Post-seminar writing:
1. Reflection/Self-Assess
This seminar I feel started out kind of slow but seemed to pick itself up after a while of conducted conversation. After being asked specific questions about "Supersize Me," The Hatchet, and The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race, I got the feeling that this project is going to be very interesting because everyone has their own opinions and philosophies in a way toward our food culture. The Food Revolution, occurring around 10,000 years ago, has of course impacted our past with trade, cultures and accessibility, but is impacting our current society much more radically than it has in its past. From fare trade of food, to fare distribution of our food surpluses on this planet, this food epidemic is very much affecting our society. (Every 1 in 7 people is starving on this planet). There are the "fat cats" as people refer to them so often, of the rick stock-brokers of Wall Street that in a lot of ways are living a life of ease with what they receive in terms of food. There are also so many people who feel that eating at a fast food restaurant, as bad as it may be for you, is their only option with food costing what it does. From seeing Supersize Me 4 times since its debut in 2004, I am familiar with what this food is capable of doing to the human body, but it is also important to know where this food even comes from. Yeah this food is fast, its easy, its somewhat tasty, but the thing that really turns me off of going to these fast food restaurants is the common knowledge of where their meat, vegetables, and other ingredients come from. The meat industry is one of those things that I can't get enough information about once I start researching it, but it also never fails to give me a sour taste in my mouth towards society and animal cruelty. I think that in this seminar I found myself stuck between a rock and a hard place because there were several moments that I did join in in the conversation and seminar, but I am also surprised that I did not speak up more, let alone dominate the conversation because I am so personally invested in this topic. I think I talked an appropriate amount and because I feel that a lot of seminar-ing is based on listening and absorbing the thoughts and claims of others I feel that I completed this seminar with something around an A or and A-. My peers seemed to have very sporadic thoughts, and I don't know if it was the day, time of day, group or what, but the seminar seemed very guided. Meaning we did not really dominate the conversation and take off with sporadic ideas and thoughts, but in a lot of ways I thought that the seminar was slow moving and Jessica had to steer the seminar in every-which-way. There was nothing completely outstanding about what people said in my seminar, but overall it was interesting to hear that a lot of people would choose to live as hunter-gathereres versus on the McDiet. I feel that because so many people do like the ease of fast-food in our class and eat at McDonald's semi-frequently I was surprised by the fact that they would rather live like Brian than Morgan. I agreed with this of course, but I also have such a distaste for fast-food that it makes me somewhat bias in a way. I think that this changed my thinking about the text in the way that something about how Brian's situation was portrayed in the book was something that a lot of people became fond of, enough to want to do it themselves. I love eating, cooking and living in the wilderness- I have ever since I hiked the Colorado Trail, but I also feel that a lot of what the book suggested about Brian's situation was untrue or slightly fictional.
No comments:
Post a Comment