Reading Journal

Rules to Eat By

By Michael Pollan

The author posses a good question. Does Splenda with fiber even count as food? In this article he really gets you thinking. He brings up some very good points about our eating habbits, or what we consider good food. Like a fast food place replacing bread with slabs of meat, and calling that sandwich healthy. I found it interesting now that we depend on science to tell us what is healthy, we are eating more unhealthy. The autor brings up the point that we should go back to listening to our culture when it comes to choosing our food.

I enjoyed this article, and I have also enjoyed this author. He keeps things very straight forward, and he doesn't try to dance around with fancy words. He writes clearly, and keeps it interesting.

Ethnography

Weight Watcher

            This morning I went to a Weight Watchers meeting with a friend of mine.  When we walked in it looked like a mini store.  They had Weight Watcher products lined up on the shelves.  I saw rows of different foods, and cookbooks.  My friend got inline, and I stayed closer to the shelves that had the food on them.  There was a long counter with several women standing behind it.  In front of the counter were black platforms.  The ladies called each person up to the counter, and took a little booklet from them.  After they looked at the booklet they had them step up on the platform, and then they printed out a sticker, and put it in the little booklet. 

            Now that my friend was done with her weigh in we went into the next room.  This room had a bunch of chairs lined up, and several posters on the wall.  One of the posters was the food pyramid, and another was about the points program.  In the far corner there was before, and after pictures of other Weight Watcher people.  The room filled up fast with a bunch of different people.  There were mostly women, but also a few men.  There were people of all ages.  Most of the people found their own little group within the group.  All the little groups were having their own discussions about how they think they did this past week. 

            The leader arrives, and the meeting begins.  They call the lady who guides the meeting the leader.  She seemed to be very nice, and welcoming.  The meeting starts with them awarding some of the people with charms for how much weight they have lost.  The leader asks them to please share with the group what helped them the most on their journey.  One woman said “If you nibble, you must scribble.”  Meaning if you eat something you must keep track of it.  Another woman said “Having the Weight Watchers pre-packed snacks in my pocketbook helps me keep on track.” 

            The leader goes over to the dry erase board, and asks people for their favorite recipes.  She starts writing “Fried Chicken”, “Macaroni and Cheese”, “Broccoli Casserole”, and several more.  She asks if we know how we can make these dishes healthier to eat.  They all start yelling out suggestions, “use butter substitute”, “use canola oil instead of vegetable oil”, “bake don’t fry”.  She encourages them, and adds a few ideas of her own.  The leader tells them that for next week she would like each one of them to come in with two recipes.  One recipe like how they would have made it before and one recipe how they would make it healthier. 

            It’s time to wrap up the meeting and the leader asks everyone if they have anything coming up this week they need help with.  A man speaks up, and says “this week at work they are having a cookout, how do I keep from eating all my favorites?”  The leader says “You can get a few of your favorites, but just a smaller portion.” Another woman says “have a piece of fruit before the cookout.”  Someone else suggests “Drink plenty of water before the cookout, this way you fill up on water.”  The leader agrees, and tells them they have given great suggestions. 

            The leader leaves the room, and some people stay behind talking.  They encourage each other, and chit chat about what they have planned for the next week.  Some of the people went into the first room to buy Weight Watcher products.  They all keep moving in the direction of the parking lot, but they keep talking with each other.  Eventually they crowd disperses, and everyone gets into their cars.

            I found it to be a very interesting collection of people.  There were men and women, and there were people of all ages.  There were a few girls in their early twenties, and there were many ladies in their fifties.  Some of the people didn’t look over weight at all, but they had been doing Weight Watchers for years.  It was a nice experience seeing people who didn’t know each other come together and try to help each other with their battle with food.  

Ethnography Proposal

I am torn between two subgroups.  The first is the Weight Watchers group.  I would go sit in on a Weight Watchers meeting.  I have done Weight Watchers in the past, and I understand what they are going through.
The other group I am considering is the Gastric Bi-pass group.  I could go to one of the meetings held at the hospital.  They have two different kinds of meetings one is before the surgery, and the other is the support group meeting after the surgery.  I have also gone to these meetings before, because I have gone through the surgery.  Both groups are very much about food, and the relationship that we have with food.

Reading Journal

A Stale Food Fight

By Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser

    This is an older article, from November 2010.  The article is about the senate going to vote on the FDA's bill.  Allow the FDA to set rules and regulations for the safety of our food.  It would allow the FDA to monitor the food before it is supplied, instead of after people have become ill from it.  The bill also allow the FDA to use the same rules and regulations on food being imported.

   I found it very interesting that the FDA didn't already have the right to set food guidelines, and call for recalls.  This article was very informative, and I think it was worth reading.  The author used a very straight forward way of delivering the information.

Reading Journal

How Change Is Going to Come in the Food System 

By Michael Pollan

This article was very straight forward, it simply stated that we can not continue much longer at the rate we are going.  We need to have major food reform, and the government is going to have to get involved the same way they did with the tobacco laws.  Simply put they way we American are eating we are heading for a health care crisis.  Type 2 diabetes is on the rise, and the health insurance companies can't keep up with the demands being placed on them.
I found the article very informative, and I would recommend you read it.  The author didn't use any shocking or eye widening statements like he had in past articles, but the straight forwardness was still appreciated.