What's Good For People to Eat? Rough Draft

Most American’s have become obese the past couple of years. The leading cause of this is because most do not watch they eat. People don’t recognize what foods are necessarily healthy and what type of foods are unhealthy. I was always told that vegetables are very healthy for you, in which everybody should have at least servings of it every day. I was told that people should cut down more on eating meat to eating none at all and more on vegetables. A person who practices vegans abstains from the consumption or use of meat, fish, daily products, etc. These all come from a variety of different animals. “People become vegans for a variety of reasons, including ethical concerns for animal rights or the environment, as well as more personal reasons such as perceived health benefits and spiritual or religious concerns”( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegan). I believe that a person who undergoes the Vegan diet is in the border line of being healthy and not healthy. According to Bruce Friedrich, he says, “It also occurred to me that animals are made of the same stuff as humans—flesh and blood and that they suffer just as we do. I grew up in Minnesota and Oklahoma, and it always saddened me to see trucks loaded with turkeys, chickens, pigs, or cows driving through the bitter Minnesota winter or the sweltering, arid Oklahoma summer, taking the animals, through all weather extremes, to what I knew would be a gruesome death.” (http://www.goveg.com/veganism.asp). Many reasons why people become vegans are because they think that it is the only way to protect humans and the animals in this environment and/or for religious purposes. Many believe that sticking to vegetables is healthy because of the rich contents it has to offer for the body. They believe that meat is the ones that are making people sick. Bruce Friedrich supports this by saying, “They have absolutely no fiber or complex carbohydrates in them, and they are packed with saturated fat and cholesterol. In the short term, eating meat, dairy products, and eggs is likely to make a person fat and lethargic.” (http://www.goveg.com/veganism_health.asp). The accessibility for purchasing vegetables is very convenient and is everywhere, which makes it so easy to get. The majority of the vegetables that can be found are also very cheap. This essay will help to argue why the vegan diet is a good way to eat.
The vegan diet can be a very healthy diet in many ways. Vegans believe that eating vegetables is healthier than consuming meat which comes from different animals that are given different antibiotics and growth hormones. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegan, it states that “"well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence." This proves that going on a vegan diet is very healthy for people who have health problems, children who are still growing and also, for pregnant ladies. People who undergo the vegan diet have a rare chance of getting heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, etc. A lot of these health problems are due to a person’s diet. The leading cause of these health problems comes from the consumption of meat. Eating a lot of meat causes a persons arteries to clog. A person who abides by the vegan diet is known to have a mass decrease in their cholesterol compared to a meat- eater. Also, many vegetarians are most likely to be “one-third as likely to be obese as meat-eaters, and vegans are about one-tenth as likely to be obese. You can be a fat vegan, of course, and you can be a skinny meat-eater. But vegans are, on average, 10 to 20 percent lighter than meat-eaters” according to http://www.goveg.com/veganism_health.asp.
A person who is under the vegan diet has many different ways in purchasing their required foods. It’s accessible and can be very cheap. Vegetarian food is a bit new to the American lifestyle. It has not been around for such a long period of time. According to Bruce Friedrich, he explains how when he became a vegetarian, some foods didn’t taste so great. He explains how today, Silk-brand soy milk is in every grocery store in the country. (http://www.goveg.com/veganism_conclusion.asp). There are a lot of local supermarkets that sells organic products for a reasonable price also. A lot of the vegetarian food can come up to be a lot cheaper than buying meat all the time. Also, according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegan, it states that “a person switching from the typical American diet to a vegan diet would, on average, reduce CO2 production significantly more than switching to a hybrid vehicle. They go on to recommend a vegan diet for this reason, as well as the potentially adverse health effects of dietary animal fats and proteins.” This proves how going on a vegan diet is very helpful to our environment, which can also be a very helpful way to have mass production of more vegetables.
Vegans are generally against the violence and cruelty of animals. The meat that a lot of people consume comes from these animals that are being slaughtered. When it comes to the ethical reasons, vegans have a real big say. Vegans believe “that animals have the ability to feel pleasure so killing them is wrong, because it destroys any hope of future pleasure. He claims that it is therefore unethical to treat them as property or a means to an end.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegan). This quote is significant because it is saying that animals are just like humans. They all have the right to live and be treated as if they are human, because we do not really differ from them. It is wrong to kill animals because they are just like one of us. Vegans argue that animals do not deserve to be slaughtered. They have emotions just like humans and are made up of flesh and blood. Therefore, they don’t deserve to be treated the way they do to satisfy a human. Vegans also think about the availability of water. “According to the National Audubon Society, raising animals for food requires about as much water as all other water uses combined, even as many areas are experiencing drought conditions. It requires about 300 gallons of water to feed a vegan for a day. It requires about four times as much to feed a vegetarian, and 14 times as much to feed a meat-eater. Of course, if you have to feed animals, you have to irrigate the crops that you’re feeding them. You have to give them water. The systems that keep animals today use water to hose down both the factory farm and the slaughterhouse. It’s a water-intensive operation,” according to http://www.goveg.com/veganism_environment.asp. Those who work in the factories where animals are being slaughtered has to be one of the most dirty and most cruel jobs ever. They watch the animals have every part of their body ripped apart while they are doing their job. To get a clear vision of what the working issues are like, http://www.goveg.com/veganism_welfare.asp clearly states, “their throats are slit, their limbs hacked off, and their skin torn from their bodies, while they are still conscious. Pigs routinely go into the scalding hot water for hair removal still conscious. Chickens are scalded alive in the feather removal tank.” Any vegan would say that people who eat meat is un-ethical because they don’t think of the procedure it takes to have the meat end up in their local supermarket. They don’t realize the sufferings they go through.
After researching and comprehending the vegan diet, I agree with most of their concepts they follow. I agree that eating a lot of meat will lead to a lot of health problems. And I also agree on their position on the slaughter of these animals. For the most part, I believe that being on the vegan diet is healthy. I still believe that people should still eat meat, but it should be organic. Animals are treated very differently when they are sold as organic. Meat carries a variety of different nutritional needs in a human. The sources that I addressed were very accurate and reliable. I can say this because they referenced a lot of surveys and actual experiences. It is important to know what’s good for people to eat because diet is a major cause of the high death rate around the world. A person’s health mainly depends on what they are consuming. Therefore, food plays a very important role in the body.

My supermarket experience

As I entered the supermarket, I first noticed the pre made sandwiches. I had to stop to take a look because I was just so hungry. I took a look at their cold cut sandwiches and observed that the prices ranged from $3. 95 to $5.95. I looked on the upper level and there were Panini sandwiches that cost from $5.95 to $7.95. After observing the sandwiches, I walked down the stairs and through the empty aisles of the supermarket. It was just so empty and clear that I felt like running through them myself. I went to the back of the supermarket and the carbohydrates aisle stood out the most to me. I feel like rice, pasta, etc. are the foods that I eat the most and study the most. I observed what kind of rice was on eye level and what type of rice were in the lower and upper level. I observed that the flavored rice such as Garlic and Herbs costs about $1.69. The red beans and rice costs $1.29. And although brown rice was on the eye level row, it was the furthest from the middle. It’s almost as if it was hidden. The retail price for the brown rice was 95 cents. At this moment, I was thinking to myself, Isn’t brown rice the healthiest type of rice to eat? If so, why do they put this type all the way in the end of the row where nobody can see? And if the brown rice was the cheapest of them all and considered as the healthiest, why are a lot of the consumers choosing the other types of rice? While I was observing the rice section, I also noted that the rice that was packaged in the boxes was the ones that are visible to the consumer and the rice that were packaged in bags are left in the bottom. I was wondering what the difference is between the packaged rice in the box and the packaged rice in the bags? After I observed the rice section, I walked back to the front of the supermarket where the pre made sandwiches were. I was in a moment where I did not know what kind of sandwich I should buy for lunch. I finally made a decision to buy the turkey in a French roll sandwich. I ate the sandwich when I returned to the school and I had gotten very full from it. After eating one half of the sandwich, I was already full. It sort of had a little taste of Tabasco’s hot sauce to add more flavor. While eating, I can feel the pieces of the bread with the turkey getting stuck in between my two front teeth. It took a lot of time to consume the bread, the turkey and the lettuce all at once.

FAST FOOD

Ever since my college course, Nutrition and Health at NYU has been completed, I have had a dramatic change in my eating habits. I decided to cut down on my fast food habits. As I was assigned to eat fast food today, I decided to reject the assignment. I entered a McDonnald's restaurant that was close by the school. I walked in and observed what was different or the same on the dollar menu. I realized that everything stayed the same. The small fries, 2 apple pies etc. were all on the dollar menu. I observed it once more and I looked at the different meals they had to offer. It was all the same. I observed the people who were standing right behind the cash registers and realized that after a person was finished ordering a full meal, they would ask if they would like it supersized. Now that reminded me of the Super Size Me Video and how realistic it is. I was next in line (Well, not really in line) and the lady behind the register asked if I needed some help. I told her i was just looking at what they had to offer and I said No Thank You. I walked out the restaurant while others walked inside. I told myself this is disgusting.

In Class Questions

1) When you think of food, what comes to mind?

When I think of food, I think about the flavor. I think about the ingredients in it. Is this good for me? Is it bad for me? I also think about my physical reactions after digesting it. When I think of food, I also think to myself how much I should digest? How much would be too much for me?

2) Which foods create a noticeable physical reation to you?

Pasta and Turkey makes me go to sleep a few minutes later after digesting it. Eating pasta will make me full quicker, as oppose to eating rice.

3) Which foods seem healthiest to you? What would your 3- day menu be?

Fruits, pasta, brown rice, fish, bread and vegetables all seem the healthiest to me. My 3- day menu would consists of:

Breakfast: Eggs and steak with home fries and a bowl of fruits with orange juice.
Lunch: Pasta with Calamari and a root beer
Dinner: Brown rice, vegetables, a little bit of meat and fish. And have a bowl of fruit after the meal.

4) Generalize- What should people eat?

People should eat 2 cups of fruits, 4-5 ounces of meat, 2 cups of vegetables and at least 1 ½ cups of some sort of carbohydrates each day.

Cook and Eat

I chose to cook pasta. My procedure in cooking this pasta was to boil 4 cups of water. Before the water reached its boiling point, i added a small amount of salt into the water. As soon as the water started to boil, I added the pasta into the water and began to stir for 12 minutes. As I felt the pasta getting softer, I took a metal strainer and laid it on top of the sink. I dumped the pasta into the strainer, releasing the water. Although the steam that rose after dumping the water and pasta into the strainer was a hazard, I enjoyed cooking pasta because it is easier to complete.
After I made the pasta, I included it with the sauce that my mother had cooked. I started to consume and it tasted great. I felt the tomato sauce touch my lips, leaving very little sauce after I had the pasta inside my mouth. I started to chew and I was able to taste the salt as it roamed around my toungue. The salt is what gave the pasta much more flavor. I began to chew on the long pieces and let it gently slide down my throat into my stomach. I enjoyed eating the pasta.

Project

Introduction to Locally Available Grass Fed Pastured Organically Raised Ground Beef


Organically raised Ground Beef are Grass fed animals that are raised in grass and not living in barns eating only grains. The difference between the organically raised ground beef and the ground beef that you find in supermarkets is that the organic ground beef lives in an open grass field that has their own freedom to interact with each other. The grass area is its natural habitat and their diet is more rich. Also the animals aren't given any kinds of hormones. The ground beef that you purchase in the supermarkets are animals that are given hormones. This is a risk to human bodies because the hormones that you injest are not tested and can lead to multiple diseases inside the stomach. It is better to eat organically raised ground beef because it is its natural size and it is more healthier and rich. This is found in the Farmer's Market in 14th street Union Square in Manhattan. For more information on organically raised ground beef, you may contact the Hawthorne Valley Farm at 518.672.7500. Ogranically raised ground beef is made by Biodynamic Farming, in which it is self-evident that synthetic inputs, such as fertilizers, pesticides and hormones are strictly avoided in this type of farming.
Other websites to learn more about organically raised ground beef are:
http://www.organicprairie.com/beef.html
http://www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/askexpert/inthenews.asp#qa2
http://www.alrosas.com/rosas_farms_grass_fed_beef.htm

Phenomenological Description

After a big day for all the superbowl fans, my family and I went to my uncle's house in Queens to have dinner and watch the superbowl. Although there were a lot of food that was being served, there were plenty to take home. I decided to finish the left over buffalo wings and the celery and carrots. Let's first start off with the buffalo wings. As i slowly started to consume the buffalo wings, I felt the slight burn rub through my lips from the hot sauce that covered the wings. I took a small bite from one side of the wing and the smoothe skin of the wing rubbed against my toungue, creating its own chemistry. My toungue started to burn after the second bite. It was difficult to let the pieces of the buffalo wings slide down my throat, but i still managed to do so. At this point, I needed some water to get rid of the spice that was left over my toungue. I slowly chewed on the pieces. It took about 4 chews for each bite taken before I was able to swallow. I can feel the little pieces get stuck in between my teeth. I started enjoying the taste of it, so i began to eat more than just one. As I switched my food intakes to eating the carrots and celery, I dipped the celery into the blue cheese before i started to eat it. As I began to consume, the blue cheese rubbed against my lips leaving its white marks behind. As it got into my mouth, I could taste the cheese and celery combining with each other. I wouldn't know how to explain how the mix tastes like but eating the celery was like eating a Polly-O-Cheese with its multiple layers. It's juice bursts throughout my whole toungue leaving its taste behind as it slowly made its way down my throat. I dipped the carrots into the bluecheese and it was the same experience. The only difference was that the carrots didn't have as much layers to chew off of. It was simple and it left little pieces in between my teeth.

HW #1

What's in my refrigerator?
1)water 2)orange juice 3)milk 4)cream cheese 5)steak 6) hellman's mayonnaise 7)eggs 8)carrots9 )left over meat (Filipino food) 10) left over fish 11)cheez whiz 12)country crock butter 13)lettuce 14)pepto bismol 15)salad dressing (french, and vinaigrette) 16)bbq sauce 17)yellow mustard 18) 2 parmesan cheese 19)hickory smoke bbq sauce 20)pickle relish 21)Heinz home style gravy 22)black bean garlic sauce 23)tomato sauce 24)szechuan sauce 25)konig oyster sauce 26)tomato 27)cabbage 28)lemons 29)rose mary 30)potatoes 31)dried fish and squid