Remember the slaughterhouse workers getting injured for the sake of profit in The Meatrix II 1/2?
The evil Con-Agra Agent replies to Moopheus' concern for the workers by saying "meat packing is the most dangerous job in the nation--but just like you, my friend, our workers are expendable."
Today we will learn a bit about these "expendable" workers, one third of whom will likely suffer from injuries such as "torn muscles and pinched nerves,...broken bones, deep cuts and amputated fingers and limbs" (Sustainable Table).
So, for Blog 15: The New Industrial Migrantsplease
read the two excerpts from Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation on pages 30-31 of your class packet.
summarize each reading separately (Part I and Part II).
write a response of at least 250 words to what you have read/summarized.
If you want more details on the conditions surrounding work at slaughterhouses, click HERE.
Please continue working on blog entries 15-18. Blog 15 must be finished by the end of today, as I will send a list with lists to your blogs to another class tomorrow morning so that the students can respond to you on Friday.
Material that may help you develop Blog 17: "The End of Overeating" "How to Make Oat meal...Wrong" by Mark Bittman. This article exposes the "healthy" choices offered by McDonald's.
Material that may help you develop Blog 18: "Where the Whale Be at?"
"An Outer Borough Drought" by Curtney Gross. This article discusses the discrepancy between what kinds of food are available for wealthy New Yorkers versus " lower median income" New Yorkers. It also includes the Going to Market: New York City's Neighborhood Grocery Store and Supermarket Shortage report. Slides 8-21 are particularly interesting.
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Just fun? A humorous look at the connection between race, class, and food. Who are today's fast food workers?
Discuss how aware we are of the reality behind the food we eat
Begin writing Blog 15: a summary and response to three videos about factory farming
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I. Watching "Potato or Tomato?" and "Old McDonald's Farm"
This video is part of Jamie Oliver's television show Food Revolution. After watching it, write down your reaction to it on a piece of paper.
This video is an advertisement by Compassion Over Killing, an animal rights organization. After watching it, write down your reaction on a piece of paper.
Questions for class discussion: What are the harsh realities being uncovered by these videos? Who/What is responsible for these realities? Who/What benefits from them? Who/What suffers because of them? Are these realities necessary?
II. What is food made of?
Examine the eggs crates, milk cartons, and cereal box I have brought to class. On a piece of paper, write down any keywords that describe what the product is. We will make a master list and discuss what these words mean.
III. Screening The Meatrix films
1. The Meatrix
2. The Meatrix: Revolting
3. The Meatrix II 1/2
IV. Blog 15, Part I: Summarizing the Stories
Write THREE paragraphs, the first summarizing the main points of The Meatrix, the second summarizing the main points of The Meatrix: Revolting, and the third summarizing the main points of The Meatrix II 1/2. If the dialogue is hard to understand, click on the Close Captioning symbol (CC) once the film begins to play.
V. Blog 15, Part II: Responding to a Factory Farming Issue The Meatrix website has a list of issues connected to factory farming HERE. From this list, I want you to choose ONE of these issues:
Additives Animal Welfare Antibiotics Family Farms Feed Food Safety Genetic Engineering Organic Pesticides Waste Water Pollution
Read about the issue and take notes. Then, write 250+ words explaining why this issue is significant. Your piece must have
a claim,
at least two reasons to support the claim, and
at least two quotations from the webpage where you got your notes.
Today I want to finish the Food Unit with two easy assignments:
After reading Michael Pollan's Advice on How to Eat Better for Blog 12, many of you said that it was hard to find the "good food" or that it may be too expensive. Here is a link to Greenmarket Farmers Markets with tons of information on places to buy (and not everything is super expensive. Example: a bag of apples for $1), community gardens, jobs, etc. Check it out and write Blog 15 on something that interested you from the website. Maybe include a photo?
A very nice expert in Food Science named Alexandra Dauz contacted me and offered to answer any of your questions on food. Here is the blog she started for that purpose. I would like for you to think of at least ONE question you 'd like her to answer and post it as a comment on her blog.
Ah! And just in case the fast food industry has not scared you enough, here is an article that shows how bad flavored drinks , including some so-called "health" drinks are for you: http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/20-worst-drinks-america-2010. Just click on NEXT to see them all.
