Eating is an agricultural act? The ethics of food and eating.
The Ethics and Chemistry of Food in America was an interdisciplinary project between humanities and chemistry. For the semester we dove into the idea of food and how we get food from two different perspectives: the chemical make up, and the food industry. In humanities, we studied the food system in America by watching films and reading books. One of the main texts we used for this project was The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Micheal Pollan. We also dove deeper into our personal ethics on food and what we thought about the industrial food system. In chemistry, we focused on the chemical structure of the food. We studied topics like types of reactions and balancing equations. For the final product, we created a food recipe and chose one of the ingredients to study. We studied the chemical make-up of that ingredient and manipulated it to create the perfect version of our food. I learned how each and every ingredient that you put in food will change the outcome of the product. You may change one thing like the sugar and you think it will just change the taste but it doesn't just change that it also changes the texture, color, and how moist it is. I thought that was very amazing to learn because one simple thing can change 4 or more components. I also learned more of how I think when I get food. I never really thought about where my food comes from or how it got to my plate. I mean I did think about it because I was raised in the food business but it wasn't a strong thought. When we first started this project and talking about it, I didn't know what to say or anything. I just thought I don't care, its food, it got to my plate, and it taste good. But the more I thought about it the more I realized I do care. I care about where I eat, and what is in it. I don't like eating at fast food restaurants because there is so much stuff that is put into the meat or the bread, to make it last longer. Look at test they do the food last forever before starting to mold or rot, and we put that inside us. I like to keep myself healthy, we only get one body we have to take care of it. The way the animals are butchered to bring us meat, doesn't bother me all that much because I grew up with it and its basically a norm for me. Their are some ways that I don't like all that much. I think we should try to be as human as possible, and butcher the animal as quick as possible, and some places don't do that. Some places just knock them out then start cutting them up while they are alive and that doesn't seem fair. Over all learning and studying food I have learned that chemistry is in almost everything you do, a big one is cooking. And I also learned the many ways of how food is grown and harvested, and the ways animals are kept and butchered. My thoughts about food hasn't really changed, but I think more of what goes into making food, and I wonder more about the chemistry side of things. How does chemistry apply with growing the food, instead of just cooking the food, etc.
Your Life on Earth Personal Philosophy Project
The Personal Philosophy project was designed as a toolbox for students to determine their own purpose on this Earth. The teachers gave the students many “tools” or resources about different philosophical ideas, different movements/changes in society’s philosophy, history about early philosophers, and the importance of intertextuality. With all of this new knowledge and understanding, students were then set free to discover which philosophies they resonated with most and fine-tune their own personal philosophy. We were responsible for creating a written component that explains our philosophy to others, and also a visual component that adds imagery and context to our written component. I read multiple essays and poems, trying to find out what my philosophy is and what exactly it means. I went in a direction of writing about everything that influences me and what I think gives me meaning and wrote it to my younger self. I wrote it to my younger self because we always need help growing, I needed help growing and learning and understanding more of how I fit into the world and why I matter. I feel if I knew the things I know now, I would have taken a different path in life, and have been more prepared if you will for high school. I have spent many months trying to figure how how on earth I fit in and why I'm here. I couldn't ever find an answer because I wasn't looking in the right places. Doing this project in Jessica's class, really helped me to learn why I'm here. I may not know fully why I am here, or what I am supposed to do. But I have better knowledge about what I can do, and if I want to do something or change something I can! I feel better knowing what role we all have in the world, and even if we think it doesn't matter it does.
RHETORIC AND IDEOLOGY PROJECT
PROJECT REFLECTION
My project was done to see if Liberals and Conservatives can find middle ground with abortion. I wrote a poem about what the two sides agree and disagree on. I did lots of research finding what liberals value and don't value and what conservatives value and don't value, I did an interview with a girl that had an abortion when she was younger and now is currently 7 months pregnant (more pro choice than pro life) to see what her opinion was on whether it should be legal or illegal, if it was a good or bad thing, what the liberals really thought about it, adding some of my views into it(more pro life than pro choice), researching what abortion really is, how it is done, what different types there is, laws on it, and if it is harmful to the mother. I don't know if my perspective has really changed with doing this project. I've learned more about the liberal side and even more about my own side conservative, learned that we balance each other, and that we mostly want the same thing, we just have to make it complicated and fight about everything. My political views are still the same as before I did this project, but I am more understanding about the other side, and know more of where they are coming from. Willingness to be disturbed can help democratic society because we learn how to listen to each other with a willing to learn, not fight back, willing to be proved wrong or right, not to put up walls when we talk about touchy subjects, etc.
MY PROJECT
FINDING MIDDLE GROUND By: Jordan Beals In this poem I'm going to tell you How two sides differ And how they are the same Abortion is a topic that is commonly talked about. Some think it is good and some think it is bad Abortion has been around since the late 1800s It's been in debate since the late 1900s. What does abortion do? Abortion according to liberals, Gives women a choice. A choice to not carry an unwanted child for 9 months, A choice to get away from something they were cursed with, Simply a way out of a very difficult responsibility But for every action, there is a consensus This is where the conservatives come in Every time a woman decides she doesn't want to keep her child, A helpless innocent baby dies, We are murdering a human being. You say it's not alive yet but we say it is, How can we think this unborn child is not alive? He/she is growing, you can see a face, hear a heartbeat, But we still say it is not alive. Even though we can't see it yet, Doesn't mean it's not living Just because it can't survive outside of the womb, Doesn't mean it's not alive. But if it can't survive in the world how can it be alive? If a baby can't survive outside of its mother They are one and the same, The child doesn't have a choice yet, But once the baby can live outside its mother it is its own self. It has a choice It is now an individual human being Both conservatives and liberals secretly want the same thing, We’re just too stubborn to say so. We both want abortion to not be so commonly used. Yes conservatives want it completely gone And liberals want it to still be there but not as much use. Even if abortion was completely banned women would still find a way to abort a child. We want it to be there for women that physically can't have a child. We want better ways to prevent pregnancies, Whether they are by accident, or by assault. We want to give woman another way out beside abortion. Can we catch the pregnancy before the baby is a fetus? Can we help women through the struggles of pregnancy and put the baby up for adoption? Give the baby to a family that can't have children? Instead of killing it? If both sides would just sit down and talk without putting up walls, Without arguing, And would just listen with an open mind, With an open heart We could figure out a solution to this debate. We can help women not make such a difficult decision, That stays with them for life. We can save innocent lives. If we would just listen with open hearts. Stop thinking the other side is the enemy Because we’re not. We’re friends, family Two simple human beings that came from the same place. We need each other to save us from ourselves. Whether we like it or not, Liberals need Conservatives, And Conservatives need Liberals.