April 16, 2010

My experiences with revision have changed how I view my writing in that I am much more cautious when writing. In a way it may be a bad thing, I find myself second guessing myself more than is necessary and may be hindering my writings as a whole. Instead of simply writing a paper I pay much more close attention to detail in every word and sentence I construct. I decide whether or not that is what I am trying to say and that it is the best way for me to say it. In this process I also find a lot of things that are not necessary to be in my paper. I think however, once I over come this self doubt and can accept and implement all the new tools I have learned I will be a much better writer as a whole. In this way my style and skill as a writer has definitely improved immensely throughout the duration of the semester. Another way that my experience with revision has influenced my writing is that I am more willing to make drastic changes, such as removal or insertion of entire paragraphs or the complete transformation of my thesis. In these ways I am able to create a better written paper and therefore a clearer argument.

March 29, 2010

In order to write a research paper with confidence and credibility it is extremely important that you research the topic very thoroughly and use the best sources for your particular purpose. If you are researching a relatively new topic you are more likely to use articles and online resources that can be published more quickly than books that take a considerable amount of time. When I begin on this intimidating task I always start with online research. I simply begin by typing my topic into google, this not only gives me an idea of what sources and websites I can utilize, but also often gives me ideas that I can write about in my essay. Once I have established this foundation for my paper I visit the Washington State library website and search for articles on my topic using World Cat. Often I find thousands of articles that relate in some way to my topic, but I need to narrow down the results in order to find information that will actually be of some assistance to my paper. In order to do this I simply click on the options on the left had side of the screen specify the restrictions I wish to be enforced on the search of articles. By doing this I cut down the results of my search to a reasonable number that I can look through. Another search generator I use to find articles is JSTOR. These articles can most often be viewed online and therefore are more easily accessible than the ones that I must visit the library to retrieve. When looking for books to use as research I must go to the Holland Terrell Library. Once there I use the search engine to find locations of books that pertain to my topic. Although I have found that simply by going to the location of one book I find many others that are similar that did not come up when I searched. It is in this manner that I had discovered many useful sources on my own, with some help. I think the best way for me to improve my method of finding sources would be to visit the library first. Not only will I find the most reliable sources there, but I can also utilize the personnel that can help me in my investigation. By taking these steps I will be able to quickly and efficiently find sources for all my research papers in the future.

March 9, 2010

In the article "Ending World Hunger: The Promise of Biotechnology and the Threat of Antiscience Zealotry" Norman E. Borlaug discusses the advancements him and his colleagues have achieved through all their research and development. They have been able to genetically alter crops to yield more food per acre, have created pesticide resistant crops, and creating foods that have more vitamins and minerals to improve the health of countries and people living below the poverty line. Because many people lack the resources to buy food that will give them the proper nutrients they need, they suffer from lack of nutrition. With the rapid growth in the population this problem is only going to get worse and cause more world hunger. Despite all these apparent benefits there is a large amount of people in opposition of these benefits. They prefer to eat organic food that is one hundred percent natural, well many of these people are able to afford this high quality food. It is the poor and impoverished humans that need the cheap abundant food that biotechnology can provide. Without these genetically modified foods millions of people will die of hunger and the problem will only increase. I myself is one of those people that would prefer to know exactly what I am eating and where it came from and I may choose to partake in that luxury. I will not however fight the development of food for poor people by debating the scientific nature of it. I have the option to choose so I am not going to force others to go hungry because of what I believe in.

Kuparinen, Anna, Schurr, Frank, Tackenberg, Oliver, and O'Hara, Robert B.. Ecological Applications: Air-Mediated Pollen Flow From Genetically Modified to Conventional Crops, Vol. 17, No. 2. (March 2007). Published by: Ecological Society of America

In this article the authors discuss how the one hundred percent, true bred crops may become tainted by the air transportation of genetically modified pollen. This possibility is becoming a big issue with the people that are completely against the biotechnological advances being made in crops. If this occurs and continues to occur, it may become the case that there are no longer any crops that do not have any genetical alterations. They are currently studying to air flow patterns of pollen in attempt to prevent the spread to unmodified crops. With these advances hopefully they will control the transplantation in order to keep both sides, pro-biotechnology and anti-genetically modified, happy.

March 1, 2010

In chapter 19 of The Omnivore's Dilemma Michael Pollan takes on the task of hunting for chanterelle mushrooms. The task is referred to as hunting, opposed to gathering, because it takes "putting your eyes on" and acquiring certain instincts to be successful in spotting these hidden fungi. What I found most intriguing of the statements Pollan makes is when he discusses the fact that some of humans' most popular hobbies are ones that provide basic needs. Some examples include: gardening, knitting, and fishing. These are all activities that I have partaken in throughout my lifetime. After completing all of these endeavors I found myself feeling a great sense of self satisfaction and sufficiency. As Pollan says this occurs in most people when completing these tasks. Just knowing that we could sustain ourselves if we need to, although it may cost more in our time and money, it has a greater reward emotionally. That is why these pastimes will always continue to be parts of our lives. Another benefit to providing your own necessities is that you know exactly where the came from and how it was produced. You can utilize your products without fear that child labor is what created it or that your produce is picked before it is ready and is ripened with chemicals.

February 22, 2010

I found Chapter Seventeen of The Omnivore's Dilemma especially interesting in this assignment of reading. This chapter is entitled The Ethics of Eating Animals and it discussed just that. Michael Pollan says "it seems we either look away or become vegetarian." This fact intrigues me because even if you look away the fact still remains the same that the meat you are eating was once an animal and it suffered in order for you to have the pleasure of consuming it. I relate a lot to this idea because I always knew that animals were treated horribly, but once I actually saw the horrible conditions they are exposed to and the genetic alterations the often undergo when we watched the movie Food Inc. I could not believe I had been consuming meat for 17 out of the past 18 years (I was a vegetarian for a brief time at the age of 10). After viewing this movie last Tuesday I decided that I was going to give up meat for at least the next forty days, not necessarily for Lent, but it dovetailed nicely. However, this relinquishing of meat probably will not last for the rest of my life, I am going to make the effort to eat meat that is free range, humanely treated, and organic.

February 15, 2010

In this last reading of The Omnivore's Dilemma the main topic was grass. It was discussed how grass is the foundation of all farming, this is because it feeds animals which in turn feed us humans. It states that the grasses grown at Salatin's farm become this vast amount of food ranging from beef to rabbits to eggs. This fact is extremely interesting to me to think that grass, which seems like such a simple basic output, is essentially the basis of our existence. Without the careful production and maintaining of grass, many of the foods we enjoy would be unavailable.

Michael Pollan also touches on the fact that while out working on the farm he loses his focus to gaze upon the grasslands, a reaction that he observes to be an innate human characteristic. This fact struck home with me because being from the pacific northwest I have always been surrounded by lush green vegetation, but in travels and even here at Washington State I find myself often longing for the verdure I am so familiar with. It is nice to know that I can blame this desire on the human civilization, which has allowed us to see the beauty in something that might normally have been overlooked.

February 8, 2010

In chapter 12 of The Omnivore's Dilemma Michael Pollan writes about his experience "'processing' broilers." During this time he assisted in the catching and crating, killing, plucking, gutting, and clean up afterwards of 300 hundred chickens. The first was definitely the most difficult for him, but while slitting the throats of the chickens that followed he became aware of the fact that it was no longer having an impact on his morals, as the first one had. It no longer seemed like taking a life, just something that was done. With each chicken he slaughtered it became that much easier to finish the next one. As he looked around he saw men doing this exact same thing for their entire lives and it no longer had even the slightest impact on them. He started to feel eerie about his sudden apathy, however realized that it was a part of the territory in the food industry. As Joel said "slaughter is dehumanizing work if you have to do it every day." Chicken is not necessarily a life form that is particularly lovable, but it is still a living organism and has the sensory to feel pain. This feeling, or lack of feeling, for that matter is quite frightening to me and it is disturbing to think that an act that can be considered immoral is able to become such a mundane task simply through repetition.

January 25, 2010

"For though this farm might feed 129, it can no longer support the four who live on it," this statement caught my attention while reading The Omnivore's Dilemma because of its apparent unjust distribution and the implied competitive nature of farming. These characteristics force families, such as the Naylor's, to sell their entire yield in order to break even, or earn only a slight profit, and they are required to rely on other sources of income for their physiological needs. Likely being one of those 129 people, I started to feel very guilty about consuming the amount of food I do and being an agent of the Naylor's inability to run a self sufficient farm. However, removing myself from the other 128 consumers would not help the Naylor's in anyway, because it would either cause them to loss money or another omnivore would replace my position, continuing the cycle. I was pondering the ways I could assist the Naylor's and other farmers in America with the same issue, when I realized there really ways nothing I could personally do, but that it is up to the government to help these farmers and prevent them from abandoning this profession entirely and hindering the United States economy greatly.