Denise Discusses Her Research Journey

Denise's Notes On Research-

I am going to be researching the treatment of cattle that are used for food in the United States.

Finding my secondary source was surprisingly easy. There are people who really do want to unveil the truth about the food industry. My primary source not so much.... It tool me forever, actually I still do not have a solid source. Maybe I'll interview a dairy farmer, or a rancher..... I'm not sure but I will keep looking.

Denise's Reflection on Eric Schlosser's Essay, "Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good"

Denise's Reflection on "Why McDonald's Fries Taste So Good" by Eric Schlosser

It's amazing to me to learn that just a little more than 50 years ago McDonald's really cared about their food. The preparation of the french fry was once "religious". All that has since changed dramatically. What used to take hours to make a batch of fries now take a matter of minutes. I personally am a huge fan of McDonald's fries as most of the United States probably is, but now I am shocked to know that the fry I love is really not a fry at all. In this reading the author Eric Schlosser mentions a term that I had never heard before, "The Flavor Industry".

He explains the process in which the fries are actually made, then explains something I never knew. Food that is processed actually looses all its flavor during the process of being processed. This shocked me because in my mind processed food was just canned or frozen, it never crossed my mind that the flavor could actually be lost. The sad truth is though, that the flavor is lost. Schlosser really caught my interest when he started to explain exactly how the "Flavor Industry" has a connection to McDonald's fries. Since their fries have left their flavor on the conveyor belt it is the "flavor industry's" job to come up with the delicious flavor that so many americans crave. The rest of the essay goes on to describe what the "Flavor Industry" and how most of the food that we as americans consume is "naturally flavored" or "artificially flavored".

The last paragraph of this essay really captivated me. Schlosser describes his visit to one of the flavor companies. He went through a taste test but he describes how unusual the taste test was. There was no food just test tubes. Each one had a different flavor. He smelled the small strip that contained the flavor and what he smelled was a grilled hamburger. AMAZING!?! I don't know whether to be amazed at the technology or disgusted that food is no longer treated as the source of life but as something on the conveyor belt.

Reflection Pool: Adrienne Rich-Split at The Root

Today I was supposed to read an essay by Adrienne Rich called, "Split at the Root" and I actually did!. The essay, to be honest, was quite a bit boring at the beginning and a bit of a better middle then I was surprised by a very strong ending. It made me ask myself the question “Who am I exactly?" This essay really makes you think about things relating to your heritage, and put them into perspective. Bottom line: Read this essay. It is a must read for those in need of an identity check or who are just looking for a good read.

~Brian

The Freedom Eaters & Readers discussing Langston Hughes, and/or preparing a plan for research.

In the beginning...

Welcome to Freedom Eaters & Readers! We are a group of juniors and seniors in a dual credit English 102 class under the guidance of Prof. Jess Burnquist. Recently we watched a film called Food Inc. and found it to be illuminating to say the least. Our interest in different aspects of food production, nutrition, and access to information has expanded into this nifty blog. We endeavor to share with our audience our learning process in regards to research, action and reflection. We are the Freedom Eaters in that we want to know what is in our food, and we are willing to do the work to not only find out, but also to help create change. We are the Freedom Readers because we understand that literature can be digested in a variety of ways, and we would like to share our interpretations about different works of literature with you.