Blog #4 - From Farm To Fridge

First off, I couldn't finish watching the video. As soon as it started it went straight to the killing and brutal beating of chickens. The vieo "From Farm To Fridge" explains in a very detailed manner the disasters that happen in slaughterhouses. Today, very few are oblivious and don't know the horrifying treatments animals go through in factory farms. Animals such as chickens are brutally beat by food company workers, ways in which they are slammed into the ground, their bodies ripped apart, and put into crammed cages resting in their own waste. This all happens while the animals are still alive and conscious. In the video, it shows the living conditions of the animals, which were hens, chicks, cows, an pigs. They barely have any space to move around, some are starved or over fed, and as I said before, they rest in their own waste which causes them to be severely ill.
     This video is very helpful for our LIB110 video projects. Being able to see the conditions animals face in factory farms gives a whole different outlook rather than reading about it. This video can help me collect ideas based on how the animals are treated and what are in the foods that we eat and to inform people the truth behind our meat consumptions. Most people need to be able to see the way the factory farms regulate in order to get a "feel" of how the animals are treated. Reading can be helpful, but may not cause much of an impact. As for myself, after watching this video changed my whole perspective on how I think of the foods I eat.

Blog #3 - The End of Over Eating

    Over the years our body cravings have changed in many ways, ways in which our bodies naturally crave salt, sugar, and fat. Today, most of our foods consist of nothing but sugar, fat, and salt causing many individuals as young as 4 to be severely sick. The population of New York state has roughly reached its peek of individuals being over weight, yet alone the U.S. Many American citizens aren't aware too much sugar can kill you and it can cause diabetes at any age. Salty and fatty foods are just as bad as sugary foods, but all three combined can lead to a dead end.
    In chapter 6 of The End of Over Eating, by David A. Kessler, MD, he explains how salt, sugar, and fat are reinforcing to our desires. This means foods that consist of those ingredients keep us coming back for more. Like drugs, food can be just as addictive due to the combination of sugar and fat. "Animals are willing to work even harder for foods that are high in sugar and fat" (pg. 31, Kessler) This shows foods that are high in both sugar an fat can effect both humans and animals because our bodies are automatically stimulated when eating foods that consist of those ingredients.Certain foods motivate our mood or behavior and create desires which lead up to habits of eating food that contain sugar, fat, and salt. Since our bodies are already immune to these type of foods, we constantly eat with out thinking of the consequences.

Contradictions

In chapter 3 of Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser, he explains the brutal obstacles individuals face behind the counters of fast food companies. Due to to McDonald's methods of avoiding unions, employees are often stroked by their managers, meaning workers are motivatied when they are given positive reinforcement on behalf by their managers. In 1973 (pg. 76), Employees were threatened to be fired by managers because they claimed they were forced to take lie detectors about union activites. This is a contradiction because McDonalds makes it seem like they treat their workers with respect and positive reinforcement, when in reality the workers have no type of benefitial support from McDonalds.