Welcome to Our Blog!

In conjunction with the Center for Environment, Economy and Society of Columbia University and Ms. Kim Baker we are studying issues regarding our contemporary food culture. We are particularly focused on food justice, food deserts and the fast food industry.We will be blogging to report our learning and observations. Keep an eye on our blog as we examine critical issues regarding our societal relationship to food and nutrition.

Blog Entry #5 - A Summary

Blog entry #5- In Class 812 at the Secondary School for Journalism (SSJ) we have spent the last two months examining issues around food. We have been doing this in conjunction with the Center for Economy, Environment, and Society (CEES) of Columbia University and Ms. Kim Baker. We were concerned with studying food deserts, and the growth and prevalence of the fast food industry, and the effects both of these problems have on the health of Americans. We also looked at the possibilities for a healthier lifestyle and how we might change our diets and also how we might encourage healthier alternatives for those around us.

As part of our study we watched “Super Size Me”, which is about a film maker who spent a month eating McDonald’s food exclusively. We read Chew On This, which details the rise and practices of the American fast food industry. We read a variety of articles which described the relationship we have with food as a society and the way government wants us to live one way but then promotes food which is bad for us.

We did most of our work in Room 300 at SSJ, but we had an opportunity to take our work out of the classroom. We looked at our neighborhoods to determine whether or not we lived in food deserts ourselves. Many of us live in neighborhoods where it is hard to get fresh real food. We took a trip to the Union Square Greenmarket where we had an opportunity to try fresh local food and learn about the benefits of buying food from neighboring farms. We kept food journals to make us more mindful of where and how we eat. And yet we still have a taste and desire for fast food. Hopefully we will use what we have learned to change our behavior…

GREENMARKET TRIP!

The trip to the greenmarket was fun. There was cookies that were really big.And the brownies were small but good.The trip was very informational but okay.We got to ask the farmers questions about their farms. We got to try different foods and fruits, learn about the different types of potatoes.

We had a trip to a green market. We learned new things and also reviewed stuff we all knew. But before going to the food/green market we did a chart about what we know and what we wanna. At the green market sarah was answering our questions and telling us the diffences between green markets nd super markets/other places. I feel like this helped us with our health.
What I learned at the food market was that the farmers come from miles away to do what they got to do. Another thing that I learned was that the farmers have to look at every fruit and veggie to take any bugs off and keep them fresh. This things are important especially the buds off the fruit and veggie because we eat them and in order for them to sell them they need to keep them fresh and good to eat. The farmers always like to have their fruits and vegetable fresh.
The thing that I like the best from the green market was the green sheet. We had to ask farmers questions and that was cool. The reason why it was the best thing from the green market its because we didnt know what the did when they w

green market

who: someone.
what: im going to talk about the trip to the green market.
when: february 16, 2011.
where: in class.
why: because i want people to know about green markets.

i learned so many things from the trip to the green market, and one thing i learned it
was about the apples and asian apples, and the other thing i learned is about how do they
make those brown eggs, i think they are important because they are useful in this
world like there healthy.

i like when we did the activity on the green market because it help me to better
understand about markets, and also when we were walking around the market to
see and to ask questions to the farmer's.

i feel that the market is a good idea for people who like to eat healthy that means
like if you want to eat healthy, you just go to a green market a you will find a lot of
healthy things to eat, this is your time.

My food manifesto is about what I would change and there's alot to change about our food in life. Like I would about my food life is to stop eating fast food and junk food. But to start eating healthy food more fruit and vegetable. Something else I would like to change is the school lunches because they don't give healthy food cause all they give is reheated food. Ooh yeah I really would like to change the fast food restaurants because there's to many of it and start putting healthy restaurants. The reason I would do this is because kids my age are over weight and so are adults.

food manifesto

Who: someone.
What: I'm going to talk about my food manifesto.
When: February 10, 2011.
Where: in class
Why: Because I want people to know what is a food manifesto.

Food manifesto: means to do a public declaration about foods.
My food manifesto is to eat less fast food, and to try to eat more healthy foods, so I cannot be in
risk to have a medical problem like obese, and also I didn't realize how much oil and fat I was
eating, but now I have to try to eat more healthy, I think that I eat more healthy in my
house than in school or in the street.

1. Ishould stop eating unhealthy foods like oil, and fat.
2. I should eat more in my house.
3. I should less fast foods.
4. I should encourage other people to eat healthy foods.
5. I should eat more healthy foods like salads, and more fruits.
6. I should stop eating McDonald's.

Our Food Future

A public declaration of the need to change our philosophical approach to food by Mark Bittman:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/a-food-manifesto-for-the-future/

fast food

who:Class 812
what: fast food
where: in class.
when: February 8, 2011.
why: Because I want people to know what is fast food, and how it effect the people.

Fast food is everywhere and everyplace. The fast food could affect your body, and also you have more chance to die if you eat fast food, so I recommend to you to not eat fast food no more and to save your life. Also you could get fat, so you got to be careful because the fast food is everywhere, and if somebody is giving you fast food you have the risk to die, and also you could get obese by eating fast food. So make a change in your life, try to eat more healthy food for your body, stop eating fast food and start to eat healthy food like salads. Also if you want to eat healthy food you have to eat fruits, so try it and you will see how good you feel about your body because you will lose weight and fat.

blog entry #1(the beginning)

In ELA class we're studying the good and the bad of fast food. So far we have watched a movie called "Super Size Me" where a man did an experiment where he had to eat McDonald's for a month for all three meals. He couldn't eat anything but the food that they serve from McDonald's. Before doing this experiment his healthy was was very good then at the end of his experiment his health was turning in all different directions. He got dizzy, was throwing up, and became very sick. Now were reading a book called Chew on This. So far we've learned about the people who've created McDonald, the people who've got McDonald's to the place to where they are now and how. We learned that just like today McDonald's was a teenage based hang out spot.The main idea of this unit is to teach us why we as students in the 8th grade should start eating more healthier foods over fast food.

Blog Entry#1

The things you should know about fast food is that its not good for you because it can make you become obese or can give you diabetes. In class we watched "Super size Me" and we are now reading "Chew on This". In "Super size Me", Morgan is going to try an experiment and try to eat McDonald's for a whole month! After living a life of only vegan food, since his wife is a vegan chef, Morgan will try and eat fast food everyday for a month. The night before his big experiment his wife cooks him all the vegan and healthy things she can possibly think of and he has that. In the end of the movie he survives long enough to have all the McDonald's any kid would want, and he only suffered from physical and emotional pain and almost getting diabetes. In "Chew on This", we are reading about who made what restaurant. The people who made McDonald's were the Macdonald brothers, they became rich off the idea and then there came along Ray Kroc who was only in love with money and himself. He decided to become apart of their corporation and once they let him in, it became bad. When they kept making more McDonald's, Ray Kroc told them that they should change one of the names of the McDonald's restaurants and once they did it,not considering what the impact was, they lost business and McDonald's became Ray Kroc's. We finished reading about people thinking Disney got less publicity than McDonald's. Our class didn't think so because everyone knows who Mickey Mouse is rather than Ronald McDonald's. The way it was proven was that Disney came out with its own park and for they grand opening there wasn't a McDonald's in site, and no one complained because they were at the place where dreams came true, Because of this McDonald's and Disney got into a clash but they became friends again and then finally McDonald's was in Disney's theme park.

What is a food desert, a food desert is a place with limited healthy food choices. The problem with food desert are that not everyone has the same kind of food. For example,some people only eat fast food and junk food. Other people eat healthy food. What food desert sometimes do is help, but other times it doesn't. The communities has a lot of fast food and if you go to get a healthy food is not going to be the same as if you do it at home.But for the healthy food like salad in a fast food restaurant has calories is because of the dressing you add on. I try to eat healthy for the most and try to stop eating junk food, but I cant because is a habit. But I do love fruits like melon,watermelon, strawberry and much more. Well, if I think my neighborhood is a food desert, then I'm right. In my neighborhood all you could find is fast food no healthy food.

Food Deserts!

Food deserts are communities that are running out of fresh food supply and their fresh food market is turning into a desert, a food desert. The problem with food deserts are that people won't have any food supply for their families, and if the food is not fresh then they will get sick. They also tear communities apart. When I eat I kinda make a effort and sometimes I just do both, I don't believe you should make an extra effort to watch what you eat unless you need to, Either than that go with the flow.! Well I can't really tell if my neighborhood is a food desert because I live in Queens, Cambria Heights. I can tell you about my last address at Park Place. At Park Place there are a variety of places to stop to get your grocceries or food on the go, and it's fresh.! You can choose from places like: Vegetarian Palace, Key Food, and Back To The Land. Park Place resides in Park Slope and that's kinda like the place to be because you can get everything in Park Slope so I don't think it's a food desert. It's a very good community

Food Desserts

Food Desserts are places that don't really have access to fresh food. Food desserts have alot of fast food resturants and not alot of fresh foods. They have stores with food like vegtables and fruit but they are not all fresh. They might be old or somewhat fresh. They could be from last week or there may not be any stores in your neigborhood because of all the fast food resturant they're are. This could be very baqd for people 'cause people who grow up in food desserts might grow up to be fat or not even like eating vegtables and fruits. But by keeping stores that supply fresh food (vegtables and fruits) people might tend to like them more and might make healtheir choices. Even though fast food tastes good, it isnt so good for you. It doesnt hel[p you lose weight, it helps you gain it. As we look around, neigborhoods everyday are slowly turning into food deserts.

Food Deserts

Food deserts. They can be anywhere and everywhere you look, and you don't even realize it! A food desert is when an area has little or no choices of healthy foods. For example, a food desert can be

an area where there are nothing but fast food restaurants for miles of the place! Take at look on the picture to the left and tell me, do you see a healthy place to eat here? The problem about this, is that the people in this neighborhood don't have a choice but to eat fast food if they want to eat anything! To top it off, I'd bet that this neighborhood, like most food deserts, has no organic food in their super markets, and can only get their hands on sugary cereals and fatty foods. The people in this neighborhood are most likely to be obese and have health problems like diabetes, heart disease, and more.
Think about what you ate yesterday from the minute you woke up to when you fell asleep at night. What did you eat? Now think. Are you going out of your way to eat healthy? Or are you just "going with the flow?" I'll admit, I do not go out of my way to eat healthy. Everything I eat everyday, may not be horrible choices, some are actually very healthy, but then some are unhealthy. From when I wake up, here is one of my food schedules. healthy is in green. unhealthy is in red. in the middle is in pink.

• breakfast: cheerio's w/ milk, hot chocolate on my way to school.
• in school: I sneak a chocolate bar into class, I eat school pizza (its food packed in a box and re-heated :x), a small bag of sliced apples.
• after school: *McDonald's (a double cheese burger (plain), small fries, a small high-c orange drink (no ice))
• when i get home: a bowl of macaroni and cheese
• snack: 2 jello chocolate fat free puddings, a banana, Capri sport drinks
• dinner: fried chicken, rice, pink beans, Pepsi or Fanta soda.

So what do you think? Is your diet similar? I don't know how healthy this is, but most things are pink and red.

Food Deserts

WHO~ everyone

WHAT~ Food Deserts & people that do/dont eat healthy

WHERE~Communities that dont have/ have healthy food

WHEN~ everyday



In class on Friday we read an article about "Can America's Urban Food Deserts Bloom?" & also watched a video called "Food Deserts". The video talked about supermarkets in neighborhoods where people dont have access to fresh & healthy food. A food desert is a supermarket that sell's freash food in an area that people dont have access to close/ freash food. Obesity among Americans overall increased to 16.3% in 2006 because Americans arent eating the right things. Some 28% of non-Hospanic black females between the ages 12 & 19 are obese because there arent people around to show them how to eat right & because kids of those ages crave sugar. The problem with food deserts is that people are becoming obese and unhealthy because they arent making the right food choices.

food desert

who: someone.
what: im going to talk about the food desert.
where: in class.
when: february 5, 2011.
why: because i want everybody to know what is food desert.

food desert is when you are in a place and then you want something but you can't eat it, is like if you are in mcdonald's and you want a happy meal but you can't eat the happy meal, that's food desert, the problem with food desert is that people can't eat what they want to eat, they caused a lots of problems in the comunities because if they don't eat what they want, so they might have the change to die, you make a lot of extra effort to eat healthy because like when you eat something over and over again that's not healthy you could get addictive to that food, so that's why people put a lot of effort to eat healthy, my neighborhood is not food desert because i could eat whatever i want, and also if i want something from mcdonald i could eat it because my neighborhood is not a food desert, so if you are one of those people who can't eat what they want so you could make a transformation in your life and visit others place to see if you find something that you want, this is your time and take advantage of it.

In class 812 we have to write about our food journal. Well in my food journal I would say that I need to eat more healthy. These days that had passed I would eat chicken fingers for lunch.When I look at my food journal I see what I eat and all the things we go over in class. Also how we are reading "Chew on This" and how the original Ronald McDonald wore a tray on his head and a cup on his nose, but also how he would do anything the boys and girls do. A long time ago McDonalds would give the boys and girls lollipops to eat at McDonald's. Something I could do is eat less junk food to be healthy. If you didn't know junk food is like McDonald's and you gain weight because of that. In class 812 we also talked about how McDonald's was competing with Disney a long time ago and that now Disney World/Land have McDonald's in them.
Who: "The Bite Blog"
What: writing a food journal
Where: In class, at home, in our notebooks
When: Everyday
Why: Because Damon told us, to spread the word about food/justice,etc.

Food Journals

In our class we are doing something called a food journal. Food journals are a way to keep track of what you eat and notice patterns. These patterns could be that some days you could eat more while on other days you could eat less. This could also show if you are eating healthy or not. You are suppose to log in everyday. But sometime you forget to log it and that's okay. As long as you log it in often then that's okay.

Truth about Fast FoOD!!!

Who: everyone

What: fast foods

When: everyday

Where: everywhere in the world

Why: They don't know the real risks they might be taking when they eat all this junk

In out class we have been talking about food, we also saw the movie "Super Size Me."

We've had a lot of talks about how fast foods are bad for you and we are reading "Chew on This."

From what we've learned so far I can tell you that fast food is bad for you. I mean, you think that all the ingredients are fresh, well THEY AREN'T! They put a lot of different kinds of chemicals into all the different produced meat/chicken. For example, McDonald's doesn't give you fresh chicken nuggets they use chickens with freakishly large breasts, and they cant lay any eggs and they're old.Who would want to eat old chicken. But some people still do. All the chemicals that they use on the chicken can actually give you a reaction because we have no idea what kinds of chemicals are in there. Also when you go to a fast food place you don't really see how they prepare your food. Some places defrost the food witch has been packed for months and serve it to you. Grosss!!!! According to "Super Size Me" Texas is Americas #1 fattest state . Wow number one is big they use bunch of fats and oils, when you eat fast food constantly you're eventually gonna get addicted to it just like a cigarette or alcohol . So now that you know your facts about fast foods don't you think you should control how much fat fast food you eat ? Well its time.

Junk Food

Who: the people who like to eat junk food.

What: stores being selling junk food to the adolescent, and etc.

Where: in stores.

When: always, everyday.

Why: because they think that the junk food would help them, but they dont realized how much calories, and fat the junk food have, and also they said because it taste good.

How: they being selling the junk food everyday and everywhere, they should know how much calories and fat those the junk food have.

They adolescent doesn't realize how much calories and fat the junk food has in it, and also they keep eating the junk food because they say that junk food taste good, and that's why they keep eating the junk food.

Fast Food

The thing that we've been learning in class is about fast food , and how it has different effects to everybody. young or old . the most common fast food that people eat is McDonald's. They have good food but they also have to do stuff to the food.

Fast Food!

The things that we have been learning about in class are...Fast Food, Obesity, and Mcdonalds.! There was a man that ate Mcdonald's for 3 weeks and he started to not feel good and it was not good for him because he was not used to eating fast food for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner and he started to throw up and stuff! McDonald's is the most famous and popular restaurant in the world!

Make A Change !

WHO~~ the people, the industry

WHAT~~McDonald's, Burger King ,

WHERE~~ EVERYWHERE!!!

WHEN~~ EVERYDAY & ALL DAY

WHY~~ it tastes good, price may seem good, it's everywhere

People all over the world are eating fast food and really enjoy it , but do they know what it's doing to their body? Fast food is oil, fat, grease, salt, sugar, and none of this is good for you. People everywhere who eat fast food is at risk of having diabetes, obesity, high blood sugar, and could possibly die from it. You have the chance to make a difference in what you eat, the amount you consume, your future and the future of others who aren't making the right choices in what they eat.

the truth about mcdonalds (what you might wanna know about your so-called food.)

It's everywhere you look! It's almost every other television commercial! It's almost every other meal! McDonald's is taking over the world! Being a teenage girl means loving fast food. Am i right? And if you don't think so, try to count how many burgers you've had this month. Even if you don't realize it, 3 out of 5 teenagers will answer McDonald's as their favorite restaurant. Even the girls. And if you're one of the people trying to keep your slim curvy figure, your gonna be surprised with what your putting into your body.

There was a documentary that i watched called Supersize Me. A guy took a challenge to eat McDonald's for breakfast, lunch and dinner, nothing else, for an entire month. If it didn't mess up his health, it would be proven that McDonald's had nothing to do with bad health. To add onto the challenge, every time he was asked, "Do you want that super sized?" he would be obligated to say yes. On the fifth day, he had his first super sized meal. Huge fries, huge soda, huge big mac. He puked when he was almost done. After i think a week, he gained 8 pounds! That's a lot for one week don't you think? By the time the end of the month came, he damaged his liver as if he was drinking alcohol 24/7! If he was drinking beer on top of the McDonald's, he would of died at this point. Do you want to screw up your liver? You need it right? Do you think McDonald's is good now? 2 out of 5 American children become overweight by the time they're 8 years old, obese by the age of 15, and morbidly obese by maybe 29. They gain 80% of their whole lifes weight in their early childhood! That's insane! That's not healthy!

Fast food and our country

Fast food has affected our country since the beginning of the 20th century. One of the most popular fast foods in our country is Mcdonald's. One of the issues that we are facing is obesity. In the last weeks we have seen a movie called Super Size Me. We have also been reading  Chew On This, this is helping us to know more about food and how people eat it. But some people can't get enough of it. In the movie we see that some people get obese with the fast food, people cant get fat in one month if they eat Mcdonald's every day.

"Why Sue McDonalds?"

So there has been alot of talk about how McDonalds should be sued and shut down because its making people obese but, is it really their fault that people are getting obese ? Are they forcing you to eat at their restaurant? No! People just decide that when they see a McDonalds, they are going to walk right in and order whatever they want to. If you have so much of a problem with their food, why are you eating there?! If you don't like the stuff that's "making you fat" then stop eating it. You are making yourself obese, so stop blaming the fast food and candy companies. By eating there, you are contributing to your own future obesity and health problems.
So what I'm trying to say is for you not to eat the unhealthy food that you complain about if you believe that is the reason you are becoming overweight. Its not McDonalds fault if you become obese from eating there every day, right?

fast food in our world

In class 812 we watched a movie called "Super Size Me" where a guy named Morgan ate Mickey Ds for  a month and got super size meals. After this movie we started reading a book called Chew On This. Which is about how the burger and fast food restaurants made their own world. In the first chapter they talked about how Ray Kroc ran the Mcdonald brothers out of business.

fast food

Fast food has been around for many years and is going to be around for many more years. McDonald's was one of the first restaurant to open around the 1950`s. In class we're reading this book called Chew On This. It's all about how food is made, where it's made at, and how fast food came to be what it is now. Did you know that the Mcdonald brothers sold McDonald's to Ray Kroc and he the took the McDonald`s name. The McDonald brothers changed the name and opened a new restaurant but were run out of business because Ray Kroc opened a McDonald's across the street.

Food Journal

An average teen does not worry about the things "Fast Food" can do to them. They start realizing when it happens to them, when they start getting fat and lazy, when their self-esteem level is low. Us teens don't care about the after effects, we just care about if the food is good or not. I can say this because I am a teen, I know what it's like. We mostly eat McDonald's for a couple reasons, because its always nearby, it taste good, and their prices are reasonable. However, they pack plenty of fat in their food.

Fast Food

Fast food has been around for years. Everyone likes fast food. The first fast food restaurant was Mcdonald's. We are reading a book called Chew On This. It's about how fast food began. Though fast food is good, it's really bad for you. Some people get liposuction who want to be skinny. Though it does make you skinny your skin becomes all saggy and stuff. In liposuction, they take your stomach and make it smaller. All the other fast food restaurants copied Mcdonald's, once they saw the way Mcdonald's was serving people, they started opening up their own fast food restaurants. Ray Kroc bought Mcdonald's from the Mcdonald brothers. They then opened their own restaurant and Ray ran them out of business. The United States is the fattest nation out there. Why are there so many fat people? Well that's because of the amount of fast food restaurants out there and the temptation of eating the greasy food. Too much fast food is bad for you.

This my first time writing in The Bite Blog. In our class, 812, we're trying to raise awareness about what fast food is doing to us. Everyday we write in our food journals. What we do in our food journals, is that we write down what we eat for breakfast, lunch and, dinner. We also write in our food journals when we're hungry. This helps us keep track of our food, eating habits, and to let us know what kind of patterns we're following. A week ago, class 812 watched a movie called "Super Size Me." This movie was based on a guy named Morgan who ate McDonald's for a month because he wanted to figure out the results for eating at a fast food restaurant for a month. At first, Morgan was enjoying his meals but then, he was feeling kind of sick, dizzy, and he felt like barfing. Morgan also realized that when he would go to McDonald's he would always want more food after a few minutes. After Morgan finished eating McDonald's he had a high blood pressure, he had gained weight, and he had a high cholesterol. The thing that shocked me was that after Morgan had eaten at McDonald, he already had eaten the amount of fast food that he's suppose to eat in 8 years.

In our class we are starting a blog. This is my first time writing about the blog. Our blog name is The Bite blog. Our blog is going to be about how fast food is not healthy/no good. Well in our blog I hope that after you see it you will learn something after all, just like I might learn something. We will show you what fast food especially McDonald is doing to our body and how we can stop it by eating healthy food like vegetables and fruit. But also to show that you could eat fast food once a week but not every single day. This blog might teach you and everyone else a very good lesson.A week ago we were watching "Super Size Me" and this movie or video was about how a man was eating McDonald to see what was going to happen to him but also the results after the a month of eating fast food. Morgan was the guy's name and he was eating McDonald for a month. He ate McDonald's every morning for breakfast, evening for lunch and every night for dinner. In class 812 we all talked about how many times we eat fast food a week and it was between 1 through 10 times. we also talked about the challenges you get from eating fast food. Morgan was feeling dizzy,and sick after eating a super size meal.

Fast food World

This is my first time writing on  The bite blog. In class 812 we were talking about eating healthy and what type of food made us healthy and we try to find out what people are eating, the result are most people in this world are eat fast food. A week ago we saw the movie "Super Size Me." It is about a guy who try to eat McDonald's for 1 month. The result of that is that he turn fatter and feel sick and high blood pressure . After that we read a book called "Chew on This." This book is about how fast food started .