The Physiology of Taste is a book that was written in 1948 in France. I chose to read this book because it sounded interesting and I thought that from the sounds of the description my background in physiology would benefit me reading this book. So far that is accurate however I am sure that no scientific background would really be needed in reading this for the author explains what he is writing in great detail. The only difficult part of reading this book is the wording that is used and the sentence structure, this has been translated from French so I am not surprised that it is a bit of a challenge to read.
Anyway, the book begins with the author describing the senses that we all possess, he explains that there are six. When I first read this I was slightly confused because I only recall having five senses unless you count seeing dead people like from the movie The Sixth Sense... However, this is not what Brillat-Savarin was referring to when describing the sixth sense, he considered the senses to consist of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and genesic or physical love. In the beginning of this book he explains how the senses are the basis of how we live and how they play a huge role in every aspect of our lives. The reasoning for considering physical love one of the senses is because it is what brings us to the act of reproduction which is in turn how we continue a species to exist. The continuation of a species is the main goal of life on Earth.
In the second mediation, or chapter, the definition of taste is described. I would personally describe taste as being the sensation exhibited after ingesting something, I say "something" because it may not always be a type of food... However when it boils down to it, really what is food? Is it really anything we eat or is it only particles that benefit our bodies after digestion? I don't know the answer but I will not assume that food is anything that is put into our bodies. Anyway, according to Google the definition of taste is the sensation of flavor perceived in the mouth and throat on contact with a substance. Brillat-Savarin explains that taste is the one of our senses which places us in relation with sapid bodies by means of the sensation they produce in the organ destined to appreciate them.
The next few mediations refer to the origin of the sciences, the definition of appetite, on food in general, and special kinds of food. From these last mediations the most informative piece of information I thought for this blog would be about the explanation of food in the mediation about food in general. I already said that I was not sure what "food" really is however Brillat-Savarin explains that the popular answer is that food is everything that nourishes us. He further examines the scientific answer which is: we understand by food the substances which, submitted to the stomach, can be assimilated by digestion, and repair the losses which the human body suffers by the wear and tear of life.
Ohhh the Hunger Games... This book is full of adventure, friendship, hate, and most of all survival. We are taken along for the journey of Katniss Everdeen's experience with the Hunger Games and through her eyes we are learning of her experiences with all that is changing every so quickly in her life. Katniss volunteered as tribute in place of her sister, Primrose, because she could not bear allowing Prim to take part in the games. This, in the beginning, shows a lot about Katniss's character, she is a very caring individual of the people close to her. However there are not many people that Katniss is close with, really it is only her sister and best friend, Gale. She has her guard up with most people because the life she has lived made her callused and standoff-ish. However once Katniss becomes close with anyone she shows the truest sincerity in her actions and it is obvious that her friendship would be a great one to have. After the reaping Katniss and Peeta are taken away that day, straight to the capitol to begin the festivities of the Games. This would be hard for anyone who had to endure this experience but it is especially difficult for Katniss because she fears what will become of her family.
Once the games began Katniss continues to show her independence in the way she proceeds with her own survival. However, she becomes very close with another tribute, Rue, from district 11. Rue and Katniss converse about their own districts and learn a lot about one another. In district 11 the main job is crop picking, Rue explains that they are not allowed to eat anything they pick for they will be publicly beaten. This reminds me a lot of slavery and how many migrant workers are treated. Also, another aspect of Rue's life that reminds me of the migrant workers around the world today is that during the harvest season residents of District 11 are not allowed to go to school. They spend the entirety of the harvest season working and lose many of the opportunities that they could have if they attend school. Throughout this period of the games Katniss and Rue develop a comforting friendship, but it is quickly ended when Rue gets killed by other tributes. This really affects Katniss and she deals with the pain by giving Rue a proper 'funeral' by placing flowers around her body and taking the time to care for her. This also shows a lot about Katniss, the fact that she is taking the time during a dangerous situation to care for a newly made friend demonstrates that Katniss truly is a caring individual even though the front she puts up seems so tough and selfish in a way.
On Friday our class went to the JBS Slaughterhouse in Plainwell, Michigan. I was unable to attend because I had class but luckily I was able to hear all about the experience on Monday from my classmates. Also, we had a guest speaker come in who was able to tell us about his past experiences working at JBS. I found all of this to be really interesting and I really wish I could have attended the trip. A lot of people I say that to think it is weird that I wish I could have gone, but in reality when will I ever have that opportunity again? I know that going on that trip could very well have skewed my outlook on eating meat but sometimes I think that is what we need to happen in order to realize certain things in life. I am not saying I want to be grossed out but it is one thing to hear about what I am eating and it is another thing to see first hand where my food comes from. There were many pieces of information that my classmates spoke of from the trip that sounded awful, such as still being able to smell the scent of the blood at the slaughterhouse, I definitely would not want that memory to stick. Also, hearing about how the cows died was sad to hear, but at the same time it is somewhat what I expected to happen and I was happy to know that it was being handled in a humane manner. However, I would not have necessarily wanted to see that...
There were many really interesting questions posed by my classmates during our discussion about the trip. One student brought up how all of the employees are given knives and what would happen if a strike broke out, would that be really dangerous? Also, we discussed how the employees are affected by the constant killing of animals and how do they deal with doing and being around that all day everyday... Another thing I did not realize is that every part of the cows is sold somewhere, even the blood! I could not think of what they did with the blood, but then our guest speaker informed us that it is used in cosmetics and many other things that we use on a regular basis. It is so interesting to hear about stuff that I use and would have never guessed some of the ingredients. I am slightly bothered by some of what I have learned but I am also happy to have gained a better understanding of everything too. I would rather know where my food and other products come from and be appalled than be completely clueless.
I really hope that the next trip my class takes I will be able to attend because I really felt like I missed out and I would like to gain more from these experiences!
I read the beginning and the very end of The Jungle, reading the end was a bit difficult at first because I did not know the reasons behind why certain things were happening to Jurgis and also I was confused as to where the rest of the characters had gone to because it seemed as if Jurgis was the only person left in the beginning of chapter 27. As the chapters progressed I obtained a better understanding of what was happening, also reading blogs from my classmates that read earlier chapters gave me a great insight as to what was going on!
Anyway, from my own reading I learned of the new hardships Jurgis had to deal with. Jurgis had become unemployed and was searching for a new job but did not have any luck. He originally lost his job for three months due to an injury and was then not welcomed back after his injury healed. This caused great difficulty for Jurgis for he was barely finding ways to obtain food everyday.
I learned that in earlier chapters Jurgis and Ona had finally had the chance to have a proper wedding and then gave birth to a healthy child. After some time, Ona had died during the birth of their second child and, if that was not enough, Jurgis' son had drowned. Once it had seemed like things could not get worse Jurgis decided to leave Marija and Elzbieta, this all happened before chapter 27.
Where I picked up Jurgis had become a beggar and a thief, he of course did not have a choice for it was not his fault that he could not find work. After he had spent his last pennies on stale beer he was left to literally beg at people on the street for money for a meal or whatever he could get out of them. One evening he was going to beg from a woman and then realized that he knew her! After a short conversation between the two, the woman gave Jurgis directions to the home that Marija was living at and he immediately went to see her... After arrival to the home, the police had showed up and were arresting everyone. This was confusing at first for Jurgis, and myself, but it soon became clear that Marija was living in a brothel. Jurgis was, of course, taken aback by this new job Marija had attained, but she claimed that it was fine and that she was making plenty of money and that she needed to in order to put her family to sleep at night with food in their bellies and a roof over their heads. I found this segment to be the most interesting and the most difficult to understand. I was sickened to learn that the women in the brothel were drugged everyday and made victim to the madame who ran the house. Some girls were drugged up so much that they literally had no idea as to what was going on and most became so drugged that their addictions took place and caused them to go into much debt. The debt the women faced was so great that they were basically blackmailed into staying at the house. It really does sadden me to know that there are places like that, even now, where women are taken complete advantage of and most of the time drawn into because they think they will be doing something different or they were kidnapped.
There were many other things that happened at the end of this book but I really found the prostitution and the lifestyles of these poor begging people to be so sad and important to understand.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is about immigrants coming to the United States and the hardships that they faced when trying to find work, a home to live in, establishing themselves in a new community, and much more.
Chapter two is where we started our reading for this book and it begins with a family from Lithuania moving to Chicago, United States. They moved there because they heard about the glories of America and wanted to experience the freedom and lifestyles they heard they could obtain there. Once the family of twelve moved to America they instantly faced difficult times, at first they could not find their destination, Chicago, and when they did, it was not what they were expecting. Luckily, after brief searching, the family found Jokubas Szedvilas, a Lithuanian immigrant who owns a deli on Halsted Street in Chicago. They were searching for Szedvilas because they had heard about how he moved here and became very well off in America and he was partially their inspiration to leave their homeland. In the beginning of their time in Chicago they were renting a small place to live, however they were paying $9.00 a month to live in conditions that were not suitable for such a large family. Once most of the family had found work they learned about the potential of buying a home and having the option of paying it off in increments of $12.00 a month after the initial $300.00 down payment. This sounded like such a great deal at first that they jumped on it and went to speak with the man they could purchase a home from. He explained to them that the houses would not be on the market for very long so they had to make their decision quickly, this stressed the family out because they had difficulty communicating with English speaking people and they also did not have very much money to work with at first. Finally, the family decided to look at a home and, although it was not everything that they had hoped for, decided to make the purchase. However, the actual time of deed signing was very stressful, they were very afraid that they were being mislead and had trouble deciding if this was a good idea, until they acquired a lawyer, who ended up making the decision more of a stressor than something exciting, and they accepted the offer. Afterwards, the decision seemed like a terrible idea and there was a lot of regret, until another lawyer was consulted and they realized that the deal was accurate to what they were told in the beginning and the home was theirs, they actually had a home of their own!
Finding work was another big obstacle that the family faced, they had to take jobs that did not pay the best but they were happy to have obtained anything they could get. One of the main characters, Jurgis Rudkus, acquired a job fairly quickly at the Durham meatpacking industry. This was a good job for him at first because, for one it was a job and he needed one desperately, it payed okay and he was able to work a lot of hours. However, after a short period of time he began to realize the many downfalls of the meatpacking industry and this started to affect his outlook on the wonders of living in America... The industry was dirty, dangerous, and the employers were not very kind to the immigrant workers.
Overall, the first few chapters of this book really emphasize the struggles that immigrants faced when coming to America and the difficult adjustments they had to overcome.
Here we are in this wonderful country, sitting in our warm homes and probably thinking about what delicious item might be for dinner tonight. Well, this is not the case for everyone, there are many people in America who are also wondering what might be for dinner but that is because they do not know how they may eat tonight. In 2012, 49 million American lived in food insecure homes, this is a very large number when you consider how many people there are that waste food on a regular basis...
The topic of my main concern is the health and lifestyle of college students, the future people of our country, my own fellow classmates, and the people who are facing such tough times only because they are following the role that society puts upon them. In our generation it is taught that going to college is crucial and this is pretty accurate. If one does not have a college degree the chances of having a career that will support them and potential family is very limited. However, college students are becoming more and more poor just to attain this degree that seems to determine their future. The increase in tuition for colleges is decreasing but what students are actually paying to attend college is on the rise. The average student loan debt of a college student is $29,400, this is a hefty amount of debt for someone coming out of school and jumping into a career that they will likely have to climb up the pay scale in. With most students having this in mind they are trying to save their money, but saving is hard when there are fees such as book costs, supplies for school, room and board, transportation, and the big one, food. So many students are struggling to afford the necessities of college and are then left at the end of the night wondering how they will afford food for the week ahead...
For the sake of my fellow peers and the future leaders of our country, I propose an act to alleviate hunger among college students nation wide. Since there is so much food that is wasted everyday by those who can afford an abundance of food and because there are many students that find it easier and cheaper to retrieve their meals from restaurants and fast food joints, I propose the restaurant waste smoothie.
This is a very simple strategy and would help many people who find cost and time difficult things to overcome in their everyday lives. What would take place is as follows: when a meal is ordered at a restaurant and not finished the server is to empty the scraps off of the plates and dispose of them into the 'student waste box' and then every few hours, or when the box is full, the scraps within it will be blended together to make a smoothie. These smoothies will be distributed to the college students who are facing difficulty in acquiring meals that week.
There are many benefits to this program; first of all food waste will be diminished, second students can put their money towards school related necessities and not have to worry about becoming malnourished, and finally every meal is a surprise! Chances are that every smoothie will be packed with protein and other nutritional benefits that a striving student would need.
There are many times that it seems like 'bad things happen to good people', the story And the Earth Did not Devour Him portrays this relatable feeling in an eye opening way. Often I feel like the world is against me, there are many times that are very difficult, whether it be from the tedious tasks in school that I face every week or the hardships I face in my personal life. But in reality I have it pretty good. Yes, school is extremely tough at times but I know that is because I chose a very hard major and I realize that in choosing such a difficult career path I have to be able to face and endure tasks that I don't always want to do. Also, there are many hardships that make life seem really tough at times, but it is important to remember that we are not alone and that everyone has days where life seems a bit more difficult than others.
Last summer a friend of mine, one of the kindest and most giving people I know, was diagnosed with leukemia... I remember when I received the call giving me the terrible news, I had the biggest pit in my stomach and I immediately broke down, however after the feeling of sadness dissipated, I was left with a feeling of anger. My initial angry thought was "Why her? Why does someone, who is so sweet and full of kindness, deserve to be stricken with such a terrible illness?" It wasn't fair. It took me a while to get over that feeling of anger, I could not wrap my head around the reason my friend had leukemia... I realized after a while that it doesn't matter who you are or how you act in life, sometimes bad things just happen and we must take from that what we can. After finding out about my friends cancer I became more aware and thankful for my own health and the health of the rest of my friends and family, it made me realize that life cannot be taken for granted because we never know what is coming around the corner.
And the Earth Did not Devour Him is about a boy who faces the ever pondered question of why bad things really do happen to those who don't deserve them. His aunt and uncle had fallen ill and then his father and brother, he did not understand that sometimes things are out of our hands. This story saddend me because not only were good people getting sick but it was because they were forced to work in conditions that were not safe. They were not only undeserving of illness but I felt that they did not deserve to have to live the way they were. The life of these migrant workers is sad, they face hardships that I could not imagine entirely, no matter how hard I tried. I really did enjoy this story though because it brought those feelings I face into another perspective, I understand that although bad things can happen to anyone, no matter how much good karma should be on your side, when I face my own hardships that I do not think I deserve I should just be thankful for the good things I do have in my life. Also, I especially enjoyed the final paragraph to this story, it was about a boy wishing his life away just to know the ending. There are quite a few things that I am facing currently that I wish I knew the outcome of, such as what is going to happen in a couple months when I graduate from college and where will I be, literally I have no idea where graduation will take me. However, as much as I long to know what is going to happen in my near future, I also want to be sure not to wish the time I have now away. Time is a very precious thing, it is baffling to realize that we really do not know what kind of time we are dealing with, our lives could change drastically any day and there is no way of predicting what could happen. I interpreted this particular reading in my own way and took from it that it is important to be thankful for what I have right now in my present life and for the people I love and care about, for anything could happen tomorrow.
The story Cajas de carton by Francisco Jimenez was about him and his family and how they had to move around for work. It has been made clear to me, from all of the literature in this course, that in order for many of these people to make ends meet they have to constantly search for work and many times move from place to place. There are many people who choose careers that require them to move around and they are happy with that, but the difference between those people and this family is that the Jimenez family did not choose this life, they are forced to live this way, and they are not happy. The thought of having to pick up everything and leave at any moment saddens me, I could not imagine coming home from school one day and having my whole house packed up into boxes and having to just leave! The worst part of this story was when Francisco had finally felt happy and his teacher was going to teach him how to play the trumpet and then he was so excited to tell his family but when he arrived home he was sadly surprised with everything being packed up and it was time for them to move again...
