MLK scholarship contest at OSU Marion

Young writers!

Up to $1,500 available in this essay contest on the OSU-Marion campus only.  I encourage you all to enter.  What a great opportunity and what a cause!

Mike



http://osumarion.osu.edu/mlk

 Sister poetry

Dear sister you are an angel in disguise.

Full of intuition, intelligent, and wise.

Always giving and helping through

Good times and bad.

You are the best friend I've ever had. 

If I have one wish it would surely be giving you as much as you've given to me.

Though I've put our relationship through some cloudy days,

You've been my lightning in so many ways.

Through trials and tests, right by me

You stood, and gave me your hand whenever you could.

Thank you so much my sister, my friend

My gratitude for you has no end.

Final exploration-Zach Padovan

The most important theme to me in this documentary is that you should always keep an open mind and take your health seriously. It is very important to not just stick with the mainstream way of eating fast food and not trying to find out where your food is coming from. Americans are to worried about doing things the quick and easy way and are actually less concerned with what could affect them long term in regards to their health, and that is a very scary reality. The evidence is most convincing when we see how the animals should be raised and then when you see how they are actually are raised. It's incredible how the raising of the animals in mass feed lots and chicken coops are so much different from the way they should be raised. It actually is depressing to see how little care is put into tacking care of the animals that will eventually feed millions of Americans.

I do feel that in the film they present an element of fear that is actually disproportional to the actual threat. They do bring up good points and have very striking evidence, but it's extraordinarily biased. It is a very pressing issue that needs attention but the film did make it seem that the world might end if actions aren't taken immediately. I believe that people are completely in control of themselves it is up to them to fix their own health issues. A business is there to make money and if it's at the extent of other people.

Last Exploration

The first quote or theme that shocked me while watching the film "Fresh" was when it stated how, "Americans fear inconvenience". I think that quote can be interpreted in many ways, but in regards to the main theme of the film, and the industrial food industry versus the system farmers use, I find it to be accurate and inspirational.
I think the quote is practical and makes perfect sense with the argument the film seemed to be making. The idea that the industrial food system is harvesting chickens and other livestock in harmful ways--simply for "convenience". Stated in the film specifically, the industry is attempting to be "faster, bigger, and cheaper". I also think the interviews and various primary resources used throughout the film were convincing evidence. Somethings, like pictures of the industrial system, and more disturbing images of animals, stuck out the most to me. I think most Americans, if they are not involved with the food industry, do not stop and think about what they consume on a day to day basis. Thinking back to the Michael Pollan essay in our textbook, from his book The Omnivore's Dilemma, it makes sense that what the industrial food system is doing is wrong.
The essay "The Idea of a Local Economy" coordinates with the film because, the concepts are similar in some ways. For example, in the introductory paragraph, the speaker speaks of the environmental problems we are having in our country and what we should do to change them, "we can't hope to solve these problems without an increase of public awareness and concern".
While watching the film Fresh, I think the message being projected to viewers was done so that the public eye is more aware of what is occurring in the food industry. I believe that the film addressed several other issues and proved their arguments, but the central goal was to make sure the public became aware of the circumstances.
Therefore, both the film Fresh and the essay, "The Idea of a Local Economy", touch base on the fact that the public should become aware and eventually act on the problems currently growing in our environment, society, and food system. 

Last Exploration

One of the biggest themes that occurred in both Fresh and The Idea of a Local Economy is the delegation of resources. Berry uses a model towards the end that talks about the Ogowe region of Africa. in Africa, when timber production is up, this region diverts all of their resources to timber. When then happens, they then become dependent on imports. "Instead they produced timber for export to the world economy, which made them dependent upon imported goods that they bought with money earned from their exports" (Berry 32). This technique of production makes you a slave to the economy because you have nothing to live on. You have to take any price that the imported goods are at because you have zero bargaining chips.

This type of economic system is seen in Fresh as well. Farmers are now moving towards abandoning agriculture and taking up mass livestock. this is equivalent to what is happening in that African region. Joel Salatin says that, "building million-dollar facilities is what is being done because it gets paid of by the 1000 one." He sees this as a stupid investment because by diversifying your productions, (in his case chickens, healthy cattle, and substance farming), it allows him to get maximum efficiency out of his land. the other farmers that grow all livestock are at the mercy of conglomerates such as Tyson, that drown them with binding financial contracts and expenses like feed and antibiotics.

The Last Exploration

The theme of both the essay by Barry and in the film Fresh were the negative effects of overproduction and mass production. Barry focuses on how the economy has become all to political and does so by saying "we live, as we must sooner or later recognize, in an era of sentimental economics and, consequently, of sentimental politics." In the essay Barry focuses on how corporations harm small business and poor people and nations. He claimed that they focus so much on a global scale that they no longer worry about how their actions will affect local business and the people that they are trying to serve with their product. Barry's evidence was most convincing when he compared capitalism to communism. When he compared the two he talked about how they both have total control. In capitalism it was by providing government assistance programs and in communism it was about how religion is to give people a hope that they will have their freedom and a better life in the future, a very well know Marxist idea. My only doubts with Barry was when he discussed about how corporations get off without any problems in legal issues. I think he isn't giving the judicial system much credit there.

In the film Fresh, it is said "Americans only fear one thing, inconvenience. We just want, want, want, all this food and don't care where it came from or how much work went into it." This quote truly shows how Americans don't know where their food comes from, they just care about how easy it is to get. The film focused on all of the horrors of industrial farming (disease, antibiotics, cruel conditions, unhealthy animals, growth hormones) and showed how that all of this bad comes from the very size of the farm. Large, mass producing farms, are putting out unhealthy crops and protein. They focused on how these large farms, simply because of their convenience and ability to put out a cheap harvest are killing small farm. Smaller farms are unable to keep up with production or provide as low of a cost. Quality comes with a price and that was shown. The film showed how a group of small farmers provided their goods to a "local only" grocer and are thriving. The crop is simply better when it stays local and is brought up in a healthy and natural environment.

These two focused on how much better for a given community small business is. When you scale things down to a smaller size the quality becomes better and people's lives improve. When you rely on big corporations to provide you won't receive what is best and that was shown in both the film and the essay. They were about different topics, but tied together very nicely.

Last Exploration - Macy

The film was centered around the topic of our agricultural economy and mass production. As a large country we do not know exactly where our food comes from or what kind of chemicals are injected into it most of the time. Also, many of us do not look at the ingredients in packaged food. Throughout the documentary when they talked about the cattle or livestock having diseases and having to start fresh it struck me. It took me back to the time that mad cow disease was so popular and I remembered being so nervous to eat any form of meat. Overall I really enjoyed the video because I am in an agriculture major so the topics interested me. I always have wondered why do people produce food a certain way just to keep it fresh longer if it is more harmful for our bodies.

To avoid not knowing where our food comes from there are a couple things we could apply to our lives. Shop at locally owned non chain markets. In the essay they make a good point saying "Of course, everything needed locally cannot be produced locally". Although we can grow some of our own food such as potatoes, fruits, vegetables, even spices and seasonings. This way we would always know where the food is from. My family often visits the famous Cleveland West Side Market. You always know where your meat, dairy, vegetables, and fruits came from.

The film connected to the essay because the author was showing that many people in the world focus on one item and when that item runs out they have nothing to turn too. The idea of importing and exporting items came up in both the essay and documentary. The essay I thought was very political and one sided towards how they wanted the economy run when compared with the movie. I had my doubts while reading the essay rather than watching the movie because having one author it was more one sided and I did not believe in everything he had to say.

last exploration

the most important from the films was the food.Its really struck me cause i didnt think of how the animals were.this film was really amazing because i didnt really know how animals live . they only aminals i ever had experience with and get alone with is cat but after i seen this films i relized alot of this.the question is how did the people take care of all of them the same time.the are kind similar from the enviroment.

Last Exploration - Ellie

What really struck me the most in this film was how our food is made and where it comes from. We don't really think about what we're eating, we simply go to the grocery store and buy food without any thought. Going to the grocery store is convenient but think about it, could people really do what these farmers do? The first quote I wrote down in my notes for this film was, "Americans fear inconvenience." This is beyond true. I also believe this film ties in very well with Berry's article. Both of these talk about where food comes from and overall businesses/corporations. For example, in a town there's small business grocery stores then a Walmart is built and the small grocery stores go out of business. I also think the smaller businesses put more effort into their produce than big corporations. In Berry's story he mentions, "commodities will be produced wherever they can be produced at the lowest cost, and consumed wherever they bring the highest price. To make too cheap and sell too high has always been the program of industrial capitalism."

Final Exploration

This Film fed directly into what is wrong with the mass producing agricultural economy that our nation runs on. Throughout the documentary I realized that the theme they were trying to get across was that in reality,  we have no idea the magnitude of certain aspects in which the U.S. carries its economy on. The agricultural economy within the U.S. is a massive, overproducing industry that prides itself "how much" rather than pure quality. It was, at the least, eye opening in what mass producing industries within agribusiness will do to turn a faster profit. Hormones and and pesticides are riddled throughput our poultry, beef, pork, and plant life, resulting in harmful consequences for us, the consumers. There needs to be a different approach to how we go about producing our products, even if it means having to create more labor intensive, and extensive work periods.

The only way to apply the recommended ideas would be to actually perform. By growing your own vegetables, and possibly raising an animal or two, people can receive the highest quality product available. If not, there is always the chance that you are consuming something that is not only harmful to the animals, but yourself as well.

The essay by Wendell Berry, and this documentary go hand in hand in some aspects. Though, the most profound one I noticed was there decisive feelings toward how an economy should run. They both recommend that by relying more on a local economy, rather than a global one, production quality, and profit are raised significantly. By having a local economy, importing and exporting are limited to a minimum,  resulting in a less wasteful environment. Also, these local economies would be more self sufficient, cutting spending by a significant amount. By taking little steps to better not only the environment around us, but the economy as well, we realize the possibility of exponential efficiency.

Final Exploration: Chad

The most important theme of the video was the idea of mass producing products. After watching how they have thousands of animals in little areas and pump them full of drugs is just gross. Another thing that stuck out to me was the idea of buying food fresh and grown by farmers who actually care about the quality if the produce. The evidence that is most convincing is when they show the barns that have 2,500 cows and pigs and they say to keep them alive they have to pump drugs into them. Also the chicken farms have 10,000+ chickens in there and its just a nasty sight.

Some questions i might have are, why must you mass produce the way you do? There has to be a better way to produce a lot of goods in a more humane and less gross way. We can apply these by buying less from the store and buying more from a farmers market, that way you know it is quality and done with care. Berry says "They relied on their imports". This was because a group on Native Americans focused on one thing they stopped producing food for themselves. The film and Berry's essay are similar because they both talk about how giant companies are destroying little farm towns because they can't keep up with producing. In the film it says " I'm not leaving here, until everyone says they can do it". This is when one gentleman was showing them how to make natural compost.

 Last Exploration

 

This documentary film  i learned how food process are differentiates which there is companies has used a technology system process also they're not wanted to bring a health food to the market. I was struck the comparison between fresh and artificial chimerical feeds with chickens, filtration fruits, this is good for companies. But i see it that is not health for the people. Because the big companies use a chemical to process and for their own interest i realize the companies goes what is easy fast put in the market is less care an health food put out. I believe natural food process is something that we all know how health and freshness is if i relate a comparison in village daily living they only use fresh milk and meat nothing more and they're still healthier last long living. Also in the villages i will think they carried less health problems then the cities. 

This film how i understand is people has responsibilities wither they make their own choices or otherwise their are some people make choices for it. I agree the fact freshness is better and old fashion made carried unique health freshness nothing to compare what's system process brought to the market. But i understand small business farmers has difficulty bringing their product to market because the big companies are blocking cause their disputing a challenge of the consumer and sales. I assume this is not consider just small farmers is also consider the people since they're impact of as sales citizens we should approach to endorse the small farmers to overcome the difficulty they have. 

   

 

Last Exploration

What struck me most about the film was just what they do to the farm fields and process the foods in general. There is so much more that goes in to processing foods that I did not know about and that makes me question what is in what im eating. This is most convincing where you watch the scence the airplanes spray the fields and explain how they feed dead cows to cows, it makes me wonder whats in those chemicals they spray on the fields and if that's healthy for the cows. Feeding a dead cow to another cow just doesn't seem right, you wouldn't feed a dead human to a human would you?

The essay and the film are very similar to one another and I found it interesting how they both talked about corporations becoming bad for farming. I believe it takes out business from local farms or any farms who do the farming their own way, not the corporations. Berry in his essay says we need to use a neighboring system, like in a neighborhood, each family has some way of contributing, and we need to make a big neighborhood. I think Berry's idea of protection of raw materials is how things should be. We treat our raw materials like they are unlimited and someone else will take care of them.

Last Exploration- Kelsey Rose

The thing that struck me the most was the fact that they told us the process that our food goes through before it is put into the store. This really struck me because I did not realize how brutal they were to the animals. Especially the scene where they threw all of the baby chicks into a pact and were just dumping them out of boxes on top of other chicks. I also did not realize how they keep the animals in such small living spaces. This was astonishing and hard to watch being a person that really loves animals. Another thing that struck me was how many antibiotics they feed the animals. Its so gross and its hard to believe that we eat that food. It almost makes you want to become a vegetarian.

There was a quote that really stood out to me at the beginning of the film. I forget who said it but the quote was that "Americans fear inconvenience". I completely agree with this statement. Most Americans, including myself, do not think about how our food is made or where it comes from. We just buy the food from the grocery store and go on about our business. If we had to grow our own food to survive I believe most Americans wouldn't survive due to the convenience of going to the grocery store to buy our food. This is becoming a big problem and I am not sure if it will ever change. I think more people need to think about the foods we eat and the process behind how our food is made. I know for sure that I will.

Kyle Dezse Poetry Extra Credit

Kyle Dezse

Extra Credit

12-3-13

The Calm Before the Storm

It starts out normal. Like any other moment. Until the storm comes

Like a stampede of bulls, I can see it rush towards me, but around me, now, it is the calm.

The calm before the storm is the worst thing imaginable. You can see the horrific mass escalating in size and ready to devoir everything in its path, but you still can’t do anything about it.

I am trying to suck in every last good feeling in the air, but find myself swiping at the empty space in front of me.

It is close now and I can smell thunder amongst the clouds.

The clean but terrifying smell of the electrical charge that is about to strike my nervous system and contract every muscle in my frail body.

The darkness of the clouds looks down on me with its pitch black pupils.

They pierce my soul like knives and absorb the remaining ounces of hope.

 I had hope for security. I had hope for safety from the storm.

Silence takes me now as it enters my mouth. As I salivate profusely, I cannot help but notice the taste of metal.

I have coins in my mouth and the taste on my tongue is unbearable.

I feel cold and sterile.

I am exposed, like an open nerve. Like a carcass lying on a table in an operating room.

I am a naked human, unable to react and helpless to the onslaught to come.

I am an immune system with no antibodies and the deadliest bacteria is about to enter my bloodstream.

The storm hits

After the storm subsides I am not able to function, for my skull is splitting in two like a fault line in the earth crust.

 A constant, and massive drum, pounds violently to the beat of my heart.

 I can hear it inside, deep within me.

 I am taking my palms and pressing them to my ears, as if trying to drown out all other distraction.

 I thrust my fingernails into the back of my head.

Doing anything to make this pain go away, I desperately try to peel the skin from the back of my cranium.

I go into more silence.

Blank and in darkness, I lay alone with my thoughts of nothing.

The storm is what I feel. The storm is my seizure.

EXP 10 Sarah

I believe that the power of facts and evidence is what made this movie what it is. The fact that they told us what are the processes that comes from our food and what we really eat hits home for me. Without them telling us the absolute truth we wouldnt know what we are consuming everyday.
When he talked about our livestock and what they give them to make them grow and have more meat disgusted me. I think that what they put it ten times harmful for us. Even all of the ingredients that are put into them are harmful for us!
I am wondering myself what i am eating and if i can die from  this. I believe that we need to pay more attention to what goes into our mouths.
The films connects with the essay by talking about the over producing and supermarkets.

My Declaration of Independence- Chad Boak

Independence is a way of life.
You develop independence as you age.
Actions by an individual defines who they are in life.
Independence for me is like being a bird,
Someday you have to leave the nest and learn to fly on your own.
As i develop my independence i get anxious,
I look forward to mu future independent endeavors.

College has given me a major independent role,
I take on more responsibilities that i usually wouldn't.
As i develop my new found independence,
I strive to be a better person everyday.
Creating new relationships is ideal to my independence.
Independence in college is like the weather,
Some days you have bright adventures, and others gloomy regret.
But that all comes with the territory.

My Declaration of Independence- Kelsey Rose

Independence to me carries more than one meaning.
To me independence is formed by experience,
From growing up and adapting to new surroundings.
Moving to a new place and starting over has shaped me.
Ive began my new journey which encompasses many paths.
These experiences help shape my independence,
These experiences are bad, they make me question where I'm going.

College is a place to make new memories,
A time when you are set free.
A first look at my independence is exhilarating yet petrifying.
I feel as though I'm flying through life like an eagle,
I feel like a newborn turtle trying to find my way on the sands of life with millions of seagulls trying to stop me from achieving greatness.
I want to know where I'm going,
Not reminded of where I came from.

My Declaration of Independence-Zach Padovan

Independence is not something you have, rather something that sets you free.
There are events in life that help form it, shape it into something that can define you.
once you have yours you swim through life like a fish in the sea.
college has helped me find this, or a part at least, i wonder what helps others find it too.
i get to have more freedom and express myself in any way i choose.
this is due to the fact I'm in college, it allows me to break away and do things the way i want.
finding this independence just gives me hope and makes me want to drive through life and cruise.

i meet new people everyday i have new experiences ones that will last forever and can't be bought.
independence is not something that is easy to have or to accomplish.
it takes work and determination, i like to think that once you have yours its something to be proud of.
I feel sometimes that this concept of independence is not something we can fully accomplish.
i feel that no matter how independent we become we still rely on others for many things.
i may have the money to my my own car or appliances.
i will always count on those closest to me for love, support and affection.
My independence is not only being free to myself.
my independence is being in control of me but dependent on others for love and affection.

My Declaration of Independence- Sarah Butts

Independence is nothing to take lightly

I had to become independent at a young age

Independence is becoming alone

You are on your own with no one beside you

My independence was brought upon me through death

Through death I was left alone

I was a child without a father

Like a rose without its thorn

Now I have created my own independence

College has made me someone with a clear future

I have become someone who is making their own destiny

I have been metamorphosized like a butterfly

I have begun to make my own decisions about life

I have chosen the road less traveled by.