Food, Inc. is an eye-opening movie.
Don't get me wrong, I was well-aware that companies in America are always out to make a profit, but the manner in which some companies seek profits is disgusting.
For example, Smithfield, a company which produces vast amounts of poultry, knowingly hires illegal workers for their factories in Tar Heel, North Carolina. Illegal? Yes, but Smithfield has come to an agreement with the government that they will give the government some of the names of the illegal immigrants periodically if they are allowed to continue this practice.
What's scarier about this situation? The fact that companies are 'giving up' their workers (who although illegal, are still responsible for helping produce the goods) or the fact that the government knowingly allows companies to function like this?
The movie brings to light the way that chickens and pigs are kept before slaughter. Chickens are kept in small, cramped, and often dark rooms, where there is little space and unsanitary conditions. Chickens are meant to grow to full maturity in about three months-- thanks to new methods of production, chickens can grow in half the time. This often means that the chickens are unable to walk more than two steps because their organs grow much faster than the rest of their bodies.
Pigs are kept in similar conditions-- small, cramped rooms; and little concern for their comfort. Why? Because food production companies consider pigs 'temporary' visitors.
Although the meat industry is particularly disgusting, vegetarians don't have it easy either.
Consider the fact that over 90 percent of food products contain corn. Why? Because the corn industry is relatively huge in the United States. In fact, approximately 30 percent of land in the U.S. is set aside for corn production.
After watching the movie, I think that I was most shocked by the amount of power that food companies have. The government, scared to control companies, chooses to support them, rather than us.
Words of advice from the moviemakers:
1. Eat organic.
2. Try to eat together as a family.
3. But healthy products-- our demand for better products informs businesses that we want better quality.
Watch what you eat, because the food companies do NOT have your interests at heart.
So, it's that time of year again... and no, I'm not just talking about the holidays. Surprise, surprise- it's early decision time! Remember, '13s, last December, when some of us (though not yours truly) were waiting anxiously to hear whether we'd gotten in to Dartmouth? Well, as short a time it seems has passed since that monumental day, it's been a whole year...
And the '14s are on the way. Four hundred and sixty-one of them, in fact. Incredibly enough, there are more '14 early decision kids than '13 ED-ers, due to a decision by Dean of Admissions Maria Laskaris '84 and President Jim Yong Kim to enlarge the freshman class despite the college's recent financial difficulties. Seems as though there will be even more freshmen this September than there are now! (Imagine that, '11s- you'll have even more fresh faces and names to learn before you graduate.)
As usual, the newest class' admission stats are off the charts, and Dean Laskaris has nothing but good things to say about the incoming freshmen. I'm sure when they arrive here for their weekend stays and programs (get excited for Dimensions, everyone!) the whole campus will come together to celebrate their awesomeness. I remember not so long ago when the campus did that for my class. Ah, my fellow '13s, we're old...
Just kidding. But it is striking to realize that soon a new class of freshmen will come to work hard and play hard in the hallowed halls of old Dartmouth. All I can say is, welcome, '14s, to the Dartmouth family- I'm sure you'll do Dartmouth proud!
Mike Huckabee is in hot water for his pardoning of a man who went on to commit murder in Tacoma, Washington. Some people are even saying that the decision will cost him a second chance to run for President. After all, Willie Horton helped do Michael Dukakis in...
To read the rest of this post, go
here.
It seems that
Bored @ Baker, the frat-tastic anonymous online message board catering mostly to Dartmouth's lowest common denominator, is temporarily out of commission! The usual messages speculating which '11 is a total homo, which frat is A-side, which sorority has the most sluts, what baton-death-march-esque hiring process
Linda Gridley has for interns, and where in the Upper Valley people an find the most competitively-priced piping-hot calzones (hit: Cuttings North-side Cafe), are all gone! Jon Pappas, the creator of the immensely popular site took it away from us because he discovered that -- wait for it -- it was full of racism hate speech! (gasp!)
Well no fucking shit, Sherlock, why the hell do you think people read Bored@Baker? What does every anonymous person
post on the internet? It certainly isn't cooking tips or bible quotes. The anonymous nature of the site begs us to gossip about each other, and homophobia (and homoerotism, as it turns out) are a quick step away. It seems like every time Mr. Pappas came by Bored@Baker, presumably riding Bambi and with an entourage of rainbows and magical butterflies, the Bored@ crew (cough - Phi Delt) were all on their best Sunday School behavior. Seriously Jon, how could you fucking miss it? Haven't you even read the news stories you posted about B@B?
Below is what Bored@Baker currently looks like. Click the pic to enlarge. The message is also block quoted below. For god's sake, Jon, use some capital letters.
dear friends,
i have temporarily suspended boredatbutler and other similar boredat sites. recently, our community has been under attack by a very small group of people. these people troll the site with the purpose of killing the community with slanderous and racist comments.
i do not condone hate speech or racist comments and i will not allow boredat to exist if:
1. it does not accurately represent the general opinion of its community.
2. it does not have the ability to self-moderate.
service has been temporarily suspended until we can devleop the right codes for it to take care of itself. but i need your help.
if you would like to build boredat with me, please send me an email at jonpappas{at}gmail.com. if you are interested, i'd be happy to discuss with you the purpose and the vision of boredat. boredat is built with php/mysql/javascript/xhtml and css. if you know these technologies and would like to code and collaborate with me, in whole or in part, let me know. coding remotely and on your own time is ideal. i am looking for one volunteer per ivy league school to be a part of this project. this will be the founding team. contact me quickly because some slots have already been filled and they will go quickly.
kind regards,
jon
dated 12/8/09
A dry, technical, and academic look at queer subculture in London between 1918 and 1957. Interesting in that it reduces to a science the rather inexpressible notions and progressions of gay life. There is certainly a parallel to be found between the passive->excluded->marginalized->subculture->pride progression of gays and other social movements. Houlbrook tries to weave in personal stories that humanize the concepts presented, and while he does a good job in those parts, the people reading such a book are in no need of convincing; the parts serve only to make the technical bits endurable. A great book, I'm sure, for academics, but not for pleasure reading.
Read it
Skim itToss it
Should we hold Tiger Woods to a higher standard because he’s a celebrity and has so much money? That is a question lots of people are asking as the media continues to focus on Woods’ infidelity...
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here.
After finishing my linguistics gauntlet this morning, I'm back home in Upstate NY wishing you all a speedy and happy return home for the holidays. If you're still in Hanover, good luck! A storm is a-coming with snowfall estimated up to a foot.
I'll end the term with three points:
1. LGB will continue sporadically over break and will resume in full at the start of the Winter 2010 term in early January. We are looking for new contributors and editors for that term so please blitz me if you want in.
2. In addition to making the
Valley News, Jim Kim's weekly campus blitz, and the Dartmouth Daily Updates, Dartmouth's soccer-gate controversy was
picked up by the illustrious
IvyGate.
3.
The Stonefence Review just published
a couple variants I wrote of William Carlos Williams's poem
This Is Just To Say, the original listed below. Check them out. I promise they're good.
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
Have a great break and a happy holiday!
The Tipping Point is a commercially accessible examination of how trends start and flourish, which is much like pandemics. Gladwell has a talent for explaining large concepts in succinct, clear writing, expounded upon by numerous examples and weaved together through engaging tales. I found Tipping Point more cerebral than Blink, but still a bit too 'accessible' for the educated reader. Also, much of the analysis of the book appeared to be retro-justifications of particular trends, generalizing most of the contributing factors into Gladwell's construction, muting the others, and ignoring trends that may have run completely counter. I would have liked to see a prediction made based on the theories presented to test them and provide falsifiability, but that would have been above and beyond the call of duty. 
A dry, technical, and academic look at queer subculture in London between 1918 and 1957. Interesting in that it reduces to a science the rather inexpressible notions and progressions of gay life. There is certainly a parallel to be found between the passive->excluded->marginalized->subculture->pride progression of gays and other social movements. Houlbrook tries to weave in personal stories that humanize the concepts presented, and while he does a good job in those parts, the people reading such a book are in no need of convincing; the parts serve only to make the technical bits endurable. A great book, I'm sure, for academics, but not for pleasure reading.
