Journals are posted here
Journal #4
Throughout the Widdicombe essay, a lot of interesting points were made. While Rhinehart strongly believes that Soylent is better both medically and financially than regular food, I feel as though I had trouble taking him seriously. I think this is mainly because I have trouble imagining a life with no real food in it. Food provides comfort, allows people’s religions and cultures to be seen, but most of all, it tastes good. A few things from this essay stood out to me. One being “Drinking Soylent was saving him time and money: his food costs had dropped from four hundred and seventy dollars a month to fifty” (Widdiecombe 2). In my opinion this is the only thing I can really understand when it comes to drinking Soylent. I understand that people want to do this because money can be a struggle and this is cheap and efficient. However, I still do not believe this is the best option because I do not think it is healthy. There have been multiple studies done that claim the brain needs to experience chewing to fully be able to digest food. Chewing absolutely nothing by only drinking Soylent kind of freaks me out because it just does not seem healthy. I think there are so many other alternatives that allow you to chew real food when on a budget. Something that really surprised me and still continues to confuse me is why so many people chose to try Soylent out. Rhinehart and his roommates were able to make the amount they were hoping for in a month in just two hours. This seriously blows my mind that so many people were willing to give up food and live off of pills and vitamins, especially because this diet had not been safely tested and approved. Finally, Widdecombe brings up a good point on page 8 explaining how liquid food has been around for a while, but it was used in hospitals for sick patients. This stuck out to me because this is the one and only time that I believe that liquid food should be consumed. When patients are so sick that they are unable to eat themselves, that is a perfect time to receive liquid food as it keeps them alive. When perfectly healthy people are drinking all their meals, that is when it crosses the line. Overall, I completely agree with Rhinehart that there are problems with society’s food today, but I do not believe Soylent is the answer.
Journal #5
After reading, “Entering the Conversation”, I found a few thing either really helpful to me and my writing or just simply interesting. One thing that I personally found interesting is, “If it weren’t for other people and our need to challenge, agree with, or otherwise respond to them, there would be no reason to argue at all” (Graff and Birkenstein 4). I think that this is an interesting way to put it and is something I have never really thought of before. It is kind of weird to think if it was not for our need to be right and challenge others and their ideas, arguing would most likely not even be a thing. Arguments are part of human nature and they happen everyday, some bigger than others, and it is weird to imagine it not being there at all. Adding onto that, “Clearly, King would not have written his famous letter were it not for critics, whose views he treats not as objections to his already- formed arguments but as the motivating source of those arguments, their central reason for being” (Graff and Birkenstein 7). To me this quote emphasizes the importance of arguments and critics, as it motivates us to work harder, creating a stronger piece/ belief. If it were not for critics, Martin Luther King Jr. would have never written his famous letter because there would have been no need, no convincing would of had to be done. Instead his critics motivated him voice his beliefs, leading to his famous letter “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Finally, I just found a lot of the templates very helpful. I do sometimes struggle on how to word things, especially when I am disagreeing with a piece or author’s opinion. I will defiantly use these templates when working on my “The End Of Food” essay.
Journal 9
I was the presenter in my group
Journal 10
Based on the article, “The Memories of Meals Past”, interesting points are made throughout each of the stories. Personally I found the crepes being made on Bunsen Burners very fascinating. To me this shows the importance of food which is much more than just its taste. It allows the chemists to express their passion while making and eating food. It reveals that food is not just about eating it to fulfill hunger drives or receive necessary nutrients, but it has a deeper meaning. It is a way to express creativity, a chemist making crepes on a Bunsen Burner is different than the way anyone else typically makes crepes. It shows that individuals can add their own spin to recipes to make them unique to themselves and their interests. One quote that stood out to me was, “I have made crepes since then, and the actual crepes probably taste a lot better now, but the excitement of making them in a lab at the end of the academic year in a foreign land can never be matched” (Page 2). This quote explains how while the crepes themselves were probably not the best tasting crepes in the world, the experience itself was something unforgettable. To me this proves exactly how powerful food is. Another story that stood out to me was the fluffernutter one. I relate so much to this one as growing up these were one of my all time favorite sandwiches. My brother and I were honestly obsessed with them and for a short time period I think we rarely had any other kind of sandwich. My cousins were raised in a house that didn’t allow fluff because it it so unhealthy. So whenever they come up to visit, my grandmother makes sure to stalk up on fluff and that family devours it. Very similar to what the author was explaining. My family used to put it on everything from crackers to hot chocolate. Overall, I really enjoyed reading about how food impacts different people. I found it very interesting!
Journal 11
Passage 1
“Today the average American spends a mere 27 minutes a day on food preparation (another four minutes cleaning up); that’s less than half the time that we spent cooking and cleaning up when Julia arrived on our television screens. It’s also less than half the time it takes to watch a single episode of “Top Chef” or “Chopped” or “The Next Food Network Star.” What this suggests is that a great many Americans are spending considerably more time watching images of cooking on television than they are cooking themselves — an increasingly archaic activity they will tell you they no longer have the time for.
What is wrong with this picture?” (Pollan 4).
This passage stood out to me as I find it so important and I agree with Pollan in many ways. I believe there is so much wrong with how Americans are eating today. In my opinion, the leading cause of this is the increased amount of junk food and fast food chains found all over. Homemade meals are slowly, but increasingly becoming more and more uncommon. This is due to the typical American family’s busy schedule. In many families today both parents work supplying income for their family and kids are busy with school and activities. People tend to constantly be on the go creating a lack of interest in making homemade meals as it often is not the first priority. While it is amazing that women are no longer seen as stay at home moms that care for the kids and make meals, I do not think that is a free pass from making meals. I think families together should plan out meals for the week ahead of time to allow themselves the time to make meals each day. So hearing that people are spending more time watching others cook on TV rather than cooking themselves is weird to hear. It proves that if they have time to watch others cook they have time to cook for their families too. Overall, while I do agree that Americans are very busy today and time is limited, I also believe healthy homemades can be made by spending time to prepare these meals. This passage only solidified my point because it proves that we do have time to make meals, it just comes down to finding the motivation.
Passage 2
“The Food Network has helped to transform cooking from something you do into something you watch — into yet another confection of spectacle and celebrity that keeps us pinned to the couch. The formula is as circular and self-reinforcing as a TV dinner: a simulacrum of home cooking that is sold on TV and designed to be eaten in front of the TV. True, in the case of the Swanson rendition, at least you get something that will fill you up; by comparison, the Food Network leaves you hungry, a condition its advertisers must love. But in neither case is there much risk that you will get off the couch and actually cook a meal. Both kinds of TV dinner plant us exactly where television always wants us: in front of the set, watching” (Pollan 12).
I found this passage very powerful as it proves exactly how set up Americans are being and for that reason I agree with Pollan. While you are spending time watching someone cook meals, which may even be healthy meals, it is rare that the viewers actually get up and make those meals, or any healthy homemade meals for that matter. Often times in these cooking shows, recipes are not even provided. They are purely made for entertainment and to keep the viewers on their couch wanting to watch more. Then during commercials they may advertise a triple cheese pizza with stuffed crust to get them to have that for dinner. From a previous project I completed in high school we learned that this is all because the government is setting us up for money. They do not care if we get sick because they are making money out of it. I have never really thought about the cooking show aspect of how we are set up, but it makes complete sense. I completely agree with what Pollan is saying especially in his last line claiming that we are wanted on the couch watching TV.
Passage 3
“The question is, Can we ever put the genie back into the bottle? Once it has been destroyed, can a culture of everyday cooking be rebuilt? One in which men share equally in the work? One in which the cooking shows on television once again teach people how to cook from scratch and, as Julia Child once did, actually empower them to do it?” (Pollan 19)
This passage is found towards the end of, “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch” by Micheal Pollan. I found this passage very interesting as after all of these issues with the typical American’s lifestyle is addressed, Pollan questions if it can be fixed. My answer is definitely complicated as I have mixed feelings if this worldwide issue can be fixed. It is something that can not be fixed overnight but, personally, I believe it is possible, but will require time. I think America may hit a reaching point where everyone realizes how much is wrong with our food and lifestyle. I believe so many people eat the way they do because it is simply easy and what they are used to. However, I strongly believe that more and more people are going to realize how unhealthy this is. With awareness and commitment I think more people will stop eating the way they do. Overall, I like the way Pollan questions his readers to make them think.
Journal 12
While reading chapter 14 of “They Say I Say” by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, I found a lot of points they make very interesting and relateable. Starting in the first paragraph they explain how the first thing we do when we are about is figure out what to write is analyze what the author is saying and what point (s) they are making. Then once we do that we then have to decide what we think of it and what points we want to make. This is something that I did all throughout high school and I do not think it helped me. While I somewhat understood the reading I don’t think I completely processed it because I was so focused on what I would write about and what my teacher would think. When deeper questions are asked like why the author is writing what they are writing it allows the students tended to think deeper resulting in a stronger discussion. Personally, I think this is something that I need to work on. I am slowly getting better, but I need to focus more on the deeper meanings of readings rather than just understanding the authors main points so I can write about it. I also found it interesting when Graff and Birkenstein suggest not imagining the author “sitting alone in an empty room hunched over a desk or staring at a screen, but as sitting in a crowded coffee shop talking to others who are making claims that he or she is engaged with” (178). Personally, when I think of the author of the reading I am reading I always picture them sitting alone in room writing just as Graff and Birkenstein explain it. So I found this interesting and I think I will defiantly consider this next time I am reading someone’s work.
