Reflections: Week 5 & 6

Week 5 and 6 Review

Week 5: Week five seems like it was so long ago for me! I am going to have rough time trying to remember everything from last week, but here it goes...

• Last week Reading 15 was assigned to a group of people in class. We had a discussion in the reading and it really made me think about the steady increase of our population. Automatically, I wondered if there would ever come a time that we wouldn't have enough food for everyone on our earth?!
• We had also watched a film titled "Diet for a New America". This film really made me think. It pointed out facts that I had never known about animals and how they're raised based on the type of meat they are going to be, how much fat actually affects our blood and how horrible our country eats compared to others (which is a main reason a lot of people in our country have health problems).
  
• The last thing we had done during week five was a CSPI. I had done a questionnaire the analyzed the food that I eat. How much I am eating of certain types of food (meat, vegetables, fruit and dairy) and then shows me how what I am eating, effects the earth. At the end of the questionnaire, it gives you a few examples on what you can do to help improve your diet and environment. One of mine was to eat less meat, which I did not decided to follow because already, I don't think I eat enough of it.

Week 6:

• This week in class, we had watched a film titled "The Future of Food". I was assigned to do a review on this film so I'm not going to go into a whole lot of detail. If you'd like to read more about it, visit my Future of Food post! This film had held my interest for a while, and made me realize eating food that I grow in the area I live in, should be more important to me than eating food that might be cheaper and is coming from who knows where!
• Individuals were also assigned readings for this week. My reading was about corporate social responsibility. It gave the history of CSR within a few different countries and reasons for why "big wig" corporations should invest some of their time and money to make our country a better place to live.

What I think: The more and more we get into the semester, the more I like this class. I am constantly learning new ways to change some of my unhealthy "environment" habits and made the place I am living in, better! One of the things I have decided to try because of this class is putting an empty half gallon milk jug in my toilet! :) We'll see if it works! Another thing that I am doing, more so now than I was before, is watching what I eat. I want to make sure that what I am eating is something that is actually healthy for me, and not a food that is "thought" of as healthy! So I'd like to give props for Dr.V for making me think more about my environment and how my choices effect it!

Review: The Future of Food

This past week, we had watched a film titled "The Future of Food". While the movie had a lot of interesting facts, it was not too entertaining for me. The film had covered the history of genetically engineered food, patents on seeds and focused on a company titled Monsanto who had taken many people in the farm industry to court for using their patented seeds.

Summary:

Starting in the 20th century, nitrogen was being used as a fertilizer for many farm field, nerve gas was modified to be used as insecticides, and there was much more technology available which was suppose to make certain foods more readily available and cheaper. The era of having food production being able to keep up with the increase in population is called the "Green Revolution". The green revolution had created a spread in technology throughout the world. "These technologies included pesticides, herbicides, irrigation projects, synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and improved crop varieties developed through the conventional (that is, not using biotechnology), science-based breeding methods available at the time". A popular herbicide many farms were using during the Green Revolution and are currently using on their land is called Roundup.

Ever since farming had started, families have saved their crop seeds to use and plant a new crop the following year. A company called Monsanto put an end to this. Currently, Monsanto has 11,000 patents of seeds and when a farmer purchases seeds from the Monsanto company, they are forced to sign an agreement that once the years crop is over with, they will NOT safe any of their seeds to use the following year and all of their previous seeds must be destroyed as well.


A specific part of the movie that stood out to me, was the case of Percy Schmeiser vs. Monsanto. For many years, Percy had used the herbicide, Roundup, on his farm. One year while spraying Roundup on his crops, Percy noticed that there were some areas around the power lines did not die from the spray. It wasn't something that struck Percy as odd, and word had somehow spread to the Monsanto company. Without any notice to Percy, Monsanto was quickly on his land, testing hiscanola oil seeds. Monsanto had made the decision to sue Percy for using a "Roundup ready seeds that he had probably purchased or borrowed from a neighbor so he did not have to spend the money himself". Monsanto had assumed Percy was breaking their patent and was not going to allow it. After further research, I had found that "In an out of court settlement finalized on March 19, 2008, Percy Schmeiser has settled his lawsuit with Monsanto. Monsanto has agreed to pay all the clean-up costs of the Roundup Ready canola that contaminated Schmeiser's fields. Also part of the agreement was that there was no gag-order on the settlement and that Monsanto could be sued again if further contamination occurred. Schmeiser believes this precedent setting agreement ensures that farmers will be entitled to reimbursement when their fields become contaminated with unwanted Roundup Ready canola or any other unwanted GMO plants".

Other important facts:

• The flavor saver tomato was the first genetically engineered food product introduced to the public
• 2001 was the first year people had realized they were eating large amounts of genetically engineered foods (they are not required to be labeled)
  
• Starlink (corn products) was found to be unsafe for humans - there was a massive recall
• In order for a seed to be patented, it must be different from all others
• Mexico does not used genetically engineered seeds
• A terminator seed has been introducted. It is engineered so that the seed cannot be used the following year

What I thought: After watching this video, I think that there are a lot of people in this world that are very money hungry. Monsanto is a huge corperation that is sueing over 9,000 individuals because they're suspicious of where these farms are getting their seeds from. How is it possible to prove which seeds are who's and why would a company waste their time hurting farms that are providing a service to our country, along with the ones we export to. I also believe that labeling genetically engineered foods is important. If a child has an allergic reaction to something they ate, it would be impossible to figure out which gene in a genetically engineered food item flaired the reaction. The more movies we watch about food throughout the semester, convice me I need to start getting a majority of my food from co-ops rather than just some.
Other view points/websites:

A website that has information about NOT patenting seeds and a link to information on patent cases.

An article on what Monsanto plants seeds

Monsanto's website

Website with more information on Percy's case

Share and Voice: Conservation Action Network

Hey guys :) Today I was wasting time in between classes and decided I wanted to find a topic that interests me, that I could do a share and voice about. I came across the World Wildlife Federation's website. The World Wildlife Federation is a multinational conservation organization and works in over 100 countries and is supported by 1.2 million members within the United States and close to 5 million members globally. The World Wildlife Federation's main mission is to conserve nature while using the best scientific knowledge that is available while trying to preserve life on our planet as well as the ecosystem. They do this by:

• "protecting natural areas and wild populations of plants and animals, including endangered species;
• promoting sustainable approaches to the use of renewable natural resources; and
• promoting more efficient use of resources and energy and the maximum reduction of pollution"

An important part of the website that I had found was a page dedicated to previous conservation successes the World Wildlife Federation has already implemented throughout the world! Some of these successes include: The illegal logging act, shutting your lights off for earth hour, and sustainablee fisheries policies This page lists action that the World Wildlife Federation has been apart of for the past ten years and the laws that they have gotten passed.

I challenge you to take a look at the page, Major Victories, and post which conservation success hits close to home for you or effects you personally!

Eye Opener: Review of Reading #35

Lots of It About - Corporate Social Responsibility

"I believe in corporations, the are indispensable instruments of our modern civilization; but I believe that they should be so superviesed and so regulated that they shall act for the interests of the community as a whole" - Teddy Roosevelt

The reading, "Lots of It About - Corporate Social Responsibility" targets the problem of big businesses not taking responsibility when leaving communities high and dry (out of jobs, only pursuing the interests of their stakeholders, exploiting third-world countries, trashing the environment and challenging democratically elected governments). There has been a push for companies to become more responsible for their actions. "Business Strengthening America", is a program that does just that. BSA encourages civic engagement and volunteering throughout corporate America, which in turn large companies are required to think of more than just their stakeholders interests.

East Indies:

The first big push to change a company and the way it worked dates back to 1790. Elizabeth Heyrick led a consumer boycott by urging her fellow citizens to stop buying "blood stained" sugar from the West Indies. This boycott resulted in the Indies buying their sugar from producers in Bengal who did not use slaves as their workers. Currently, the influence of non-governmental organizations on corporations is much more pervasive.


In America, businessmen created modern organizations that spanned the continent much faster than the government could. By 1891, the Pennsylvania Railroad had employed over 110,00 people which was three times the amount of people enlisted in the army, navy and marines combined. Because of this, it was easier for monoliths to lay down their own rules. Companies laying down their own laws however, did not have that freedom for long. Shortly after, there were unions that had sprung up and journalists who revealed corporate abuse.

Not until the 1980's did America start seeing more independent businesses. For that, we have Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan to thank. In the 1980's there were generations of more aggressive and numerous stakeholders who believed that companies should be run on their (individuals) interests.

Good Deeds Aplenty:

Many of the American companies were willing to take on social obligations without the prompting of the government. Quaker's had founded many banks and confectionery firms where they had regular meetings to justify the good that their business is doing for their peers, religion was a large part of corporations inspiration at the time to do good. Much of America's educational and health infrastructure was formed based on religion. Companies had introduced pensions and health-care benefits longs before government had told them to do so, and were able to guarantee work for 48 weeks out of the year. Important people during this time included: Henry Ford who began paying his workers twice the minimum wage, Henry Heinz who paid for his workers education, and Tom Watson who gave his workers an education as well as country-club memberships.

Currently, many companies try to do good and believe they should be doing good for their stakeholders as well as shareholders because they are in favor of "building to last". There are two reasons why acting responsibly is in shareholders interests:

• It builds trust, and trust gives companies the benefit of the doubt when dealt with customers, workers and regulators. It allows them to weather storms, such a lay-offs or a product that does not work
• The edge it gives in attracting good employee as well as customers.

Terms:

Corporate Social Responsibility - how responsible companies should be to those other than their own shareholders

Greenpeace - Leading independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful direct action and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and to promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future

Codswallop - Nonsense

Oligopolistic - A market condition in which sellers are so few that the actions of any one of them will materially affect price and have a measurable impact on competitors.


Other View Points:

http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/16/corporate-social-responsibility-corprespons08-lead-cx_mn_de_tw_1016csr_land.html ---> A website article that believes corporate social responsibility is a great thing. Companies that "demonstrate a concern for the environment, human rights, community development and the welfare of their employees both in the U.S. and abroad, they will make their firms more profitable. Their firms will gain a competitive advantage by appealing to the growing numbers of socially and environmental oriented consumers, investors and employees."

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4008.html ---> A website that believes corporate social responsibility is not a smart choice on behalf of business owners. It states that "company social responsibility initiatives could diminish shareholder returns, distract business leaders from their focus, and often allow companies to continue bad behavior in the shadows."



--- If all business focused on Corporate social responsibility, would our country be better off or would it hurt hurt more because companies focus would be more on the individuals rather than the "real" service the company is providing?



(For some reason, my font sizes are not working very well... Sorry that it might be hard to read or look funny!)

Eye Opener: CSPI

For this Eye Opener, I had chose the Eating Green quiz. Since I don't have a lot of time to make food for myself (juggling jobs, a sport and 16 credits doesn't leave me with a lot of time at home), my servings per week of eating pork, beef and chicken were low which was great (I didn't get a negative score!) However, the amount of dairy that I eat gives me negative results... I love yogurt and milk plus a little bit of ice cream here and there (my weakness :])

My overall Health Score I had done well on however, the environmental and animal welfare categories were negative (pretty sure this is a bad thing!)

Overall, I had a score of 7 which left me in the "Uh-oh you need help" category... Safe to say, that REALLY surprised me!

Check out your score!

Share and Voice

After watching Al Gore's documentary, I logged onto YouTube and searched for videos on natural disasters that have left a large impact on our society.

One of the most influential video's I had found was on Hurricane Katrina. The reason this video hit home for me, is because it's a natural disaster I remember well and had spent a lot of time paying attention to while it was on the news.



Check this video out!
It's a clip from a documentary that is in the process of being put together... Here's my question to you...


*Are natural disasters truly something that can be prevented (back up your opinion) are can there only be precaution steps to prevent damage once a natural disaster strikes?

Reflections: Week 3 and 4

---Week 3 and 4 Reflections---

During the past two weeks of Environmental Health, we have spent our time watching “An Inconvenient Truth”, a film based on Al Gore’s crusade to stop global warming across the country. Gore touched many points in his documentary ranging from the temperatures that are steadily increasing, number of ice glaciers that are constantly melting, species that will slowly die, and the rapid spread of disease. For me, the most amazing fact was that global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet while the ice in Greenland and Antarctica melts.



After watching this documentary in class, I wanted to know more. I searched for the Inconvenient Truth website and came across a lot of great information. Some information that I found was covered in the documentary, other info was completely new to me. It is a website I would recommend to others and think the peers in my Environmental Health class would enjoy. Check it out!

On the website, you will find information like: interesting global warming facts, information about the film, ways you can reduce you impact on global warming at home and while on the move, 10 simple tips to live by, and information on how to help at a local, national and international level!