Food Inc is a Commercial for Rich People

        I was unimpressed by Food, Inc's attempt to dig up sympathy from me. For example, I was not fazed when I watched how cruelly the pigs and cows were treated on the farm. That is because I knew that no matter how well they were treated, they would end up in the slaughterhouse anyway. The film seems to call for a more civilized method of animal farming, but what would be the point of that? There is no such thing as civilized slaughtering.
         I was bothered by the film's ending that made it sound like a two-hour long commercial geared for middle-upper class citizens. The ultimate message was basically "Buy organic food." This is not bad advice, but I was hoping for a more realistic solution. After all, not many people can afford to shop at Whole Foods. One of these poor people is me, and so although this film opened my eyes to a big problem, it did not give me a solution. This film has only made me realize that I am forever doomed to suffocate from processed food until I make some money.

         I did not appreciate the film's criticism of corn because I am grateful towards artificial corn syrup for providing me with an abundance of cheap, convenient food. My immigrant parents were able to make a living in America by relying on such food. While growing up, I would eat with them at McDonalds everyday because there was no money for healthy food and no time for cooking; each of my parents struggled to maintain a minimum wage job. Even with the help of fast food, the bills and rent were rarely paid on time. I cannot even imagine where we would be if we were forced to spend money on expensive organic food. Even today, I am grateful that I have the privilege of purchasing from a dollar menu.
          Although Food, Inc attempted to encourage me to eat organic food, I will continue to eat whatever I want because of one vital fact; I work out. As long as I stay active by playing basketball and lifting weights, I will allow myself to eat as many Big Macs as I want. However, because of my passion for working out, I tend to choose healthier foods for the sake of my performance. Nevertheless, I do not restrict myself from any specific foods. I have had this outlook all my life and I am not even close to being obese nor have I had any heart attacks. I rarely even catch a cold. So why should I listen to what Food, Inc has to say? I trust myself more than I trust a movie.

Extra Credit Playing Devil's Advocate

        Sheila Jasanoff made valid points in her rebuttal against Bharati Mukherjee's ideas in "Two Ways to Belong in American." Unlike Mukherjee, Jasanoff believe that there are many ways to enjoy life in America. Instead of adhering strictly to either her native culture or American culture, she incorporates a healthy mix of both into her life. She argues that one of the greatest benefits in living in America is that this country encourages people to be unique. She also argues that an identity is made up of more than just patches of black or white like how Mukherjee may have us believe.
        However, Mukherjee does has a point. When describing someone's identity, we use adjectives that are only black of white. For example, Arnold Schwartznegger is famous for being courageous and buff; his identity is created by his courage and muscles. He cannot also be cowardly and scrawny. Likewise, a person cannot be a conformist and an exile; a person cannot love and hate America at the same time.
        Although Jasanoff criticizes Mukherjee for being close-minded, I believe that Jasanoff is naive. I agree that a gray area does exist, but only by mixing black and white. I have always believed that our true selves surface when life takes a turn for the worst. For example, only when I am in grave danger will I realize whether or not I am a coward. It is also the moment I can see which of my friends are worth calling my brothers and which are not. I cannot be a coward and be brave at the same time, much like how I cannot consider my friend to be my brother and a traitor. Likewise, Mukherjee cannot be an American and an Asian when those two ethnicities wage war against each other. Which side will she choose? Her decision will become the black or white that warps the shade of gray that is her identity.
        Jasanoff and Mukherjee have different interpretations of what an identity is. While both have general beliefs about it, they do not define it. However, I will: Our identities are not the people we pretend to be when life is going well, they are the people we will become when our lives are at stake. Many of us never get to find out who we really are. 

Food is Everything

      In his article, "What We Eat," Eric Schlosser discusses his views on the fast food industry's rise to power and how its influence has revolutionized American culture. He scornfully states how the fast food industry, which used to be nothing more than a few hot dog stands, has "infiltrated" our society and has established chains of franchises practically everywhere. Although many may believe that our society's food choices does nothing more than affect our diet, Schlosser argues that it also plays a role in the general quality of our lifestyles by shaping our landscape, economy, workforce, and pop culture. He uses McDonalds as an example that influenced our workforce by raising the fact that it has been annually hiring one million people. He employs a method of comparing and contrasting to emphasize the extent of McDonald's influence; For example, he states that Ronald McDonald is as well-known as Santa Clause. We all know how influential and well-known Santa Clause is. Schlosser uses many other methods to convey his ideas.
         "Pull open the glass door, feel the rush of cool air, walk in, get on line..." By using such descriptive narration and process-analysis, Schlosser embellishes an experience that people have come to take for granted. By doing so, he demonstrates that purchasing fast food has become as routinely for us Americans as watching Hollywood movies and putting on blue jeans. With narration, he shows us that fast food has not only been absorbed by our stomachs, but by our American culture too.
          Schlosser analyzes exactly how fast food has caused our culture to change, and he gives his opinion on the effects. For example, he raises the fact that when the McDonalds franchises were established, they each employed the same, prescribed business model that maximized efficiency and profit. It was only natural for other industries (besides those involved with fast food) to adopt and incorporate a similar model into their own businesses. Those that conformed to this standard set by McDonalds got big while many that did not conform went bankrupt. The ultimate effect can be seen all over our country that is now filled with Gaps, Starbucks, Foot Lockers, and other franchises that have made strides towards monopolizing their own industries.
          By using a multitude of methods, Schlosser constructs a solid argument. He chose perfect times to use each method which led to flawless transitioning between paragraphs. This paved the way for a smooth flow of ideas that climaxed into his thesis about American culture being changed by food.
           I had never thought that food could be so influential, but I am now enlightened after reading "What We Eat." Schlosser does a fine job by backing up every one of his assertions with a carefully-placed example. It is hard not to agree with him.