Taryn Slepicoff

English 113b

Professor Reynolds

9 May 2012

The Battle of the Mexican Restaurants

            Where should I go to lunch?  That question comes up often when there is no food in my house.  Sometimes Mexican food is on my mind and in my town we don’t have many Mexican restaurants to choose from.  There is a nice small family restaurant, called La Cocina, down the street from me, but it is normally packed with people and there is always a wait.  Then there is Chipotle, which is quick and delicious and if there is a line you have to stand in, it will take about ten minutes for you to get your food and leave.  These two places are very different from each other, but two of my favorite places to eat when I go out. 

            I went to lunch with my mom on a Thursday afternoon at La Cocina.  This restaurant is right down the street from us on a corner.  The parking lot is very small and always filled with cars.  We walk in and the first thing I notice is that almost every single booth was filled with people.  As we waited for our table to be cleaned off the smell of tortilla chips and tortilla soup filled our nostrils.  This restaurant is set up to make you feel warm and at home, it looks like a hacienda.  The walls are painted a red and adobe color.  Above each booth is a decorative window with a little garden on the sill and a burnt orange tile roof hanging down over the top.  The booths are a dark forest green, with high backs, and very comfortable.  When you are sitting down, it’s like you are in your own house by yourself.  That’s the kind of privacy these booths give off.  La Cocina is a very casual restaurant to eat at.  Atmosphere is one thing, but then you get to the food. 

            The host hands you a laminated, spiral bound five page menu as you sit down.  The menu is decorated with senorita on the front and beautiful pictures of food choices throughout the pages.   Along comes a heaping basket of hot chips and the most amazing salsa I have ever had.  A waiter asks for our drink order dressed in black pants, a crisp white shirt, and a full black apron with the restaurant name across the front.  After carefully reviewing my lunch choices I settled on a beef tostada, while my mother picked an enchilada- taco combination.  As we wait for our food we enjoyed the low lighting, collages of birthday celebrations, and the stunning cactus mural above the kitchen window.  The restaurant has a bar, but it is separated from the family style eating area by a wall with actual windows styled in the same fashion as the decorative ones in the dining room.  While waiting for my food I think back to the last time I ate at Chipotle.

            I went to Chipotle with my friends for dinner, before a movie we were going to see.  Although there wasn’t a line going out the door, it was busy.  At this restaurant when you walk in the doors you are automatically in line to order your food.  It is a well lit, clean environment with shiny silver tables and chestnut-colored wooden chairs.  Their color scheme is white, black, and maroon.  They have a huge sculpture depicting a face made out of wood and metal against the wall between the kitchen and the self-serve station.  As you stand in line, you look up over the kitchen to read the menu off the signs on the wall. 

            The menu is organized into several sections, beginning with information on how their ingredients are natural and organic.  Following that you build your meal based first on your item choice, such as burrito, bowl, taco, salad, or tostada.  Once you have selected what you are going to eat you have to build from the choices of meats and condiments available.  At the front of the line your server greets you, dressed in all black with a black hat and a full apron.  Instead of waiting for your food to come out of a kitchen, you walk along the “food bar” and your food is put together to your individual desires.  My server hands me my steak bowl that was individually made just the way I like it and I stepped to the register to pay.  As my tostada arrives in front of me at La Cocina, I snap back to lunch with my mom.

            Although I love both of these restaurants they are very different.  La Cocina is a family owned restaurant who for years only had one location, and recently opened up a small second one.  Chipotle, on the other hand, is a large national company owned by McDonalds with many locations.  The style of food delivery is completely opposite.  At La Cocina you sit down and are waited on, while at Chipotle, although the food is custom ordered, it is through a stand in line process.  At Chipotle there is a self-serve island where you can fill your drink, and pick up plastic silverware and paper napkins.  The waiter at La Cocina provides your drink in plastic cups, and your table is set with standard silver tableware.  Food is prepared behind a separating wall at La Cocina and delivered through a kitchen window to the waiters.  The food at Chipotle is displayed in front, behind glass as your server selects your requested desires.  You can also see the cooks cooking in the back getting more food prepared.  An extremely interesting fact that I found out through my research was the commitment by Chipotle to serve natural and organic food to its customers.  The company is working toward serving naturally raised meats.  Their dairy products come from hormone free cows.  In contrast, where many restaurants now advertise the natural and organic foods they are serving, La Cocina makes no mention at their restaurant or on their menu as to where their food comes from. 

            In conclusion, I learned that although Chipotle was something I always enjoyed, it is a great choice for fast food due to their natural and organic ingredients.  In reviewing my experience with La Cocina I realized how hard they work at atmosphere and making you feel like you are eating in a friend’s home.  I still will not eliminate eating at one restaurant in favor of the other, because they both fill a different restaurant eating experience.  Chipotle is great for a fast meal and La Cocina delivers delicious food when you have time to sit down and eat.

Taryn Slepicoff

English 113b

Professor Reynolds

9 May 2012

Michelle Moves People

            As a kid, do you remember playing outside; and having your mom yell at you to come inside and get cleaned up before dinner is ready?  Today parents are yelling at their kids to get up from watching television or to put their video games on pause to come have dinner.  Michelle Obama has chosen to fight childhood obesity as one of her priorities as First Lady.  She uses statistical information, appeals to emotional memories, and addresses the obstacles that stand in the way of success.  Michelle also presents a plan that spreads the solutions over several groups, so that no one is solely responsible for the plan to succeed.  In her essay “Michelle on a Mission,” she is very convincing in pointing out the reason for selecting this cause, some of the challenges that will be faced in overcoming it, and practical suggestions on changes that can be made by different groups of people that will have a big impact on reducing childhood obesity.

Michelle Obama has a lot of visibility and influence as the First Lady of the United States.  She is trying to address the problem of childhood obesity.  As far as ethos, Michelle’s extensive education, her position as a mother and the First Lady of the United States make her a very credible and influential source.  Michelle studied at Princeton University and graduated from Harvard Law School, joining a law firm shortly after.  She is a mother of two growing daughters, and a wife to President Barack Obama.  Michelle enjoys working with people, and helping them make their lives better (First Lady).  She makes herself friendly, familiar, and accessible by the way she refers to herself in her writing and how she participates actively in the Lets Move program.  In her essay, “Michelle on a Mission,” she is very inspiring about fixing the childhood obesity epidemic.  She writes it as if she were talking to you in person.  For example, she says, “And let’s be honest with ourselves: our kids didn’t do this to themselves.”  She doesn’t use big words, and speaks in an everyday, normal language.  Michelle also looks at the issue from a positive point of view and not as an impossible task.

Michelle Obama starts off her article mentioning how things used to be different in the past.  She is appealing to the audience by using pathos, or emotion, to help make a personal connection to the readers.  She mentions that children would walk to school, rather than take cars or hop on the bus.  They would also be outside running around for hours throughout the day; whether it was during a break at school or when they got home before dinner.  She appeals to the audience emotionally, bringing back the childhood memories of today’s adults.  Another way Michelle attracts people is by getting Beyonce to support her program.  Beyonce wrote a song, called Move Your Body, for Michelle Obama’s project and she can be used as a great example for people to look up to.  Schools from all over the United States made a video of their students dancing to her song.  The video was very contagious, because everybody was enjoying dancing.  Beyonce explains that this video is to help show that exercise can be fun (Nadeska).  You just have to find something that you enjoy doing in her case it’s dancing, and just do it. 

In Michelle’s article she used statistics to help show everyone what is really going on, and how much things have changed over the years.  In her article, Obama states, “… how one third of all kids in the country are either overweight or obese.”  Using logos, Michelle presents facts to show people the reality of the situation.  In doing this she demonstrates the seriousness of the problem and emphasizes that it is not just her opinion.  Obama also points out, “…the billions of dollars we spend each year treating obesity…” in order to show that there is a financial cost as well as a health concern.  These kinds of hard facts highlight how important her goals are.   

Surprisingly there was opposition to Michelle’s Lets Move campaign.  Some members of the Republican Party thought that the legislation she was supporting in Congress would prevent schools from having bake sales.  They also felt like the government was taking over private industry by influencing the National Restaurant Association toward healthier menu items.  The increase in pedestrian deaths was also attributed to the Lets Move campaign, because it encouraged walking (Democratic).  Aside from these few critics, the overwhelming majority of people believe that change is necessary, and the more people that are involved the easier it will be.  Obama’s conversational approach and suggested solutions seem hard to object to without appearing unreasonable.

Michelle admits that there is a long way to go with fighting childhood obesity, but the most important thing is for everybody to work together.  Let’s Move is trying to help families who have two working parents, no time to make home cooked meals, and families who can’t afford the healthier food.  This program is reaching out to the schools and grocery stores to help with the childhood obesity epidemic.  It’s trying to get schools to serve more fruits and vegetables, and less chips and junk food.  It is also trying to get grocery stores to provide nutritious food to the people that have a hard time getting it.  The work is being spread around amongst several groups and not just focusing on parents to fix the problem.  This plan even gets proposed to mayors and governors to help making their cities healthier, and the food manufacturers providing what’s healthy for children and other people to retailers.  At a young age children are becoming obese, and having health issues that shouldn’t be present. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, “...in the last 2 decades, type 2 diabetes (formerly known as adult-onset diabetes) has been reported among U.S. children and adolescents with increasing frequency” (CDC).  Michelle came up with the Let’s Move program so that children can become active and have a healthy childhood, which will lead into a healthy adulthood and reduced childhood obesity. 

The Let’s Move program has a lot going for it.  It is championed by Michelle Obama, the First Lady, and has the support of influential people like Beyonce.  The plan is presented in an easy to understand way and is supported by facts.  Many different groups are targeted within the plan to help achieve the goal of reducing childhood obesity.  In my opinion as long as everyone works together, we could have a real chance at success.

Kami Kalandjian

Ms. Reynolds

English 113B

9 May 2012

Under Taste

Human beings have evolved to want the best of everything; the best car, house, clothes, and also food.  Food is a part of life; if humans don’t eat they die. And today people want the best tasting food. Most people don’t care whether the food is healthy or unhealthy for them as long as it tastes good. In the article “Why The Fries Taste Good,” author Eric Schlosser, talks about the scientists who are engineering new tastes for food to please the human palette. There is a problem with this; most foods today are processed and, these foods have a lot of added flavor to make them taste better. Sacrificing health for great taste it is the popular trend today. 

The human body is a very complex organism down to the last detail. And the human tongue is an incredible organ by itself. It is the strongest muscle in the human body and it has the power to taste.  On the tongue there are thousands of taste buds called papillae these papillae are nerve like cells that are also are connected to the brain. Whenever food touches the tongue, the papillae send signals to the brain telling the body whether it tastes good or not (WebMD).  Back when man was first roaming the earth, he was using his “sense of taste as a way to avoid being poisoned” (Schlosser).  Plants that are safe to eat generally taste sweet and plants that taste bitter are usually deadly (Schlosser).  I think this appeals to pathos because humans today are on the verge of losing their ability to tell the difference between what is real and what is fabricated. 

According to Schlosser in “Why The Fries Taste Good” the taste of food is very important to the producer and the consumer. At first glance the purchase of a food product is based by its package or appearance, but for consecutive purchases it is all about the taste.  These succeeding purchases can also be loosely defined as being addictive.  This appeals to logos because it is factual information by showing the strategies that companies use to attract their customers and keep them. 

For a long time McDonalds has been known for how good their french fries taste.  It started before the 1990s, when McDonalds was using a mixture of 7 percent cottonseed oil and 93 percent beef tallow to fry their french fries in. The definition of beef tallow is basically beef fat.  This mixture gave the fries their distinctive taste.  During the 1980s, McDonalds was getting a lot of bad press because their fries had such a high level of cholesterol. So after 1990, McDonalds switched over to pure vegetable oil, but the fries didn’t taste the same.  So McDonalds had to come up with a way to make the fries taste the same and they did that by adding chemicals and “natural flavors” (Schlosser).  This also appeals to logos because it is information about McDonalds and how they decided to fix their taste problem.  I think it also appeals to pathos because I think it is disgusting that they are trying to mimic a taste that contained 93 percent fat in the flavor.  And they are using chemicals that are bad for you to mimic those flavors.  This also appeals ethos because it shows Schlosser’s creditably about this topic.

Our bodies are being tricked by processed foods. Today food companies claim  their products contain “natural flavors.” Schlosser talks about flavor additives and one example he gives is Burger King’s Broiler Chicken Breast Patty.  This chicken patty contains “natural smoked flavor” which is true, but it means something totally different. The flavor comes from a corporation called Red Arrow Products Company and they specialize in smoked flavors. The way they do it is “by charring sawdust and capturing the aroma chemicals released into the air” (Schlosser). The labeling of natural flavor on the food product makes the consumer think that he/she is buying a healthy product. So when a normal consumer thinks of natural flavors, they think of flavors that come from nature and they are right.  But there is a slight trick; these natural flavors can come from anywhere in nature including parts from animals, plants, and even bugs. Yes, bugs. For example, the ingredient carmine or natural red #4 comes from crushed bugs (Bradley).  This ingredient is commonly used in yogurt and beverages to give them a red color.  Another example would be the ingredient castoreum, which comes from beaver anal glands and it is used in foods and beverages for adding a vanilla or raspberry flavor. These major food corporations are tricking us because they are allowed to use these ingredients and still have the man hood to label them natural flavors (Bruce Bradley). Schlosser only hit the tip of the iceberg with the way they make flavors. Schlosser appealed to logos more than pathos because he is stating information that he is found, but I still think that capturing a smell that burning wood makes is a little gross.  But his example does not compare to beaver anal glands that add taste and crushed bugs that add color.  I think that appeals to pathos because that leaves people feeling disgusted about the food that they are eating. This also appeals to Schlosser’s ethos because he has done his homework on Red Arrow Products Company.

Flavors in processed food products are incredibly stimulating.  They stimulate our brains by the amount of salt, sugar and fat that they contain. Today flavors come from science labs, but before that they come from Mother Nature. First these flavor scientists go out exploring for new flavors. The flavor can come form an orange tree farm to high-end chefs preparing elegant cuisine. They collect the best tasting flavors and then transform or translate them into chemicals that could be put into food products. The better tasting the product is the more pleasurable it is going to be and the more purchases the consumer is going to make (Fager).  

Food is a part of life and we the people are being tricked into thinking that most of the food on market shelves today is okay to eat.  Schlosser points out the flavoring in our food and the use of his ethos, pathos, and logos has changed the way I think about food. Now every time I am going to eat something, I think about whether or not it has been flavored with a chemical.  It really scares and disturbs me to think about these things because where else am I going to buy my food.

Work Cited

Bradley, Bruce. "Processed Food: Trick or Treat?" The Blog of Bruce Bradley. Bruce

Bradley, 30 Oct. 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.

Schlosser, Eric. "Why The Fries Taste Good." Food Product Design (2005): 119-28.

Print.

"The Tongue (Human Anatomy): Picture, Function, Definition, Problems, and More."

WebMD. WebMD, 06 May 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2012.

Tweaking Tastes and Creating Cravings. Dir. Jeff Fager. Perf. Morley Safe. CBS News

Productions, 2011.

Kami Kalandjian

Ms. Reynolds

English 113B

9 May 2012

                                                            In ‘N Out

            For my Project Space, I went to In ‘N Out, one of the greatest fast food restaurants on the West Coast.  In ‘N Out was established in 1948 and opened its first restaurant in Baldwin Park. They became the first drive through restaurant in California after Harry Snyder, the founder of In ‘N Out, introduced a two way speaker box.

I have known about In ‘N Out for a long time, but never really ate there at first because I didn’t like ground beef until a few years ago. I usually go to the drive through, but this time I decided to go inside and eat.  I went a little later after lunchtime because I know it is always packed from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. I arrived at around 2:00 - 2:30 pm. The first thing that caught my attention as I got out the car was the delicious smell of those freshly peeled and cut French fries. I felt like the aromas of the French fries were tickling my nose.  I looked at the building as a whole and noticed it was very clean.  A simple peach color was used to cover the building and the bottom half of the building it had stacks of red bricks. The colors also complemented the In ‘N Out sign on the building. I also noticed the drive through was perfectly placed around the building for the amount of space they had to design the structure. 

            I opened the door and all the smells inside hit me like a bag of potatoes.  I held the door open for my sister and then I walked in.  The next thing I noticed was the cleanliness of the white walls.  The company’s motto is, “Give customers the freshest, highest quality foods you can buy and provide them with friendly service in a sparkling clean environment” (In ‘N Out). That is a lot to keep up with, but I see they have a check mark on the “clean environment” part.  Let us see if they have checks on the other parts as well. I walked towards the register and there were a couple people standing in line in front on me and at this point I was debating on how hungry I was.  I came up with a decision and I was really hungry. As I walked up to the register and the cashier asked me what I would like to eat.  I ordered a double double with no tomatoes, grilled onions, fries and a drink and then I let my sister order want she wanted.  The cashier was very kind to us so I will give them another check for the “friendly service.”

            The cashier gave us our change and our cups.  The cups felt like there were sturdy and made out of high quality material.  The cups were also white with red stripes and had palm trees all along the top. It was a simple, but classic look. Underneath the cup it said, “John 3:16,” which is a Bible verse that says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  I did a little research and found out the Snyder family, who own In ‘N Out, is a religious family and they own In ‘N Out as a private company which lets them put whatever they want on the food packaging. We went to fill up our cups and the fountain drinks were placed directly to the right of the cashier to make it convenient for the customer and also to save space.  I filled my cup with Coke and my sister got Diet Coke.  I always yell at her for getting diet coke, but she doesn’t care.  We sat down at a booth and realized that it was pretty comfortable for a chair at a fast food restaurant. Then I started looking around and I noticed some pictures on the wall that had classic muscle cars parked in front of the restaurant back in the day. Also the wall was made up of little square white glossy tiles. The tiles were roughly three inches by three inches in their dimensions. In the middle of the wall was a row of red palm trees that went all across the restaurant.  The palm trees were a simple touch, but added a classic feel to the restaurant’s vibe.

            We waited around 5 to 7 minutes until our food was ready and once they called our number I got excited.  I got up, showed them my receipt, and asked for more spread.  I took the food back to our booth and I stared at our food for a minute.  It looked good and smelled great.  I didn’t see anything wrong with my double double and reached out to grab it.  I noticed the cover of my double double wrapper was different than my sister’s cheeseburger wrapper.  On the double double wrapper it had some facts about In ‘N Out and it also had another Bible reference on the back bottom part of the wrapper.  The reference was Nahum 1:7 which says, “The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him” (Nahum 1:7). 

            After I inspected the wrapper, I held my burger in one hand and put some ketchup on with the other hand.  I took my first bite and it was amazing.  All the flavors combine were nothing short of perfect.  I was chewing slowly to capture every taste until the food in my mouth was broken down before I swallowed. I took another bite and it was like I was in heaven.  Then getting a couple fries dipping them in ketchup adds to the amazing essence from the burger.  After those two bites I could not help myself anymore so then I just inhaled the rest of my burger and fries.  All that food made me stuffed but I did not care because it was delicious.  I sipped on my coke and it helped me digest.  In ‘N Out always hits the spot when you are really hungry. 

            In ‘N Out should be compared to fancy gourmet restaurants because of its excellent quality in food and the cleanliness they keep the restaurant in.  It amazes me how cheap the food is because the quality of the meat, bread, and the vegetables are fresh and natural. The architect who came up with the design created a simple, clean, and workable space for the employees and the customers to use. The color white is everywhere, but makes the area look spacious and the contrasted with red does not make it overwhelming. The space in the restaurant made me feel like I was sitting on a cloud eating one of the greatest burgers on the west coast. The customer service was nice and the food was great.  Long live In ‘N Out.  

           

           

Work Citied

"IN-N-OUT Burger." In-N-Out Burger. In-N-Out Burger, 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. <http://www.innout.com/default.asp>.

John. "Bible Gateway." BibleGateway.com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 100 Versions and 50 Languages. Bible Gateway, 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. <http://www.biblegateway.com/>.

Nahum. "Bible Gateway." BibleGateway.com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 100 Versions and 50 Languages. Bible Gateway, 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 09 Apr. 2012. <http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Nahum 1:7>.

Kami Kalandjian

Professor Reynolds

English 113B

9 May 2012

                                                Is it Worth the Risk?

The food industry is constantly changing and over the past decade has turned into something dealing with more science than food, from artificial flavors to 0.99-cent hamburgers.  Today’s technology is very advanced in the food industry and scientists are able to make food cheap for the recent rise in their prices.  Genetically modified organisms or GMOs help out with keeping the prices of food low, but should people reconsider their health for savings.

A genetically modified organism is defined as an organism that has had its DNA altered (Butler).  This definition can mean that they were created in the lab, but can also mean that accidental occurrences can cause two different DNAs to combine naturally.  This means that GMOs could have been created in the wild on accident.  Even though people only think of a laboratory when they hear the word GMO.  Scientists wouldn’t know how to alter the plant’s DNA without knowing how the DNA works or more importantly how it is structured (Butler). Two scientists discovered the structure of the DNA in 1953, which helped science take a huge leap forward by making genetic modifications possible. Then in 1973 two scientists, Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen, “invented the process of genetic engineering” (Butler). This was a major break through because it was the beginning of GMOs that are being produced in laboratories today.  Eight years later the research in GMOs skyrocketed and corporations started making patents for their GMO products (Butler).

            John F. Queeny founded Monsanto, an agricultural company, in 1901.  Today it is known as a multi-billion dollar corporation that controls 90% of genetically engineered crops.  Before they became a major company they started at the bottom and their first was sugar. In 1982, Monsanto was the first to genetically modify a plant cell and during the same time they joined with another major seed company called Jacob Hertz Seed Co.  Hertz Seed Co. is known for their soybean seeds. This would help Monsanto because soy is one of four important crops being genetically modified today (Monsanto).

            The steps to make a GMO are fairly simple but they are difficult to engineer.  A GMO contains three different components. They are the “gene you want to transfer, the organism you want to put it into (target species), and a vector to carry the gene into the target species cell” (Nova).  One of those genes is used for the pesticides and the other gene is used to make the crop produce better yields. So the person eating a GMO product is actually eating two other different types of organisms.  

             In the past couple of years food prices have been rising and falling. In today’s market organic food is priced higher than food that contains GMOs.  One reason for the price difference is because there are a lot more GMO crop fields than organic fields.  But let us see where the price difference starts, at the farm.  In 1998, a survey was done on farmers in Iowa comparing the profits between organic fields and GMO fields.  Half of the farmers said the GMO seeds produced better yields because of improved pest control.  The GMO seed already contains the pesticide so the farmer does not have to spray his field with it.  More than a fourth of the farmers (27%) said they showed a decrease in pesticide cost.  On the organic side, farmers found out they produced a slightly higher yield with soybean than farmers who used GMO soybeans. Even though organic crops and GMO crops seem to be equal, the main difference is in seed cost. GMO seeds cost $26.42 per acre and organic seeds cost $18.89 per acre (Duffy). However GMO seeds cost more they produce more yields without the use of more pesticides, which cuts cost. This is interesting to see because GMO seeds and non-GMO seeds produce almost the same amount of money per acre, but foods that contain GMOs are cheaper. 

            When GMOS first came out the FDA never did full testing on them and what effects they could have toward humans or mammals.  Russian scientists performed an experiment by feeding a group of hamsters organic soy and another group GMO soy.  At first the both groups of hamsters were doing okay, but later in the experiment they noticed some problems with the hamsters that were eating the GMO soy.  The growth and their sexual maturity rate for the GMO hamsters were slow.  For the other group of hamsters with regular soy everything was normal.  But the third generation of GMO soy hamsters was not able to reproduce.  Another strange thing the scientists noticed was hair growing out of the hamsters’ mouth (Moscow Time).  These conclusions are not sufficient enough for humans, but once France found out this experiment, “GM maize was harmful to mammals” (Moscow Time) they banned its production and sale. The Russian scientists said they need to do further testing to come up with a solid conclusion for humans.

            Even though GMOs did not show a significant impact on human health, GMOs can cause allergic reactions. Almost all food allergies come from a specific protein that can come from these foods: milk, eggs, wheat, fish, tree nuts, peanuts, soybeans, and shellfish.  For example, if someone is allergic to peanuts and they eat a food product that contains the protein from peanuts, they are going to get an allergic reaction and could possibly die from it.

            In conclusion, GMOs are not cost effective and do not show a significant impact towards human health. And experimenting on hamsters is not adequate information to fully stop the production and sale of GMOs.  The FDA needs to further testing on GMOs to see what their consequences actually are.  In my opinion GMOs are not worth the risk of a person’s health and should be labeled. I believe organic is the way to go.  

Work Cited

Butler, Tamsen. "History of GMOs." LoveToKnow. LoveToKnow Corp., 2006-2012.

Web. 24 Apr. 2012.

Duffy, Mike. "Does Planting GMO Seed Boost Farmers' Profits?" Leopold Center for

Sustainable Agriculture. Iowa State University, Oct. 1999. Web. 27 Apr. 2012.

Eisberg, Neil. "GMOs or Not." Chemistry & Industry, 20 (2011): 4.

“Engineer a Crop: Transgenic Manipulation.” Nova Online. 2001. 12 December 2008. 09

May 2012.

Genetic Engineering: The World's Greatest Scam? Perf. Green Peace. Genetic

Hubbard, Sylvia B. "Are Genetically Modified Foods Safe?" Health, Fitness and

Medical Advice. NewsMax Media, 15 Jan. 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.

"Infinite Unknown." Russian Scientists Prove Genetically Modified Foods Are Harmful,

Suggest Ban on GM Foods. Moscow Time, 16 Apr. 2010. Web. 09 May 2012.

International, Green Peace. "Bayer Admits GMO Contamination Is Out of Control."

Organic Consumers Association. Organic Consumers Associations, 9 Dec. 2009. Web. 27 Apr. 2012.

M, Kristen. "Are GMOs Safe?" Food Renegade. Food Renegade, 7 June 2010. Web. 21

Mar. 2012.

"Who We Are." Monsanto ~ Company History. Monsanto Company, 2002-2011. Web.

24 Apr. 2012. 

Butler, Tamsen. "History of GMOs." LoveToKnow. LoveToKnow Corp., 2006-2012.

Web. 24 Apr. 2012.

This website explains the history about GMOs or genetically modified organisms.  They are defined as “an organism that has been genetically altered by something other than natural causes.”  This means that they could either been altered in the wild naturally or in the laboratory by scientists.  In the early days scientists needed to find out what the DNA is before they could they could genetically alter plant cells.  The discovery of the DNA was in “1953.”  Then in 1973 was the discovery of the process of “genetic engineering.”             

"Who We Are." Monsanto ~ Company History. Monsanto Company, 2002-2011. Web.

24 Apr. 2012.

This is Monsanto’s official website.  In the section that I used, they are talking about their history dating all the back to the start of Monsanto when it was founded in 1901 by John F. Queeny.  That year they started producing their first product, which was sugar.  Then in 1982 Monsanto was the first to discover genetic engineering, their first alteration was a plant’s cell.  In the same year they partnered with Jacob Hartz Seed Co and they are known for their soybean seeds.

International, Green Peace. "Bayer Admits GMO Contamination Is Out of Control."

Organic Consumers Association. Organic Consumers Associations, 9 Dec. 2009. Web. 27 Apr. 2012.

This website talks about the contamination of an organic crop because of GMO crops close by.  “Bayer has admitted it has been unable to control the spread of its genetically-engineered organisms despite ‘the best practices [to stop contamination]’(1).”  A trail was formed because of this and Bayer CropScience LP had to pay “$2 million US dollars” to two Missouri farmers because CropScience contaminated the farmers rice crops with experimental GMO rice.  Green Peace International has added up all the costs because of GMO contamination and the sum is “$741 million to 1.285 billion US dollars.”

Hubbard, Sylvia B. "Are Genetically Modified Foods Safe?" Health, Fitness and

Medical Advice. NewsMax Media, 15 Jan. 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.

This article talks about GMOs and how they are in most of our foods.  About “65%” of supermarket shelves contain at least one GMO in the food product.  And there isn’t an easy way to tell if the food product contains a GMO.  A poll done by CBS showed that 53 percent of Americans wouldn’t buy a food product if they knew it had a GMO in it. There is no U.S. law stating that GMO food products don’t need to be labeled. Parts of Europe and countries like Japan, China, Australia, and New Zealand require food products to be labeled if they contain GMOs.  There has been a study by Russian scientists on GMOs and feeding them to rats.  The rats had signs of liver and kidney problems and some died when they were fed foods that contained GMOs.

M, Kristen. "Are GMOs Safe?" Food Renegade. Food Renegade, 7 June 2010. Web. 21

Mar. 2012. <http://www.foodrenegade.com/are-gmos-safe/>.

The government and the FDA should be the ones to protect us, the citizens, from any harm or dangerous chemicals that could be put in out food. It is the job of the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration, to test and check things out.   Bugs are getting into our food and people are still eating it without knowing.  At least they should let us know which foods contain GMOs.  It is understandable to hear the idea that GMOs could help stop world hunger and eventually feed 9 billion people in 2050, but Americans already waste 40% of their food.  That 40% could already go to Africa or a country that is malnourished.

Genetic Engineering: The World's Greatest Scam? Perf. Green Peace. Genetic

Engineering: The World's Greatest Scam? GreenpeaceVideo, 11 Sept. 2009. Web. 21

Mar. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H9WZGKQeYg>.

Monsanto is an agricultural company that is controlling genetically engineered crops.  They own about 90 percent of GMOs and have turned it into a corporate monopoly.  Once GMOs are released into the open air they can’t be controlled like they would be in the lab.  If the GMO gene goes into a neighboring organic crop it will contaminate that organic crop.  This will eventually lead to all organic crops being contaminated if we don’t do something about it now.

Eisberg, Neil. "GMOs or Not." Chemistry & Industry, 20 (2011): 4.

In this article it talks about feeding people in other parts of the world that are starving using GMO crops.  “Feeding the world’s burgeoning population has been identified by individuals and groups.”  It is going to be a “challenge” to make happen when in 2050 there are going to be 9 billion people on earth.  People think that the “traditional methods” such as plant breeding, is the best way to solve this problem.  Other people believe that using genetically engineered plants are going to solve the population crisis.  GMOs raise more problems than their “traditional counterparts,” because GMOs are connected to “health, environment and ethical concerns.”

"Rethinking the GMO Revolution - Matters Here and There [opinion]." Africa News

Service, (2012): NA.

It this article is talks about genetically modified organisms have been the discussion for the past decade because they are “beneficial properties” and also the “potential for changing the face of agriculture on the continent” of Africa.  But groups against GMOs are focusing on “health, environmental concerns, and sustainability question among others.”  GMOs don’t really have any health problems, but research has “proved that some cancers and genetic disorders can be traced to the consumption of GM foods.” GMOs also raise environmental concerns because there would be a “loss of biodiversity and the development of herbicide resistance in weeds.”  Weeds and herbicide are becoming like the flu and the flu shot.  The flu is getting stronger and stronger so we need stronger flu medicine to get rid of it.