Cristina Wilson English 101.34: 2010

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Assisted Suicide

This article starts out by describing an old woman by the name of Bernice Packford. She has made the decision for herself that she would like to end her life because of fear of miserably dying from a stroke. She wants to do it legally with her doctor. The article then goes on to describe the difference between assisted suicide and euthanasia. Assisted suicide is at the patients discretion and action, while euthanasia is done by the doctor. There is a bill in Canada, C-384 that may legalize assisted suicide. However, there are many sides to the issue that need to be accounted for. The bill requires patients to have a legitimate reason for wanting to die, such as terminal illness or severe pain. The article brings up an interesting point, "Among the most disturbing is that anyone who becomes a burden on others would feel obligated to contemplate suicide as a justifiable option." It would be terrible if someone felt this way and decided to kill themselves based on what other people think.

"Our stake in this life and death decision." Maclean's 123.11/12 (2010): 6. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 8 Apr. 2010.

This article talks about how because suicide is not morally right, the thought of even considering assisted suicide should not be taken lightly. The author of this article believes that when considering assisted suicide, one should look at a set of criteria to determine whether or not it is a good idea. There is some evidence that may lead people to believe that assisted suicide might lead to involuntary euthanasia.

Lesser, Harry. "Should it be legal to assist suicide?." Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice 16.2 (2010): 330-334.Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 8 Apr. 2010.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Tim Wise - By the Color of Their Skin

In America today, many people still believe that racism goes both ways, meaning both whites and people of color are subjected to discrimination. Author Tim Wise begs to differ. He believes that only people of color are discriminated against and whites are granted with far more privileges. Even though America had made extreme progress towards becoming a more equal nation, there is still proof that racism exists. Although racism is less open than in the past, it still affects the lives of many people today.

Racism is still seen around the world today. It affects all types of people regardless of their color. Although toned down, racism is now against the law and not looked upon as the common belief of non colored people. Wise believes , “Racism is an ideology that says certain people, by virtue of their race, are either inferior or superior to others of a different, with race usually being defined by skin color…It’s a way or organizing society” (Cook 5). What Wise means is society stereotypes certain types of people by the color of their skin. It’s convenient to judge a person because of how they look. Americans find it easier to stay within their race and make assumptions, rather than to venture out and actually get to know people of a different color. Even Wise makes assumptions, “Once I got on an airplane with two black pilots, and my immediate reaction was, “Can they fly the plane?” I caught myself and realized that of course they could. But the thought was there, and I had to acknowledge it” (Cook 12). Racism might just be ingrained in us. We are raised today to know different stereotypes and how certain races are supposed to act or supposed to be better at certain things. Regardless of age, color, or social class, racism is apparent in society and affects anybody anywhere.

Along with racism, privilege is also apparent in society. White people are privileged in that they are given rights or benefits beyond the advantages of most other people. Wise describes a few of the privileges of being white, “we whites are able to be as incompetent or mediocre as we want and never have our mediocrity ascribed to our race” (Cook 5). What Wise means is that white people don’t have to live their lives under the microscope. White people are able to make as many mistakes as they want, and their race is not held accountable.

Even though we might not see ourselves as being racist or discriminatory, we still categorize and stereotype people without even realizing were doing it. “We don’t consciously believe in racial superiority or inferiority, but we’ve become so used to the existing policies, practices, and procedures that we don’t question them. To the extent that we don’t challenge this system of racism, we are collaborating with it,” (Cook 5) says Wise. By growing up in a privileged white society, we have been shielded from and made unaware of the way minorities live. It is impossible to truly understand how people of color are forced to live in society. By being white, our opinion or definition of privilege and racism are biased. This can also lead to the issue of privileged access, which is a main component of paper three.

When arguing a food community is better than another like in paper three, one must remember that there is always the issue of access. Because of racism and white privilege, minorities have less access to certain food groups. The majority of minorities live in the inner city or ghettos, where their access to fresh fruit, vegetables, and organic food is very limited. They can’t simply drive down the street to a farmers market or walk to a fresh produce stand to get those healthy foods, because they don’t have them.

In conclusion, racism is very prominent in all areas of the world even today. The way it affects people’s lives varies depending on the degree of the racism taken. The white race as a whole is much more privileged than other colored races, and does not have to deal with all the bad treatment that others do. Without even acknowledging it, whites have more opportunities and a better chance at life and success from the day they are born. The environment and surroundings definitely influences how prevalent racism and privileges are. Hopefully one day people will begin to look past the color of one’s skin and realize that everyone is not so different.

Cook, David. “By the Color of Their Skin.” The Sun July 2009.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Choosing Sources

When it comes to choosing sources for my research paper, a lot of time and effort goes into the process. I begin by searching through numerous online WSU library resources and then look for relevant titles. After I find something that looks somewhat useful I'll save the URL for later. Numerous hours and URL's later, I go back through all of the sources I deemed worthy and chose the ones that are most useful or informative.

After picking the few that are most helpful, I begin to scan the articles looking for information that pertains directly to my research topic. This is also time consuming. I pull many quotes out of the source and save them into a word document for later use. After I have a sufficient quantity of useful quotes and facts, I began to integrate the quotes and facts into my paper outline.

Now I am ready to start writing my paper. Equipped with ideas, facts and my outline I begin to piece together my paper. Because my thoughts are so organized, this part of the process generally doesn't take very long and isn't as painful as actually finding the sources. In order to improve the process I use for finding sources and writing papers I could procrastinate less. It seems to be my main problem, I wait until the last minute to actually find sources which may make the sources I find not as good as some others if I continued to search.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Slaughter House

The article I found relates to the slaughter house, inhumane treatments of animals, and what really goes on inside the US meat industry. This will be helpful for paper three because it relates to the ethics of eating meat processed in the United States. The article goes in depth into what is happening. The article is an investigation, and the author successfully went behind the scenes and got the trust of employees to tell the truth. Many of the workers admitted to beating, strangling, and dismembering a myriad of animals.

Although this article has some very good evidence and description of how animals are treated, it may be biased. It is only a website with no naysayer argument. However, the information still could be useful.

"Slaughterhouse:The shocking story of greed, neglect, inhumane treatment inside the US meat industry." Go Vegn. pag. Web. 4 Mar 2010. .

Norman Borlaug Article

In his article, Norman Borlaug discusses the issue of combining biotechnology with food. This is a very controversial issue in that both sides of the issue contain valid points. Supporters of integrating biotechnology into the food system argue that with out the integration of biotechnology, the world will never be able to grow enough food to sustain the ever growing population. They also argue that biotechnology has been very helpful in medical breakthroughs and public health. If biotechnology continues to be successful, it could also be beneficial in the food industry. By using biotechnology, scientists could potentially make fertilizer, seeds, and farming in general more efficient. More efficiency means more food which means less starving children around the globe.

On the other side of the argument are people who believe food should not be genetically tampered with. They also have valid points. By changing the make up of our food, we no longer know how it could potentially affect our bodies. Biotechnology could potentially kill us in the long run. There is just something about eating natural food that sounds more appetizing than eating "franken-food". Regardless of what these firm believers in natural foods do, the future of food most likely will become integrated with biotechnology. It is in our future, but shouldn't it be your own volition to decide what to eat anyways?

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Omnivore's Dilemma Ch. 15, 18, 19, 20

In Chapter 15 Pollan decides that he wants to make a meal from foods entirely found by hunting, gathering, or grown all by himself. I think this is a great idea. Pollan then tells us about how his mother scared him as a young child about picking poisonous mushrooms or dangerous fruits. She basically told him that picking up the wrong kind of fungi would probably lead to a certain death. It sounds to me like he was smothered as a young child. Before the modern grocery store children and adults alike foraged through the woods and learned from experience which foods were okay to eat and which were not. Regardless, Pollan decides to carry on with his endeavor and create his own meal from scratch.

Pollan asks his readers, "Why go to all this trouble?" He then explains how if everyone were to eat likes this there wouldn't be enough food for everyone, so really there is no point. Although a valid point, I believe that people today could find a comfortable medium between growing your own food, and buying food from the supermarket. Not only would this be a healthier alternative for people, but it would also put the food industry in check.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Omnivore's Dilemma Ch. 16 and 17

In Chapter 16 Michael Pollan discusses the omnivores's dilemma, taste, appetite, and cooking. Pollan talks about community's food preferences and how they are unique to the area. Pollan believes that, "...an immigrant's refrigerator is the very last place to look for signs of assimilations." I disagree. I believe that immigrants, although they generally hold true to all traditions in their home, try to assimilate in as many ways as possible. Food choice is one way to successfully assimilate into a new country. When one decides to move to a different country, it is generally because they want to become part of said country.

In chapter 17 Pollan discusses the ethics of eating animals. Although I am a firm believer in eating meat for a source of protein, sometimes I have this very ethic dilemma with myself. After watching movies such as Food Inc. and other similar movies, it's hard to eat animals that were treated inhumanly. When it comes down to it, I believe that the meat product industry needs to be put under higher scrutiny and be changed drastically. In addition to the terrible treatment of animals is the food they are fed. Chickens are given growth hormones that speed up their development. This growth hormone makes chickens grow so fast that their legs cannot keep up and they can no longer walk. It's terrible to think that consumers are paying so much money to an industry that has no morals.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Omnivore's Dilemma Blog 3

At the beginning of chapter 11 Michael Pollan talks about how farmers wakeup before the sun and finish their chores before breakfast, or with out coffee for that matter. His description reminded me of a time when I was in third grade. We had a field trip to Pioneer Farms, a little tiny pioneer village, complete with a few cabins, no electricity, a barn or two, and farm animals. For a few days my classmates and I lived the pioneer life. We had to wake up early and learned how to milk, feed, and bathe animals, bale hay, and numerous other pioneer-like activities. His description of life on the farm sounded very similar to life on Pioneer Farms; hard work, early in the morning.

In chapter 8 Pollan compares the Naylor farm to the Polyface farm. I thought this was a very interesting and informative comparison. The items he lists help to differentiate two very different types of farms through out the United States. I think that it is important to understand that different farms operate in different ways. This understanding should encourage non farmers to believe that not all farms are the same, and it's important not to generalize about farmers or where food comes from. When comparing these two types of farms, it's clear that the Naylor farm is more industrious and perhaps more efficient, while the Polyface farm is more nature loving and domestically oriented. I think both types of farms are important, as well as having farms in between. This allows for a varied economy.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Ch 12 & 13 Omnivore's Dilemma and Ch. 4 & 5 They Say/ I Say

In Chapter 12 Pollan talks about the slaughter house. He discovers that farmers are able to slaughter a few hundred birds every year, but for bigger animals they can have nothing to do with the process because the government won't allow it. The government insists upon slaughter being done in government inspected facilities. In North Idaho, we have both farm land, and a meat processing plant. It's not uncommon to see cows grazing along side the high way, cattle guards across the road, or cattle crossing signs the road. They look like they are living at least somewhat happy lives. Fresh air, green grass, and a beautiful view of gray cement. There isn't much more a cow could want. Along with pasture land, Sandpoint, Idaho also has Wood's Meat Processing Plant. Perhaps the best place in the area to purchase fresh mean, Wood's offers a variety of different cuts from different animals. This is the only place my mom will buy meat from because it is very fresh and a clean environment.

In Chapter 13 Pollan mentions the use of farmers markets. Some farmers don't like to use these outlets to sell their food because they don't make as much as they would selling food to other companies. We have a farmers market in Sandpoint that is adorable and always sells fresh delicious looking fruits, vegetables, and other baked goods. It's a shame more farmers don't use these places to sell their products. Not only are they fun for consumers to shop at, but they offer a healthy alternative to supermarkets.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Omnivore's Dilemma Ch. 9

Pollan makes a very good point when talking about "wordy labels". As if the consumer wasn't confused enough about where food comes from as it is, these wordy labels are no help at all. Pollan talks about how these labels and other advertisements as well are supposed to help the buyers understand what it is that they are really buying. This is not the case. Pollan tells an anticdote that exemplifies this very point. He talks about buying organic milk. While one organic milk product advertised "ultrapasteurized" which would extend shelf life, a different organic milk product advertised no ultrapasteurization, implying that this product would be fresher and less processed. Consumers have every right to be confused.

Supermarket pastoral. What does that even mean? Apparently it has been around a long time, and it continues to trick consumers even today. Organic food stores, such as Whole Foods, use this term to entice shoppers to become more engaged in, "authentic experiences". Shopping organically can be a very rewarding experience, assuming you don't mind the damage it will do to your check book. Regardless, consumers will continue to be beguiled by silly advertisements and healthy promises.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Ch. 2,6,7 Omnivore's Dilemma & Ch. 1,2,3 They Say I Say

I think it was a very good idea for author Michael Pollan to gain personal experience by actually going out and learning how to farm with farmer George Naylor. His experience increases his ethos throughout the book by making it apparent he knows what he is writing about. His anecdotal evidence suggests that farming is not an easy lifestyle for non-farmers to understand. I think the way Pollan describes the recent changes and transformations in farming history is interesting, while also providing facts and information that is important when learning about how farms work and prosper.

Pollan does a very good job at explaining the many uses of corn throughout the United States. By informing readers that it is in nearly everything we eat these days, readers obtain a better understanding of why our nation is currently fat. Pollan also does an excellent job explaining how portions have increased in fast food restaurants, and how type-II diabetes is on the rise.

Chapter one of They Say, I Say emphasizes the importance of having a point in your paper. Although this is often somewhat challenging when faced with writing an extensive research paper for an uninteresting class, it is very important nonetheless. Chapter two shows the importance of a good summarization of another sources' arguments. It's important to know the source well enough to summarize it in your own words. Chapter three talks about quotations. The book mentions that framing a quotation is very important as it makes the quote relevant to readers.

Cristina Wilson English 101.34