Blog # 18

The purpose of the American Economy

                In "the purpose of the American Economy" According to Annie Leonard, she is telling us that The United states don’t care about how much waste is created or how many chemicals are exposed to people or the planet. All they care about is money. I agree with ms Leonard because all the government wants is for us to think that if we don’t shop then the economy or the country is not going to do well financially, but what the government is not thinking about is how people are going to pay to purchase this products. They don’t care if we have money or jobs to be able to pay bills.

The ultimate purpose in the American economy should be to for the government to create good paying jobs. The government and many of the companies don’t care about how much money we make weekly, or how many bills we have to pay. In my opinion what should be the ultimate porpuse in this country is for us to be able to aford our bills ane live confortably in america. That should be the ultimate purpose, but for the government what really matters is how much we really spend. Forty percent of waterways in the US have become undrinkable, there are 100.00 synthetic chemicals in commerce today and in the U.s alone industries admit to releasing over 4 billion pounds toxic chemicals a year, but none of these facts matter, "money" is their number one priority.

 the economy is very important for the government and the American citizens. however the goverment should pay more attetion to the people who are helping this economy get stronger,if we don't have money to be able to afford to shop then that means we dont have enough money to spend. President eisenhower's council advisor chairman said that the ultimate purpose was to produce more goods. In my opinion tha's a selfish statement. My father is unemployed at the momment, when we had a job he used to shop at target, he used to buy jeans, dvd movies and music cd's very often, but now he has no job he is "laid off". At this time he can not worry about the american economy because the government is not crating jobs for the American people.

Blog # 19

 “Mom. Dad, buy the broccoli”, “Bottled water is safer than tap water”, and “Fat Land” in my opinion are the best three essays I consider are my best work in class , because I was able to develop and understand better when it came to writing an essay.

My experience working online was “great” I was able to learn how to apply commas, how to quote and express myself better. I learned things that I didn’t know how to do before when writing an essay. Writing eighteen blogs was helpful because as time went by I was able to put together an essay that makes sense faster, I can also say that working and reading blogs from other students was helpful because, that help me come with better ideas when I write my blogs. I did get the impression that some of the students were reading  my blogs, because once in a while I will see a comment or two about a blog that I wrote.

The lesson that I take from this class is that, whatever I start I should finish, because writing blogs at the beginning was very difficult by making my best effort I was able to finish all of them. Over all this class was “interesting and fun”. My most memorable moment in class were the videos that we used to watch because every time I will see one I will learn something new. If I had a recommendation to a student I will just tell he or she to take it, because Professor X was fun and very helpful in Eng 099.

Blog # 17

Fighting The system.

 In sleep dealer “fighting the system” to Memo it means in my opinion that he is trying to fight for everyone in the U.S.A and Mexico to be equal, he is trying to make sure that no one should die ever again over something simple as “water”. His father was killed over it.  He came to the  to the United States to help fight and destroy the block, so that his family in Santa Anna Del Rio can have water running back just like the old days.

 After Rudy apologized to Memo for killing his father, both Memo and Rudy were able to make a plan to destroy the wall that was stopping Memos friends and family from getting free water. Rudy was helping Memo because he felt that he was brained washed by the government, and The reason Memo wanted to do it in “memory of his father” and also because he felt that he was doing the right thing. At some point in the movie he was angry at himself; this wasn’t just a regular fight for Memo. This was more about the people that come to this country and give everything they have just to be able to help their families back home.

 In my opinion I think Memo is asking us to join in the fight with him and because what his trying to tell us is that everyone should be equally respected and appreciated for the hard work that we do for this country. things that can be gained is respect from people because what he is doing is standing up for himself and show the people that he is not an “American” but he is a very big part of this country, he also wants to tell us that a lot of people that serve this country are immigrants, some are born in the United states but come from different backgrounds just like Rudy.

Blog # 16

The new industrial migrants (part 1)

In the article fast food nation by Eric Schloser he explains that a large number of immigrants  from Mexico, Central America and south Asia are traveling to rural Colorado to find jobs at meatpacking factories for the a basic pay of $9.25 an hour. These are jobs that that are paying less then what they used to pay forty years ago, the reason why is because people working at  this slaughterhouses cannot speak or write English and therefore they have no choice but to take whatever is offered to them. These immigrants  share rooms in motels, sleep on mattresses and some live in batter old trailer a few miles from the slaughterhouse. There is an annual turnover of 400 percent in these factories, many of them quit or get fired every three months, They have no union to represent them, in order for them to get insurance they will have to work over six months to get it and over a year for vacation pay, but most won’t get any because they will quit or get fire before that time comes. Beef companies in Greely love that because they are saving money and won’t have to deal with unions. If a employee quits or gets fired all they have to do is replace the old one with with a new one.

The new industrial migrants (part2)

 Congra beef is one of the companies that are trailblazers in migrant labor, this is one of many companies in the united states that are taking advantage of many immigrants that are coming to the united States to look for jobs. These companies have a recruiting team that have hired people to put them to work in their factories, but many times they lie to them by promising rental apartments and steady work, but what the immigrants received instead is a shelter and no health insurance, many times these immigrants have no choice but to accept that is being offered to them do to the fact that they don't speak English and they don't know their rights, Congra beef has even hired buses to import workers and refugees from different parts of the united states (new York, new jersey and asylum seekers from Laos and Bosnia). they even promote these jobs in Mexico. Immigration estimates that about on quarter of all meat packing workers in Iowa and Nebraska are illegal immigrants but Congra beef, deny this claim saying that they only hire legal people to work.





 

Migrant labor

Migrant labor in the United states has become one the biggest problems in USA, people from all over the world are migrating to do jobs that are very dangerous and many times  without vacation pay or sick days or any union to represent them.

Restaurants, construction jobs, slaughterhouses are some of the many jobs that people that come to this country are doing. One of the main reason is because they dont have legal documentation to work

Blog # 15

Mom, dad, buy the broccoli

  In " mom, dad, buy the broccoli" companies are being forced to change the way they sell or promote junk foods for kids under 12 years of age. The reason these companies want to change their advertising is because companies are beginning  to notice that obesity and diabetes in kids is becoming a serious issue. A group called food and beverage advertising initiative was hired to help 10 companies change the way they advertise their products , but Mr Michael Jacobson, executive director for center for science in the public interest calls this effort "pretty pathetic." I agree with Mr Jacobson, because all these companies all they want to do is find a better way to sell their products without being policed by the government.

  Companies like Mcdonals, Coca cola, Hersheys, are beginning to change the way they advertise their products because they have seen that people are starting to blame them and are starting to complain about the increase of diabetes and obesity in kids under 12. this is the reason companies like Mcdonals are introducing salads or kids meals that contain apples or carrots instead of French fries. A company like coca cola or Pepsi are aware that their drinks are very sweet and contain "a lot of calories", that is the reason they have introduced to us "coke 0 calories" to make us believe that they care about the customer, but in reality all they care about is their profits, this is why food and beverage advertising interactive was hired to help them change the way they "sell or promote" their products to the customer.

  In my experience deal with "junk foods"  when i was younger this used to be a serious problem for me and one on my friends, when my friend Edwin and my self were younger we used to eat lots of candy, we used to go to Mcdonals almost everyday, It was "paradise." we used to buy the "big Mac" with fries and a large soda once we were done with our "great meal" we will go to the store and buy candy bars or any "kind of sweets" , although we were very thin, we didn't realize that by eating all this "junk" we were doing a lot of harm to our bodies. My mom took me to the doctor for a check up and that is when I found out that my sugar and cholesterol level was very high. I was told to stop eating "junk foods" and start eating "healthier foods" if I didn't want to develop diabetes.

  Junk foods in my opinion are very dangerous. Parents and the government should be more aware of what all these companies are selling to kids, parents should start asking their kids how they spend their allowance, the government should start to fine companies that do not want to help reduce obesity and diabetes in young kids. General Mills and other companies, should know that hiring advertising companies is not enough, they should make better efforts. they should help stop all these "diabetes" and stop making "pathetic efforts."

blog # 14

It is possible to for me and my family to avoid foods products that make health claims, because most of the time these products have been highly processed and they are not good for us. also we can start shopping at the farmers market because they offer fresh "organic" products.

In my opinion it will be hard for me and my family to follow some of Pollan’s ideas because it is very hard to change peoples habits. One of the hardest things will be to start shopping at the farmers market, because there aren't many available around my neighborhood, therefore we wont have no choice but to go to the regular supermarket and buy the items we need, also when we need to buy something urgently and the first choice will be to purchase whatever is near around me. Some "organic markets" are far and this will make it difficult for us to stick to "fresh products" Also prices have a big influence on people when it comes to eating healthier, many products like milk, tomatoes, vegetables, etc..,  are very expensive and we won’t be able to afford to get everything “organic” and we won’t have no choice but to buy the product that is cheaper .

Some of Pollan's ideas that are impossible for us to do right now as a family is to be able to plant a garden in our apartment, because we don't have the space or the time to take care of it .Another impossible thing is to be able to eat lots of vegetables in restaurants, because many restaurants all they offer is "junk foods" like burgers, fries and chicken fingers and when they do offer these "greens" (vegetables), sometimes they are not fresh or haven't been properly cleaned.

blog # 13

                                                             “Bottled water is safer than tap water”

It’s believed that “bottled water is safer than tap water” because people think that it comes from a special island or factory, but what people don’t realize is that tap water its the safes because is regulated by the EPA and FDA. In my opinion I disagree with this myth because what companies are trying to do is make us “scare” by saying that drinking tap water is going to make us sick and carries germs . 

There is a big completion out there, companies like Fiji or Poland spring are trying to makes us believe that tap water is not “safe to drink.” In my experience from drinking tap water I have never gotten sick or had any issues. Every time I go to the gym I drink "tap water", I drink it all the time when I’m having dinner or when I’m at work or a restaurant, even Michael Bloombeg the mayor of New York city has said it many times “tap water is safe to drink” because is tested regularly and is “affordable” in order words is “free”.  Why not listen to a man that has made billions of dollar, plus he is running one of the best cities in the United states.

To help debunk this myth further I can try to encourage friend and family to stop buying bottle water and drink more tap water.  I can also show them the video “the story of the bottled water”  to see if they can stop supporting this water companies and maybe safe money and more importantly safe the environment.

Blog # 12

                                                          Fat Land

 When reviewing "fat land" Elizabeth kolbert reports that, we are getting "fatter" because companies/ vendors are trying to attract customers by selling larger meals. I agree with the report because many restaurants and movie theaters nowadays offer super "sized meals" for a cheap price, some restaurants also offer the buy one get one free drink or meal.

 New York City is full of movie theaters, where most of them offer the "jumbo size" meal. Mr David wellerstein had a lot of success when he introduced it in his movie theaters in the early nineteen sixties, now a board of directors for McDonald. He has also helped introduce the same value meals and is also a success. People instead of buying regular small meals weather is McDonald's, Chinese food, or drinks at the bar, people very often rather pay fifty cents more and get the super sized meal or the buy one get one free drink. I can also say that I take part in buying this, specials because for example: if I go to the movie theaters with friend or family we always buy the super sized nachos or nuggets or if we go to a bar we will get four drinks instead of two.

  

 Bars and restaurants have many ways to make the customer spend money and one of them is by offering big meal for a small amount of money and many times this meals are not healthy for the body, but we continue to eat it and support it. Reason why? is because we think we are being offered a good deal. As Mr wallerestein said it "they don't want to eat two bags and we don't want to look like gluttons" so instead of looking like "gluttons" what we do is we get the bigger meal when we are placing our order.