December 2, 2010
October 29, 2010
October 27, 2010
October 15, 2010
Reflection Essay
Sustainability in food production is the ability to be able to keep the production and distribution continuously going without interruption of demand or bankruptcy. It depends on how the crops are doing, the cost of fertilizer or any other necessities for producing the food, the cost of shipping the food to the distributor, and many other things that are also important. To be sustainable the manufacture would need to be able to keep a flow of the food product at a constant rate, and make sure the food was actually satisfying to the costumers. Good advertising would also be needed to help encourage the costumers to buy the food, and the manufactures would have to make sure the food was safe to eat so the company wouldn’t have a risk of being sued. However, many companies in the United States and around the world have been able to be sustainable over the years, making sustainability seem easy.
Going organic would be a good thing for my body, the animals, and the planet. I am thinking about making this a new part of my diet but, going organic would also cost more money. This fact just doesn’t seem right to me. Organic food could also be the answer to a good percentage of obesity, and might be one of the main reasons why there is so much obesity in the United States. Many families don’t have enough money as it is so why would they waste that money on a head of lettuce? When instead they could be buying three or four cheeseburgers off of the dollar menu at McDonalds. For most people the cheeseburgers taste better and are more filling, but most importantly, they’re cheaper than many other foods that are healthier. So why is it more expensive to eat healthy food than stuff yourself with junk food? Because it costs more money to grow the lettuce compared to the cost to make the cheeseburgers. If people were more aware of what they were eating maybe they would start eating less junk food and more organic foods. Therefore, resulting in a higher demand and lowering the price of fruits and vegetables.
Few people probably know what is really in their food that they’re eating or how it is made. During this project I learned some disturbing things about how my food was manufactured and what they had to do to keep my food fresh and edible. I didn’t realize how many chemicals they put in all of the food or all the procedures they made to make my food taste the way it does. I also learned about how many different products contain some type of ingredient made from corn. However, the most surprising fact for me was the cruelty in the way the factories treated the animals especially cows. Making animals live in these conditions is just unhealthy and unconstitutional. They deserve to live in good conditions even if they are going to be used to make food a month later. Many manufactures don’t care about how they treat the animal or how they’re affecting the planet. Instead they focus on how much meat the animal has on it or how much money they’re making. Seeing the factories treat the animals in such poor care is just depressing, and should be stopped.
Learning some of the details about my food also made me rethink about eating a hamburger or chicken tenders. Many manufactures feed all of their animals corn before being slaughtered because it is cheater and makes the animals fatter in less amount of time. Some cows even have to be rolled to the slaughterhouse because they are too fat to walk. Also, having the animals eat corn causes a greater risk of e coli that can kill people within days. Since e coli likes to eat and live in the corn it remains inside of the corn when the cows eats it, therefore eating the e coli also. After the factories do inspect the meat for e coli but sometimes they miss a piece of the e coli, and that’s all it takes. Then the e coli infects anything else that the piece of meat comes in contact with. For example one lady had her son that was only a couple years old die because of this life threatening bacteria germ. Corn may be cheaper compared to the cost of grass, but later on it might be a greater hardship than what it’s worth.
Another health issue is that the cows are standing in several inches of their own waste before they are being taken to the slaughterhouse and then killed. There are even times when little amounts of their waste can be found in a hamburger patty. Cows don’t deserve to be treated this way even if they later do turn into hamburgers or steaks.
But besides the cows, chickens are also being treated just as cruelly. Many different kinds of hormones and drugs are added to their food every day to make them grow larger, faster. Most chickens don’t even get to see light. Manufactures stuff thousands of chickens in a small, dark room. Then they get picked up in the middle of the night and slaughtered. One woman who had a chicken farm had to pick up dead chickens every day because of the unsanitary conditions. After the men would pick up the dead chickens, she would go through again and find even more. If people knew about this maybe more of them would be making the choice to become a vegetarian.
It’s amazing how little people know about their food and yet still eat it. Before it didn’t really matter to me how my food was made or where it came from, but now I’m really starting to wonder. These big companies that are replacing farms hurt everything from the animals to our bodies to our planet. There could be farms all over Maryland but instead we have our food shipped in from the other side of the country. This is only adding to the greenhouse effect, and is wasting gas that could be used elsewhere. People should be more aware of what they are eating and the process of how it’s made. Maybe then organic food will become more popular.
Food Journal and Produce
MONDAY
Dinner- Contessa Mongolian Beef, Hawaiian Punch Fruit Juicy Red
TUESDAY
Breakfast- Dannon Light and Fit Blueberry Yogurt
Lunch- Gold Kist Farms Chicken, H & S Bakery Roll, Tropicana Fruit Punch
Snack- Now and Later, Nabisco Ritz Bitz Cheese
Dinner- Blue Ribbon White Bread, Jif Creamy Peanut Butter, Welch's Concord Grape Jam, Herr's Salt & Vinegar Chips, Deer Park Water
WEDNESDAY
Breakfast- Thomas Original Bagel, Hillshire Farm Oven Roasted Turkey Breast, Yoohoo Chocolate Drink
Lunch- Gold Kist Farms Chicken, H & S Bakery Roll, Tropicana Fruit Punch
Snack- Pepperidge Farm Rainbow Gold Fish, Deer Park Water
Dinner- Met-Rx Big 100 Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Gatorade
THURSDAY
Breakfast- Kellogg's Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tart, Yoohoo Chocolate Drink
Lunch- Gold Kist Farms Chicken, H & S Bakery Roll, Tropicana Fruit PunchDinner- Rice-A-Roni Beef Flavor, Coke
PRODUCE
Sunbury, Pennsylvania- Mushrooms
Imlay City, Michigan- Carrot
Santa Maria, California- Celery
Placentia, California- Strawberry
United States- Red Grape, Pear, Watermelon, Cucumber, Tomato, Green Pepper, Lettuce
Costa Rica- Banana
Chile- Fuji Apple, Jumbo Navel Orange
Brazil- Mango
New Zealand- Kiwi
September 17, 2010
September 15, 2010
A Persian insult, an Inuit dialect, and Urdu directions
During the first podcast Iran's leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "welcomed" Iranian expats by using crude expressions such as "the bogeyman snatched the boob". The people found this shocking not because of the vulgarity but beacuase it came from a political man. Many said that it was "shameful" and were disgraced. Now seen all over the world, Mahmoud says the reason for speaking this way is because of linguistic populism, that he was trying to show that he is "a man of the people".
In the second podcast Stephen Leonard is documenting planet's northern most dialect by spending a year in Northwest Greenland. About 1,000 people live there, and not a lot of information has been documented about the Inuit group so he's going to record his discoveries about them and their language. Leonard will later publish his documentary in their own language so they can see how they live from an outsiders view. The Inuit group could also be extinct by the next 10-15 years because of immigration farther south.
Foreign films in the United States was the main topic in the third podcast. Before there were almost foreign film blockbusters but now they aren't even in box offices anymore because of the demand of foreign films has drastically decreased. Movies theaters are also having less and less foreign films, which makes it even more difficult to get people's attention. Also, thanks to Hollywood United States is the center of the world film culture so for a foreign film to be well know and popular it also has to be very entertaining.
In the last podcast Sofia Javed talks about how certain words in Urdu and Hindi are the same word and pronounced the same way but have a different meaning. For example the words yesterday and tomorrow are the same word, but you can tell their different meaning by which tense the verb is in. However, the words right and straight are also the same word, and when driving it can be very difficult to tell which is with if someone is giving you directions.
September 8, 2010
How Did 9/11 Affect Air Travel Internationally?
By: Hope Kelly, Sydney Setree, and Kirsten Kyburz
Because of September 11, 2001, the International Air Travel industry suffered immediate and significant effects. This includes changes in number of people taking international flights, shifts in preferences of destinations, and higher concerns by people for their own safety while flying. Also, new, tougher, visa policies made visas harder to obtain, and 9/11 even caused airport security to become more intensified. Some airlines became threatened with bankruptcy! Therefore, all these things combined to result in one big impact on international air travel after 9/11.
After 9/11, there was a substantial drop in international arrivals from overseas to the United States. In figure 1, you can see how 9/11 affected the initial amount of arrivals from foreign countries. The number of visitors dropped immediately following 9/11 and started to recover in 2003. It reached almost the same as before 9/11 in 2007. There was an especially large decrease in the number of foreign visitors, but an increase in U.S. arrivals. Even though there was a decrease in foreign arrivals, the oversea travel was not affected.
After 9/11, there was a substantial drop in international arrivals from overseas to the United States. In figure 1, you can see how 9/11 affected the initial amount of arrivals from foreign countries. The number of visitors dropped immediately following 9/11 and started to recover in 2003. It reached almost the same as before 9/11 in 2007. There was an especially large decrease in the number of foreign visitors, but an increase in U.S. arrivals. Even though there was a decrease in foreign arrivals, the oversea travel was not affected.
After 9/11, the United States visa policy became more restricting, and the visa application process was made more stringent. Security procedures affected visa applicants heading to the U.S., but not people heading from other countries. These people were involved in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). People from countries involved and not involved with this program had the same screening process, but travelers from countries not involved with the VW P had an additional screening. These changes showed how travel was reduced to the U.S. among the travelers that needed a visa.
Security in airports after 9/ 11 also became much more intensified. One now must arrive earlier for all flights, because one is required to go through various lines with long waits and to go through tests to access you flight. All carry-ons have to go through x-ray scanners. Also, the passenger and his/her bags must go through a metal scanner. Plus, everyone is required go to the ticket counter to check in. A driver’s license or proper form of identification is required to board any flight no matter what. In past years, scissors were even thought to be a possible harmful and dangerous weapon to have on the plane. Before 9/11 one could practically show up and go right to the gate. This new protocol sometimes is believed only to be a great burden and inconvenience, but some see it as what it is supposed to be a new, safer way to travel.
Security in airports after 9/ 11 also became much more intensified. One now must arrive earlier for all flights, because one is required to go through various lines with long waits and to go through tests to access you flight. All carry-ons have to go through x-ray scanners. Also, the passenger and his/her bags must go through a metal scanner. Plus, everyone is required go to the ticket counter to check in. A driver’s license or proper form of identification is required to board any flight no matter what. In past years, scissors were even thought to be a possible harmful and dangerous weapon to have on the plane. Before 9/11 one could practically show up and go right to the gate. This new protocol sometimes is believed only to be a great burden and inconvenience, but some see it as what it is supposed to be a new, safer way to travel.
The preference of travelers changed after 9/11 as people began to learn more about their destination before choosing where to go. People have begun to research the history, laws, cultures, and customs, so that they can make an informed decision. It was found after 9/11 that U.S. citizens avoided most travel to the Middle East, India, Pakistan, and most of Asia.
After 9/11, coach seats increased in price while the first class and business class decreased (see figure 2). This is most likely because passengers who were taking shorter flights did not feel the need for the extra comfort that the two more expensive classes provided. While passengers chose cheaper seats, the amount of passengers also decreased, which would help explain why profits lowered. ("Di Cesare")
After 9/11, coach seats increased in price while the first class and business class decreased (see figure 2). This is most likely because passengers who were taking shorter flights did not feel the need for the extra comfort that the two more expensive classes provided. While passengers chose cheaper seats, the amount of passengers also decreased, which would help explain why profits lowered. ("Di Cesare")
Inbound travel from the United States, ranging from 40-50 million passengers, was consistently lower than outbound, ranging from 55-60 million. (see figure 3) This is most likely because foreigners did not want to visit a country involving dominant collision. Before 9/11, there was also a consistent increase of travelers over the years from 1998-2000. After 2001, though, there was a decrease from both inbound (9%) and outbound ( 3%) travel, which continues until 2004. ("Di Cesare")
Before 9/11 international flights had an almost linear increase while domestic had a u-shaped decrease. After however it seemed to help the domestic travel. International travel dropped 8% after 2001 then regained passengers with even more than before, 63%, in 2003 and 2004. The total range of international passengers was 600-1500 million and domestic was 700-1300 million. (see figure 4) ("Di Cesare")
The International Air Travel industry was affected in a multitude of ways due to the horrific events on September 11, 2001. While some effects were immediate, others evolved over the months following. Airline travel and airline travelers will forever be impacted by the events of that day for now and in the future. Airline travelers now hope that in the future our new airline security, as well as the new protocol, will pay off in future years to come and that the world will remain safe and protected.
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| Figure 1 |
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| Figure 2 |
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Figure 3 |
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| Figure 4 |
Work Cited
2013, By. "Travel Facts and Statistics
U.S. Travel Association." U.S. Travel Association. Web.
U.S. Travel Association." U.S. Travel Association. Web.
"Air Traffic - NextGen Briefing." FAA: Home. Web. 06 Sept. 2010.
Di Cesare, Allison. "The Impact of 9/11 on Travel." 15 May 2006. Web.
<allison.pbworks.com/f/Analysis+Submission+1.doc>.
H.R. Rep. No. RL31617. Print.
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Web.
"Travel in the United States since the Terrorist Attacks of 9/11: How Have Things Changed?"
Travel Information Guide - Articles, Comments, Tips about Travel. Web. 06 Sept. 2010.
September 6, 2010
DEFINITIONS!
globalization or globalisation (ˌɡləʊb ə laɪˈzeɪʃən)
— n
1. the process enabling financial and investment markets to operate internationally, largely as a result of deregulation and improved communications
2. the emergence since the 1980s of a single world market dominated by multinational companies, leading to a diminishing capacity for national governments to control their economies
3. the process by which a company, etc, expands to operate internationally
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/globalization
“It has been said that arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity.”
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/globalization
culture (ˈkʌltʃə)
— n
1. the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge, which constitute the shared bases of social action
2. the total range of activities and ideas of a group of people with shared traditions, which are transmitted and reinforced by members of the group: the Mayan culture
3. a particular civilization at a particular period
4. the artistic and social pursuits, expression, and tastes valued by a society or class, as in the arts, manners, dress, etc
5. the enlightenment or refinement resulting from these pursuits
6. the attitudes, feelings, values, and behaviour that characterize and inform society as a whole or any social group within it: yob culture
7. the cultivation of plants, esp by scientific methods designed to improve stock or to produce new ones
8. stockbreeding the rearing and breeding of animals, esp with a view to improving the strain
9. the act or practice of tilling or cultivating the soil
10. biology
a. See also culture medium the experimental growth of microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, in a nutrient substance (culture medium), usually under controlled conditions
b. a group of microorganisms grown in this way
— vb
11. to cultivate (plants or animals)
12. to grow (microorganisms) in a culture medium
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/culture
“People can only live fully by helping others to live. When you give life to friends you truly live. Cultures can only realize their further richness by honoring other traditions. And only by respecting natural life can humanity continue to exist.”
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/culture
civilization or civilisation (ˌsɪvɪlaɪˈzeɪʃən)
— n
1. a human society that has highly developed material and spiritual resources and a complex cultural, political, and legal organization; an advanced state in social development
2. the peoples or nations collectively who have achieved such a state
3. the total culture and way of life of a particular people, nation, region, or period: classical civilization
4. the process of bringing or achieving civilization
5. intellectual, cultural, and moral refinement
6. cities or populated areas, as contrasted with sparsely inhabited areas, deserts, etc
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/civilization
“There is something even more valuable to civilization than wisdom, and that is character”
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/Civilization
history (ˈhɪstərɪ, ˈhɪstrɪ)
— n , pl -ries
1. a. a record or account, often chronological in approach, of past events, developments, etc
b. ( as modifier ): a history book ; a history play
2. all that is preserved or remembered of the past, esp in written form
3. the discipline of recording and interpreting past events involving human beings
4. past events, esp when considered as an aggregate
5. an event in the past, esp one that has been forgotten or reduced in importance: their quarrel was just history
6. the past, background, previous experiences, etc, of a thing or person: the house had a strange history
7. computing a stored list of the websites that a user has recently visited
8. a play that depicts or is based on historical events
9. a narrative relating the events of a character's life: the history of Joseph Andrews
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/history
“Remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall -- think of it, ALWAYS.”
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/History
progress
— n
1. movement forwards, esp towards a place or objective
2. satisfactory development, growth, or advance: she is making progress in maths
3. advance towards completion, maturity, or perfection: the steady onward march of progres
4. ( modifier ) of or relating to progress: a progress report
5. biology increasing complexity, adaptation, etc, during the development of an individual or evolution of a group
6. ( Brit ) a stately royal journey
7. in progress taking place; under way
— vb
8. ( intr ) to move forwards or onwards, as towards a place or objective
9. to move towards or bring nearer to completion, maturity, or perfection
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/progress
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/Progress
— n
1. the process enabling financial and investment markets to operate internationally, largely as a result of deregulation and improved communications
2. the emergence since the 1980s of a single world market dominated by multinational companies, leading to a diminishing capacity for national governments to control their economies
3. the process by which a company, etc, expands to operate internationally
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/globalization
“It has been said that arguing against globalization is like arguing against the laws of gravity.”
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/globalization
culture (ˈkʌltʃə)
— n
1. the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge, which constitute the shared bases of social action
2. the total range of activities and ideas of a group of people with shared traditions, which are transmitted and reinforced by members of the group: the Mayan culture
3. a particular civilization at a particular period
4. the artistic and social pursuits, expression, and tastes valued by a society or class, as in the arts, manners, dress, etc
5. the enlightenment or refinement resulting from these pursuits
6. the attitudes, feelings, values, and behaviour that characterize and inform society as a whole or any social group within it: yob culture
7. the cultivation of plants, esp by scientific methods designed to improve stock or to produce new ones
8. stockbreeding the rearing and breeding of animals, esp with a view to improving the strain
9. the act or practice of tilling or cultivating the soil
10. biology
a. See also culture medium the experimental growth of microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, in a nutrient substance (culture medium), usually under controlled conditions
b. a group of microorganisms grown in this way
— vb
11. to cultivate (plants or animals)
12. to grow (microorganisms) in a culture medium
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/culture
“People can only live fully by helping others to live. When you give life to friends you truly live. Cultures can only realize their further richness by honoring other traditions. And only by respecting natural life can humanity continue to exist.”
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/culture
civilization or civilisation (ˌsɪvɪlaɪˈzeɪʃən)
— n
1. a human society that has highly developed material and spiritual resources and a complex cultural, political, and legal organization; an advanced state in social development
2. the peoples or nations collectively who have achieved such a state
3. the total culture and way of life of a particular people, nation, region, or period: classical civilization
4. the process of bringing or achieving civilization
5. intellectual, cultural, and moral refinement
6. cities or populated areas, as contrasted with sparsely inhabited areas, deserts, etc
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/civilization
“There is something even more valuable to civilization than wisdom, and that is character”
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/Civilization
history (ˈhɪstərɪ, ˈhɪstrɪ)
— n , pl -ries
1. a. a record or account, often chronological in approach, of past events, developments, etc
b. ( as modifier ): a history book ; a history play
2. all that is preserved or remembered of the past, esp in written form
3. the discipline of recording and interpreting past events involving human beings
4. past events, esp when considered as an aggregate
5. an event in the past, esp one that has been forgotten or reduced in importance: their quarrel was just history
6. the past, background, previous experiences, etc, of a thing or person: the house had a strange history
7. computing a stored list of the websites that a user has recently visited
8. a play that depicts or is based on historical events
9. a narrative relating the events of a character's life: the history of Joseph Andrews
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/history
“Remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall -- think of it, ALWAYS.”
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/History
progress
— n
1. movement forwards, esp towards a place or objective
2. satisfactory development, growth, or advance: she is making progress in maths
3. advance towards completion, maturity, or perfection: the steady onward march of progres
4. ( modifier ) of or relating to progress: a progress report
5. biology increasing complexity, adaptation, etc, during the development of an individual or evolution of a group
6. ( Brit ) a stately royal journey
7. in progress taking place; under way
— vb
8. ( intr ) to move forwards or onwards, as towards a place or objective
9. to move towards or bring nearer to completion, maturity, or perfection
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/progress
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/Progress
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