Entry #5. Reshaping Our Food System.

We, as humans, consume and purchase food so often that we rarely stop to think about the history behind the food we ingest in our everyday lives. How many people can say that they habitually think about where our food comes from? The documentary, Fresh, answers the question by showing the audience the pretty side of growing food and the ugly part of growing food.

In the documentary, the viewers can get an overview of how farming works. Every farmer in the industry has his or her own way of growing crops, feeding animals, and handling issues that comes with farming. Each farmer has a responsibility when it comes to producing foods. Most producers believe that their method of growing food is the best because they know that it works and that causes them to continue to stick to the procedure.

Monoculture is considered to be dangerous for the industry because it that meanz a lot of the same species are growing together with the same variation. When the same species are growing together, it is more susceptible to pests. Due to lack of mixture, pests can usually spread faster that way. When pests do appear, antibiotics have to be used to keep the species alive. Antibiotics in livestock animals can increase the risk of foodborne bacteria that can cause harm to humans. Do we really want to eat something that causes us to get sick? For the most part, most of us want to steer away from contaminated foods.



The same goes for plants and crops. Large amounts of fertilizer and pesticides are being sprayed into crops to increase fertility rate and prevent insects. Economically, farmers are better off spraying, but while doing so it is not good for the farmers, environment or the consumers. It is reasonable to want to produce more, but using fertilizers can attract more insects which requires pesticides to be used. The use of pesticides can be harmful in many different ways. A website has notified that pesticides pollute air, water, and soil which are disadvantages to farmers, consumers, animals, and plants. So why do farmers continue to use these products when it clearly has more downside than positive effects?


It is important for consumers to be educated and informed as to what they are buying these days. How much do we really know about what goes in our food? It is often a good idea to research where and how our food are made because we can decide if we need to make healthier alternatives for our eating lifestyle.

Entry #6. Implementing Gun Control.

Throughout the years, there have always been huge debates on whether gun control should be put into action. As many of you may know, the world's worst mass shooting happened in Las Vegas on the night of October 1, 2017. Many innocent lives were lost and injured in the hands of a dangerous perpetrator who owned many guns. Why was this individual allowed to own so many guns? How do citizens feel safe knowing one person can own as many guns as they wish to carry? How can people go to public gatherings like concerts, schools, churches, or even stores and guarantee that they will make it out alive? How many more massacres need to occur until stricter laws take into place?

Everyone wants these massacres to come to an end, but no one is really taking action to stop these horrific behaviors. If citizens want to prevent these violent actions from ever happening, then we should start implementing gun control! There is absolutely no valid reason for people to own guns besides safety assurance. After the horrific event that just took place, strict and demanding laws should be created like banning automatic weapons would be a great start. Such dangerous weapons should only be used for military purposes otherwise why would a single civilian need automatic weapons? Surely, not to ensure safety for him or herself.

There should be extreme background checks on individuals who wish to own a gun. Citizens should have no criminal record or committed any illegal act in the past, but according to a New York Times article, mass shooters tend to be people who have no criminal past and it makes it hard to identify which individuals should own a gun. Japan has one of the lowest gun homicide rates and it's all because of the way gun control has been executed. Most types of guns have been banned from the country such as handguns. As stated in the Atlantic article, it is extremely hard to own a gun because in order to own one, citizens must attend an all-day class and pass a written test. Then, citizens must pass a shooting range class. After that they have to get a mental and drug test from the hospital. Finally, a severe background check is made for any criminal pasts (Fisher).

Owning a gun is almost impossible in Japan, but there has only been twenty-two gun related deaths in history and that is pretty impressive to say the least. If America created a law like just like Japans, then there would definitely be less death rates involving guns. It already has been proven that gun control will work because of gun restrictions that have been made in Japan. If the people want to prevent gun related deaths, then America should take action by regulating gun control. Too many innocent lives have been taken away due to people owning guns.

Entry #4. Should Women be Able to Wear Such Revealing Costumes for Halloween?

Halloween has got to be one of the most exciting times of the year because kids and young adults get to dress up however they want and have fun! Who doesn't like being in a costume and being something or someone else for a day? Over the past few years, there have been controversies as to whether girls should be able to wear revealing costumes for Halloween. Some may view it as unethical to wear such "slutty costumes" and others believe that girls should be able to wear whatever they want.



First, I would like to point out that Halloween should be a an enjoyable holiday for everyone including adults. There are many people who believe that girls should not wear revealing costumes because they are viewed as sexual objects and by doing so, they are asking to be labeled with offensive words such as "slut" or "whore". I don't think any girl has ever put on a Halloween costume and decide, "Oh, I hope I get called a whore after someone sees my costume tonight!" For the most part, women do not like being called such offensive names and wearing a tight outfit does not imply that they want to be generalized by others.



Despite Halloween being enjoyable and fun, why should women change the way they are dressed because of men? Men should be able to learn not to view women as objects when see a girl with a tight costume. An article states that women wearing a "sexy costume" is not the problem, but the way we are treated when we choose to a wear a provocative costume is. We live in a world where we are told to dress accordingly to men because they can easily be distracted and can't keep their hands to themselves. Should we not be teaching men that women are not pleasurable objects and they should be treated with respect? Women should not be told what to wear because men are unable to control themselves. Women wearing revealing costumes should not be the issue. The issue should be teaching men self-control and learning not to label women who choose to wear an exposing outfit for Halloween. 

Entry #3. Power of Social Media.

You hear the word "social media" everywhere and you automatically think of popular websites and apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Tumblr, and the list goes on! When you think of social media, do you actually think about how much these social sites have impacted teenagers? Most likely not because social networks have become apart of our daily routines and we don't even realize it. Teenagers have become so dependent on social media that they rely on apps and websites to stay relevant and prominent to the rest of the world.

For instance, in Finding the Self in Selfie three teenage girls describe how they remain important on apps like Instagram. Instagram allows users to upload any photo they wish to share to friends, family, and strangers. Instagram has become one of the top photo sharing apps used by young adults. The app is an easy way to make yourself widely known and these girls are using it for their self-assurance and satisfaction.

Just from listening to the podcast, the girls seem to be fixated on gaining likes and boosting each other's self esteem for attention and relevancy. In this day and age, teens of this generation choose to prioritize their reputation more than anything else and that is unfortunate. The podcast proves how much of an influence social media has over the youth. In today's generation it is accurate to say that young adults worry about how others view them online and in person. Social media has a huge effect on our reputation whether you decide to put yourself out there by commenting or posting pictures. Teens determine their self worth by viewing how many likes and comments they get on their photo and that is completely tragic. Unfortunately, as time goes on the importance of social network does not cease.