Paper 3 source

http://www.jstor.org/stable/29525369?&Search=yes&term=vegetarian&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dvegetarian%26gw%3Djtx%26prq%3Dvegetarian%2Bhybrid%26hp%3D25%26wc%3Don&item=2&ttl=5816&returnArticleService=showArticle.

i found this article of Jstor.com after doing some research on the vegetarian diet. I read through some of it and it seems to be useful so we'll see when it comes down to judgement day.

Norman Borlaug'sArticle

Norman Borlaug is obviously a very intelligent man. I mean half the stuff he discussed in his article went right over my head the first time reading it. Now that I think I understand what it is exactly he was discussing I think he has a very good head on his shoulders full of logic. He seems to be on a bio technical stand point for crops, but also respects that some food products even after being genetically modified, are certainly not perfect. I also believe and agree with him for calling out the reporter from Nairobi who used the critics from South Africa and Ethiopia to support his argument that supplies from America for aid are genetically modified so that we can trap them into buying crops from us for now on, but as Mr. Borlaug says these critics have no scientific facts to base these opinions off of. Nothing pisses me off more than when some idiot has a grudge and feels he can just go around making assumption and pointing fingers with out and evidence.

Omnivore's Dilemma; Chapter 15

Chapter 15 of Omnivore's Dilemma was a short chapter on how Pollan was preparing to make a meal from sustenance of all foraging groups. Fruits, vegetables, fungi, and meat were what made up this meal and he wanted to find and gather enough of each to make his first meal that he has ever gathered all of the needs to create. Pollan had just moved to California, so he was not to familiar with the area, so he decided to hire a foraging Virgil. This way he would not have to worry about shooting the wrong animal, picking the wrong fungi, nor consuming the wrong forage. I would say this was a smart move on Pollan's behalf, especially when you have just moved to an area that you are not familiar with.

Pollan seems to poke fun at how easy it is for a resident of California to buy a firearm, but can't take aim at an animal before taking hunter's education. I personally don't believe that you should have to take hunters education to buy and own a firearm, but I do think it is a good idea. Hunters education teaches you allot of common sense things like the proper way of carrying a gun over a fence and things like this, things you think people should already know, but the truth is that they wouldn't teach it if it wasn't a problem so what most think to be common sense is often not common sense until they have taken hunters education or some safety class on guns. So maybe if you don't feel like taking hunters education you should still have to take some sort of firearm safety course before being allowed to purchase a firearm of any sort. Not every person buying a gun has handled one before so accidents are immanent, so why not send them through a class before allowing them to buy a gun and giving them the chance to learn from trial and error.

I think Pollan made a good choice by not eating the mushroom he found while on his nature hike. That kind of thing should really be left to a professional and maybe once you have been taught by a proffesional, then you too could be an expert on the matter. Maybe if he had consumed that familiar looking fungi he might not of ever finished this book. haha

Omnivore's Dilemma Chapter 16

This chapter in Omnivore's Dilemma is all about... well just that, an Omnivore's Dilemma. Pollan discusses how humans and rats are both similar in the since that they are both omnivores, but unlike rats, humans have fallen away from natural instincts on choosing foods and began to rely on advertisement, and scientists to chose their diet for them instead. Pollan also discusses how this is a Capitalist doing, and that it's all about making money. Michael Pollan right or wrong is a very clever opinionated man. Whether he bends the words of others to get his point across, or if he just lays out cold hard facts, he leaves me with a sense of just wanting to stop all this packaged, marketed crap and go back to home grown farms and family dinners where everyone actually sits together and enjoys the same home grown meal. After all wasn't that once the "American Dream"? All in all Pollan seems to leave me longing for a new movement away from fast food and back towards farmers markets every time I read a chapter. So if this was his goal he did a very good job at getting it through to me.

They Say, I Say; Chapter 6

Planting a "Naysayer" in you texts proves to be very clever. Nothing like putting your worst critics in their place by addressing the problems they were hoping to point out. One should really try to pick an argument that doesn't need to have too many flaws pointed out though because if your argument is that flawed then maybe should be arguing against the topic, not for it.
I really liked the section on naming your "Naysayers" because it all just seems like a mild way to be as professional as possible while still being a smart ass. haha i love it. The examples they used are all common "Naysayers" as well so maybe that's why this area made me chuckle. "Feminists" haha. But yes, we should also remember that stereotyping hurts and is also unnecessary, so we must refrain from doing so at all times if we wish for our works to be taken seriously. So needless labeling should always be avoided.
This chapter will hopefully prove to be useful in the papers to come and I must admit that it has been quite some time since I have "planted a Naysayer" in my works so I hope I will get the chance real soon. Maybe a research paper in the future?

Omnivore's Dilemma Chapter 12

These little mom and pop shops are what I grew up on. My family used to own the only butcher shop in our town till we sold it to another family that had also grown up there. Going out on the butcher truck with my grandpa and dad was not an uncommon thing for me. I think back now and wonder how I didn't turn out messed up, watching countless animals being shot, skinned, gutted, and then hung in the back of the truck each time. Watching this while I was little was fine for me but as I got to be about 10-11 years old I finally started to see through the animals eyes. In Psychology you learn that there are 4 cognitive stages to your childhood. The 3rd one ranging from ages 6-11 years old is where a child gains the ability to see through the eyes of another person or thing. If you were to ask a 5 year old in the audience what the person up on stage can see, they will most likely reply, "the backs of people's heads". This is because they have not yet made the connection that other people visually see things differently then them. Once I roughly reached 10-11 years old I began to see the view the animal saw right before a bullet penetrated their skull at 1800fps. This very quickly became unbearable for me to watch. The sheer helplessness of the animal crushed my heart and mind. As I got older I began to realize that the animal seemed more and more emotionless and I got over the killing part, but for a while their I had to go in front of the truck and plug my ears so I wouldn't actually see nor hear any of the killing happen. It's funny though,I couldn't watch the animal be killed but as soon as in was droped and bleeding out I was fine. I think it was the whole taking of life thing that got me. The animal was alive and thriving and with the squeeze of a finger it's life was ended. I just couldn't take it. Like I said though, that was a phase I went through, I finally understood when I was about 13 that the animals had no idea what was going on and had no feelings towards me nor the rifle. When Pollan discusses the cutting of the chicken's neck it bring me back to that feeling I once had when I was so little. Telling myself that the animal wasn't alive any more, it wasn't suffering, it's movements were nothing more than a fight or flight instict, involuntary. That is all long gone now and by taking one look in my dorm room you'd never think I cared about the life of an animal(deer head hanging on the wall), but the truth is, I believe animals do not precieve death the same way humans do, they do not fear death the way humans do, therefore they cannot be compared. I'm not quite sure what my argument was for this blog other than the fact that I too have felt the same feelings Pollan did when taking an animals life and maybe my question to you is, what do you think is wrong or right? Do animals know exactly what is going on right before they're helplessly executed and my opinion is just a fabrication I developed in my mind to get over death? Or is my way of thinking correct? Do animals have no clue what that stick pointed towards them is going to do? MAybe a class discussion could be in order?

Paper 2 Peer review article citation

Title:
Alcohol Advertising and Alcohol Consumption by Adolescents
Author:
Saffer, Henry; Dave, Dhaval
Author Affiliation:
Unlisted; Unlisted
Source:
2003
Publisher Information:
National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, NBER Working Papers: 9676
Publication Date:
2003