Superfoods!

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Anna Bahn

Sometimes I’m torn between the perspective that people should be able to think for themselves and the idea that the government should restrict and regulate the food industry and its packaging and marketing. But the food and drug industry often goes too far to sell foods, by making ridiculous claims about products. Superfood is a marketing term that has no real definition for regulation in America, so it’s often used willy nilly to sell things.

I think I was quite lucky in high school and college to learn about false marketing, “unhealthy” foods, and unethical production practices. In 11th grade we watched Food Inc in our health class, which is mainly about the ethics of the food industry, and so far I feel like I learned a lot about the psychology of eating. I’ve annoyed my parents with a lot of know-it-all facts. I also know a lot about the drug industry because my mom works in the compliance and ethics department of a big pharmaceutical company. But I’m one of a very small population who is lucky to be educated on all of this.

Most of the time I think America should do the same things the United Kingdom does (quite often, actually.) One thing I am surprised at is I was the only one to mention the fact that the UK has banned the use of the word “superfood” in marketing, unless the outrageous claims made are actually supported by evidence. The new legislation also requires foods that claim to be low in one product, such as salt, must have labels if they are high in sugar or fat, which is often the case with minimizing one flavor and adding another.

As one of the lucky ones, I know it’s hard to educate the whole populous of America. It’s hard to get my mom and dad to stop buying from companies like Tyson or to try and buy more products from a local farmer’s market or to get them to understand superfoods are normally just ridiculous claims. Unless the United States is going to go on a big campaign to give the world my high school health class or our psychology of food class, maybe regulation is a good thing.

Oxfam America Hunger Banquet

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Genesis Rivas

One of our last experiential learning opportunities was held on November 30th at 6pm. It was an experience that had me think about a lot of situations that I do not normally think about regarding food. This banquet was held in order to raise awareness about food insecurity and the problems associated with excess food waste in America. When we first entered into our event we were given a card that said what social class we were and that determined where we sat for the evening. On my card I had written, “Middle Income”. Also on that card was a name of someone who survived off of middle income with a short snippet of their lives. I got a woman from Somalia who was named Halima. Halima was a mother of five and worked as a nurse. It was interesting to see what others around me got on their cards. Since I was middle class, I got to sit at a table with others in my social class which I was happy about because I was fortunate enough to actually get a seat. However, my friends who all got “Low Income” on their cards succumbed to sitting on the floor. The very few people who got “High Income” on their cards sat at a table that had a fancier set up and had salads and water waiting for them as they sat.

As the evening progressed, we were informed about the food insecurity that many individuals (more than we think) in America experience. I was particularly intrigued by the situation of excessive food waste. I grew up in a home where I was always forced to eat all the food on my plate. If I left even a bite on the plate, my mother and father would tell me, “There are other kids around the world who are starving.” They never allowed for me or my sibling to leave any food because they hated wasting food. Whenever there were leftovers for dinner my mother would always pack it up and have it ready for my dad to take to lunch the next day. Throwing out food was never something that happened in my house. However, coming into college and having all these food choices, I’ve experienced myself doing exactly what I was told not to do all my life. Yet, I have not really thought much about my actions until the problems of food insecurity and food waste were brought to my attention. When they mentioned specifically about how kids in our dining hall are notorious for getting plates and plates of food and not finishing it all, it hit close to home and reminded me of my upbringing. Because I am surrounded by so many options, I don’t usually think twice about going up more than once even if my first plate was not finished. Hunger is an issue that many Americans experience everyday which is an unfathomable thing to think about because the amount of food that goes into the garbage everyday is enough to feed those that are hungry. I think this experiential learning was something that I personally needed to hear. It made me aware of my carelessness as well as reminded me that others are not so fortunate to have the options I do. Now will I go into dining hall and attempt to not contribute to this problem of excessive food waste in America. This event was an eye opening experience that I am grateful to have experienced and I think would be very beneficial for others to hear.

Movie Theater Eats

Posted on November 29, 2015 by Anna Bahn

When I’m home, I try and go to the movie theater to catch up on the films I miss while I’m so busy at college. I’d also rather go see Broadway shows instead of movies since I’m LIVING in New York City, but that’s just me. And honestly, Broadway shows have begun to be a tad bit cheaper than movies. Granted, I’m really good at getting cheap tickets, but still. The most expensive movie ticket is an upwards of $20 for the IMAX and 3D movies, the cheapest being probably $10. But with a film, I almost always end up wanting that traditional treat at the movies: food.

During my break at home, I saw the new Hunger Games movie with a big group of my friends at home. We had a tradition of going to the midnight showing and I loved the books, so I was excited to see them all and see the last installment. The first thing we all did when we got to the movie theatre was get in line to buy food. I split a popcorn with my friend, Juliette, and we all kind of paired off and split food. We spent all of this money on food when we know that small popcorn was not worth $7.50, and the small drink was not worth $3.50. And when the cashier asked me whether or not I wanted to get a larger drink for 50 cents, I remembered what we learned in psychology about super sizing and how it originated in a movie theater.

Once again, I went to the movie theaters while I was at home. My parents took my brother and I to see Spectre; we’re huge James Bond fans. We went a few days after hosting Thanksgiving, so we had just gorged on Thanksgiving leftovers for dinner (Turkey Supreme!) But my brother still proposed we get popcorn, so my mom and I went and got seats while he and my dad got food. They soon came back with four drinks, a bucket of popcorn, and pretzels with cheese for my mom and I. My mom kept saying she was too full, but ate the pretzels anyway.

Movie theaters run on food cues and social conventions. So even though I didn’t have all of my drink or my popcorn the first time and neither did any of my friends, they still considered getting the larger size for 50 cents. And my mom and dad kept saying they weren’t hungry, but my dad was the one who bought all of the food and they still ate it. It’s an expensive trip to make, so I think I’ll stick to the Broadway shows while at school.

Thanksgiving Generosity

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Shannon Bailey

The holiday season is typically a time focused on family and being thankful for the best things in your life. This is the most true around Thanksgiving. Now that the day is over and we’re well into black Friday, I thought I’d make mention of the generosity that I happened to see over the break. My mother belongs to a women’s club in my hometown. They do charity work in the area and for Thanksgiving they collect food for those who may not be able to afford a Thanksgiving dinner. This year they broke records thanks to one anonymous donor who sent a truck full of food to the donation drop off location.

Just from personal experience, many of us know what it is like to feel the joy of giving a gift to another. In a New York Times article written by Tara Parker-Pope, gift giving is seen as one of the best things that can provide a psychological benefit this holiday season. In fact, she states that “Indeed, psychologists say it is often the giver, rather than the recipient, who reaps the biggest psychological gains from a gift.” When it comes to the gift of food, I believe it may have even further beneficial results. Food is a great gift to an entire family, especially if they would have had trouble putting it on their tables otherwise. It provides everyone with a gift that they can enjoy and give them a great opportunity to get together and celebrate the holidays. I hope that this giving extends from Thanksgiving into other occasions this season. I encourage others to take the joy of giving material items such as toys and include the gift of food for those who need it. The smiles of those who receive food are brilliant and the community output which was shown in my own town was fantastic. This picture to the right was just half of the space that was given to collect donations. If you’re interested in reading the article on the psychology of gift giving, you can find it here. I enjoyed my holiday break and I hope you all did as well!

Shannon

Dumpster Diving and Freegans

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Kathleen Leavey

The article, “Not Buying It” in the New York Times, explains the concept of dumpster diving with a whole new perspective. People who dumpster dive, also known as freegans, may be smarter than we think. Freegans are people “living off consumer waste in an effort to minimize their support of corporations and their impact on the planet, and to distance themselves from what they see as out-of-control consumerism.” Coming from a family where I was taught not to waste food, I could not believe the amount of food freegans are able to scavenge off of the streets and in garbage cans. At first, it was surprising to me that the freegan culture of eating out of garbage cans is so prominent; yet, after further research, freegan’s actions are starting to seem a little more normal to me and actually maybe even practical.

The New York Times Article follows a group of NYU students who are trying out dumpster diving after the semester is over, and students have moved out. When I was reading this I was shocked at the amount of goods students were able to find in the trash and I was even more shocked that students even threw these items away in the first place! These dumpster divers found items such as a Sharp television, full cases of laundry detergent, a working desk lamp, and much more. This actually opens my eyes to the amount of perfectly good items this generation considers as waste. This wastefulness is the reason dumpster divers are so successful. After finding out how much can actually be scavenged out of the trash, I actually do not blame people for turning this into a culture. Why not take it if its legal, free, and in good to decent condition?

This article also mentions a more modern take on dumpster diving. There are actually websites available where people post their items online to give away and freegans can log on to claim these items for free. The website is freecycle.org. It is as simple as typing in your area code, and a list of free items pop up that are fair game to claim. I even found a 55 gallon fish tank, a sweater, and microwaves being given away just in my town, how crazy!

Dumpster Diving and Food Waste in Popular TV Shows

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Lauren Fay

Recently, we’ve been discussing food wasting and dumpster diving in class. During these discussions, I kept thinking about episodes that I have seen of some of my favorite shows that incorporate either food waste or dumpster diving. There are shows about these topics and documentaries about these very real problems, but I wanted to talk about these problems as seen in popular sitcoms that present the problem in a humorous way. Even though this issue isn’t a laughing matter, I think that it’s great to have television shows that people actually watch showing this very real problem.

In The Office, Steve Carrell plays an incredibly uneducated boss that lives in his own little world. In one episode he gets lost in Scranton, PA (even though that’s where he lives and works) and also doesn’t have any money or a cell phone on him. Starting to get hungry, Michael looks for a way to get food. He stops at a hot dog stand and asks the worker if he can have a hot dog even though he can’t pay. Michael tells the man he will leave his watch with him and will come back later to pay. The man says no and Michael says “what do you do with the hot dogs you don’t sell at the end of the day.” “Throw them out,” the man replies. To add humor to the situation Michael responds with “well then why don’t you throw one out into my mouth.” Of course the man does not go for this and turns Michael away leaving him hungry. Although this is a funny and fake situation, it calls our attention to the problem of food waste. This stand was throwing away perfectly good food at the end of the day instead of giving it to the poor and hungry. Although this a fake stand, I’m positive there are stands in the real world that do the very same thing.

The next show is Seinfeld starring Jerry Seinfeld (as Jerry), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (as Elaine), Jason Alexander (as George) and Michael Richards (as Kramer). In one episode, Elaine gets the idea for a muffin shop that only sells the tops of muffins because the tops are the only parts that people really want to eat. Her idea is stolen and the muffin shop is opened and becomes a hit. After yelling at the man who stole her idea, he lets her become a partner in the business and she tells him he’s making the muffins wrong. He was just making the tops, but Elaine tells him he needs to make the whole muffin and cut the stumps off and throw them away. Kramer is asked to take the bags of perfectly good muffins stumps to a garbage dump. He unsuccessfully tries to throw the muffins stumps away at two different dumps. He gets turned away because what he was throwing away wasn’t garbage, but food. The muffin stumps end up with one of Jerry’s neighbors who eats them all. Again, in this fake situation we see food almost being wasted and thrown away. Of course the stumps do eventually get eaten, but not by someone in need. That food could make a difference if distributed to the right people.

One short example of dumpster diving is in Parks and Recreation where Andy Dwyer (played by Chris Pratt) dumpster dives in order to avoid going back to his job in London. He hides in the dumpster and his wife April (played by Aubrey Plaza) finds him. After encouraging him to go back to work, Andy dumpster dives once more to find his wallet. He also finds noodles and goes to eat them, but April tells him not too.

The last example has to do more with dumpster diving then it does food waste, but shows the life of a freegan, a group of people we learned about in class. In It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, two of the main characters, Charlie (played by Charlie Day) and Frank (played by Danny DeVito) embrace a life of dumpster diving. In fact they furnish their entire apartment using the dumpster. They find things they need and things they most certainly do not in the dumpster and view it all as treasure. Their apartment becomes insanely cluttered and disgusting and makes for a very funny situation. The episode shows that there are real people that do this and that valuable things can be found in a dumpster, but in this situation not everything you find is valuable. You know what they say, one man’s trash is another mans treasure.