QQC

QQC 1:

Quote: "Plain talk about actual foodstuff--the committee had advised Americans to "reduce combustion of meat"--was replaced by artful compromise: "choose meats, poultry, and fish that will reduce saturated fat intake."

Question: The question this brings up in my head is, Why do we let industries like the red meat and dairy industries or any others filter the way we look at their products?

Comment: I think that it is very wrong for the United States of America public to have filtered outlooks upon certain things. It is wrong that the industries have the ability to control the way we view their own products. I feel as though it would make more sense to have no filter and just listen to what both sides of a controversy have to say. In this passage it clearly shows that scientists discovered red meats and dairy products are not good for us, but the industries criticized them enough to the point where a second report was filed making the discovery more general and about nutrients instead of foods. This way we wouldn't know what specific foods to watch out for, and we would continue to help industries make a lot of money by buying their unhealthy food.

QQC 2:

Quote: "If foods are understood only in terms of the various quantities of nutrients they contain, even processed foods may be considered to be 'healthier' for you than whole foods if they contain the appropriate quantities of some nutrients." 

Question: This makes me question whether or not nutritionism is really a good thing or not.

Comment: Logically, this passage makes a lot of sense. And most things in my life have been based on logic so I must believe it. Technically, we could just create all of our own foods to contain the exact nutrients we need, we could even just get everything we need through pills. But is this really what is right? Obviously plants and animals were here for us to eat, there is a reason we require food to survive, and is the reason purely just based on nutrients in food? There was obviously a time when nutrients weren't a thing, and food was just food. I personally feel as though this time would have been much healthier than where we are at in life now with nutrients.

QQC 3:

Quote: "Industry hated the imitation rule."

Question: Are nutrients truly about the health of the American public, or is it more for the money of the industry?

Comment: Here we are again with the industry running things. Now the industry changed the laws so that the foods they created by hand cannot be viewed as unnaturally created foods. Now they are viewed to be as normal as a plant we would pick out of the ground. Clearly this is something that is bad and unhealthy for the American public, but it ended up happening. It is obvious that it happened so the the industry could make more money. I think this is very unacceptable because it is essentially trading the health of the American public for money to be given out to a very small group of people.

QQC 4:

Quote: "That's why when the Atkins diet storm hit the food industry in 2003, bread and pasta got a quick redesign (dialing back the cards; boosting the proteins)… ….Who would ever buy imitation spaghetti? But of course that is precisely what low-carb pasta is."

Question: What else don't we know that the industry does know?

Comment: I honestly never knew that low-carb pasta was created by man to fit a trend of society. I never even really thought about the fact that pasta and breads are created by scientists to contain anything they think we 'need'. But do we really need it? Or is everything we are eating do to a trend in society and what is popular at the moment?

QQC 5:

Quote: "At the behest of government panels, nutrition scientists, and public health officials, we have dramatically changed the way we eat and the way we think about food, in what stands as the biggest experiment in applied nutritionist history."

Question: Why are we letting ourselves be controlled?

Comment: I am surprised at this point that people aren't making a bigger deal about the way the government and industry are control our food sources. I know they are fighting the industries through lobbying and politics, and there are smaller private organizations used to build awareness, but I feel as though this is something that should be blowing up a lot bigger.

QQC 6:

Quote: "As I write, the FDA has just signed off on a new healthier claim for Frito-Lay chips on the grounds that eating chips fried in polyunsaturated fats can help you reduce your consumption of saturated fats, thereby conferring blessings on your cardiovascular system. So a notorious junk for pass through the needle eye of nutritionist logic and come out the other side looking like a health food."

Question: Why aren't we as the public more self conscious about the subject of food?

Comment: Although it is obvious the food industry and government are a huge part in why Americans are fat, and why we eat unhealthily, but shouldn't we watch ourselves and each other more? There is really no excuse for the way that we know we treat ourselves, and when it comes down to it I think it falls into our own laps to be healthy.

Endersession Volunteer Ideas

Community Parks & Recreation Centers 

• Department Volunteer Coordinator
• 619-533-4017
• FAX: 619-525-8224 

I think it would be fun to intern for the Community Parks & Recreation Centers becuase I could see the improvement I am making in my community first hand.


Scripps Birch Aquarium

• Volunteer Department
• 858-822-4934 
• aqmvols2@ucsd.edu

I do not know much about marine life and I think it would be interesting to intern for Scipps Birch Aquarium and expand my tastes.


Surfrider Foundation

• Kids for Clean Water
• (858) 792-9940  

I think interning for surfrider would be a great way to spend the last month of school heading into summer. I would get to spend time at the beach doing clean ups, and I think it is one of few volunteer opportunities that would be fun as well as helpful to my community.

Unknown Weed

Color: Green/Purple
Leaf Shape: Rhemboid
Leaf Tip: Pointy
Leaf Edge: Serrate
Width: 3 in.
Length: 8 in.
Vein Arrangement: Palmate
Petiole: No
Bottom & top?: Lighter on bottom
Surface: Smooth  and wet

Marigold Flower:

Color: Orange/red flowers with green leaves
Leaf Shape: Pedate
Leaf Tip: Jagged point
Leaf Edge: Serrate
Width: .25 in.
Length: 2.5 in.
Vein Arrangement: Cross-Venulate
Petiole: Yes, 1 cm.
Bottom & top? Lighter, veinier, and there are black dots on the bottom.
Surface: Smooth

Personality Test Reflection

On the personality test I scored an ESTP. This stands for Extraverted(33%), Sensing(25%), Thinking(62%), and Percieving(11%). I think this very well describes what kind of person I am beccause I am very outgoing, however I am also good at sitting back and thinking about the situation I am in and deciding what to do about it. The list of jobs it though I would be good at were Business Management, Stock Brokering, Entrepenuership, and Marketing. I think it is crazy that a personality test told me to do things that I have always wanted to do! I want to work with money like a stock broker, get into business management, and eventually open up my own business. All in all, the test didn't tell me anything new about myself or what I should do in life, but it did help support my opinion.

Endersession!

1) Statistical Analysis for the SF Giants
 I have a few connections with the San Fransisco Giants and I think it would be fun to live in San Fransisco for a month doing something I am interested in studying for college. I want to to statistic in sports when I grow up and I think it would be fun to get a taste of the industry.

2) Build a skateboard ramp.
 I don't know who my mentor would be or where I would get the money, but I love skateboarding and I think it would be fun to build a mini ramp.

3) Accounting firm or statistician
 I want to do statistics so I would love to intern for somebody who does math.

Initial Plant Research

Potatoes

The main reason I would like to grow potatoes is because of the huge variety of things that I will be able to do with them afterward. I could make french fries, turn them into potato bread, and even make flower out of them. I also very much enjoy digging up potatoes when they are ready to eat. They are simple plants to grow and because you see little progress throughout the process, picking the potato is a grand reward I am looking forward to having!


a. A potato is a starchy root crop.
b. Potatoes can be planted in late fall or early spring as long as the soil can be worked and they are planted in a frost free area. They need 3 to 4 months of cool weather to fully develop to growing season would be 3 to four months after whenever they are planted. They are usually grown from piece of tuber, however certified seeds can be used. I personally would prefer growing them from tuber so that it does not take as long to germinate. There isn't much special preparation other than they need space, sun, and a slightly acidic soil to be planted in to prevent scab disease.
c. Like stated earlier, potatoes usually need 3 to 4 months to fully develop. That could be possible during the time we have this semester if they are planted soon. It is also okay to dig some up early, they just won't be the full size that is wanted. I don't think they could help the garden too much long term, other than creating a nice space that they could be grown in at the start of each year.
d. Potatoes do need quite a lot of space, usually they need to be planted around a foot apart from each other and have the rows around 2 to 3 feet away from each other. This will clearly use more space and might make potatoes unreasonable to grow in our garden unless another bed is made.
e. Like stated earlier, it does prefer acidic soil ranging form 5.0 to 6.5 in PH. The N-P-K ration should be 16-20-0 which is Ammonium phosphate.
f. Potatoes need regular watering until the rainy season, which unfortunately we do not have. It is better to use drip irrigation so that the sprouts and leaves do not get wet.
g. Good companion plants with potatoes include: Cabbage and Beans. Good companion flowers include: Petunias, Amaranth, and Sweet Alyssum.


The most interesting fact I found about the potato is that in 1995, potato plants were taken into space with the shuttle Columbia. This was the first time any food was ever grown in space. Other than that, they are the fourth most common plant grown in the United States and are very simple and average.

Collard Greens

I would love to grow Collard Greens because they has been a main part of my diet since I was a child. My mom has always loved Collard Greens and they would be fun to grow, bring home, and eat with her. Collard Greens have a lot of nutritional ingredients that could be very helpful to our students and community. They are very underrated vegetables that we should be growing and promoting their health factor!

a. Collard Greens are a vegetable.

b. The growing seasons for Collards would be planting in early october for a fall or winter harvest, or planting in February or March for a spring harvest. It should be grown directly in the garden with a seed and if planted on the first of October will be ready to harvest in the colder winter months. 

c. From seed to harvest it taxes approximately 3 months, which does not make sense or work at all for the time we have this semester. It does matter because in the colder months it grows sweeter and during these hot months the Collards will taste bitter if harvested.

d. Collards grow about 3 feet wide and 2 feet tall which takes up a lot of space. While we would only have space for one or two, they do produce a lot of food and I think the space would be very well used. They just need to be planted far enough so the leaves aren't touching because they aren't a very rooty plant.

e. Collards like very nitrogen enriched soil, however I couldn't find a specific N-P-K ratio for them. They like slightly acidic PH in there soil ranging from 6.5 to 6.8.

f. Collards like to be watered 1 to 1.5 inches per week, so they should be watered accordingly with the rainfall of each week. Because they do grow from rain, they like to be watered overheard by sprinkler or hose as water on their leaves does not affect growth.

g. The only good companions plants for Collard Greens are tomatoes.

Collard Greens are not only a delicious healthy food, but they are also the state leafy green of South Carolina. Collard Greens are the staple vegetable of the southern United States.

Beets

I would love to grow beets because they are a perfect mixture of Kale Collards and Potatoes. Not physically or taste-wise, but emotionally. They are just as fun as potatoes to grow grow and dig up, and you can make the same amount of things out of them. They have also always been my favorite vegetable since I was a kid because of their texture and sweet taste. I think it would be great to grow something so beautifully colored and tasting.

a. Beets are a root crop, however have many different varieties.

b. The growing season for beets can be in the fall winter or spring, preferably 2 months before the average daily temperature reachers 80 degrees. It should be grown directly from the seed and germinates in 4-10 days after being planted. It is not necessary but you may soak the seeds in water overnight before planting to have a more uniform germination.

c. Beets take 45 to 65 days to reach harvest from planting the seed. I think this would work very well for this semester because they could be done and ready to eat midway through the semester and I might even be able to plant a second round of them and fix mistakes (if any) made during the first.

d. Beets should be grown 4 inches apart  which I think is very reasonable for the amount you get during harvest and the space we have in the garden. I could have 9 plants in one square foot which is enough to have 9 people eating a beet! Or many more just having a taste. 

e. Pre planting fertilizer should be with a high phosphate and low nitrogen fertilizer. Preferably and N-P-K ratio of 5-10-5. The prefer slightly acidic soil with the PH ration being between 6 and 6.8. 

f.  Beets should be evenly watered every 5 days or however many days to where the soil does not run dry. It is fine to overhead water them because their leaves are actually a food as well and do not mind water.

g. Beets have many compatible plants including: Basil, Bush beans, Cabbage, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Onion, Sage, Tomato 

Many beets are actually grown to use their leaves as a food instead of the beet itself. The leaves are know as chard and can be steamed or made into soup. Beets have been used medicinally in the past to cure Kidney stones as well as used as natural laxatives.