Reflection on this course

There are two main affects that this course had on me as a student. First, which isn't exactly specific to this course, writing hard and writing often naturally is going to make you a better writer. In my revisions that I did I found significant themes in my writing that now I can look for while I write. After a first draft generally nothing is missing from my writing as far as conclusions that can be made go, but I don't use other sources as well as I could fist time around. Also usually everything I process in a paper is useful in my work but maybe not in the place where I put it the first time.

I have adopted the Malcom Gladwell mentality as a student this quarter. I am not an inherently exceptional writer or student in general. But because I want to be exceptional in both of those things I have used all the will-power I have to continually take the time to try and become an expert off of hard work and dedication. This class has helped me do that because of the revision process, where often times I would spend more time revising than I did creating the first draft.

The last thing pertains to research. I found that instead of trying to manipulate other people's work to fit your argument you will have the best results if you take their argument and aplpy it to yours even if it doesn't quite fit or challenges parts of it. Finding the middle-ground between two arguments creates a more dynamic argument than keeping your argument linear as possible with sources.

Why Chai Tea is Bro

On a cold windy day nothing is better than a warm cup of tea. When the natural scents flow through your nose and warm fluid swim down your throat it is impossible to not fell comforted. The best of these comfort teas is chai. Not only does it smell and taste delicious, but is in incredibly soothing to the throat as it journeys to your stomach, making it the ultimate loyal friend when cough and flu seasons hit. Different from most other traditional teas, chai makes sure to kick you with some spice, like a friend who is comforting, but also hold you to a high standard of performance.

Chai has been around for centuries, in fact probably forever. Native to India, Indians have been reaping in its benefits sense the dawn of time, and as soon as the spice markets opened in western civilization, the love that is chai began to spread. Eastern spices and delicacies have not always been a great thing for the west, however. Opium introduced by the Chinese has proven to be a societal disaster for centuries. This thought has triggered some personal reflection of the health consequences that chai tea brings, taken in reflection of my present bro-life, and bro - life to come.

Because of the compulsive culture that America is, it is important to not know simply what a little chai in our lives do, but also what an oversized mass of it does as well. Everyone talks about binge drinking with alcohol, but what would the implications of binge drinking chai tea be? There is no research to support this yet, however I do know that for me personally, I cannot afford chai tea from Kaladi’s coffee shop or I would have 2 – 3 cups a day. Despite this immediate situation, pretty soon I will be rich enough to start my own chai tea sweatshop where I can get the most delicious of teas delivered to my front door step, then being prepared by my midget butler. In preparation for this next stage of life, let’s look how chai affects health as I attempt to lose as little of my innate brodom as possible.

According to a study done in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, “Dutch researchers at the Unilever Food and Health Research Institute conducted a study to test their theory that theaflavins in black tea may inhibit the formation of dietary mixed micelles, thus reducing the intestinal absorption of cholesterol” (via livestrong.com). What this means is that by day I can continue to eat the red meat I need to ensure that my supplements are absorbing correctly after lifting while not having to continually bat my eyes at oversized cholesterol levels. As men get older, life takes its toll. With sexual health taking a soft turn downward, impressive physiques rounding out, and society telling us we can no longer bro out like we could in our prime, knowing we can at least enjoy red meat to its fullest extent is vital in keeping our man identity at full-fledged strength.

In another study conducted by Indiana Universities Health Benefits of Tea Chai Tea also acts as an anti-inflamatory, antioxidant, and digestive aid. This is why chai tea is so chill. Say you get in a fight at your local neighborhood Taco Bell. Your face will not swell up as much for your CEO meeting to discuss factory worker rights in the AM, and you will be able to digest your Taco Bell like it was Life cereal. This is why I think of Chai Tea like a really bro after a rough party, allowing you to heal and get better while being a pleasure to be with. In the words from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine "Chai Tea, like the human body, is a homogenous mixture of many compounds acting and reacting together to create harmony." This harmony is something great where a combination of things make fragmented things that are average on their own come together to create a holistic experience, product, and overall lifestyle. Think of your favorite bar. It isn't the place's structure, women, or beer alone that makes you enjoy it, but all of these put together. Chai tea emulates your favorite bar., but is good for you all the time. 

Food Journal Similarities

Because the weekend has more free time, I feel like people avoided the dining halls more than they would be able to during the week. As people take a break from school work, it makes sense to take a break from other mundane routines as well, like dining hall food. I am sure that it being late in spring quarter people avoid them more than they would have in the fall. Weekend is a time to celebrate, and the way people eat on the weekend reflect that.

Food journal from a weekend at home

Friday - best eating day in a long long time


Chai Tea - Too much cinnamon not enough noticeable spice.

The Pink Door. Restaurant in Seattle. Best meal of my life.

Breakfast/Lunch (I slept late) - Dungeness Crab Caeser Salad - Wedge of lettuce, Parmesan cheese, light dressing (a lot of anchovies used in this batch), crab on top.

Clam linguine with spicy oil and lemon - Clams on top of linguine pasta spiced with red peppers, lemon, and some other magic that was too good to be true. This dish was one that made every other meal of the weekend fall short of the possibility of perfection. In fact, this dish made me believe in an elevated level of achieved excellence.

Wheat Bread - I dipped a full loaf of bread in the pasta sauce from my linguine because it was perfect. I ate bread and got it refilled till there was no more sauce to be enjoyed.


Home Cooked Dinner -

T-Bone steak - Marinated in italian dressing, ate around 16 oz. of steak.

BBQ'd Asparagus - exactly what it sounds life. Mmmmmm.



Making up for lack of Breakfast -

Dicks Drive In - Seattle's staple drive in. Hugely popular for all the right reasons.

Feast your eyes on the Dicks Deluxe:

1/4 pound of delicious ground beef, cheddar cheese, and a ground up mix of lettuce, mayonnaise, pickles, and Dicks special sauce. This burger is still #1 in my book and I would invite all challenges to find me a better one. Combine this with a chocolate shake, and these fries:

As you can tell, they are more than the simple thinly cut potato. These fries are floppy because of how they are only lightly fried. The real taste of farmed potatoes really comes through because of it not being overcome by the fatty oils that most restaurants douse their fries in. I am going to stop talking about this meal now because it is making me hungry and homesick. Dick's is too good to be true.



Saturday - Woke up late for the hike we had planned to had to grab and go from a Safeway. I proceeded to eat the worst chipotle wrap imaginable. I ate half of it until my heart burn told me to stop. It had chicken in some sort of hummus like paste with jalapenos. It tasted like a mistake.

Lunch -Casa D's Burrito - Sense I was home I got to head to another one of my favorite restaurant. White tortilla with a strip of melted colby jack cheese with rice and brown beans. Carne Asada in mass is what makes the burrito so delicious. After that add spicy pico de gallo, salsa verde, 1000 island dressing, and a line of level 10 habenero misery that I only get to overcompensate for my personal shortcomings. Everyone has something to prove. They give you a handful of tortilla chips to go along with it that help through the level of spice scorching the tongue.

Jarrito Mango Soda - made with 100% REAL cane sugar, Dios se bendiga Mexico!


Dinner - My favorite meal my mom cooks.

Chicken Pesto Pasta - honeycomb shaped pasta that traps the pesto in its tunnels. Barbecued chicken cut up and added to the whole dish. I ate so much of this it was too delicious.

Caeser salad - simple light homemade dressing on lettuce wedge.

Garlic Bread - crispy bread baked with garlic oil on top to add moisture.


Dessert - chocolate brownie, vanilla ice cream, raspberries, and chocolate syrup on top. My mom spoiled me.


Sunday - Mother's day. Generally, this day is not ideal for eating because men make food for the women of the household, and men are less able to make the most delicious of meals. However, I had the joy of having my two generations of mothers in my house, so my mom cooked a delicious breakfast.

Asparagus Keesh - classic keesh with spinach and asparagus. I had 2 or 3 bites, eggs are not my thing as the primary foundation of a meal.

Bacon - classic bacon. fairly thick in the way it was cut.

Bulgarian Buttermilk Pancakes - Called bulgarian buttermilk on the package, I bet it means nothing.

Simply Orange Juice with Mango - bottled orange juice

Fresh Raspberries

Maple Syrup


Late afternoon Lunch - I ate the rest of the pasta. So good.


Late Night Dinner - Illegal Pete's Burrito - Wheat tortilla, black beans, white rice, pesto, lettuce, tomatoes. Enjoyed with tortilla chips.

Olive Oil, beautiful to taste, touch, and sight

A lot of the pleasure that comes from eating is through a psycho-physical process called haptics. Haptics refers to the sense of touch, specifically involving nonverbal communication. The etymology of this word dates back to ancient Greece associated with joining together, or fastening to. Every meal, you come together with what you are eating, which is why when someone has a bug or hair in their food the meal immediately becomes much less appetizing. If one thinks of the haptics of a hug or kiss, it brings much more pleasure to the individuals involved (assumed that there is mutual agreement with those involved). The same is true with eating. Food’s texture, temperature, and overall way it feels while eating communicates to our bodies how to feel about our immediate eating experience. This phenomenon is taken into consideration by amateur to professional chefs when preparing even the simplest of meals.

Through this consideration come the blends and alterations of certain dishes, with specific foods having the sole purpose of simply adding to the haptics of the eating experience. Let’s take olive oil for example. Nobody buys a bottle off expensive olive oil in order to enjoy it by itself, but rather to spread it over certain parts of foods in their preparation in hopes to add softening, moisture, and flavor.

Think of pesto, a personal favorite addition to a sandwich or pasta dish, and its ingredients. They read as follows: 3 cups packed fresh basil leaves, 4 cloves garlic, 3/4 , cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup pine nuts, 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional). If you were to simply puree all of these ingredients together without the olive oil, it would be dry and grainy. But with the olive oil added, the arid mixture transcends into an oasis of textured flavor for an enhanced paste of unrivaled taste.

Olive oil brings cohesion to meals, and for me personally is one of my favorite single ingredient that plays a vital role in making tastes blend, and for that I owe it attention deeper than acknowledging its existence. Olive oil has been used for centuries and not simply for eating.

In Thomas Mueller’s book Extra Virginity he explores Olive oil’s historical use and significance as well as the evolution of what makes olive oil great. Mueller is not just an olive oil enthusiast as far as eating goes, his life is completely embedded in olives, literally. Living in the countryside of Genoa Italy, his “stone medieval farm house” (described by Dwight Garner of the New York Times) is surrounded by olive groves (Garner 1).  In his raunchy (hence the name Extra Virginity) nonfiction narrative he explores different historical uses while making sexual innuendos and jokes about olive oil’s place throughout time.

Mueller writes on olive oils place in ancient Greece, where athletes were “anointed … with olive oil, which could be rather sexy” (Garner 1). Muller continues by referencing UC Riverside professor who states “The oil on a gleaming, tanned, healthy body was a literally ‘flashy’ adornment. Oil heightened the body’s erotic charge, and encouraged male same-sex desire and pederasty, first in Sparta, then throughout the Greek world” (Garner 1). Olive oil seemed to be a symbol of physical beauty in ancient Greece as well as a part of sexualized culture. The way the oil feels on the bodies of ancient Greek citizens (again, haptics) made individuals not only more conscious of other’s beauty around them, but also their individual desire to express their own.

In America we see the olive branch all the time, as it is clenched in the right talon of the bald eagle that is our nation’s official seal. According to Wikipedia, the olive branches are meant to symbolize peace for our nation.  And with olive oil being such a popular cooking tool, in order to keep the peace of the people it is important that there is no shortage.

Huge parts of Italian lands are dedicated to growing olives for olive oil. According to UC Davis’ school of agriculture, “the output of olive oil is about 435,000 metric tons annually, which represents 25% of the world’s production” (Vossen 4). Another fascinating fact is that the “average per capita consumption of olive oil in Italy is 48 cups per person compared to about 2.5 cups per person in the US” (Vossen 4). The Mediterranean history is so full of olive oil that it continues to be a staple in the diets of its inhabitants, whereas in America we use it, but it does not carry the same meaning in our lives.

One part of olives that excite Americans as well as other people around the world is the fact that  “Recent studies have shown that extravirgin olive oil contains an abundance of phenolic antioxidants including simple phenols (hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol), aldehydic secoiridoids, flavonoids and lignans (acetoxypinoresinol, pinoresinol)” (Owen 1). Sense we are all fortunate enough to know exactly what all that means, I will humor you by putting it into ‘normal’ people’s terms. The way that certain components of olive oil react with specific fatty acids discourage the chance of mutations that become cancerous. This is being continually studied, however even the chance of it being true gives more excuse to dip bread in some greeny gold oil and relax in its deliciousness.

Overall, olive oil is one of the greatest foods to eat. It is incredibly pleasing to eat, has rich history, is affiliated with sex as well as peace (both great things), and can help cure cancer. To be honest everything I researched on olive oil just made me love it more. Even its production is as good for the earth as food comes. Mostly grown in its native environment and harvested by the same people that have been doing so for thousands of years, I would almost conclude the reason it tastes so good is because the earth responds so positively to the way in which its production has stayed true. In a food industry that is generally unsustainable to the earth, this is a great thing.

Works Cited

Garner, Dwitght. "Olive Oil’s Growers, Chemists, Cooks and Crooks." New York Times [New York] 11 Dec 2011, n. pag. Print. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/08/books/extra-virginity-by-tom-mueller-a-word-on-olive-oil-review.html?_r=2>.

Owen, R.W. "The antioxidant/anticancer potential of phenolic compounds isolated from olive oil."European Journal of Cancer. 36.10 (2000): 1235-1247. Print. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959804900001039>.

Vossen, Paul. "http://cesonoma.ucdavis.edu/files/27190.pdf."ucdavis.edu. UC Davis, n.d. Web. 9 May 2012. <http://cesonoma.ucdavis.edu/files/27190.pdf>.

Food industry: out of sight out of mind

With the world being increasingly industrialized and factory produced, it is really hard to know where everything comes from that we eat, wear, and use in our daily lives. I would bet that everyone who reads this blog has had, if any at all, less than 5 meals where they saw where everything they ate came from. Of those who have had more meals than that, I would assume that most of those meals were enjoyed in other countries, particularly ones that are not ‘developed’ nations.

After reading these articles, I compared the idea of animals having “constitutional rights” granted throughout Europe to my experiences with animals in countries I have spent time in, like Kenya and Benin Africa. One would think that when human life is more of a struggle animals would be the ones that are forced to bite the bullet. But on the contrary, Michael Pollan’s introduction to Tamatoland suggests that our luxurious lifestyle leads to much more cruelty than a life of scraping by ever would.

In these countries animals are viewed much differently than our food industry suggests we view them. In America animals that we eat in mass, referred to as “industrial animals, are not seen as aspects of our identity or daily routines. When I spent time on a Kenyan farm, feeding the cows, sheep, and chickens was part of a routine in which the farmers saw these animals as more of a real living thing versus a pre-fabricated meal that makes noise and a mess making their industrial consumption more annoying to work through. When it was time to celebrate, there was no hesitation in killing a few chickens to feed guests or mark an achievement. Killing a chicken for every meal was out of the question because of the time it would take and cost of up keeping that many chickens in a household.

That is the key string of thought that I want to emphasize. American culture is one that is heavily influenced by the idea of things being out of mind when they were out of sight. It’s like Pollan says with our meat industry, “were the walls of our meat industry to become transparent, literally or even figuratively, we would not long continue to do it this way” (Pollan 12). When problems are clear in sight, we are good at justifying what is going on in our minds, or doing our best to ignore what is going on around us.

In my Urban Sociology class this quarter I am doing a research paper on public opinion and treatment of the homeless. With homelessness in plain sight in most areas of downtown Denver, it is impossible to keep them out of mind entirely. However very few people change their daily routines and lifestyles to try to make a positive dent in the issue of homelessness and I feel that this ‘creature of habit’ issue where we don’t enjoy going too far out of our way to make changes is also true with our food industry. A lot of educated people, like Pollan, would argue that educating the masses on this more or less social issue is what is most needed to act more righteously in how we treat animals as well as where we buy our food. However there is a deeper rooted issue here than just that, involving a change in level of empathy for other people in the case of homelessness and animals when about our food industry. I am not done with my research yet, however through it I am hoping to come to more of a conclusion on being able to more accurately diagnose the rooted issues in why social issues are not solved or take so long to make progress in. If I could make a conclusion now that I lack the evidence to prove, I would say it is a change of how we socialize our society, not how we educate them. 

What's for Dinner?

What is the most important thing about a meal to you? Is is how it is laid out on the table? Who you eat with? Or maybe is it what you eat?

Let's just say that you answered what you eat is most important to a meal, well now we have a whole other line of questions before whats most important is truly exposed. Is it the taste of what your eating? Or how good it is for you? or maybe what it reminds you of from past experiences with that food?

Let's say this time you answered how good is it for you. How do we define good though? Is it simply by different chemicals that scientists measure out all day long in labs which makes it good for us? 

With each product you buy at a grocery store, you have access to what is called the nutrition facts most of the time it is directly on the package and rarely through a website. People worship these numbers and percentages, hoping that if they follow these closely there quality of life will go through the roof. 

Or they ignore them, pretending that the tub of ice cream is a simple trip to the gym to remedy and like nothing was ever even ingested. Regardless, in American culture it is clear that what we eat and how it effects us is the forefront of food culture. Author Michael Pollan of The Omnivore's Dilemma writes that us compared to  the French, Belgium, and Japanese associate food with health the most and pleasure the least. Despite this,  they overall have better health as nations than we do and furthermore spend less time worrying about what they are eating. Thinking of food as "scientific" Americans plague their psyches, disallowing the pleasure that food can bring. 

I have yet to fully fall victim to this cultural plague, and I attempt to enjoy every meal like it is my last. However, I have indeed unwillingly lived this out vicariously with skinny girls in my high school consistently denouncing their body images. I won't get into this because it is a sensitive subject to speak on, but I think there is a correlation between lack of enjoyment of food and the idea that there is unrealistic expectations on what people are supposed to look like to be accepted and more so attractive.

At times it is frustrating with my American friends worrying so much about food and even creates divides in my friendships. It may sound trivial, but for me engulfing my stomach and tongue with other people is an experience that transcends normal interaction. Me and my brother have been downing unreal amounts of 'unhealthy' foods together for years now, and we love every second of it. 

"Kashi's GMO Controversy Rages On"

DISCLAIMER> NONE OF THESE ARE MY WORDS. This is a really interesting article that ties in to what we are talking about in this unit. 

Turns out, when you sell your cereal as a wholesome, natural alternative to mass-produced junk and then fill your boxes with genetically modified ingredients, people get angry.

Kashi, a food manufacturer that's built its brand on an identity of being healthy and earthy is being called out by Green It All's Fabrizio Pilato over an October 2011 report that contends Kashi GoLean contains high levels of GMO ingredients. UT San Diego wrote about the issue yesterday, but couldn’t get the company (owned by Kellogg’s) to comment.

So what’s really in the box? The Cornucopia report contends the brand’s “natural” claims are false. From the report:

Numerous “natural” products were indeed contaminated with high levels of GE ingredients, sometimes as high as 100%: Kashi® GoLean®, Mother’s® Bumpers®, Nutritious Living® Hi-Lo®, and General Mills Kix... Several Bear Naked® and Kashi® products contain hexane-extracted soy protein. The “hexane bath” that the soybeans are immersed in consists of more than 50% n-hexane, which is a known neurotoxin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Not surprisingly, consumers are angry. The problem basically comes down to a marketing faux-pas, since the cereals have never claimed to be organic. But because Kashi advertises itself as a natural, earthy brand—and encourages that perception—many people were unaware that GMOs are legally acceptable in their products.

The company has joined the Non-GMO project and had seven products verified as Non-GMO: 7 Whole Grain Flakes, 7 Whole Grain Pilaf, 7 Whole Grain Puffs, Autumn Wheat, Cinnamon Harvest, Island Vanilla and Strawberry Fields. Kashi GoLean isn't on the list.

In a statement released today by Cornucopia, Cornucopia claims that Kashi is misleading consumers:

For a period of time on Wednesday, April 25, Kashi’s consumer call-in line provided only a recorded message, indicating they were “temporarily” not accepting calls.  When the company again began accepting calls, a Kashi consumer affairs employee, Rick Duran, told a Cornucopia staff member that "no actual testing" of their cereal products had been performed.  This mimicked the analysis also offered in a response by the company in an online video posted that same afternoon on the Kashi Facebook page.  The video spokesperson called Cornucopia’s information "scientifically inaccurate and misleading because it was not based on actual testing of Kashi products."

"This characterization of our work by Kashi is blatantly false," said Will Fantle, Cornucopia’s Research Director.  "We purchased a readily available box of Kashi’s GoLean® cereal from a Whole Foods store.  We then sent a sample to an accredited national lab for testing, finding that the soy in the natural cereal was 100% GMO."

It's a good reminder: We can't trust companies to do the right thing when money is on the line. Want to be sure your breakfast is GMO-free? Look for the organic symbol on your box.

by Emali Nichol

http://www.takepart.com/article/2012/04/26/kashis-gmo-controversy-rages#.T6GIspVkFx8.facebook