[KC]: 3P Self-Eval Quarter 3

Remember, you should be truthfully evaluating yourself in your participation and progress over this quarter. Give yourself a score out of 100 for each and justify it with a paragraph responding to the prompts in the image. Due by FRIDAY - no exceptions. Happy reflecting! :]

Taxing Unhealthy Foods May Be Our Only Option

In the article, "Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables," written by Mark Bittman, it is discussed that the main contributor to obesity found amongst Americans is based on the amount of spending that goes into promoting unhealthy food for consumers. When the food industry does everything with the idea of, "how much can I profit from this product?" in mind, the battle against changing our eating habits gets harder and harder. Knowing that a large percentage of Americans are diagnosed with obesity aren't doing much about it becuase no healthier options are being advertised. Cheetos on a commercial look more appetizing than a brocolli does in a store... that is just how the food industry operates and I am concerned with the future of American health and spending. The article goes on to say that, "rather than subsidizing the production of unhealthful foods, we should turn the tables and tax things like soda, french fries, doughnuts, and hyperprocessed snacks." I completely agree with this article and it perfectly ties into my research paper because my topic concerns unhealthful advertising in low-income communities. Taxing foods that are harmful to one's health will do more help than harm and not enough people are aware of that fact. We must become more of a generation that cares about what we are deciding to put into our bodies. Promoting healthy and clean eating is a major priority in the fight against diabetes, obesity, and other diseases affecting the heart. 

My research topic is on how unhealthy advertising is affecting low-income communities immensely. This artcle and the other written by Waters, show the reader that promoting a healthy lifestyle cannot be done alone. I found this website on how unhealthy advertising affects children at such a young age. It could be helpful for psychological aspects of advertisement as well as "the cause and effect."

http://www.apa.org/topics/kids-media/food.aspx

In Bittman and Waters' articles, they both focus about Americans to change their diet and how the unhealthy foods that are being served in public schools. Furthermore, Alice Waters talks about how the school lunches are unhealthy because schools are only receiving a certain amount of money to pay for school lunches. However, Mark Bittman talks about how taxing unhealthy foods will help society to eat more healthier. I believe that is unnecessary, because I don't think people should pay extra money to fast- food restaurants and comforts food.  

A helpful website that provide me information on the agriculture for my research paper is http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/analysis/2016/04/06/healthy-school-lunches-can-reduce-childhood-obesity-and-diabetes. 
This website talks about of many statistics about the agriculture negatively impacted in America. 

The Bitman and Waters articles both discuss the cheap, unhealthy food options being served to the public by the government. Bad Foods? Tax it and Subsidize Vegetables exposes how the government makes it easier for us all to purchase processed foods rather than healthy options. They have made organic, healthy food unobtainable for many of us, and dramatically lowered prices for fast food. Bitman believes that there should be higher taxes placed on unhealthy and processed foods to steer consumers away from buying those products. By doing this there would be a drastic decease in dietary diseases, and he even goes on to talk about how, "... a 20% increase in the price of sugary drinks nationally could result in abut a 20% decrease in consumptions," which will prevent millions of Americans from reaching obesity. Furthermore, Waters and Heron write about how the system for school lunches needs to be replaced and remodeled to fit the current needs of the students. The school food system fails to meet standards and American children end of getting diseases they wouldn't have with the proper nutrition

The following article discusses family farming and the economy https://www.farmaid.org/our-work/family-farmers/rebuilding-americas-economy-with-family-farm-centered-food-systems/

Unhealthy Foods Should be Taxed

After analyzing Mark Bittman’s article, “Bad Food? Tax it, and Subsidize Vegetables” he discusses the controversy between the food industry and its consumers, promoting harmful foods that can have a bad effect on many individuals overall health. He asserts his main points throughout the article proposing that the federal government should fulfill its role by implementing a more bold national fix to correct unhealthy eating habits. He believes that if the government decides to start taxing these unhealthy foods, can eventually gear more individuals towards healthy eating which will reduce the obesity problem that lies within the nation. Given from the article the fast food industry spent nearly over 4 billion dollars on advertisement, seeing those great deals on hamburger combos sounds more appealing rather than an overpriced salad at a restaurant, and sadly that is simply what our nation is more geared to. In Alice Waters article, “No Lunch Left Behind” she also reveals the food system within schools that affects children’s dietary habits in the long run. Many do believe that the government should do more funding towards the school lunch meals that are more healthy even though it will cost more.

https://www.productliabilityadvocate.com/2017/04/mislabeled-food-products-risk-allergic-reaction/

My research topic is on the mislabeling of food items that can have a overall effect on your well being. This article discusses how improper mislabeled food items can cause an allergic reaction.

There are many ways in which people can improve their eating habits but they aren't being put out there. In the article, "Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables" by Mark Bittman, he suggests that there should be higher taxes on unhealthy foods in the market. He believes that this strategy would force people into buying healthier foods for a cheaper price. This can also be seen as a problem in schools  where kids can buy unhealthy foods from vending machines or even getting it from the cafeteria. In the article, "No Lunch Left Behind" by Alice Waters and Katrina Heron, they state that many school districts give their students "[...]high-fat, low-grade meats and cheeses and processed foods like chicken nuggets and pizza", which is very bad for their health. Bittman and Waters both show that the only way Americans are going to improve their health is by going against the food industry and revolting against how they run things. The food industry is only looking at making a profit, and they are succeeding

My topic that I am researching is on the benefits and risks that come along with the consumption of genetically modified foods, and if they are necessary to feed the rest of the world. I researched some information here: http://mmoc.med.umich.edu/

In Bitman and Waters articles, both discuss the harmful, low-quality foods being willingly served to the public by the government. In Bad Food? Tax it and Subsidize Vegetables, points out the failings of the government in making healthy food an obtainable necessity. By keeping up this industry of low cost, low quality junk food, public health risks are at an all-time high. He offers some solutions to this epidemic, including taxing unhealthy foods to help subsidize the price of healthier food alternatives, that could help solve this very serious epidemic. In the same vein as Mark Bitman's article, Alice Waters and Katrina Heron call for a public school nutrition reform in their article No Lunch Left Behind. With school lunches given scraps in terms of food and funding, children who rely on these school lunches are left to suffer. By putting more care, funding, and research into the school lunch system, a change can be made that will make the system cheaper and healthier in the long run.

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/factory-farming-is-killing-the-environment/
My topic is the environmental tolls of factory farming and this article provides a quick list of some of the harmful side effects of factory farming. It is very useful for getting a general look at some of the more prominent factors hurting the environment.

Eating Greasy Foods with Type 2 Diabetes

After analyzing Mark Bittman’s article “Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables, along with Alice Waters and Katrina Heron’s “No Lunch Left Behind”, both authors convey their distaste for the government’s lack of actively enforcing healthy alternatives and opportunities for Americans. To elaborate, Bittman explains how the government should implement taxes on unhealthy and processed foods to encourage a decrease in their sells, by doing so there would be a great decrease in dietary diseases. He supports his argument through several implications of how this phenomenon would impact the American population, as he states how “a 20 percent increase in the price of sugary drinks nationally could result in about a 20 percent decrease in consumption… which could prevent 1.5 million Americans from being obese…”; with this statistical data, Bittman illustrates the great impact that taxing unhealthy foods may have if executed. Furthermore, Waters and Heron convey how the current system for school lunches must be scratched and replaced with a new, and improved program. The two authors describe ways in which healthy eating can be applied within the school setting, they note how programs such as the National School Lunch Program simply supply school districts with foods that “routinely fail to meet basic nutritional standards”; as a result, American children are victims of poor eating within the school setting and increase their likelihood of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

The writers all demonstrate the changes ourgovernment must take in order to truly provide the American people with a healthy, full lifestyle. The information they provided helps further my research as it’ll help support my position in the impact systematically placed fast food restaurants have on minority communities. Other sources that have helped me support my position includes: https://cleanair.camfil.us/2017/10/13/fast-food-emissions-killing-us/ which speaks on behalf of the harmful gases that fast food restaurants emit.

In the articles “Bad Food? Tax it, and Subsidize Vegetables “ written by Mark Bittman, and “Mo Lunch Left Behind” written by Alice Waters, both are about the topic of food politics. Bittman talks abouthis idea to raise the price of unhealthy foods rather than the actual healthy foods in hopes it will decrease the rat of obesity. Waters’s article she exposes the government for funding unhealthy foods to schools for lunch, adding more oil to flame as people are trying to eat healthier but now their kids are still eating unhealthy because of the food they are being served at school.
My research topic is about growth hormones and rbgh’s in our dairy cows and beef cattle and how they might be putting our health at risk, most likely the cause of our shorter lifespan than other countries that do not use those products.

Looking Out for the Health of Consumers

The health of many consumers is a major concern in American society, but many people are not proposing methods on improving our eating habits. In the article, "Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables" by Mark Bittman, he suggests that the food industry should be taxed even higher for marketing unhealthy foods. He believes that in doing so, it would push people into paying for cheaper, healthier foods. We can see this also being a problem in public places like school. Many students are persuaded into buying and eating unhealthy food, and it is often served in the cafeterias as well. In the article, "No Lunch Left Behind" by Alice Waters and Katrina Heron, they state that many school districts give their students "[...]high-fat, low-grade meats and cheeses and processed foods like chicken nuggets and pizza", which is critical to their health. Bittman and Waters both express that the only way Americans are going to improve their health is by taking a stand against the food industry because it is only looking forward to increase its profit.

My topic that I am researching is on the benefits and risks that come along with the consumption of genetically modified foods, and if they are necessary to feed the rest of the world. I researched some information here:

 https://monsanto.com/innovations/biotech-gmos/

As I read through Mark Bittman's article, "Bad Food? Tax it and Subsidize Vegetables" I learned that the main point of the article is to suggesst that unhealthy foods should be taxed, while much more healthy foods should be sold for a cheaper price for the less fortunate. Bitmman argues that making unhealthy foods more expensive would make people not want to buy them, but would end up buying the cheaper alternative, healthier foods. He states that this would reduce obesity, and other food related diseases. In reading Alice Waters article,"No Lunch Left Behind" she argues about how The National School lunch program is beneficial to students; however it is not being given its full potential since most of the funding goes to cafiteria staffing, except for better food ingredients. She then suggests solutions to the problem, and how the program can make better and healthier foods for all students. I like these articles because the deeper meanings, and what both authors were trying to say can be something that relates to my subject of officals performing acts that would make the public more aware of health and topics involving food, and helping those facing food related issues such as obesity.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0510-south-la-food-20150510-story.html%3foutputType=amp

Food Hype

Both Bitman and Walter criticizeour current food system and the way that we all go about food.

Bitman suggests that as obesity, diabetes and cardio vascular diseases sweep across the nation, changes should be made to the current food system and that we should tax foods that are unhealthy for us and make healthy foods less expensive. Yes, if organic and non-GMO foods were more accessible and cheaper, there would be a decrease in obesity rates in America because everyone in a low-income city would be able to afford food that won't harm their health. They won't have the need to buy cheap and sugary goods such as chips and frozen, oven ready meals for their families to consume because that's all they have time for or all they can afford.

Walters talks about making changes to the school lunch system. She goes and talks about how the money the government gives schools for lunch is put into serving unhealthy but somewhat tastier foods. Which I believe is totally wrong because they are serving children and if we or they grow up eating unhealthy then we will remain eating unhealthily. Walters then goes to say that there are way to solve this problem. She talks about how schools in the Berkley area have found ways to subsidize the cost of meals, but still remain healthy.



Most of what Bittman has written pertains to my research topic the most so I would use his article for assistance because it has a lot of valuable information for me. If you are in search of an article that discusses food addiction, here is a good article.




https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-overcome-food-addiction

Taxes and Lunches

In Mark Bittman's article "Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables", he discusses his idea on taxing unhealthy food to make it less convenient to buy when compared to healthier foods. He proposes the idea with the conclusion that obesity, disease, and other food-related issues will decline with people being less inclined to buy sugary foods for an extra price. Acknowledging that companies that process junk food would be affected by the change, Bittman supports his idea with the argument that people will buy healthier foods that are cheaper, specifically the poor, thus improving their overall health. However, I disagree with his idea due to the ongoing inflation of the economy. Every few years, prices and the minimum wage of jobs raise slightly, making little difference between the price of products (food in this case) each time. Adding an extra dollar or two to the current price of foods won't really come as a huge difference to people, and they'll simply continue buying the same unhealthy foods. And, while healthy foods would become more convenient to buy, people would most likely buy a mix of them with unhealthy foods, maintaining a diet similar to the one we currently have.
In Alice Waters and Katrina Heron's article "No Lunch Left Behind", they discuss the issue of government funding for unhealthy school lunch programs. They enlighten us on how billions of dollars are spent each year to fund school lunch programs, but the majority of the money goes into maintaining the cafeterias and paying their workers rather than the kids, who end up eating unhealthy foods that contribute to bad health. In contrast to the current system, Waters and Heron suggest a revised lunch system where only foods that are freshly grown and unprocessed are served, arguing that kids would develop healthier eating habits and diets overall, though it would remain expensive. In my opinion, the introduction of healthier school lunch programs are definitely possible and can easily be done by Congress, as Waters and Heron mentioned in the article. I've stepped away from getting school lunch all together because, no matter how healthy they make it seem, the pizza does not seem fresh. Neither do other foods like the chicken nuggets, or chicken sandwiches they always seem to serve. Even most of the vegetables seem recooked or come in packages, like carrot bags. It all does not seem a hundred percent healthy, and I agree fresh foods imported from a farm would definitely be more beneficial to schools everywhere.

My current research topic revolves around fast food playing a part in the spread of food-related diseases and obesity in Americans, as well as countries that have been inspired by the eating habits of the United States. Here's an article about the growth of fast food industries and their effects.
http://archive.commercialalert.org/issues/education/soft-drinks/the-fast-food-trap-how-commercialism-creates-overweight-children
-Kris Rubalcava

Bittman's article talks Americans changing their eating habits and responsibilities. How taxes on on food would reduce consumption of unhealthful foods and generate billions of dollars annually. That money could be used to subsidize the purchase of foods like seasonal greens, vegetables, whole grains, and fruit. This article also explains that putting a tax on soda and all sugar-sweetened beverages could help the market. Basically this article is talking about how putting a tax on sweet things and junk food will make people stay clear of those more and go more towards healthy food. Waters’ article is about school districts and what they serve to students. When they serve fast food ingredients they are failing to meet the nutritional standards. But, it’s all about money after all. The government needs to give more money to these schools so they can serve better food to us making us healthier. I think these two articles really point out to us the financials of this whole issue and if we all just start our kids off with being healthy and eating good it should help them once they grow up and go into the real world. I also think the tax on the unhealthy food should be tried in a state to see how it goes because I think it is a good idea.

mark bittman

his articles is about the amount of tax that the American people are paying for the unhealthy foods they are putting in their mouths. he states that "rather then subsidizing the production of unhealthy food we should turn the tables and tax like soda, French fries, donuts, and hyperprossed snacks" (bad food? tax it, and subsidize vegetables , brittman , 5). he goes on to saying that we should be putting veggies and fruit rather then chips and soda in the market stores and corner stores. I don't feel like this article would help the research paper that I am righting however it did provide good facts and data that may help someone else righting along this topic.

alice waters and katrina heron

this article was focused on school lunches and the failed program they have going on. the two authors brought up that the food they are serving students during lunch time have the same ingredients as a fast food restaurant would have. they say that the school lunches aren't healthy no matter how much they say it is healthy. they bring up some ways to change the system like maybe using local farmers and maybe even hiring actual cooks. they bring up the idea to not use premaid food and to actually cook the food because the money they are getting for the school lunches aren't really being used totally on school lunches. yes I do believe I can use this article for my research project considering we are both talking about the school lunches and how corrupt the system is.

my top is about food waste in the school system and how much the average students waste the food everyday.
https://www.ted.com/talks/tristram_stuart_the_global_food_waste_scandal

More Taxes?!

In Mark Bittman's article, "Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables", he discusses how to decrease American consumption of junk food. His solution is to add extra taxes on foods with high amounts of sugar. With the new tax money paid, he planned to have it put into health programs that'll help fight obesity. So, not only does Bittman believe that the tax increase would discourage people from spending the extra money to buy junk food, but the extra profits can also be used to help ensure a healthier society. He also makes a point that by creating a healthier society, the government would have to spend less money on disease prevention like diabetes. It is suggested that the government stops creating subsidies for corn to make syrup, and to instead put subsidies on vegetables or fill vending machines with fruits and vegetables, a useful idea to help poor communities be able to afford healthier options. In Alice Waters' article, "No Lunch Left Behind", she speaks about the unhealthy food in school lunch programs. She explains that these same ingredients given to kids to supposedly help them become healthier, are the found in fast foods as well. Her solution is to get rid of the current way kids are provided food in school and to serve unprocessed, healthy food.

http://frac.org/obesity-health/low-income-food-insecure-people-vulnerable-poor-nutrition-obesity

This link provides many different factors that go into why poor communities struggle with adapting to healthier lifestyles.

Junk Food Taxes

In the article "Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables," author Mark Bittman discusses ideas to influence healthier eating such as taxing junk foods heavy and subsidizing healthier alternatives. He suggests that placing taxes on all junk foods like fries and sodas are justifiable because over 30 cities and states have tried to tax sugary beverages in the past. This is a problem that the government must step in to solve. Many people believe that a lot of these health problems could've easily been solved by the government but they even encourage it because it brings in profit. Mark Bittman wants the government to stop subsidizing junk food and start supporting healthy foods. He claims that bad foods that contain high levels of sugar are so cheap and easy to get that it is easier to buy a box of Froot Loops than it is to buy fruits. If taxes were to be placed on unhealthy foods, the results would be very beneficial to our health and economy. A researcher, Claire Wang, explains that taxes in unhealthy food would bring in $1 billion dollars annually and prevent thousands of cases of diabetes which would lead to saving billions in health care.

http://theweek.com/articles/457135/5-modern-diseases-grown-by-factory-farming
I used this source in my research to figure out some of the more popular and current diseases found in our food caused directly by the process of factory farming.

Mark Bittman

In Mark Bittman's article "Bad Food? Tax it, and Subsidize Vegetables", he writes about ways to eliminate the growing percentage of people with obesity and how to combat bad diets in the United States. Bittman argues that in order to stop the consumption of unhealthy foods that the government should tax items such as soda, or any other junk food and in doing so we can use the money earned from this so called "soda tax" and use it fund for more healthier options and prevent the growing number of diabetes and other related diseases. In Alice Waters article "No Lunch Left Behind", she writes about the National School Lunch Program to help schools and students afford and be able to eat during their meal break. However, the programs money is often used for other criteria such as staffing and appliances to make the food. It also talks about how better funding would help solve the problems and issuses the program is facing and can provide better and healthier food options to students. I like this article because it relates to my topic of how the use of government in our food system often fails and it presents ways to make programs more efficient.

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0098858815591528
This source helped me find my answers to whether our government is working to benefit our food system or if its failing.

In Mark Bittman's article "Bad Food? Tax It and Subsidize Vegetables", he talks about the ideas of taxing unhealthy foods. He thinks that if he makes them more expensive people would stop buying the and choose to eat something else that is cheaper and hopefully healthier. Corporations will continue to advertise unhealthy foods as long as they keep getting paid. These corporations don't necessarily care about the consumers as much as they care about the money that is going into their pockets. In Alice Waters and Katrina Heron's article "No Lunch Left Behind", she is mainly talking about the National School Lunch program and how bad it is for the kids. The foods that are served do not meet the food standards and the kids aren't getting the proper nutrition that thy need. These children are being taught at a old age to eat the wrong this. The obese rates are going to keep rising especially when the kids continue to eat unhealthy.

For my research project i am talking about low income areas and why they have so many unhealthy places for the people to eat without having healthier resources.

https://search.proquest.com/science/docview/215086421/2BC56F7F680A47A9PQ/1?accountid=164484

In Mark Bittman's article "Bad Food? Tax It and Subsidize Vegetables",  he suggest the idea of taxing unhealthy foods, such as; soda, fries, chips, and doughnut. Bittman believes that by taxing these food it will discourage the purchase of them. Companies don't care about the consumers' health, only their money. So corporations continue to advertise and influence Americans to bu and eat bad foods. By creating this food tax, it is estimated to generate $13 billion a year income and reduce consumption by 24 percent. In Alice Waters and Katrina Heron's article "No Lunch Left Behind", it introduces the idea that the National School Lunch Program is not a good program at all. In this program it gives $9 billion for school cafeterias, but that money isn't just for food but other services in the cafeteria. Schools offer children unhealthy and bad quality foods that are pre made and heated before serving. Many of the foods sold fail to meet nutritional standards. We start teaching our children unhealthy eating habits at a young age. The food served to them is no shock to the rising child obesity rates.

My essay is on food related diseases in America and one source I found to be very informational is the movie What the Health on Netflix by director Kip Anderson. It has a lot of information the relation between the food we eat and the diseases it causes.

In Mark Bittman's article, Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables, he addressed the concepts mainly about placing taxes on unhealthy, more processed food. He stated that there's a high obesity rate and many other health problems across the country that must be changed. Placing these taxes would influence people to buy foods that are healthier because they'll be cheaper, avoiding foods with higher taxes. People today want to eat healthy but it's become too expensive. Taxing "junk" foods can effect companies but at the same time may help the public to choose better organic foods. This can only happen if the government gets involved in the public's health so people can contribute to healthier food choices.

In Alice Waters and Katrina Heron's article, No Lunch Left Behind, there is an issue with what the government funds for school lunch programs. Most foods served at school is more unhealthy than fast food meals. They keep doing this because it's cheaper. Resulting meals continuously fail to meet the lowest basic health standards. Every student deserves to have a good and healthy lunch provided to them at school concerning a child's health.

My topic of my research paper is about how plants and animals are produced for food and if it's safe, healthy, and humane for consumers. This source gives information on exactly how animals are slaughtered and treated so people can understand that something has to be done about it.

http://www.sustainabletable.org/274/animal-welfare

Greed over health

When reading over the Bittman article, I was surprised at what I found. Bittman explains the idea behind taxing unhealthy food and making the healthy food cheap and easily accessible, the opposite of what it is now. This seems like such a logical and intelligent plan to lower the amount of diabetes and heart disease patients in the country, yet, this plan is hardly being used anywhere in the country. Just because it's cheaper to produce processed foods, they get marketed more and appeal to those who can’t afford organic food. This shows where the government’s priorities lie. It isn’t the people they are concerned about, its money. This is further explored in the article by Alice Waters, only here the focus is school lunches. Schools have similar priorities as they hardly have any money to begin with. When there is so little money to work with, you start having to cut corners and make sacrifices. In this case, the sacrifice is the good health of the students. The health of the students should be one of the most prioritized aspects of the school. What good are top grades if the person behind them is slowly killing themselves with the food they consume?

https://www.epa.gov/safepestcontrol/food-and-pesticides

The topic I am writing about has to do with pesticides in food. This website above talks all about the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and what they do to ensure that consumers are not in any danger from the food they eat.

[KC]: First Course of the PoF Blog

Hi all!

Here's your first course of the blog.

Task 1: Read and understand the Bittman and Waters articles in your packet.
Task 2: Respond to them in a blog post:
   --- What main ideas are presented in the articles? What information do they provide about the food industry and how politics ties to it? Are there any great points which might help your research?
Task 3: Provide one reputable source you've found that might help someone with a similar research topic as you. This could be a link to an article, a video, a chart, etc. Be sure to state what your topic is so that others will know whether or not this source will help them.

Then, comment on at least one other post.

This first course is DUE Wednesday, March 21st by 6pm. 

[KC]: "Your Food Story" Instructions

Remember, we're writing this in class tomorrow during our Freewrite Friday time-slot. Brainstorm a bit tonight to get your ideas gather. It's reflective, but you are also a CREATOR in this.