Edited Descriptive Writing Response

               I approached the large golden arches from far away. As I near the tall square building, I roll down my window to smell the golden fries that cook nonstop. I drive up to the large, square, black menu with all of the similar (but made in a different way), items to choose from. I concentrate on the board for a minute and then I move up to the large speaker to order. I move up again after that, going to the next window to pay the small amount for my large meal. I wait for my white paper bag with a large “M” lettered arch printed on the front. As the worker opens the window to hand me the food, I see and hear the business of the fast food restaurant and smell all of the mouthwatering food. I take my bag, drive off and the car fills with the smells of salty fries and chicken. I open up the bag like its a present on christmas morning and steal a few scolding hot fries. They scorch the tip of my tongue so I close the bag and wait till I arrive home. 

                When I get home I sit at the table, open the bag and lay out my food on a plate. I take a bottle of ketchup from the refrigerator and smother my warm fries with tomatoey, high-fructose corn syrupy, goodness. I grab a few fries again, tasting the salty crispy crunch. Then, I take a bite of my chicken sandwich with a golden bun, soft and crispy chicken and loads of mayonnaise that seep out when you take a bite. When I reach the last few bites, I often become sad and when I’m done, I feel tired and sleepy. I was definitely lovin’ it. 

Descriptive Writing Assignment

            I approached the large golden arches from far away. As I near the tall square building, I roll down my window to smell the golden fries that cook nonstop all day. I drive up to the large, square, black menu with all of the delectable items to choose from. I concentrate on the board for a minute and then I move up to the large speaker to order. I move up again after that, going to the next window to pay the small amount for my large meal. I move up to the last window and wait for my white paper bag with a large “M” lettered arch printed on the front. As the worker opens the window to hand me the food, I see and hear the business of the fast food restaurant and smell all of the mouthwatering food. I take my bag, drive off and the car fills with the smells of salty fries and chicken. I open up the bag like its a present on christmas morning and steal a few scolding hot fries. They scorch the tip of my tongue so I close the bag and wait till I arrive home. 

            I sit at the table, open the bag and lay out my food on a plate. I take a bottle of ketchup from the refrigerator and smother my warm fries with tomatoey, high-fructose corn syrupy, goodness. I grab a few fries and eat them, tasting the salty crispy crunch. Then, I take a bite of my chicken sandwich with a golden bun, soft and crispy chicken and loads of mayonnaise that seep out when you take a bite. When I do reach the last few bites, I often become sad.

            When I’m done, I feel tired and sleepy so I lay my bloated belly on the couch for a while. After a McDonald’s meal, you can call me a couch potato because that’s what it makes me want to do. I feel satisfied afterwards and sometimes I even feel a little bit too full, even if I didn’t eat very much. 

Cafeteria Food

                Hello to whoever is reading this. The other day at school, I visited the school cafeteria during my break. When I got there, I was expecting something totally different than what I had found out. I thought that there would be fresh and healthy food, or at least somewhat, but I discovered the total opposite. There wasn't a large variety of options but there was basically all fried foods and a small area for salads. I try to eat as little fried food as possible because its so fattening. So, I instinctively went toward the salad bar.
                The vegetables looked really dry and old and looked like they were very low quality. It wasn't the most pleasing sight at lunch time. There was a choice between grilled and crispy chicken and I asked for grilled because its obviously healthier and more nutritious. They said they were out of grilled chicken which means its pre-cooked which is gross. How hard is it to take a chicken cutlet and either fry or grill it? This makes me wonder about other food habits all fast food restaurants follow.  So, I ended up getting a turkey wrap. It was really bland in flavor and didn't impress me at all. The lettuce and tomato tasted old and it reminded me of middle school and high school cafeteria food. I ended up throwing half of it out. I definitely won't be visiting the school cafeteria anytime soon again.
                The vending machines in school are really bad. They are filled with fattening chips, cookies, carbohydrate filled granola bars (which some people think they are healthy) and soda and other sugary and salty drinks. Why can't these school provide something healthier and more nutritious? People are aware of the health hazards of school food, and some schools have tried to change there bad habits. Serving and selling all this unhealthy food adds to the amount of kids that don't eat the proper food to energize and concentrate throughout the day.
               Therefore, I believe schools should change the food the serve to the future of America because by them serving this food, they are hurting our bodies for the future. Only then will people realize the mistakes they've made throughout their lives with their poor diet habits and there is no going back after that.

BPA: Cited Annotation

Grady, Denise. "In Feast of Data on BPA Plastic, No Final Answer." New York Times. 6 Sept. 2010. Web. 20 Sept. 2010. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/science/07bpa.html>.

                

        Denise Grady describes BPA (bisphenol-A) in a negative way and how it can have bad effects on children and babies. BPA is found in a lot of plastic products such as water bottles and baby bottles, and after many people found out that it was harmful, it will not be sold by its manufacturer, Sunoco, anymore. This chemical does not only affect children. It effects anyone who is exposed by it. It can cause serious illnesses such as cancer, infertility and behavior problems and was also recently linked to childhood obesity. The European Union has a rule called "precautionary principle" that states that products should not be used until they are proven harmless. The United States has an opposite view and thinks that it would be fine to use BPA and other products, as long as it hasn't been harmful yet. 

Scientists are puzzled at this point because of all the different tests and ways that this chemical has been experimented with. BPA may also have to do with breast cancer, uterine cancer, obesity, behavior, the immune system and its association with estrogen and it can cause many different effects. Tests had been done with rats and giving them lower levels of BPA caused different and weirder effects than a higher dose would. Scientists all found different effects in there own fields of science and University’s have also done testing. At this point, Scientists are just trying to figure out exactly what it does and the different ways that it can effect us. 

Fast Food Nation: Chapter One

                Hello everyone! I have finished reading chapter one of Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser  today, and I honestly thought that it would be boring but I do like it so far. Schlosser tells you about a specific story of one entrepreneur who took risks and had great success, but in the end loses it all. Along the way, Schlosser also tells us of other fast food victories and the stories of the most successful and most popular fast food franchises today. The stories are remarkable because of the similar ways each person that started these fast food chains began. They were almost all uneducated, had a small fortune and took large risks. Today, all of those fast food chains are the biggest money makers.
                While reading chapter one, I had a few thoughts. The way that these chains made there food was most likely much different than they make it today (which is with chemicals and hormones). If these restaurnats made it like they did years ago, maybe it wouldn't be as bad for Americans and not cause all these sicknesses and diseases. When these business owners first opened there fast food restaurants up during the early 1900's, I doubt that they were thinking how different and unhealthy they would make peoples lives years to come. They just wanted to make fast cash but I don't think that they thought of the consequences of how the food was going to change and become revolutionized decades later.
               Fast food did change the entire world and without it restaurants and small businesses would be making the most money. I think that there would be less obese and unhealthy people who are  the right weight just as well. In America, there are currently 60 million obese people over the age of 20. There are 9 million obese children between the ages of 6-19. Obesity is the #2 cause of death in the United States.  I don't believe that it is a positive thing that these fast food chains were so common since so long ago. Society would definitely be much different than it is today if they had not been created.

My First Blog

                 Hello. My name is Constance. This blog is for English 103 at LaGuardia Community College in New York. In this blog we are starting to research ethics of food. I eat certain foods and stay away from others. This is because I know what is done to certain foods that our harmful to our bodies presently and in the future.
                 I will not often cook at home because my parents take care of that, but I do cook when I'm home alone and just because I sometimes like to. Usually, my parents do all of the food shopping but I will go with them once in a while. When they shop for groceries they go to a number of different places. They go to a regular supermarket, fruit and vegetable store or traditional European food stores that sell specialty items that you would not find in a regular supermarket. Lately, I've been eating a bit unhealthy but I usually eat lots of vegetables, grains, and chicken. I have been a vegetarian in the past but I became very unhealthy and sick because I was not getting the proper nourishment. So, I have decided to only eat chicken and do not eat any red meat but it can be very unhealthy. I eat a lot of fruits and my favorite are probably kiwi and mango. My other favorite foods are probably traditional dishes that originate from my culture. They are made with thick sauces and vegetables, rice, meat, and cheeses and I really enjoy them. I periodically order take out and I love chinese food and eating it is a really bad habit of mine but I guess it's okay once in a while.
                 Sometimes I'm not even sure what I'm eating when I get food from fast foods restaurants or fast food restaurants but it definitely tastes good. The same goes for these large fast food franchises in that people don't really know what they are eating. They sell cheap meat, make lots of profit and thousands of people turn obese and unhealthy. They also end up have many health issues like diabetes and high cholesterol and thousands of other health concerns. People want the quickest, cheapest and fastest food that they can get.
                I want to say that I know where my food comes from but I probably don't. I do have an idea about what farmers and big food companies do to their food to increase the profit that they can receive. These poor farm animals are being tortured, crammed into cages with other animals, being fed cheap food and using hormones instead to grow them bigger than ever. If people actually knew what they were really eating I don't think they would ever look at there cheeseburger or box of fried chicken the same way ever again. The same thing goes for fruits and vegetables. Farmers grow crops with hormones to grow the produce larger to make more profit and increase the value. They also use harmful pesticides that can make us sick.
                In conclusion to my first post, I am somewhat aware of the dangers of the food we put into our bodies. I would like to learn more of where food comes from to educate myself with smart decisions on what and what not to eat. I think its important to eat healthy foods that can help energize your body everyday and not hurt you in the future.