Entry #9 Pink Slime

Has convenience changed the way people eat? Absolutely! It's not only changing the way we are eating, but the way we are living. But not all change is bad. Times are rapidly advancing and humans are getting smarter. Sometimes we change stuff for the good and it back fires. This is when we have to stop, analyze, and CHANGE again for the good.

In order for  fast food industries such as McDonalds  to keep up with the demand of consumers needs they have to invent ways for food or specifically meat to be able to reach this request and not expire on the way. Most are aware that the famous "cheeseburger" or "chicken nuggets" are two of the most popular food items being sold in the fast food market. But what are we really getting when we order these menu items?

PINK SLIM. That is what consumers (YOU) are actually getting when they order these foods. Basically every part of the animal besides the  actual meat, that is treated with ammonium hydroxide- a CHEMICALLY PROCESSED FOOD.

If you look back to my previous post about CHEMICALLY processed food vs. WHOLE food, I think you will change your mind on considering "fast food" as unhealthy to rather "chemically processed food."

http://mel2065268.blogspot.com/2015/05/entry-8-whole-foods-vs-processed-foods.html

Change your food, change your life. We need to completely cut out the chemicals in our foods!! These artificial ingredients and chemicals are killing us slowly. We must act now before its too late!!

EAT WHOLE FOODS NOT PROCESSED FOODS.

Entry #8 Whole Foods vs Processed Foods

With the technological advances today, people have become lazy. They are allowing machines to do all the work for them instead of doing the labor themselves. While in some aspects, advancing is good for the people and the economy. But when it come to our food, mass production has a negative effect on how it has modified our produce today.

Have you or someone you know eaten a fast food meal? Some french fries or a cheeseburger? The chicken fingers at the restaurant down the street? Truth is, most of us are guilty of eating some type of fast food because it has become more convenient for people then buying and making their own food. Our food has gone from FRESH to PROCESSED. 

Now allow me to clarify the meaning of processed because most of the time there is confusion. Most food today have to be processed if we haven't grown and picked it ourselves.  Oranges are cut from trees, and meat has been cut by machines. But the difference is between MECHANICAL processing and CHEMICAL processing. It doesn't matter if ingredients have been put in a jar or cut up for packaging, it's still REAL WHOLE FOOD with no chemicals. 

PROCESSED FOODS are generally known as food that have been chemically processed and made from refined ingredients and artificial substances.

According to Kris Gunnars, here are 9 ways that food is actually slowly KILLING us. 

http://authoritynutrition.com/9-ways-that-processed-foods-are-killing-people/

1.  Usually high in sugar and fructose corn syrup.

2. Are "hyper rewarding" and lead to overconsumption.

3. Contains all sorts of artificial ingredients. 

4. Many people become addicted to processed junk foods.

5. Are often high in refined carbohydrates.

6. Are low in nutrients.

7. Tend to be low in fiber.

8. Requires less energy and time to digest.

9. Are often high in trans fats or processed vegetables.

We need to eat more WHOLE and FRESH food instead of fast food! Our health is depending on it!!

Entry #7 Fresh

Have you ever heard the expression "You are what you eat." Do you even know what you're eating sometimes? Or better yet, where it is coming from? 

I know I don't know very many of these answers. What I do know is that when I buy local or organic, the taste of my food is completely different. It's better. It's more "FRESH."

I recently watched the movie Fresh in my English 101 class. The movie compared our modern day food processing techniques versus growing organic. The film was able to compare and contrast how the food system works and informs everyone that buys food that isn't organic what they are actually purchasing.  Did you know that our food is infested with antibiotics and pesticides?

"Americans fear inconvenience." 

This is an actual quote from the movie. And I have found it to be the truth. It's easy to eat something that tastes delicious and not know that what we're eating is actually slowly killing us. We need to inform the people what is happening and change our food system before it becomes worse! In order to live long healthy lives, we must eat healthy too!

Entry #6 Why We Should All Garden

If everyone knew how to garden the world would be a better place. 

Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; & of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system. -Bill Mollison

We need to strive to be more connected with the environment because our health depends on it!
Gardening helps us connect to the earth and can even act as a stress reliever.

In a study conducted in Norway, people who had been diagnosed with depression, persistent low mood, or "bipolar II disorder" spent six hours a week growing flowers and vegetables.

After three months, half of the participants had experienced a measurable improvement in their depression symptoms. What's more, their mood continued to be better three months after the gardening program ended. The researchers suggest that the novelty of gardening may have been enough to jolt some of the participants out of their doldrums, but some experts have a much more radical explanation for how gardening might ease depression.

Here are some examples of problems that gardening can help us solve.


-Disease
-Energy Crisis
-Environmental Crisis
-Waste
-Famine

We should all educate ourselves on how to discipline ourselves into being able to garden. The only outcome of this are positive. People would be able to appreciate and learn the value of life personally.

Entry #5 Effects of Technology on Society.

Is technology advancing us to slowly killing us?

My reaction to the video is antipathy. What are we doing with our lives?? Most people absorb 3x more information everyday compared to 50 years ago. Are we as a society are readily embracing technology with its positives, and ignoring the negatives?

Technology is changing the human experience. Life is no longer physically personal. We are becoming a society of convenience instead of our human nature. 

In the video below of human dystopia in the movie Wall-e its specifically shows how people aren't even walking anymore, they're over weight, and eating only fast food.

"In ages past, you could walk around town for a whole day without seeing all the people you know. Now, everyone you know is within arm’s reach, taking that certain psychological feeling out of seeing people. You see them every second of every day, and hear nearly every single thought of theirs as soon as they think them."

Nursing schools published an article with proven side effects from technology -specifically sitting too 
long. 
http://www.nursingschools.net/blog/2011/02/14-proven-side-effects-of-sitting-all-day/ 

Recently DRAFTfcb, an advertising agency in Paris, was asked to answer the question, “What impact will new technologies have on human evolution?” Their answer is illustrated in the infographic below.

http://www.bitrebels.com/geek/the-impact-new-technologies-will-have-on-human-evolution/

Much like the video Walle depicts humans in the future, here the company depicts more specific side effects. Besides an enlarged skull, extended thumbs, loss of sensory function, increased body mass, malnutrition-induced acne, the disappearance of body hair,  and the loss of our fifth toe, we have several other unpleasant effects to look forward to. 

Technology, like most inventions acts like a double-edged sword. They can both be used for good and bad. It is up to us as the user to decide our fate with what could now make or break us. How will YOU decide your fate?

Entry #4 New Technology At Its Finest

The new Apple watch.

What is it? How is it different?

Apple inc. has incorporated the modern day cell phone into a watch.

"Our most personal device yet."

"Our goal has always been to make powerful technology more accessible. More relevant. And ultimately more personal. Apple Watch represents a new chapter in the relationship people have with technology. It's the most personal product we've ever made, because it's the first one designed to be worn." -Apple

One of Apples biggest accomplishments in creating this device is making it more personal while still being a fashion piece.

"The Apple Watch can add physical dimention to alerts and notifications. For example, you'll feel a gentle tap with each incoming message."

"Apple Watch also lets you connect with your favorite people in fun, spontaneous ways -like sending a tap, a sketch, or even your heartbeat." -Apple

The question is does the average American consumer want a computer on their wrist?

What do you think? Will a this technology be the next step or will these new mini computers just fad out?

Only "time" will tell.  ;)

The release date is April 2015.

Entry #3 Technology is Changing Faster Than We Think

I'm sure we are all guilty in using some kind of technology to make life easier. Everyone competing to have the new iphone 6 or Galaxy Tab. But the truth is that by the time you get the latest technology out there, something new is already made, in the works of being created, or being launched right then and there.

In the video we watched in class, we got to see how technology is advancing in ways we could have never imagined. But how can we relate personally when they examples are all over the word and not just what we're experiencing personally? In this video, Ellen Degeneres (T.V. host of "The Ellen Degeneres Show") shows how kids today don't know the technology of "yesterday!" She brought out items that were from her generation and the millennial kids thought they were 100 years old! She's so great at making a point entertaining!

Technology is changing every day, every minute, every second. We're growing faster than we could keep up with! If you were Ellen, what technology would you have brought to show children today that you think they wouldn't even recognize and isn't old at all?