Tell the FDA!!!

I took action by signing a petition that will tell the FDA we want to know what is in our food! I actually get petitions sent to my email every day.  I take action on all that I feel strongly about!  It feels good to have some say on what's going on in the world today.  Makes me feel civil. It's about being proactive, and being democratic.  We as citizens have the right to make our beliefs reality.

This brings us to social justice.  Everybody is equal, which is why we all equally have the opportunity to take action in our country.  We are all the same legally.  We all have the same rights. It is important to treat out future student equally, and educate them on social justice.  Social justice ties into bullying and racism, which is still happening today.  As much as we try to prevent it, there is no way to rid of it.  But we can educate our students and hope that their generation will abolish injustice.

“Struggle for social justice is central to our nation’s history…“Concerns about the common good and the rights of the individual, no matter how humble in social standing, transcends politics and holds a definitive place in the realms of morality, ethics and federal law, and therefore in the world of teaching social studies”


This quote is powerful. Regardless of the community, injustice is still present. But it will never be allowed.  This is why teaching our students about social studies is so important.  We must prepare them for the future.

Sign!
I signed a petition for telling the FDA we have a right to know what is in our food. Personally I find this extremely important, I certainly would like to know what I am eating, where it comes form, and what is in it. It is our job to take care of our bodies and to stay healthy. Having a healthy diet is one way in which we can all better ourselves and our bodies, knowing what we are eating is a huge help. This action connects with democratic values by speaking up and fighting for something some people may find important. The petition will hopefully gain enough names and bring an awareness to the FDA on how people feel about organic food, and knowing what they are eating.

Educate

Until this year I didn't know the impact, or even how teaching social justice to young children could have. I always thought that it was a topic for adults and that when children grew older they would learn it by themselves (thats how my education was). Education can definitely be used as an instrument for the public good. Teaching children what a good citizen is, bringing awareness of what is going on in their community, and brainstorming ideas on how they can contribute and how to be a good citizen can be so inspirational for both student and teacher.

“Struggle for social justice is central to our nation’s history…”concerns about the common good and the rights of the individual, no matter how humble in social standing, transcends politics and holds a definitive place in the realms of morality, ethics and federal law, and therefore on the world of teaching social studies.”

 As a future educator I hope I can bring this quote into my classroom, and take at least partial responsibility for opening the world of social justice to my students.

Speak up

                                                    SPEAK UP!

whether or not you agree with eating organic, GMOs, or the use of pesticides, we all have the right to know what’s in our food. I took action by signing the petition to require the mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. “We have a right to know about the food we eat and what we feed our families, but under current FDA regulations, we don’t have that ability when it comes to genetically engineered foods.”(Schlosser) As Americans it is our right to speak up for what we believe in. We have veterans who have fought and died so that we may remain a democratic nation. There is a great feeling of satisfaction and empowerment with taking action and standing up for what you believe in.

Take Action!

Tell the FDA that we have a right to know what's in our food.

SIGN PETITION

Social Justice issues in the Classroom

          As a future educator, I believe that I am partially responsible raise future Citizens of the human race. To accomplish this great responsibility comes the need to make reall connections with our society, including some difficult issues of social justice. We should not pretend that parts of our society do not exists but equip our next generations with the tools they need to be proactive in taking action for what they believe it. The classroom will be the room to not only understand issues of social justice, but the social skills needed to be able to discuss them a manner that will better facilitate respectful communication of ideas.  “Struggle for social justice is central to our nation’s history…”concerns about the common good and the rights of the individual, no matter how humble in cosial standing, transcends politics and holds a definitive place in the realms of morality, ethics and federal law, and therefore on the world of teaching social studies.” This quote does well in capturing my beliefs on the importance of teaching children.

By: Thomas Gillespie

Critical Attributes of the Organic Food Industry

• Nutrition Labeling
• Farming
• Health Benefits
• Environment Benefits
• Community Benefits

Essential Questions

• What are the regulations on labeling? (informational)
• What is the definition of organic? (informational)
• How does buying from local farms effect our community? (procedural)
• What chemical contents are used in the growing of non-organic food? (informational)
• Where are our local farms located? (informational)
• what are the pros and cons of buying organic food?) (procedural)

Description of Critical Attributes on the Organic food Industry

Labeling: Nutrition Labeling includes all significant information from product labels, including the ingredient list, nutrition label, claims, as well as food safety and other statements about the product. This is an important aspect of the purchasing of food products, because the consumer must be aware of what they are buying. There is an ongoing debate about the expectations of what should be listed on the nutrition label. Some believe that genetically modified organisms(GMOs) should be marked on the nutrition label.`` Currently, it is not the law to have to mark GMOs on the label.

Farming: There are many different ways to farm the same produce. some farms use large amounts of pesticide while others don't. Some farm mass produce their product and shit them all over the country. Other farms may be local and not go through the same processes that

Health Benefits: Organically grown food has higher cancer-fighting chemicals compared to conventionally grown food. The fruits and veggies grown organically have higher amounts of antioxidants. Organic food is not prepared with chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and those chemicals can affect our bodies.

Environmental Benefits: Organic agriculture enhances soil structures, conserves water, lessens climate change, and ensures sustained biodiversity. Through its holistic nature, organic farming integrates wild biodiversity, agro-biodiversity and soil conservation, and takes low-intensity farming one step further by eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which is not only an improvement for human health (food quality) and agrobiodiversity, but also for the associated off farm biotic communities.

Community benefits: Local farmers are far more concerned and responsible for the land they cultivate. Large industrial operations pollute their communities with pesticides while local farmers live on or near their farms and care about taking care of the environment in which they live. Local farms also guarantee the preservation of large amounts of green space in the community. Local farms also help with their local economy by providing jobs, and supporting local small businesses by purchasing goods in their communities. Large industrial farms employ few workers for how big their operation is while buy supplies most often outside the community. Local farms supply their community with safe, fresh sustainably grown foods and keeping the connection between consumers, their food, and the land it was grown on.

Getting Into It

We plan to go to Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury MA. We would like to go and help out for a day if they allow us to, and really get into how their organic farm works. The farm produces all organic products, and is a contributor to Flatbread Company in Amesbury with their local and organic products. In the winder they do have hot-houses so that they are still capable of farming and producing fresh food. Their apple orchard is awesome in the fall and they set up hay rides, corn mazes, and open it for visitors to pick. Rachel has sent them an E-mail asking if and when we will be able to help out and visit, but we have not heard back yet.

Cider Hill Farm:

http://www.ciderhill.com/index.htm

Cider Hill Farm
Amesbury, Massachusetts
978-388-5525

Email Link

Rachel's Interview

I interviewed my friend Steph. She is currently a student at Franklin Pierce, also studying education.

She and I feel very similar when it comes to current issues.  I know when interviewing her, she would feel very strongly about whichever side she was for. Below summarizes my interview with Steph.

Do you think the topic of organic foods is an issue?

"I do feel the topic of organics is a very hot topic for 2011/2012.  I think a lot of it has to do with the media.  We witness rich families on reality TV shows and their diets, and it has affected it's viewers.  Whether that is a good of bad thing is up to the individual.   The main issue I have as a supporter of organics, is not knowing what is qualified as organic.  What does it take for something to be organic? The whole labeling issue as well.  They need to stick with one protocol."

Do you think others in our community this is an important problem? why/ why not?

"I don't really feel this is a problem in our community specifically, or not so much that is has affected too many.  I think the problem is not enough people caring about what they're eating.  Sending your kids to school with pop tarts(processed) and sunny D (fake orange) is NOT proper nutrition for todays youth. Parents should be educated on the topic, as well as students.  They're not, and that's the problem."

What policy, if any, does government now have to deal with this problem?

"I don't recall any policies off the top of my head.  I know there is something.  But I do know that the problem with organics and the government is that it's not specific.  There is no law as to what is organic?  They slap a label on something and we believe it.  Very disturbing."

What are advantages of this policy? 

 "I think the policy is pretty vague.  There really aren't too many advantages to it."

What are disadvantages of this policy? How can it be changed?

"Where do I start?  I think McDonald's could get away with saying their food is organic at this point.  There needs to be more specific guidlines and they need to be reinforced. "

Where can I get more information about this problem and the different positions people take on this problem?

"I'm sure google will bring you to the right source.  I am assuming USDA or FDA would have the specific guidelines. But it's also fun to read other peoples blogs to find out the latest news in organics."

Steph directed me to the website.  It's an article we both found repulsive.

Top 10 Reasons
to Avoid Processed Foods (source:Huffington Post)

Maria Rodale

CEO and Chairman of Rodale, Inc. and book author

by guest blogger Tyler Graham, coauthor of The Happiness Diet

1: Deciphering food label ingredients leads to unappetizing results. Take the innocuous-soundingcastoreum, which is used to enhance the flavor of puddings, candies, and some frozen dairy desserts. You might be surprised to know that it’s derived from beavers–beaver anal glands, specifically.

2: Many foods get their red coloring–”carmine”–from ground-up insect shells that can cause severeallergic reactions in some people.

3: The greater the number of cheap cuts of meat ground into a single patty, the greater the risk of contamination with E. coli. A standard fast-food burger contains the trimmings of dozens of cows raised around the globe.

4: According to research from UCLA, it takes only two months to lower levels of brain chemicals responsible for learning and memory (like BDNF) on a steady diet of processed foods.

5: Processed food is only as good as its packaging: In the summer of last year, Kellogg’s recalled 28 million boxes of cereal because a compound in the box lining (the company wouldn’t say what) was giving off a foul smell and tainting the taste of the boxed food.

6: The same company that makes metal detectors for airports also sells them to food manufacturers, who use the devices to test processed meats for stray wires, metal shards, and hypodermic needles.

7: The ingredients list for Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups doesn’t include…strawberries.

8: Animal feed given to factory-farmed cows contains rendered roadkill and euthanized cats and dogs, as well as plastic pellets as a cheap form of “roughage.”

9: There are more than 80 ingredients in one Oscar Mayer Lunchables Breaded Chicken and Mozzarella sandwich.

10: The FDA allows 19 maggots and 74 mites in a three-and-a-half-ounce can of mushrooms.

http://cleaneatsinthezoo.com/index/2012/01/30/top-10-reasons-to-avoid-processed-foods-some-of-them-may-be-new-to-you/

GMOs: a Super Mutant Food

Interview with Joyce Gillespie: my mother and organic food advocate

 







                             After reading about genetically modified foods, I felt strongly that this was a topic that many were unaware of. To see just how aware our community is of this topic i asked someone very informed on the subject of nutrition; my mother.

Do you feel that the topic of genetically modified organisms is an important topic?

                "Yes, food is the fuel in which we feed our bodies. I feel it is very important that we understand exactly what we are ingesting including how it was created. Genetically modified food could have short term benefits at the expense of long term ramifications."

Do you think others in our community think this is an important problem? Why/ why not?

                "Unfortunately, I believe that many in the community are unaware of where the food they eat is coming from. I feel that many people are ignorant to just how important diet is and how our food industry is modifying the food we eat. I feel that if our community became more aware of the truth that this would be an important issue with everyone. Being someone who has always help diet as high importance, including where the food is coming from, I have seen increased numbers at whole food markets such as Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s."

What policy, if any, does government now have to deal with this problem?

                "I’m not sure that any policies are in place. While shopping at Trader Joe’s I have seen some items marked that they have no GMOs but I have never seen them marked on any nutrition labels."

What foods are most often genetically modified?

                 "I'm not too sure, i think corn may be one of them."

The policy for GMOs is that they are considered equal to natural food and do not need to be labeled. How do you feel about this?

                "It makes me feel uncomfortable that something of such importance would be hidden to the public. This lowers my confidence in the FDA which has already been low as they seem to have a hidden agenda. The public has a right to know how there food is being created and this issue would be pushed."

Are you for or against genetically modified organisms?

                "I am against GMOs as something so unnatural must have serious effects. A food that is altering our immune system cannot be safe. People are ingesting antibiotic organisms without even known it or the consequences of it. Although there are financial benefits to the companies using GMOs we must understand all effects of a diet that includes GMOs before feeding them to our community."

                Before doing this interview I did some research on genetically modified food from the most objective resources I could find. It was of no surprise to me that even someone as healthy as my mother knew very little about GMOs. Both my mother and I feel that this is a topic that our community must become more informed about. It was interested to see some of the contradictions between pros and cons. One of the contradictions is pesticide usage. Advocates of GMOs say that GMOs need fewer pesticides because of their strengthened genetic makeup while opponents to GMOS say that the strengthened genetic makeup creates the need for larger amounts of pesticides. Listed below are some of the pros and cons I was able to find from different locations on the Internet

Pros	Cons
Insect resistance: modified to be more pest resistant, this bacterium that is toxic to insects is safe for human consumption and can help reduce amount of needed pesticides	Herbicide Herbicides: Herbicide tolerant GE crops have created weed resistance, causing pesticide use to increase by 70 million pounds between 1996 and 2003.xviii
Environmental protection: crops and animals that GMOs are used require less chemicals, time and tools and help reduce environmental pollution, greenhouse gas and soil erosion	Decreased antibiotic efficacy: antibiotic features built into food are ingested in humans and lowering the effectiveness of antibiotic drugs
More nutritious foods: been engineered to be more nutritious in terms of mineral and vitamin content	“Superweeds”: Risk that modified genes escape into environment. These genes could cross into the weed population creating a “superweed” impossible to kill with herbicides. This same issue could happen with animals, that if the gene is passed into animals they could create super-organisms that out compete natural animal and plant populations and drive certain species into extinction
	Gene pollution: The effects of modifying gene pools are not easily removed or even possible
	Gene mutation: Scientists do not know if the forced insertion of one gene into another gene could destabilize the entire organism, and encourage mutations and abnormalities. Likewise, no one knows if or how eating mutated food could affect people’s own DNA.
	Allergic reactions: mixes or adds proteins that weren’t indigenous to the original plant or animal, causing new allergic reactions

Created by Tom Gillespie

                Whether you are for or against genetically modified organisms, it is important that we become more informed on a topic such as dietary health. We owe it to our future generations to be more cautious about how we our growing our food and the long-term consequences that may come from our actions.

This video gives an interesting view on GMOs and the possible conspiracy behind it.

Article on GMOs VS. Organic:

http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/organic-vs-gmo-2436.html

Written by: Tom Gillespie

Interview on Organic Food and it's Effects on Health

I interviewed my brothers’ girlfriend, my friend, and my co-worker Melissa Lavenson. We both work at Flatbread Company Amesbury. Our restaurant uses organic food and all local ingredients when available.

1. Do you think organic food has an effect on our health?

“I do believe that eating and buying organic food whenever possible is beneficial to your everyday health”

2. Do you think others in our community this is an important problem? why/ why not?

“Organic food is 50% more expensive than non- organic food in most grocery stores. Some people in our community cannot afford to buy the food because of its price therefore I feel that may be a problem. Our restaurant donates food to people in the community so that they have the opportunity to have a healthy meal that they may not have otherwise been able to afford.”

3. What policy, if any, does government now have to deal with this problem?

“There really is no policy about mandating that children or adults have to eat organic food. The help that they may get from the government (WIC, food stamps or food kitchens) don't have the funds to buy organic food or assist others in buying it. The health benefits of organic are obvious. Pesticides (which do not occur in organic food) have been scientifically proven to cause anything from headaches to birth defects. So anyone can benefit health wise from eating and organic diet. “

4. What are advantages of this policy?

“Some governments have started to issue organic or all natural foods in schools to help the children get nutrition that they may not get at home. I feel that this is a wonderful policy to have in schools. Even if it is not 100% organic it is still better for children to have a balanced diet of foods that may be local or non-processed. It also can help local farms do more business.”

5. What are disadvantages of this policy?

“The disadvantage to this policy is that it of course costs more money but that is the only one I can see.“

6. How might the policy be improved?

“The government could give more assistance or more education to parents and children about the health benefits of healthy eating. I feel that it has come so far and been getting much better lately. Helping to end childhood obesity and educating youth about healthy organic food has become more prevalent in today’s society.”

7. Does the policy need to be replaced? why?

“This policy doesn't need to be replaced it just needs to be improved every day. It can always be improved.”

8. Where can I get more information about this problem and the different positions people take on this problem?

“You can get information about local organic foods on USDA websites or from your local organic farm. They are always knowledgeable about current events and any community events.”

Reflection:

I ended up learning a lot from my interview. I always knew that organic food was more expensive compared to non-organic food but I never knew it is typically 50% more expensive. I also had no idea that the government was starting to issue organic food and all natural food to some schools. That is such an inspirational idea and gives the children at those schools a great experience to healthy food choices that they may never have had before. I also agree with Melissa when she said, “The government could give more assistance or more education to parents and children about the health benefits of healthy eating. I feel that it has come so far and been getting much better lately. Helping to end childhood obesity and educating youth about healthy organic food has become more prevalent in today’s society.” Giving more information and education to people who are unaware of the benefits of eating healthy would rise awareness and help people live healthier lives.