of the grains produced are fed to animals, even when there are millions of people around the world who are starving and malnourished. In fact, "for every 10 kilograms of soy protein fed to America’s cattle only 1 kilogram is converted to meat. Almost the entire population of India and China, nearly two billion people, could be fed on the protein consumed and largely wasted by the United States’ beef herd". This goes to show how comfortably unaware we are with our food choices; we do not realize how much of an impact we have on the rest of the world when we put certain foods onto our plates. All in all, we must drastically change our eating habits if we are to feed the world sufficiently. People are going hungry while the increasing number of animals are fed vast amounts of food in a hopelessly defective system. This issue is a matter of reevaluating our values and our morals as a society. Should our demand for animals as food be the determinant of world hunger? Is this industry sustainable? Ask yourself these questions. Confront your humanity, because is it really humane to support an industry that is a leading cause of world hunger?

- Jasmine Kim

In the paragraph that I just read. What I comprehended was that the meat industry isn't as clean as we think it is. Meat bigger than before, one way that to be safe from food would be to separate raw meat from other foods and wash your hands before and after touching it, guarantee this will prevent your family from getting sick and the article gives you more ways how to stay safe and also more things you need to know.

Why are our honey bees dying?

https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/07/climate-change-killing-bumblebees/

Even though bees scare us all they are a major necessity to our food chain.  Our life and the worlds life would be so different if we didnt have bees to pollinate.  Honey bees and other pollinators help provide us with $19 billion worth of agricultural crops in the U.S.  Our bees are dying due to the insecticides sprayed on the flower and crops by the the farmers. Some of these plants rely on assistance with their pollination process.  Pollination is essentially plant reproduction, without help from our pollinators our everyday food supply would look much different. Bees help pollinate crops that you would never think of such as Apples, squash, cucumbers, melons, tomatoes and many more. There has been a reduction in the variety of flowers on which bees feed because of monocultural farming and suburban development. Add up all these factors and others and the weakened bees have an uphill battle.  Here are are just a couple of way that you can help save the bees: Do not use pesticides, fungicides, or hericides in your garden;  plant your garden with native and bee friendly plants, its important for bees, as for us, to have a diverse and regular food supply; educate kid and yourself about bees, bees are not dangerous, they forage on a flower and dont attack humans.  Bees are an integral part of our food chain. We need to give honeybees the credit they deserve and if we don’t protect them now, they may not be around to collect their sweet glory.

Food safety

Food Safety Home Page | CDC
https://www.cdc.gov › foodsafety

This Article talks about The food we eat is no longer good we need to find ways to stay safe,  its dangerous to eat food alot of Americans can get foid poisoning and die. I feel like their should be away where food should be safe,  because honestly we don't know what they put in the meat.... what so ever !. Another thing i see a chicken so big they cut it,  now are food is contaminated,  but also they put more chemical inside animal body
  so the meat we eat don't effect our body, but i think its just horrible. They don't even wash / clean the animals.  The FDA,  should do something with the meat,  where it should be safe. But ingredients in the back so people know what their eating. ingredients are good to watch our calories because people die from eating something horrible its terrifying to see and hear. To keep your family safe from getting sick: separate raw meat from other foods and wash your hands before and after touching it . guarantee this will prevent your family from getting sick and the article give you more ways how to stay safe and also more things you need to know , because people can tell you one thing , but it will be a whole different situations. The source will tell you what type food you eat , what type of symptoms or illnesses that will affect you and your family.  It's always good to be cautious what you eating , and what are you eating and read up on it to see if its okay to eat it. This source helpful because its giving you different ways how to be careful to eat.-Christine

Budget cuts that will slice America in half

https://newfoodeconomy.org/trump-budget-school-food-nutrition/

During these few months, Trump has almost been successful with budget-cutting School meals in America.These threats will be affecting school lunches and how healthy they will be. Who's to say that will be affected? 1.8 million of the population who are middle to low income families will be affected. Already there  are tons of children who are dependent on breakfast and lunch meals and due to this budget many will suffer. It seems utterly unbelievable how special little President Trump is making America any better again. Its ironic. How we are the country most affected by obesity, but also affected by hunger. But after School organizations such as Girls an Boys scout give after school meals to the children in Mississippi. Sherry Jackson runs this federal program an tells us that," all this makes her feel so sick". Seeing how these children will suffer when they depend so much on school lunches makes me sick to the stomach as well. As a person who experiences this, I understand the worry this can give.This budget cuts have been a suggestion due to the high percentage of school lunch being wasted. Michelle Obama's act of decreasing sugar and salt in school lunches was a drastic change for all students. But it help tremendously as more and more new generations of children are loving to eat vegetable and fruits. But seeing the school lunch waste increase it was either to keep the program going or to face cut backs. Cut backs that will decrease how much food children are feed and increase how much sugar, salt and white bread is given. The children don't need this, what children want is what makes them grow stronger. But if we don't do anything, we are faced to accept it if we don't try to stop it.

Food Symbolism

Link: https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1637&context=honorstheses

In this student research done by Sandra Johnson from Colby College she talks about how food is not only a substantial necessity to live but a way of fighting for your rights. Crazy isn’t it? Something simple a food is a way to protest for something you believe in. When we think about protest we think about making signs, tying ourselves up on a tree, and writing angry letters to the man. But something such as throwing tea overboard because you want change from government isn’t the first idea that comes to your mind. Johnson also talks about how food is a gateway of expressing ourselves. What we eat, what we don't like to eat, it all shows our personality one way or another. If you’re a person who likes to try out new food you’re probably someone who is outgoing and willing to try new experiences and on the other hand if you like to stay within your comfort zone and only eat things you are familiar to, it may reflect to how your personality is. This may not always be true but its a reasonable idea. Johnson also talks about how food connects us and how it  “is symbolically associated with the most deeply felt human experiences, and thus expresses things that are sometimes difficult to articulate in everyday language.” There is so many ways food can be associated with memories and a simple gesture of love towards another person. Remembering that meal your parents or grandparents made you brings memories that make you feel like nothing else will. Food connects us all in ways you cannot imagine and it's a wonderful sight to see food bring us together and fight for something we believe in.

- Jainah Fajardo

Attacking the Obesity Epidemic Before It Bites Back

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/health/13brody.html

Obesity is a lifestyle disease that is on the rise in America and most other developed countries all over the world. What makes obesity such a serious menace is the fact that it is the leading cause of tens of opportunistic fatal diseases which include hypertension, cancer, and heart failure. The overreliance on technology has reduced the mobility of children and this coupled with comfort eating has led to a new phenomenon – the upsurge of childhood obesity. This has led to the rise of children affected with diseases that were initially thought of as diseases for adults.  There is therefore the need to examine this and take some precautionary steps to curb it.

This topic is widely prevalent around me. I believe the reason why childhood obesity is on the rise in America is because of the influence of poor eating/choosing habits that has brought to the social world. Options have slimmed down to a few when it comes to what is seen on TV. Lifestyles have changed in the last two decades. The fast food industry has overshadowed the minds of those who watch their advertisements that mislead watchers. People are lured in to the fast food life because of how convenient and affordable it is. Thus, the obesity rate has not stopped growing. Obesity leads to many health factors in adults and health problems that you would not see in kids before but are now a common disease in children such as Type 2 Diabetes. So who is to blame for the effects of obesity in America? The fast food industry? The government? Or is it the responsibility of what people decide to consume? Your opinions are great appreciated and may be sources of insight for my research paper :)

-Margareth Simbillo

AF: Hey Kids! Get crackin' on this blog assignment