Why do we blame the government?

While reading a lot of my colleagues work, I've noticed a recurring pattern. It seems that almost all, if not everyone, thinks that all the blame deserves to be tossed on the government. That they are only after power and money so they are letting us pretty much rot. And don't get me wrong, I think there are some flaws with the way the government is handling some business. They aren't keeping the farms as sanitary as they should and they are not cleaning up enough. But I stand by the idea that the government is not entirely to blame. It is also the mistakes of the consumer that accounts for a portion of the issues we are talking about today. After all the research done, it appears that the biggest threat in bacteria and illness comes from a strand of E.Coli called O157:H7. After a little more browsing, a lot of the evidence states that the bacteria comes mostly from things like "raw, uncooked meat." Just like most bacteria, the bacteria is killed when properly cooked. Is it the government's job to cook our food for us? It isn't. Yes, they should do a better job cleaning the food but if the problem can be resolved with the food being put on the stove a little longer, then we don't have the right to put all the blame on the government. We aren't taking care of ourselves either it seems so we should take the time to learn about the bacteria. The general population blames the government for the entirety of the problem when we should consider the fact that we, as the consumer, are partially to blame too. And, not that this is the best of evidence, but I have eaten and seen a lot of others eat meat and never get sick from E.Coli or any bacteria for that matter. Seems legit.

Facts on E.Coli:
http://www.foodsafety.gov/poisoning/causes/bacteriaviruses/ecoli/
http://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/e_coli/fact_sheet.htm

MOOOOOOO! goes the cow !

Our breakfasts, lunch and dinner are pretty tasty huh? Well personally I cant enjoy my food as much knowing how much pain animals go through for us too eat. The cows are forced to eat corn which is something they cannot even digest "before they are transported to feedlots, where they are fattened on unnatural diets. Within six months, they reach market weight of 1,200 pounds and are trucked to slaughter" and on top of that they are stuck around small little stables with many other cows with no space to do anything but eat, sleep and poop. they stand in there feces all day waiting to get slaughtered because that seems to be all they are good for, And on top of that when these cows are slaughtered they have E. Coli in there system because of the corn being fed to them. But that doesn't stop food corporations from selling this meat to us as if it was healthy. The workers should have the decency to treat the cows how they should be treated, feed them the food they need to be healthy and can digest and give them clean places to stay.This will allow our food be safer and cleaner we wouldn't have to worry about what might be in our meat. WE CAN EAT WITH NO WORRIES!

(http://www.californiacowsarenothappy.com/how-cows-are-really-treated)

Phat Farm

Viewpoint : Ever wonder why when you eat a burger from McDonalds today you feel so bloated compared to a burger from 10 years ago? Well, it’s because of the hormones that they’re injecting into the animals that we eat to make them grow faster. This all has to deal with the supply and demand on our favorite food because when the demand is high but the supply if low the cost goes up, and big companies have to do something to make sure their food is getting out there. So for example when McDonalds customers want more Angus Burger the company has to find a way to make sure that they get more meat, lettuce and other things. This is problem for us because they’re chemically messing with our food and as a result chemically messing with our bodies.

According to an article in the huffingtonpost.com (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/31/hormones-in-food-should-y_n_815385.html) they discuss the growth of animals over the couple of years, and the fact that hormones in our food is bad.  In the article it said, “ … a salmon that grows to market size twice as fast as normal. Dairy cows that produce 15 percent more milk. Beef cows that grow 20 percent faster.”  This is actually crazy because of the fact that people are drinking milk, eating beef on the regular without actually knowing the effect of what’s going on with their bodies.  In addition, in the article it also said “ Thanks to injections and implants (in the case of cows) or genetic engineering (in the case of salmon), they contain artificially high levels of sex or growth hormones.” My question is that how is these hormones affecting the way how our children are being developed.

Fried chicken or fried cruelty ?

Many animals in the production of food are treated less than humanely. But the one that i will focus on is the chicken.  Chickens in my opinion is probably the most used animal for our food supply. Chickens are born every day just to be mistreated and killed for our food. Chickens have feelings too. but due to the stigma put by our society that chickens are okay to eat and they don't matter but something like a dog would be cruel to mistreat and eat is crazy. They're both animals and they both have feelings and should be treated as living things. But our country makes it seem that some animals are okay to mistreat but others it would be shameful to do. to me its shameful to mistreat any animal.

In a website based on the mistreatment of chickens in our making of poultry items to sell (http://www.veganpeace.com/animal_cruelty/chicken.htm) it says that "shortly after being born, the ends of their beaks are cut off, which is known as "debeaking." it also says that "Broiler chickens are genetically altered to grow a lot faster and produce more meat. These genetic alterations causes serious health problems for the animals. Their legs have trouble supporting their heavy bodies and their underdeveloped heart and lungs frequently result in congestive heart failure." So basically animals don't even get the chance at a full life. Their time is being rushed just to mass produce food. Even though as a country we waste so much food a day.

In another website by PETA, it says how KFC uses chickens that were mistreated in the way they were grown. The website states "KFC suppliers cram birds into huge waste-filled factories, breed and drug them to grow so large that they can’t even walk, and often break their wings and legs. At slaughter, the birds’ throats are slit and they are dropped into tanks of scalding-hot water—often while they are still conscious. It would be illegal for KFC to abuse dogs, cats, pigs, or cows in these ways." I believe any company that mistreats their animals to make their products should be shut down and not in production. You cant just treat living things any way you want to get ahead in life. That type of behavior shouldn't go unpunished.

--Samantha 'Seahorse' Tirado

With a cluck cluck here and a cluck cluck there!!

More is better than less because if there's more less stuff, then you might want to have some more. We want more, we want more! Well people today ask for bigger and better meat portions, so that's what our government is going to offer us. What most people don't know is how they made the chickens bigger and what the modern farms do to these poor chickens. Some people think that chickens are in farms and are well nurtured by farmers. When in reality, these chickens are treated without love and care. According to peta.org, "They are fed large amounts of antibiotics and drugs to keep them alive in conditions that would otherwise kill them. The antibiotics make chickens grow so large, so fast that they often become crippled under their own weight. This reckless use of antibiotics also makes drugs less effective for treating humans by speeding up the development of drug-resistant bacteria." Sad isn't it. Then the chickens are transfer to the slaughter house where they suffer pain. Making the chickens fat does give us the satisfaction of having a bigger meat portion, but is there any better solution that can work? Remember, "You are what you eat!" So whatever the chicken consumes, is what we consume. We eat chicken without knowing their actual background story. You know, chickens have lives to!!!! They don't deserve to be treated in that way!! 

Sodium is killing children!!!!

Sodium is known for making your heart beat fast. According to the New York times a women name Beth Dunn, the president of multimedia company is proud that she exposed her son to organic food to prevent his heart to beat fast from getting away from food with sodium. But what about everyone else that cannot afford or even exposed their children to organic food, What should they do? But studies had prove that parent that are over barring about their children diets are actually the one that are creating an unhealthy aura around food. Mainly because they are not exposed to other food beside organic food that will cause them to one do it when it is they are expose to unhealthy food. I think that a healthy diet for your child could be with  healthy and unhealthy food that will have them expose to them both without them totally lost when they are forced to handle the situation alone. What do you think?

Evidence: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/health/nutrition/26food.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

Taco Bell: Live Mas, or Live less ?

Personally I LOVE Taco Bell, but in the past years the Taco Bell franchise has had a few outbreaks in their food.  But this isn't an attack on Taco Bell. There's a bigger picture here. The idea that the fastest and cheapest food that is offered to our country isn't properly taken care of. If these big name franchises that consume almost all of our countries propaganda time aren't selling us healthy food, where will we get this food from ?

According to this article (http://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/foodborne-illness-outbreaks/three-taco-bell-ingredient-outbreaks-in-ten-years/#.UZY5LRmhDJE) Taco Bell had a Hepatitis A outbreak in the year 2000. They also had an e.coli outbreak in the year 2006. with the e coli outbreak in 2006 the article states, "Among these 71 ill persons, 53 (75%) were hospitalized and 8 (11%) developed a type of kidney failure called hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS)." They also had a possible Salmonella outbreak in 2010. of course there is more restaurants that have unsanitary food offered to the public happens. this is just an example because Taco Bell is one of my favorite places to eat when my mother doesn't cook. 

Another big idea that is a problem is that these franchises are all over our country. They are sold to every American no matter where you are. It's not a contained problem that the food is just infected in one area of our country but the problem of our food being spoiled is all over. It's surrounding us. It appears to me that nowhere to eat is safe, and not one place can be considered more dirty than the other. According to another article (http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2006/ucm108803.htm) "The peak of the outbreak occurred in the last week of November. A total of 71 cases in five states -- Delaware, 2 cases; New Jersey, 33 cases; New York, 22 cases; Pennsylvania, 13 cases; and South Carolina, 1 case -- have been reported to the CDC. The single case in South Carolina occurred in a person who ate at a Taco Bell in Pennsylvania. The number of new cases has declined substantially."

 -- Samantha 'Seahorse' Tirado

So beefy ;)

We all know meat is delicious , but anything that is too good has it's pro's and con's . According to a new study done by "Archives of internal medicine" red meat (usually processed meat) present more health risks than we realize . Study author Frank Hu (a professor of nutrition and epidemiology) found that people who consume red meat (beef , lamb or pork) have a thirteen percent increased risk of mortality , compared to those who ate a smaller amount of meat . Processed meats raise the risk even higher (up to about twenty percent). Cause of death being of heart disease and cancer . Honestly this alarm's me a tad bit but my question is , how much is too much ? How do we know when we are crossing the line between healthy and unhealthy ? Because i will never become a vegetarian ! Nope . Well according to the american cancer society Consumption of red meat should be limited to two to three times a week . People who replaced red meat with a alternative food that still had sources of protein decreased their  risk of premature death . Choosing chicken along with other kinds of poultry decreased the risk by a staggering fourteen percent . Fish ended up decreasing the risk by seven percent while legumes decreased the risk by ten percent . It's clear that red meat is something we do not want to stop eating , the solution to avoiding premature death along with life threatening diseases like cancer and various heart diseases is to limit consumption of red meat. It is also suggested that if you prefer to have red meat as a stable in your diet that you should try to grill it rather than fry it .

Sitting On A Toilet!

If anybody ever was to think about slaughterhouses, nothing but bad things can be thought of. From the bad working conditions to the bad working conditions. Today, U.S. slaughterhouses and “meat”-processing facilities employ over 500,000 workers. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the number of slaughterhouses nationwide declined to 809 in 2008 from 1,211 in 1992, while the number of small farmers has increased by 108,000 in the past five years. An unknown percentage of workers are undocumented. Many employers knowingly hire undocumented workers in an effort to satisfy the extremely high turnover rate of the industry, which often exceeds 100% annually.

Fewer slaughterhouses to process local meat means less of it in butcher shops, grocery stores and restaurants. Most workers are “at-will” employees, meaning they can be easily fired at a supervisor’s discretion. The threat of termination discourages workers from reporting safety concerns, injuries, or other serious issues. Supervisors use a variety of intimidation tactics to suppress workers’ concerns and make it clear that other people are always available to replace them. As a result, workers are conditioned to accept a hazardous and demeaning work environment if they want to remain employed. So many things are known about these conditions but nothing gets done simply because what can you really do. People have to eat. You can’t just let a nation died. I would like for things to be more cleaner with more regulations that get followed. But I probably wont get that. And neither will this nation.

-Amandar!

Le Sources:

1) http://www.foodispower.org/slaughterhouse-workers/

2) http://www.meattradenewsdaily.co.uk/news/130410/usa___shortage_of_slaughterhouses_.aspx

It Isn't Easy Being Green

Why is vegetables more expensive than meat? it seems to me that the government design this system for us to become fat. To make it kind of impossible for us to become skinny. Don't get me wrong i love being big I am a walking pillow and i love that  but at the same time I'm still at risk for diabetes.  Majority of Americans are, doctors and nutritionist want us to eat this food that cost a lot of money.  They don't want us to eat fast food but its kind of hard not to when its so cheap. You can get a McChicken sandwich for a dollar and a salad for at least 2 or 3 dollars. "An average adult on a 2,000 calorie diet could satisfy the fruit and vegetable consumption recommendations of the 2010 DGAs at an average cost of $2 to $2.50 per day.As expected, the prices varied widely — from fresh watermelon (at 17 cents per cup) to fresh raspberries (at $2.06 per cup). The lowest price was pinto beans (at 13 cents for cup) and the highest was frozen asparagus tips  (at $2.07 a cup).The study also found that processed fruits and vegetables (which included canned, dried, and frozen) were not any more or less costly than fresh.For example, canned carrots (34 cents per cup) were more expensive than whole fresh carrots eaten raw (25 cents per cup). But, canned peaches (58 cents per cup) were less expensive than fresh (66 cents per cup)." - www.gmaonline.org/blog/?p=1098. "New research shows, however, that the price of healthy food may be too high for many low-income families to afford, and experts say the government needs to step in" - www. abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/story?id=3807128&page=1#.UZY0zcwU6UY. You want me skinny? then lower the prices.
 

Growing Up Veggie

All my life, I've been a vegetarian. As a child, I had a hard time growing up in public schools where much of the time food served in the cafeteria featured some form of meat or animal byproduct. And the only sure-fire options were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and salad, which, trust me, gets extremely repetitive and boring.The only other alternative for these children would be for their parents to buy or pack them a separate lunch everyday. But this can become extremely very costly, and bothersome. This is a problem for children with certain dietary needs or allergies. They are excluded from all the idea that public schools should provide hot, healthy, nourishing meals for students, and often go without food for the whole day. Which of course can lead to hunger and distraction in the classroom. This is why I believe there need to be more food options in all public schools for children with special dietary needs.

And it seems i am not the only person out there that believes this is a problem. According to change.com, there have been multiple petitions demanding better food options for vegetarian ad vegan children in public school :
http://www.change.org/petitions/offer-vegetarian-options-in-public-school-lunches
https://www.change.org/petitions/school-lunch-program-offer-more-vegetarian-vegan-options-in-school-lunches

Source:
http://prezi.com/3gftwgsfptnc/more-vegetarianvegan-options-in-school-lunches/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=prezi_landing_related_solr&utm_campaign=prezi_landing_related_author

http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2009/08/20/school-lunches-go-vegetarian

Creative Title Goes Here

Often when there is an outbreak of bacteria related illnesses, people are so quick to blame the government. It's a logical argument. I mean they are in charge of food safety. And it is true that they have been slipping over the years. However, food safety can begin right in your own home. It's the little things that count you know. Things like not eating food that contain raw eggs(Cookie dough lovers this means you). I've heard a lot of how delicious cookie dough is but it isn't good enough to risk your health is it? You know what else you don't do? Don't test food to see if it's still good. Because you will be testing out a hospital bed if you keep playing around. If it's been in the fridge for 2 years and it's green just toss it. I do think that there should a big label on all foods that tell consumers what eating the product under-cooked or past a certain time can do to them.That best by____ date might need a brief  'this is what could happen' warning. People can do a lot more than they think to protect themselves from bacteria by being smart about cooking food to a temperature where harmful things are killed and not playing the game of life with raw food. Seriously.

Read below for what can be potentially dangerous and what bacteria can be contracted from what.

Sources:
http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/basics/mistakes/
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0762206.html

Today's Special - Hamburger w. a side of pink slime ammonia and some other thing

ABC news says that 70% of the ground beef sold in supermarkets contain pink slime in them. What is pink slim you may ask ? Its Beef trimmings. Some time ago they used to only use beef trimmings to feed to dogs, but now they spray it with ammonia and feel as if its safe to feed to us. They mix it in with ground beef to make it a lot of meat and sell it at a cheaper price. Im not even sure ammonia is safe for us to eat ad they spraying our food with it and mixing beef trimmings with it. This is something that should be big and clear on the front of every package sold.




Evidence #1 - http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/03/70-percent-of-ground-beef-at-supermarkets-contains-pink-slime/

" it is not fresh meat, its a substitute."

food poisoning sucks !

Ever ate something that gave you food poising. The pain of your stomach hurting. Running back to the bathroom or throwing up. Having to drink ginger ale because you'll think it would make you feel better.  I bet you have experienced it ! we all have that problem at least one time!  Did you ever think of why the certain thing you ate may have caused you to have food poising. you can get it many ways for example "meat or poultry can come in contact with bacteria from the intestines of an animal that is being processed." Or people who don't wash their hands when the cook. Many types of germs can cause food poising " Campampylobacter, Cholera, E.Coli, fish poising, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella , Shigella. "About 48 million people contract some form of food poisoning each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."  We need to be care full on what we eat so we wont get sick !  

Evidence- 
 http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/food-poisoning

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/23/health/foodborne-illness

Have You Ever Seen A Pig Fly?

 Viewpoint: When we think of pork, we think of the good, juicy meat that we get when we go to barbeques. However, pork has sketchy origins. There is contamination within the pork that we eat, and because of the carelessness of those who handle the meat, children are getting sick. I have a hunch that this happens because of CAFOs.

Evidence:

During the slaughter of animals, including pigs, the contamination of the workers, tools environment and animal organs causes the meat to be defiled. If the meat is not stored at the proper temperature, the bacteria will multiply. The proper temperature to store meat is 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Unfortunately, with the amount of children who are getting diseases such as Salmonella and E coli, the government isn't practicing what they preach.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/01/what-s-in-that-pork/index.htm
http://www.health.state.mn.us/foodsafety/cook/temperature.html

The effects of having a tapeworm inside of someone is extremely deadly. Tapeworms are formed in pigs, where the tapeworm eggs (cysts), are consumed by the human eating pork. This parasitic organism then forms a defensive mechanism where the white blood cells cannot find it and kill it. If the white blood cells get to the tapeworm specifically in the brain, they will launch a massive attack that will cause the brain to swell.
http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/monsters-inside-me/videos/pork-tapeworm-in-brain.htm

I'm going to take a different approach; people should realize that illnesses like Salmonella and E coli are one hundred percent preventable. There should not be any person who would fall victim to such a preventable infection. Being informed and knowing what to do with poultry will prevent anyone from going through a nightmare and die.


References:
http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/monsters-inside-me/videos/pork-tapeworm-in-brain.htm
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/01/what-s-in-that-pork/index.htm
http://www.health.state.mn.us/foodsafety/cook/temperature.html

Ewww.Coli

As we all know, E.Coli is a virus that is mainly food born but of course can live on other surfaces (Keyboards, phones etc.). This virus affects many people each year by living and surviving on various meats, vegetables etc. thus when consumed by a human or animal can have very ugly side effects. Even though E.Coli is a potentially harmless virus, there are very few strands deemed "Deadly" .

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/lethal-coli-bacteria-strain/story?id=13745030#.UZRTrbVQGSo

This was a strand of E.Coli that was very deadly. This happened in 2011 and it spread across Europe and caused about 18 Deaths. More than 1,500 people were sick.

---------------------
 This is another interesting article about E.Coli. This article was more about the strands being resistant to antibiotics. An example of this was when ten percent of Ground Turkey that was tested contained the resistant strand of salmonella.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/business/report-on-us-meat-sounds-alarm-on-superbugs.html?ref=ecolibacteria&_r=0

The symptoms of E.Coli

1.Serve stomach cramps and stomach tenderness
2.Diarrhea
3.Nausea and Vomiting

This is why it's important that we always watch what we eat and how to properly prepare our food. Remember to clean everything before consumption and don't just assume that there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It's also very important to know where our food comes from but we can't help that we don't know because our food is moved around to various factories etc before its sold to us. Food inspections should be enforced because before we are given any raw foods we need to know if its safe to enjoy or a potentially dangerous dinner that will cause us to get sick . Even though the government is trying to prevent this from happening , we still have to take our own precautions. Hearing stories like these make me not want to eat certain foods because of the contamination but we can't always help what we eat , partly because we've been eating these certain food all our life.

Attack of the E. Coli

E. Coli is found in the excrement of both animals and humans. It ends up in lakes and rivers from runoffs and sewages due to slaughterhouses facilities where there are many gatherings of animal excrement. There are many strands of the bacteria in which can be found harmful to human and animal health. There have been many food recalls due to E. Coli. One where it was found in infected spinach. Most of the time the bacteria is found mild but others it is fatal causing the public to become sick. There can be a stop of E. Coli contamination in lakes, oceans, rivers, etc. Food processing plants can treat animals better. These animals are kept in the most unsanitary conditions. Also, one can begin to locate slaughterhouses and facilities away from bodies of water. What other ways do you think one can take on to reduce E. Coli contamination?

http://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/e_coli/

How cows are really treated in a slaughter house

Most beef cattle are fixed and de-horned; this painful process is performed without any anesthesia. For seven months the cows stare at the farm before they are transported to a barnyard, where they are fattened on non-healthy diets. Six months later, they reach the weight of 1,200 pounds and are put in trucks to be sent to the slaughterhouse to be killed for food. Cows are not given any food or water, or protection from the elements during this long trip. In the slaughter house the cows are put in a cage to be de-horned and fixed. Then they are hooked on a convey belt upside down and sent to the other people who slice their throats. While the cows are still conscience the workers stab there neck to take out the blood from the cow’s body. Then they sent to be peeled and chopped up. If the animal is not treated right it can get hurt or get an open cut and catch a disease or infection and eventually it will spread around the cow’s body. I think the government should put the cattle to sleep and then do the whole process. They should also do one cow at a time because doing 10 or 20 at a time is nasty.  They should also clean the materials they use during the process; clean the knife, the chain that they hook them on, the blood on the floor, and the trucks they are put on to be sent to the slaughter house. Some of the cows probably have an illness and can leave it on the truck and that illness can spread to the rest of them. The workers should also change their suit every time or wash it with a water hose because the animal is still conscience and moving for the last time ant they set splattered by the blood. That blood gets on them and they just go to the next cow and spread the germs.

 

Evidence:       

http://www.californiacowsarenothappy.com/how-cows-are-really-treated

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8V8-qwU-m2Q

Rain Rain Go Away No E. Coli There's A Price To Pay

     Ahh, Rain how refreshing. Waters plants, flowers and crops. Wets up the streets creates puddles and little running rivers. Cute and wet huh? Well, let's face reality it's not always cute. It has some dangerous hidden secrets behind it that no one puts the spotlight on.So we all know about the cow farms and the spread of E. Coli from them their feces. What they don't put the spotlight on is how rain spreads the E. Coli. What spread a disease what? Yes, you read it right. See because the cows are packed on a farm their feces are everywhere when it rains hard the feces flow down to farms holding lettuce beans etc. you know the stuff that's supposed to be healthy for you. This makes it hard for people to eat healthy. trying to eat healthy ends your life? What's the cause of that? RAIN! In Germany (2011) there was an E. coli outbreak. The outcome of this was 852 patients hospitalized and 32 deaths.I feel if the food inspections were raised to where they used to be this epidemic was drop dramatically.


http://www.ehow.com/list_5937514_diseases-found-cow-manure.html
http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2011/ecolio104/

-Quante

OUR GOVERNMENT KILLING US SLOWLY.

In this country there are large amounts of unhealthy food being sold more than healthy food. For example soda, fast food, and hormones being injected into foods. The government plays a role in this because they give the companies a license to sell unhealthy food. There companies like KFC,  McDonald's etc that have a menu full of death. This connects to the economics because consumers spend money a lot on these products. Eating unhealthy foods is a problem because it can lead to heart problems, obesity, and high blood pressure. To avoid these things companies should take away the unhealthy foods and put the healthy food out. They would do this by voting, protesting, campaigning, and passing laws. The healthy food that we need to eat are sweet potatoes, whole grains, broccoli, and watermelon. All these healthy food have vitamin C.



Link:http://www.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt/39_eating_well.html
Link:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323741004578419031512580080.html

Brutality in the food industry

The food we eat all comes from animals and animals have feelings. The animals we eat are beat harassed and abused before it comes to our table animals live the life of torment before they're finalized as our meals. This isn't the main abuse that animals suffer they are shot cut and stepped on by the farmers that oversee them. The past of our food has a background of mistreatment and abuse till death or at least until their time to be processed has come. The food we eat is filled with the sorrow of the animal that it use to be. In the article 'Sickening' Treatment Of Animals Prompts USDA Shutdown Of Slaughterhouse by Zack Beauchamp he says "Four minutes of excerpts the animal welfare group provided to The Associated Press showed cows being prepared for slaughter. One worker appears to be suffocating a cow by standing on its muzzle after a gun that injects a bolt into the animal’s head had failed to render it unconscious. In another clip, a cow is still conscious and flailing as a conveyor lifts it by one leg for transport to an area where the animals’ throats are slit for blood draining…". In another article by Piper Hoffman says "Compassion Over Killing taped the torture at Central Valley Meat Company over the course of two weeks this summer. It showed workers abusing cows who could not walk by shocking them with electric pods, shooting them repeatedly with captive bolt guns, kicking them, pulling them by their tails, and prodding them with forklifts. Workers also killed conscious animals, leaving them to bleed to death while hoisted in the air by one ankle". In the end we are eating other beings who didn't live the life they wanted they were harmed to the end and didn't even live to the fullest.

-Maurice

Would You Like A Little Salmonella With Your Milk?

Viewpoint:

     Pasteurized milk or any cheeses, yogurts, and other dairy products are completely okay to buy and consume. At least we thought it was. Now? How can we really know when there have been cases of salmonella in the milk being sold to us in supermarkets and delicatessens? Sure, recalls have been made to at least half a billion eggs and numerous milk cartons and other dairy products as well but the damage has already been done. Many have gotten immensely sick and some have died. A number of lawsuits have also taken place for this mishap. This is a problem in our food system that needs to be solved. A way action could be taken to prevent this from happening again or from it getting any worse, is maybe have a large number of people run some tests on the milk to check or double check if it's being sent out raw or not. Then after having confirmed the milk isn't raw is when it can be sent from the factory or production plant to the shelves in our markets.

Evidence:

http://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/17/garden/salmonella-outbreak-is-traced.html

http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/consumers/ucm079516.htm

- Vaida G.

Animal Holocaust

As evolution and time has gone on, human beings have destroyed natural habitats, a ken advantage of natural resources meant for all life forms, and had become a destructive force on earth. The idea that because we are human and are "dominant" because we are more intelligent than other species is ignorant many believe that we are the "chosen" species and everything around us is for the taking, specifically put here for humans to use. Even when it comes down to taking lives. In all honesty, even though I am personally a vegetarian, I'm not here to condemn eating meat. The truth is that its been happening for thousands of years, and will continue for thousands more, even after humans have become extinct. I am here, however, to condemn the cruel practices used to slaughter animals for meat.

In todays society, animals used for livestock (cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, etc.) live in horrible conditions where they are born in factories, pumped with chemicals and steroids (they grow to enormous sizes where their bones cannot support their bodies), raised in overcrowded CAFO's, and crammed into trucks/trains an transported to slaughterhouses to meet their cruel fates. There, they are lined up, stunned with electroshock, and throats slit, where they die slowly as their blood is drained. They don't receive anesthetics, and sometimes they are still conscious as their throats are slit.

Once again, I'm not trying to persuade anyone to convert to vegetarianism, but I am asking for a change in conditions for the animals involved. It is a cruel life to live, but doesn't have to be.

These animals have the ability to feel pain, care for one another, and are intelligent creatures. They deserve as many rights as many groups of people have fought for throughout history with their oppressors. The only difference is that these animals can't fight for themselves, especially while they are being used and abused by humans. Therefore it is up to us as the "dominant" species on earth to fight for them.  Therefore it is up to us to improve their lives. Many animal rights groups like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) have fought for years to better treatment of animals in this country. What can be done by regular everyday people to help the cause is to recognize that this is a problem that needs to be changed. Donate to non-profit organizations that can make that change, and lessen the amount of meat and dairy products you use (lesser demand, lesser supply. less lives taken).

Links: 

http://bit.ly/bjHerX

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/meat/interviews/haw.html

PooP RiveRs

Viewpoint: Cows standing knee deep in their poop is a very unattractive thought. Now imagine that poop being transported to rivers during a flood and landing on our crops when the water goes down. Soaking into the soil and into our "natural" food. I really think the government should do something about this because this is furthermore spreading E. Coli around. This could make somebody sick and potentially kill them. The government needs to wake up and take more action then they've already have because if people start dying after eating food produced here it could seriously effect one our power balance, our reputation, and basically ruin the countries reputation!

Evidence: "food inc." - movie by Robert Kenner
"There are many types of E. coli, and most of them are harmless. But some can cause bloody diarrhea. These are called enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC). One common type is called E. coli O157:H7. In some people, this type of E. coli may also cause severe anemia or kidney failure, which can lead to death." - http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/e-coli-infection-topic-overview

1st ALL Vegetarian School In The Nation! Why?

An elementary school in Flushing, Queens goes all vegetarian. The Chancellor feels that schools should make more of a healthy choice with the foods that they have the students eat. So instead of having kids eat mystery meat and foods high in sodium, they give the kids choices of vegetarian meals like waffles with warm syrup, mozzarella string cheese and etc... for breakfast and black bean and cheddar quesadilla served with salsa, chickpea falafel in a soft wheat wrap with chopped romaine and etc... for lunch. Chancellor feels that all public elementary schools should make the change to vegetarian so that kids can learn to eat healthy at an early age.The Flushing, Queens elementary school p.s 244 is the first step in the change. They are an example of what the Chancellor wants other schools to become like. I feel like that is a good thing because the thing that kids get served in school is no good and it goes through a horrible unhealthy process to get to their trays. The school food is so overly processed and I feel no kid should have to eat something that is considered to be a mystery meat. I feel like the elementary school going vegetarian is good it helps kids grow into a good habit of liking healthy foods instead of getting the kids addicted to unhealthy foods like greasy fatty pizza, or other foods unnecessarily high in sugar and sodium. I also feel like this might be the good start to help decrease childhood obesity.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/05/02/nyc-elementary-school-goes-all-vegetarian

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/queens-school-serves-all-vegetarian-fare-article-1.1331690

It's not what it looks like....

People have a whole different view on how the animals they eat are treated before it gets to their plate. They think animals are eating healthy. They think that they're being taken care of well when that's not the case. The animals we consume don't  always eat lovely healthy green grass and are raised in clean healthy environments like we think. Animals are now raised in crowded and nasty environments they're forced to live and eat along with their feces right there on the ground. Cows are no longer fed with healthy grass. Instead, they're fed corn something that they can't even digest. The factories are trying a new method to make the process faster, which can be very harmful to the meat we eat. One problem is E. Coli, which happens because cows can't digest corn. So, the strain of natural bacteria in their intestines mutates and causes a strain of E Coli. So, when the cows are killed and processed and grounded up into ground beef, that one cow who had e. coli spread it to the whole batch of ground meat, because when ground beef is made it's made up of over a thousand cow DNA's.(nasty right?) I know.

Evidence: 

http://www.takepart.com/foodinc/film

http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/our-failing-food-system/industrial-agriculture/they-eat-what-the-reality-of.html

http://www.farmforward.com/farming-forward/factory-farming

We Need to Stop Wanting More

      Poultry is a huge demand in America. Sure, we eat quails and turkeys from time to time, but chicken is the bird that's number one. We need it, we crave it; we just want more, because we really like it. The demand for chicken is high. A graph on pbs.org (Taken from the USDA) shows us the rise of just how many  pounds of chicken were consumed from the early 1900's to 2000. "While beef consumption was declining, the consumption of chicken was greatly increasing. In 1976, the year that beef consumption peaked, the average American ate 29 pounds of chicken. By 2000, that number stood at nearly 50, an increase of more than 70 percent. In fact, between 1910 and 2000, per-capita consumption of poultry (which includes turkey) increased 450 percent, jumping from 12 pounds per person to 67."

      This year, the National Chicken Council estimated that Americans would eat 1.23 chicken wings over the course of the Super Bowl weekend - and only the weekend. The site says, "To put that into perspective, if 1.23 billion wing segments were laid end to end, they would stretch from Candlestick Park in San Francisco to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore… 27 times." We don't need to consume so much chicken. If we were to stop, there would be less injections and antibiotics given to chickens and there would be no need to mass produce. The chickens don't need to be cramped up in tiny cages with their beaks ripped off. We just need to stop feeling like we need to have chicken. This way, I feel, would be a step in the right direction.

Links:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/meat/safe/howmuch.html

http://www.nationalchickencouncil.org/americans-to-eat-1-23-billion-chicken-wings-super-bowl-weekend/

Being fat isn't cute!!

Fast food may be pretty darn tasty but do we really sit there and think about what were eating.. I think not. 

Fast food industries have become a major deal over the years and so has obesity. When eating these types of food it's a meal to satisfy our hunger but then after a while we tend to get hungry again and again and again that's when the real problem comes in. Since its much cheaper to buy we often buy ALOT more. People that they have to pay more to eat health but can pay less to get fat and that a fact. In Louisiana they have an annual cook out where a whole bunch of people gather out and cook lots of food . And in the video that I watched a man said " Most people eat to live  but down here People live to eat" and no one really notices it but just because its good alot of people eat an  unnecessary  amount.  Also a lady in the video said that she doesn't enjoy eating fast food at all but since its easier to access and cheaper to buy she eats it and since hurricane Katrina it's been hard to find healthy food. 

Every 2 out of 3 Americans now are obese and in 2020  3 out of 4 Americans will be obese 

In 2050 every 1 out of 3 Americans will suffer from diabetes 

 50% of blacks have the highest preference of obesity 

And Hispanics with a 25%  

America has become the fattest developed nation

-Yamiliss Ramirez 

http://www.youtube.com/embed/slwgXXVXM3I?rel=0&iv_load_policy=3