Food Inc.:How You Get Your HappyMeal

Happy Meal toys from McDonald's drive kids to their restaurants The Current Happymeal

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    In the documentary film Food Inc., viewers were taken on a field trip, showing us the truth on how our Happy Meals are made and how McDonald's' food eventually get inside of us.When McDonald's first began, it was a regular restaurant. In the 1950's, restaurants were all very similar, and McDonald's had food delivery on roller skates. One day the owners decided to cut costs and created a new process. This new process created a new idea on how restaurants of the future are going to work. In their new process, the McDonald brothers introduced the factory way of making food.
    The factory way had less workers with lower pay. This new way helped the McDonald brothers to make a lot of money by making more food at cheaper costs. McDonald's became the very rich company it is today because of the changes in 1950's.
    When I was in 4th grade, McDonald's Happy Meals were my life. The food was good, but the reason why my mom was dragged to the restaurant was because of the special toys hidden deep down within those bright-red boxes. Throughout my childhood years I failed to realize the main purpose of the excitement that waited for me inside those boxes. The purpose was to keep me wanting more. 
    In the documentary Food Inc., they showed us that a lot of our meat supply is owned by only 4 companies. to be specific, 8 out of 10 steaks you eat are probably produced by them. These companies put picture of open farms and peaceful animals on the labels of their food when in reality, they're raised in factories with little space. They are afraid that if they told the truth on the labels, people will not eat the food. 
    Large companies main focus is profit. Food Inc. shows that the chickens now are very different than they were in the1950s. Company's feed the chickens special hormones to make them have more meat. It leads to them growing faster and having many issues on the inside of their body. Vince Edwards, the chicken grower working for one of the 4 companies, could not allow the filmmakers into his chicken houses because of the company he works for. They didn't allow permission because if the public saw the way they treat their animals, people would not buy their food. 
    30% of America is used to grow corn. Corn is a giant part of our diet and many don't even know it. Corn is is soda and juice (high fructose corn syrup),  all chips, even French fries (made in corn oil).The government pay farmers to produce more corn than we need so that it costs less. Large meat companies really like that because they use the corn to feed their animals. Cows are made to eat grass naturally. The corn is actually bad for them. It produces a perfect place for E.Coli, a deadly bacteria. 
    Kevin Kowalcyk died in 2001 by eating a cheeseburger made with tainted, or dirty, meat that had E.Coli in it. The government didn't do anything about it until 17 days later. When he passed away 12 days after eating the meat. Although they found out that feeding the cows grass for 5 days can get rid of the bacteria, they decide to get rid of it another way. To clean meat, factories use ammonia hydroxide. It's poisonous to humans. 
    Have you ever wondered why unhealthy food is the cheapest? 

America's Food

An example of the red raw skin under the chicken
due to its inability to stand and dirty living conditions.

Perdue is a major chicken processing company in Salisbury, Maryland who made $6 billion is sales last year. The article titled Abusing Chickens We Eat by Nicholas Kristof of the NY Times. His argument is that they should be raised humanely, and if they're not then they can not false advertise on the label. They give the chickens hormones to make bigger breasts (white meat) and the weight it too much for their legs so they end up squatting in feces most of the time with burning red under bellies lacking feathers. If humans grew at the same rate that they make the chicken grow, a human would be 660 lbs at 8 weeks old. The best quote is "Torture a single chicken and you risk arrest. Abuse hundreds of thousands of chickens for their entire lives? That's agribusiness." It sums up the hypocriticalness of the laws and shows that things need to change. I believe that the abuse of these animals is wrong and something needs to change.

Dirty conditions

The Jungle is a novel written by Upton Sinclair about the conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in Chicago and many other big cities in the U.S. it depicts working class poverty, the lack of social supports, harsh living conditions, and the workers hopelessness. Contrasted with corruption of people in power. The material was collected by Sinclair posing as a worker in a meat packaging plant. He was there for 7 weeks gathering and researching information. Teddy Roosevelt responded by appointing a commission of experts to investigate the meat packing industry. They soon after issued a report backing up Sinclair's account of the disgusting conditions inside. The living conditions in 1906 America were not good. They lived in dirty tenements and food was often laden in flies. The law passed worked to prevent adulterated or misbranded meat and says that they have to be slaughtered and processed under sanitary conditions. 

Public Education and Inequality

One of the first public schools

America created public schools in order to train their citizens to be better knowledged. They wanted children to be better trained for the work force earlier.they believed that it would lead to greater financial security and a more stable democratic nation. 

The first schools had flaws. They were extremely strict with the students and that lead to a rise in truancy. 

It made a difference in not only the children's lives, but the parents also. Having the kids in school every day served as child care so that the parents could work. It also took the kids or of sweat shops. They learned a lot of important information that they wouldn't have known before. 

They perpetuated inequality by not allowing African American students inside their classrooms. 

Some other issues were that they lacked the funds for them. 

Another original public schoolhouse 

What happened to the 43?

They've had enough with the government , and this atrocious act was the last straw, which detonated a series of protests around the whole country. 

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2014/11/13/silence-speaks-ayotzinapa-and-politics-listening-mexicos-narco-state

I believe the U.S. is not colorblind due to the fact that in airports, people are racially categorized.

• Republican congress are against undocumented immigrants people; often times we are incarcerated for minor offenses (I.e. Vagrancy or homelessness). 
• Very few families discuss racism. As a matter of fact only 37% of families talk openly about race, which makes racial discussions uncomfortable to millennials. 
• Racism still exists because only 44% of African American families own homes versus 73% of white families. In other words, if the U.S. was truly a colorblind society, the numbers would be more equal. 
• African Americans die four years earlier than whites; neighborhood homes; lower income; healthcare; income security; low-income housing and gang violence; healthy vs unhealthy food depend known where one lives. 
• Stress because of income security 

Passive Homes

Passive Homes are in our near future

They will help our environment 

Less electricity more money for the big picture

With walls so sound, at night it's silent

Houses without conventional heating or cooling

With this we can conserve our environment.

How the Tycoons Became so Rich

John D. Rockefeller was one of the biggest tycoons in history.

          Tycoons such as Carnegie, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, and Morgan, became wealthy because of their mind for buisness and bad ethics. They used many buisness strategies such as vertical integration, mergers, and limiting competition. They also used "Robber Barons", which is the raise of prices and lowering wages.                                                

J.P. Morgan  achieved his fortune in an oil company.

          The philosophy of Social Darwinism also made them content. Social Darwinism is the thought that God favored the rich and being poor was a sign of laziness and being inferior. This philosophy enabled the wealthy to get away with a lot. 

Summary of Tech Reading

     In the informative text named, "How science interacted during the industrial revolution" provided by Danny Blas, describes 4% of the people lived in the city, due to industrial jobs. the rest lived in subbers, however, they are able to work due to transportation. The railroad system and trolleys would change the aspects. It would hold more skyscrapers and steel was very important. Technology changed how people moved around, within what transportation there was. For instance, subways, trolleys, and elevated trains would allow people to move quicker and it would be easier, rather than pulling on a horse. Technology changed the way we need and learn because now we know that the transportation has advanced and it will allow us to physically have the resources we need to survive. 

    

In the informative text, "passive house" complied by Danny Blas, informs us about passive house and what it is. A passive house is a house that is energy efficient. They are different from a tradition house due to the material. The Germans liked the American dorm of housing. However, they didn't know how to consistent and air conditioning. Some residents that lived in the expensive neighborhood were against the new passive house, due to the fact that they invest a lot of money into their house that does not give them many global warming benefits. Technology was changed throughout time by increasing the benefits of the building and materials being used. Also, by having a global warming impact.

Industrial Revolution

 Industrial Revolution Old vs. New 

  The Erie Canal was a man-made waterway, which help to transport products and people from one place to another. The canal was significant because no longer did American need a natural river to move important resources; men just made waterways.

The Erie Canal with a boat being pulled by
Horses on the roads beside it. 

     Free enterprise and entrepreneurs were significant during the Industrial Revolution because it was profitable and people could progress without the government interfering. It helped the U.S. become a worldwide industrial power. 

The discovery of the Spindletop geyser in 1901 drove huge 
growth in the oil industry. Source

   The U.S. is abundant in natural resources. One which was oil, which allowed the U.S. to have trasportation. It was the single most important resource they had to assist them in becoming an industrial power. 
      Steel was also manufactured and used to make them an economical power. They made good use of the Bessemer process, which allowed for new ways to use steel. In the process, they injected air into molten iron, removing impurities and carbon, making it stronger and therefore, more efficient. They used it for 90% of new buildings after that. It helped them expand upward instead of outward. 

Henry Bessemer source

      Now in 2014, people are developing the so called "next industrial revolution". The company GE in Cinncinnati, the birth place of aviation, are one of many who believe so. 
      For decades, we have used "subtractive" manufacturing. Subtractive manufacturing is basically controlled material removal. It leads to lots of waste and is also time consuming. Recently, additive manufacturing has become more renown. 3D printing is an example of additive manufacturing. It allows you to built things from the ground up as a complete solid. The use

A newly made industrial 3D printer. Source

of 3D printing will make building things easier, less cost, less time, and it some cases, safer. 

The evolution of mobile phones over the years. 

     With the use of new technology and breakthroughs, a new industrial revolution can appear. Now, unlike the first, this industrial revolution will have much more involvement by all ages and is more electricity or solar based. But some similarities are that it is pushed by need and demand and that we still use machines. 

Ashley Triplett

Mr. Blas

Honors U.S. History

October 16, 2014

Levi Kinsel Personality Profile

        Levi Kinsel was a sailor in the US Navy during WWII. During his time in the Navy, he wrote constantly to his wife, Rose Kinsel, who lived in San Diego. Rose kept all of the letters that were sent by Levi while he was away. For a class project, we transcribed all of the letters and they are now publicly available. During this project, we learned much about Levi. Some of the personality traits that we saw in Levi were that he is was realistic, considerate, and observant.

        One of his traits that we observed was that Levi was realistic. He didn’t sugar coat anything or make it sound any different than what it was. If he went out and got drunk with some friends, he would tell Rose that he went out with some friends and got drunk. If he was hurt or sore, he would tell her exactly what happened or how he’s feeling. In his letter dated 4/14/1939, he wrote that “Last night I had a couple of beers.” Noways, that’s not exactly something that people say to their wives.

        Another trait that we saw in Levi is that he is very considerate. He is constantly thinking about Rose and writing to her to see how she’s doing. In almost every he wrote he asks how she’s doing and tells her that he misses her a lot. He sends gifts to her and looks forward to seeing her all the time. He always has a picture of Rose with him and talks to Rose as often as he can.

        Levi was also a very observant person. He noticed every little detail. He noticed all the details that Rose would talk about. In several letters he wrote, we had to go back and re-read to figure out what he was mentioning. He remembers basically everything that Rose says and also figures out things that Rose doesn’t even tell him. His letter dated 3/20/1939, he writes, “I received your letter yesterday, it must have been bad weather there or something. It was written the 17 mailed the 15 and I got it the 18th you must have been drinking something potent.”

        Levi Kinsel was a sailor for the U.S. Navy that sent letters to his wife, Rose. He served during WWII and all of his letters that were sent have been transcribed by our class and now are online for his family and everybody else to see. Some characteristics we saw in Levi was that he was realistic, considerate, and observant.