Read 'n' Seed 3: Second quarter of "Don't Eat this Book, Fast Food and the Super Sizing of America"

Chapters and Pages

For the second quarter of Read 'n' Seed I read chapters 6-8, pages 75-129.

Topics

One topic covered was that Morgan Spurlock had three different doctors he saw over the course of the 30 day McDonald's only food period. The three doctors specialized in gastroenteritis and hematologist, cardiologist, and an . Morgan Spurlock had a physical before he started his McDonald's only diet and he weighed approximately 185.5 pounds, I am excited to read about what he weighed when he was done with the 30 McDonald's only diet.
I also read about the amount of calories in the salads that fast food places makes, in one McDonald's Fiesta Salad there is 450 calories. This does not seem that bad for a fast food place but of that 450 calories, 56% from fat and 26% from saturated fat. Now that is not very good for a salad that is supposed to be good for you. To put that into perspective it has a higher percentage of saturated fat than a Double Cheeseburger.
"Some scientists believe that those 10 teaspoons of sugar you slurp down in a 12 ounce soda may stimulate the same part of your brain, the reward circuits, that cocaine and nicotine do." This is really interesting. I am not much of a pop drinker but someone of my friends say they need a pop every morning or they just feel they have an off day.
I also found it interesting that even Monsanto could some how be brought into this book. Monsanto is the same company we saw from in The Future of Food, the movie we watched in class a few weeks ago. Monsanto was brought into the book because of their development of artificial sweeteners in the early 1900's.

Terminology 
Gastroenterologist is the study of the digestive system
Hematologist is the study of blood 
Internist is the medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis, management and nonsurgical 

Implications
I think it is important to understand the food that you are putting into your body. I like to get salads if I do go to a fast food place, for instance if I am traveling. I just assumed that they would be the best option but I learned this week that you really have to look into what you are eating and not just assume that because it is a salad that it is healthy. It is important for others to understand this too as it is pretty well known in society that salads are good for you, but you really have to take into account what is in the salad besides lettuce.

Share & Voice: UMD Smoking Ban Forum

On Tuesday October 27, I attended UMD's Smoking Ban Policy Forum. I was very surprised by the amount of people that showed up, there were much fewer people than I expected. There were representatives from student organizations, American Lung Association, UMD police department, health services, faculty, and the student body.

I am in favor of the current smoking ban on the UMD campus. I personally do not think shelters will help anything. I think that there needs to be some kind of fine set up for students caught smoking on campus grounds. I know it will cost money to implement this change but I would rather have my money (if it is going to come from tuition) go to paying a person to ticket people rather than to shelters for people to smoke.

It was brought up at the forum that it is peoples right to smoke, I agree with this but it is also my right not to smoke and not have to inhale second hand smoke every time I want to walk into a building. There were people at the forum who brought up interesting points like how it is becoming a social change, you can no longer smoke near hospitals, on airplanes, in MN in public establishments, and now moving to Universities. There were others there who clearly smoked and voiced their opinions, which at times did not make much sense and almost seemed to contradict what they were saying. It was also brought up that as incoming freshman see that you are not allowed to smoke on campus, it will help to change UMD to a smoke free campus (as long as people obey the rule and are not smoking on campus). I think this it is going to take a few years to see a change with this smoking ban. I hope that UMD moves forward in this ban and no backwards.

Oh and the American Lung Association handed out free t-shirts that said, "I am a designated no smoking area." Very clever.

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4: Weekly Update

1. My SMART goal is to use a reusable water bottle instead of a plastic water bottle everyday for the rest of the semester and hopefully the rest of my life.I was able to achieve my smart goal because last week because I used my reusable water bottle every day of the week! My other goal was to get my mom to use a reusable water bottle. I was successful in this goal as we went to the store and got her a good reusable water bottle that she would use. We were able to find her one that was about equivalent to a standard plastic water bottle so she could fill it up with the easy to go flavoring water she likes.

2. I felt very successful in getting my mother a water bottle and getting her to use it. While I was home she used it for two days straight. It was however a bit of a challenge when she said she doesn't like the water bottle because it leaks a little bit. I am not sure if the cap was not on tight enough or if the water bottle is just not the best one out there. If so I plan to deal with this by going back and getting her a better water bottle that I have used and know will be a good product.


3. I felt very excited and proud that my mom was so willing to change to a reusable water bottle. I think a lot of people want to change they just don't have someone telling them why they should change. I also felt a bit frustrated when the water bottle was leaking but that is easily fixable with a new water bottle or making sure the cap is one tight enough.


4. I learned that some people just need that little extra push in telling them about the benefits of using a reusable water bottle and not using a plastic water bottle. For my mother she knew it was not making sense financially to buy plastic water bottles and only knew a little about the environmental effects it has, therefore I was able to inform her a little more.

5. My plans for next week are to continue using a reusable water bottle every day. I also plan to check in on my mother and make sure that she is using hers and that she is happy with the switch. If she is unhappy with her water bottle I want to go get her a new one so that she can stick to her goal too.  I also plan to talk with my brother and his wife to see what they use for water bottles while they are at work and while they workout.

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy

Eye Opener: Environmental Working Group

This week it was assigned to go to the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database and search one product that we use. I decided to search for the mascara I use, called Maybelline full n' soft mascara black. The mascara I use is rated at a six out of 10 on the scale, a six is indicated as moderate hazard. Research studies indicated that this mascara is not linked to cancer, but is linked to developmental/reproductive toxicity, violations, restrictions, and warnings, and allergies/immunotoxicity. The website also gave the ingredients, directions, and warnings from packaging.The ingredients were also listed and gave their hazardous rating. This is good to know because then you can look at the 10's and see which ingredients you should for sure stay away from and what they can do to be hazardous to your body.

This doesn't concern me because I feel this is very minimal, but it does make me wonder what other products have in them that are really dangerous that most don't know about. It is interesting how so much information is not given out to the public. There are a lot that people do not read about this and probably will never see this. It makes me wonder what else I do not know about that is potentially dangerous to me. It is important to think critically here and think about what the actual harm might be to your body. It may be that these products might not do a whole lot to your body or that these products can do a lot of damage. I think I might trust this information more if I knew a little bit more about who is putting up this information and how accurate the information is.