Fast Food

                                      “Chew On This”

The book Chew On This by Eric Schlosser has changed my view about fast food companies.  I am going to stop eating fast food because of the unhealthy, unsanitary conditions and the abuse of factory workers, and animals.

       I knew eating too much junk food could cause you harm, likewise your weight, but it never concerned me.  I knew that it was so unhealthy -with all the chemicals, et cetera…- but after I read Chew On This my opinion changed direction. The book states that almost two thirds of adults, and one sixth of kids in the U.S.A are obese, or overweight. This is due to people eating more and not exercising/moving around. Fast food is very unhealthy because the fat that accumulates on your body can cause other problems such as, diabetes, asthma, heart problems, high blood pressure, and many more diseases. I realized I didn’t want my body to suffer through any of these medical conditions, so I decided to discontinue fast food from my life.

       The slaughterhouse is not as clean as one might expect, not that anyone will expect high standards. According to Chew On This and its resources, in the 1990’s workers were not allowed any breaks at all, so they had to pee/poo in their pants while they worked, which allowed more possibility of contamination of the meat. It is very unsanitary where cows are raised. Cows produce tons of manure in which, a lot of manure has to be removed that cows are raised in their own pile of poop. Also, a cow can get sick/poisoned because of its manure, and still become manufactured. Um… Eww!!! I know I do not want to eat my hamburger knowing that my meat has been in an unsanitary location! Yet, another reason I am trying to avoid fast food.

       People who work for fast food companies are mistreated. These people are paid the minimum wage, and work long hours. Farmers are now owned by huge corporations, in which they only get paid for the amount of livestock they produce (not including the ones that die because of the hormones they are fed).  It is unbelievable to see that factory workers have to confront many dangers while they are slaughtering animals for large periods of times. Workers can be at risk of being cut or chopped up, or even burned by the machines, and they don’t even get insurance for their injuries. That’s totally unfair, they are workers and should be respected! Injustice does not qualify in my vocabulary, so from now on NO MORE fast food for me!

       Huge corporations mistreat animals, but the chickens suffer the most. They suffer during their stay at a farm and can suffer a huge amount of pain in the slaughterhouse. Chickens are clustered on the farms, in which they can barely move, and live clustered for 6 weeks. During their time at the slaughterhouse chickens are knocked unconscious at a stage called “stung bath”, in which chickens are dropped down into a pot filled with water where electricity is running through it. 2 out of every 100 chickens survive this stage. Then the chickens go through a blade, but some chickens can also survive the blade. The chickens that are still alive are boiled to their death, which is cruel to animals. I know I do not want to be part of this terrible abuse of animals, and I sincerely am going to stop eating fast food.

       In conclusion, I now strongly do not desire to eat anymore fast food. I can’t stand the thought of the cruelty of these companies towards animals and workers. Also, the unsanitary and unhealthy junk that goes in to making a hamburger is nasty. I will never eat another piece of fast food EVER! Eww!

World on Fire

                           "World On Fire"

Hearts are worn in these dark ages

You're not alone in this story's pages

The light has fallen amongst the living and the dying

And I'll try to hold it in, yeah I'll try to hold it in

[Chorus]

The world's on fire and

It's more than I can handle

I'll tap into the water

(Try and bring my share)

I try to bring more

More than I can handle

(Bring it to the table)

Bring what I am able

I watch the heavens but I find no calling

Something I can do to change what's coming

Stay close to me while the sky is falling

Don't wanna be left alone, don't wanna be alone

[Chorus]

The world's on fire and

It's more than I can handle

I'll tap into the water

(Try and bring my share)

I try to bring more

More than I can handle

(Bring it to the table)

Bring what I am able

Hearts break, hearts mend

Love still hurts

Visions clash, planes crash

Still there's talk of

Saving souls, still the cold

Is closing in on us

We part the veil on our killer sun

Stray from the straight line on this short run

The more we take, the less we become

The fortune of one that means less for some

[Chorus]

The world's on fire and

It's more than I can handle

I'll tap into the water

(Try and bring my share)

I try to bring more

More than I can handle

(Bring it to the table)

Bring what I am able

[Chorus]

The world's on fire and

It's more than I can handle

I'll tap into the water

(Try and bring my share)

I try to bring more

More than I can handle

(Bring it to the table)

Bring what I am able

World on fire touched my heart.

When I read the lyrics and we had to annotate for ELA I wanted to underline every single word and just keep annotating. Ever single lyric was really good. I wanted to keep feeling all these several emotions. That song was a powerful song not only did it touch my heart it touched my soul. That song kept me thinking about our world the whole day. Everything I saw I just kept referring to the lyrics. World on fire isn’t your typical Pop song it was about the 3rd world countries and how we need to do something about it if we want change. World on fire was a Social Action even though it was a video, but it was still an action. The fact that the songwriter put out a video like that, that rebels and becomes a social action to do something and make people aware of the injustice of poverty.

At first, I thought the song was about the twin towers. The lines that are colored in yellow I thought were about the 9/11 attacks. Since when she wrote the song it was around the time period the towers fell. The world’s on fire I thought meant the world trade center was on fire. Then the line visions clash and planes crash I thought meant when the twin towers were attacked the planes crashed into the buildings.  In the beginning of the song it says the sky is falling. Back then the twin towers were Skyscrapers so many people thought the sky was falling. Which would relate to the song.

My friend thought it was about us losing our humanity as we become greedy. This sort of relate to poverty because we want so much and become greedy we do not realize that we are affecting others. We part the veil on our killer sun, stray form the straight line on this short run, the more we take, the less we become, the fortune of one that means less for some. I took away form this that sometime we lose ourselves and forget we are all human. We don’t remember that even if we don’t see or feel the causes of 3^rd world countries doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do anything about it. In fact, we should even do more to make the world a better place.

Even if the song may portray other ideas, all of them come back to the same song. The song has so many meanings, but each lyric reaches out to us because it affects us in some way. This song is a great song. It means we all need to have hope in times of distress. We need to unite to become a better world, and solve these issues. This song made me become aware that we need to help out one another because in the end we are all humane.

Hunger Games

Throughout the series, The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, Katniss, the main character, has a change of heart about the Capital of Panem. In the first book, The Hunger Games, she ignores the idea that the Capital is corrupt, she just wants to fend for her family, and survive. Later on in the second book, Catching Fire, she realizes that the Capital is full of injustice; the way they can put her family through the sufferings of Katniss’s captivity, in the hunger games, twice! In the last book, Mockingjay, she comprehends that the Capital is corrupt, for they don’t care if a family is safe, if people were fed in District 2 or 8, or if people are content; the Capital just cares about power, and control.

In the book, The Hunger Games, Katniss wanted her family to survive the hardships, and the grief that came with the loss of Katniss’s father, whom was a miner, but died because of a mine explosion from the Capital. Katniss never really thought about the Capital; all she ever thought of was how she could provide food for her family. Her friend, Gale, always talked to Katniss about the “evil” ways of the Capital, but Katniss just ignored him. Later on, Katniss took her sister’s place in the games. Katniss didn’t really think about the cruel way the Capital just removed her away from her family; instead Katniss was satisfied because she had friends, townspeople that owed her merchandise, to take care of her family for her. Katniss is naïve in this book, but soon she will understand and then hate the Capital.

In the book Catching Fire, Katniss is starting to realize, that the Capital is full of injustice. Katniss has to go back to the games a second time! Katniss now worries that she won’t have anyone to help her feed her family. Katniss is now thinking, how cruel the Capital can be! First they take her away from her family when she replaces her sister, Prim, in the games. Now they take her away again, making her family go through misery of losing her a second time! What about her father’s death? The grief Katniss felt was a cause the Capital had played a part in! That’s three anguishes you can never remove! That will be permanently stored in Katniss sorrow filled moments. Katniss was now thinking maybe Gale was right, maybe the Capital is full of unfairness, for making her feel all the unbearable pain along with her despair.

In the book, Mocking Jay, Katniss despises the Capital. All of her sufferings were caused by the Capital. She decides she has to fight for her losses. She becomes the symbol of hope for all the districts. To top it all off, Katniss losses one more thing, she loses her little sister, Prim. The reason for Katniss going to the Hunger Games was to protect the love of her life, her sister, Prim. Prim was killed by the Capital. In the beginning of the book, Katniss didn’t really want to be the symbol of rebellions against the capital but now she does because she has every reason to rebel against the capital.

If I had lost all the things that Katniss has lost I know I would totally despise the Capital and forever hold a grudge. I would do everything in my power to take down the Capital and avenge my sister’s death. Katniss went from being naïve about the Capital’s cruelty into fully understanding and hating the Capital and its principals.