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In our campaign to propose this new amendment, we do see where those against it might rebuttal. These arguments directly challenging the mental capabilities of many 16 year olds. Let’s look at the logistics of it. A great majority, if not all, 16 year olds live with their parents. In fact they’re mostly still dependent on their parents. Sure 16 year olds may be able to think for themselves, but don’t have the abilities to be truly self-sufficient. There’s also the responsibility of 16 years olds. While their parents may trust them smaller tasks like watch a their sibling or taking out the trash, one would never give a space of power to a child. They wouldn’t even know where to begin. Voting is a prime example of that; children don’t know the first thing about voting and all that goes on behind the scenes. Also, 16 year olds have many other rights such as the right to drop out of school or in some other states, the right to marry and have sex. (Debate: Lowering the Voting Age to 16). While these are freedoms they can choose express at any time, people against lowering the voting age would response to this: “Just because they have those rights doesn’t mean they should express them.” Debatepedia’s article – “Debate: Lowering the voting age to 16” states: “If all 16 year olds left home at 16 and started families it would be considered a disaster.” Countries much like America save things like drinking alcohol, serving in a military, and especially voting too much higher ages. The streets would be full of drunk and pregnant teens. In fact in the article: “Lower the Voting Age to 16: Pros and Cons” from International Business Times talking about the effects of lowering in voting in other countries. While countries such as Austria, Nicaragua, Brazil, and Ecuador have been successful in lowering the voting age, The U.S. and the U.K. alike have failed in such a process. Now let’s look into other things that could occur if America were to lowering its voting age. If we are to lowering the voting to 16, many states could also advocate lowering the criminal responsibility and consent ages to fit with the lowering voting age. What this basically boils down to is since you have to power to vote like the adults before you, one should be considered an adult as well. So, when you are convicted of a crime, even a smaller crime (theft) for example, instead of being tried a minor you immediately be tried as an adult. What the article states about age of consent is: “The issue of consent is particularly important because it extends beyond consensual sex; in prostitution and rape allegations, if sexual contact is proven and the victim is a minor, the perpetrator is automatically guilty on statutory rape.” ("Lower the Voting Age to 16: Pros and Cons). What this means is if the age were to be lower, the said perpetrator would have to go through a full rape trial instead. Another reason people are against lowering the voting age is because they believe that it won’t solve the problem of voter turnout. A plus of lowering the age is the possibility of increasing current voter turnout. But that’s all it really is, a possibility. ("Voting Age, Lowering: Debatabase”). As it stands, in America, voting is a choice. If you don’t want to vote, you don’t have to. Now considering 16 year olds tend to be more involved in their own problems rather than what is occurring across the country, they would most likely be the tiny percentage of people who would attend the polls. In regards to voter turnout is the political knowledge that many 16 year olds have. For the most part, that knowledge is little to nonexistent on a deeper level. Idebate.org shows how lowering the voting age can be very dangerous. It states that 16 year olds could use their voting power very naively, only voting for the candidate they think is cool or that supports a single issue that care about, not looking at the full picture. ("Debate: Lowering the Voting Age to 16"). The 16 year olds of the present are more concerned with things like instant gratification and getting/fixing something with the least amount of effort. The problem with that is it can create the younger voters into very big swing voters. Say one candidate offers to greatly increase curfew for those 16-17, but another offers to clean up the streets, teens may most likely vote for the first guy because they feel that issue he’s addressing directly effects them, so they care more. But say the second candidate offers to give free cars to all 16-17 year olds with permits; they instantly change their opinion to the second candidate because they’re getting free stuff. This can prove extremely dangerous in America. If this were to happen, America as a whole could potentially be electing unfit people to run our country. This is because the demographic of 16-18 years old is just so huge, if they all vote it could easily outclass all the adults voting, leaving the opinions nearly nullified. The adults of America already have a hard enough time deciding whom to vote for and don’t need ignorant teenagers possibly skewing the polls to an inadequate candidate. Also many teenagers tend to go against the popular consensus just for the sake of being rebellious. Something like is the very last we need at the polls. For example, there are two candidates: one obviously for the job and one obviously not for the job. Where vast majorities of people agree with the first candidate and they see that he/she is out best interests, there’s always going to those teenagers who are against the “status quo”. They’ll simply vote for the second candidate really just because, completely and utterly ignorant to their politics. And finally there’s the viewpoint of not all ages groups are affected by things the government tries to pass. Things like healthcare and social security are things that children should know about but it’s certainly not something that they should be worrying about. Things like that are handled by the parents or guardians, and for the most past when parents vote, they take their entire family into consideration. ("Voting Age, Lowering: Debatabase”)

Works Cited

"Debate: Lowering the Voting Age to 16." Debatepedia.com. Debatepedia, 04 Dec. 2009. Web. 02 Nov. 2011. <http://debatepedia.idebate.org/en/index.php/Debate:_Lowering_the_voting_age_to_16>.

"Lower the Voting Age to 16: Pros and Cons - International Business Times."International Business News, Financial News, Market News, Politics, Forex, Commodities - International Business Times - IBTimes.com. International Business Times, 19 May 2011. Web. 04 Nov. 2011. <http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/148691/20110519/lower-the-voting-age-to-16-pros-and-cons.htm>.

"Voting Age, Lowering: Debatabase - Debate Topics and Debate Motions." IDEA: International Debate Education Association - Debate Resources & Debate Tools. IDEA Inc., 22 Feb. 2007. Web. 04 Nov. 2011. <http://www.idebate.org/debatabase/topic_details.php?topicID=588>.

Reflection Questions:

·       How did you group go about making a decision for what to focus on for the project?

- We figured we should attack a subject that would directly affect us, that being letting 16 year-olds vote. While the object topics are just as important, we felt(or least I did) a more personal connection to the project.

·       11th grade Essential ? - What is the role of the individual in creating and sustaining change? 

- The role of the individual can be two things in my opinion: either create change or deter it. For nearly ever individual trying to make change for the better, there are most likely just as many individuals trying to stop that change.

·       How has your understanding of the electoral process and whether or not the US is a democracy evolved during this unit?

-  I know so much more than I did before. I never knew that this is so involved with more than just the presidential candidates on the ballot. I feel like if I’m ever going to vote I’ve got to know my stuff.

·       How did you decide to best relay a message to a national audience with your marketing campaign?

- We decided to go to the audience we are trying to help, teenagers like us. Rather just saying all the positives of letting us vote, let’s see how they’d feel about it. 

Rethinking Pocahontas-by Markia Johnson and Nia Berry

http://rethinkinghistory.weebly.com/index.html

This is a link to our website about the disney tale of "Pocahontas" which in reality is a modified version of the true story of "Matoaka", an indian princess who saved the life of an Euro-American named John Smith. There are may perceptions of Indians but the most famous and usually perceived as accurate version comes from the movie, "Pocahontas" and our website is created to give people a chance to learn about how media has been used as an tool to teach manipulated history. We hope that you learn from this website and use it as an example to further your thinking of history and how it's perceived in media.

2lbs.- free range chicken thighs

3 -small organic red potatoes 

1/2-organic red onion 

1-cup of chicken broth

1-sweet Red bell pepper

1-clove of garlic

organic black pepper corns w/ grinder (Black pepper)

bottle of organic extra virgin olive oil

Reynolds Baking Bags

Prepare the chicken by sprinkling it with grinded black peppercorns

Sauteé 1/4 of the onion chopped, half the red pepper(with seeds), & chopped garlic in olive oil.

(while you are waitng you can slice your potatoes thinly.)

Once that in finshed and browned, prepare the skillet with more olive oil to fry the chicken. 

You plan on just browning the skin , not frying completely.

Once the skin is browned, you need to prepare your baking bag,put the baking bag inside of the roasting pan,  cover the bottom of the bag with potatoes then the slices of the other half of the onion and peppers. Add a layer of chicken to cover the bottom layer. each thigh should be touching a potato. 

sprinkle the sauteéd peppers and onions on top of the chicken. 

Put chicken broth on top of all the food in the bag using a turkey baster.

tie the bag and cut slits for air holes.

Put in a 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes. check periodically.

A few words to describe me meal:

• tasty-of course!
• economical & cheap-this only costed me about $15 (every ingredient was purchased from Whole Foods market)
• filling- not only do you get a main course of chicken, but you have sides with potatoes, onions, and peppers
• complete-as I said before, the meal is complete all you need is something to drink.

The body does not take long to digest chicken. Chicken is not a heavy meat. Peppers onions and garlic and tasty flavors which are rather healthy. If you ate nothing but this meal everyday you might lack calcium in your diet.

All the ingredients were local and organically grown. The chicken was also free range.

Tuna Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:

4 Brown Organic eggs

2 pouches of Ronzoni Pasta Portions: elbow

½ cup Miracle Whip Mayonnaise (vary to preference)

Lawry’s Season Salt (vary to preference)

Old Bay Seasoning (vary to preference)

2 cans of Chicken of the Sea Solid White: Albacore tuna

Procedure:

1.     Boil 2 pouches of pasta in 1 quart of water for 5minutes.

2.     Boil 4 brown eggs for 10 minutes.

3.     Drain and serve pasta into a large bowl

4.     Open, drain and serve 2 cans of tuna into large bowl with pasta

5.     Apply about ½ a cup of mayonnaise into bowl and mix contents of the bowl thoroughly.

6.     Add a moderate amount (2 teaspoons each) of Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and Old Bay seasoning and mix (continue to taste and add more season as seen fit).

7.     Un-shell and dice eggs into bowl and mix one last time.

Analysis:

Based on the ingredients used to make my meal, about 60% of my meal is processed being made of processed tuna fish and mayonnaise.

 My entire meal totaled in 315mg cholesterol. 3,230mg sodium, 33g fat, 600mg potassium, 128g carbs, 6g dietary fibers, 6g sugars, 46g protein, and 1,630mg calories. The amount of sodium in my meal could cause serious high blood pressure and other health risks and the amount of calories (1,630mg) in my meal is half of the suggested 2,400-calorie intake for women, so eating everyday would not be healthy. Also be reminded that this is all only in one serving.

All ingredients used in my meal were made and packed in the United States; ranging from Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey California. The Chicken of the Sea Tuna Fish traveled the furthest being from San Diego, California. Only my eggs were organically grown.

  This meal cost about $15. In comparison to fast food, my meal may be equal in health risk somewhat, but it is not a meal to be eaten regularly. Also my meal is a bit more expensive when buy ingredients as a whole. The USDA regulates these ingredients.

Self Reflection

Being a person who has never once questioned what is on the back, ingredients and nutrient labeling of her everyday boxed processed food, this unit in science and society has changed my view and importance in food in multiple ways. From the identifying of terms and ingredients, the creation and modification of said ingredients and how these process of modified and organic foods has drastically effected America economically and health wise.

The initial assignment of simply reading what the ingredients were on a meal I had recently eaten was only step one of opening my eyes to the food I consume. After a discussion in class about the definition and creditability of certain terms found on the labeling of boxed/canned foods, I learned that terms like “Low-Fat” and “Natural” are not USDA regulated meaning; any thing claimed to be any percent less fat (even if it’s only 1%) than it’s original form can be considered “low fat” without any higher authority confirmation. It was facts that like and many others that alone made me more conscious of the ingredients in our foods.

Step two in discovering the truth behind our food was actually watching the documentary movie, “Food Inc” which had a range of discussion topics. It talked about the treatments of both animals and workers, the process of making food, the cost of food and how it economically effects America, the health causes of genetically modified foods, the political aspects of the food system and overall how as consumers, we have a large role in the food system and are capable of changing it.  My group in particular took the chapter, “Shocks to the System” which discussed how an consumers, we are becoming slightly more conscious of the products/produce we purchase and this is partially due to the price inflammation and comparison of organic verses genetically modified. Stores like Wal-Mart have even gone “Green” in order to comply with costumers and appeal to high-class costumers who have begun to notice the difference between organic and genetically modified.

Step 3 was taking what I’ve learned and applying it into my life by creating a meal that was ideally healthy and free of genetically modified ingredients (homemade being the main objective).  My choice in meal was Macaroni Tuna Salad, made with whole organic brown eggs. Along with other classmates who made healthy meals, I found that eating healthy, some organic foods was just as delicious and simple to make as the usual fast food, boxed, and processed food that so many of us are used to.

For this project Maxime Damis and I worked together to bake Biscotti. HERE is the link to our recipe, recipe analysis, and photos of our creation.

1 cup of warm water

½ cup white sugar

1 table spoon

½ cup of vegetable oil

2 ½ teaspoon of salt

2 eggs

4 cups of bread flower

2 ¼ teaspoon yeast

After dough is made let dough rise on floured surface for 5 min

Divide dough in half and then in to thirds. Roll into ropes and then braid.

Place on greased cookie sheet cover with wrap and let it rise for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a small bawl beat 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of water

Brush the egg mixture over the bread

Put into oven to bake for 20-25 mins.  

 Recipe analysis

This entire meal is all processed for the simple fact there is nothing healthy really in it and nothing used to make this is all whole food. ½ cup of sugar is not really good for your body. It’s really unhealthy expectedly for ones that live with diabetes. 2 ½ teaspoon of salt is extremely unhealthy for your body because of high blood pressure. This meal original from Israel. Challah is a loaf of yeast-risen egg bread that is traditionally eaten by Jews on Shabbat, on ceremonial occasions and during festival holidays. I truly beleve that these ingeatings to make this come from your local grocey story. Challah is not expnisve compared what you would by at a fast food place but I really do think that there is just as much bad food in it just as fast food. Challah cost $2.25 at the store or the juwish bakery. Stroehmann Family White 20 Oz Loaf of bread is $3.29, which has the same ingredients but is more expensive then Challah. So really baking Challah is really the cheapest way to go at the end of the day.

 During this first quarter of science & society I have learned many thing when it come to the foods that we have in our world today. We started off talking about how children are becoming obesity because of the foods that they eat and the nutritious that they are not getting. We talk about what kind of food is held in different homes and what food places are close to eat from trying to understand why the obesity level is going up and not decreasing. 

         We started learning about how families need to look at the food labels before they buy their food from supermarkets. We talk about how hard it was to even get food companies to put the labels on their food and what laws were put in place for then to do so. So when it come to different food companies and how they raise and create a farm and animals on that farm we watched a movie called food inc. that allowed us to see what kind of goes on behind the sense of food. 

       While watching that movie we learned about how the animals were being tread and how they were being cared for. We learned about what they were feeding them and what if do to their body. They showed us what chemicals are being used to kill the germs that might be in the food. We learned about how e-coli got in to a hamburger and a young boy named Kevin died from it and then his mom tried to get a law passed about that called Kevin's law. We learned about Oprah and the case that happen with her we learned about the seeds and how they are expansive and they try to reuse then and can't. This movie talked about so many things it was crazy that it took us as student to really look at all the food that we by and eat differently. 

         After the movie and doing different class assignments with that we went on to learning about organic and non-organic foods and the difference and price between them. We as students had to go home and look in our homes to see what was organic and not the we were told to shop and see the different in price and label in organic and non -organic. Some students like my self brought the assignment home to the dinner table and talk about what we have been learning about food in class with our families. Next we started to look at different things that have to do with the body and food like, diabetes and heart disease and things like that and how they error form the foods that we eat and by.  So there are so many different things about food that we have been learning about.

Food slide  

file://localhost/Users/mmarant/Movies/IMG_1835/iFrame.html

Recipe & Analysis 
Healthy Rasta Pasta Meal

1. (1 serving)

- Steamed broccoli (1/4 cup)

- Rotini noodles (bowl)

- Small-diced carrots (1/5 cup)

- Loose corn (1/7 cup)

- Black pepper (3 pinches)

- Parmesan cheese (5 pinches)

- Garlic butter sauce (3 spoons)

Steps....

• Boil noodles at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes until they are soft

• Steam broccoli with black pepper, small diced carrots and corn in a pot for about 10 minutes

•  Drain noodles after soft, and mix noodles with the broccoli, carrots and corn

• Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the meal

a.             I'd say that the majority of the food is processed, because I had to chop and remove the outside layer of the carrots, and cut the broccoli. I bought the corn loose as it was, but I assume it was processed because corn comes from cob, they are attached, and so the company shaved the corn off of the cob. I am not sure about the noodles, but more than likely it is processed. 

b.             The Caloric count is 140, 5 grams of sugar (a lot, did not realize that), 8 grams of fat (I think its a lot with 4.5 of that being saturated fat.  That is mostly likely from animals. Saturated fat is greasy, or oily and that’s understandable because this meal was pasta that had garlic BUTTER sauce. My body will store some of the sugar that it got from the meal, and eject what it does not need into the liver.  3,500 calories is stored in your body for when you are not active. This is the body's way of saving energy that is mean o be burned off, it not, then it stays stored can most likely will be hard to "unstore".

c.            If I were to eat nothing but this meal everyday, then I would not be getting the OTHER essentials that my body needs, and my body would get tired of the same fats, oils, sugars, etc. 

d.            I think that my ingredients didn’t come from that far because I only have farming veggies and noodles. The veggies can get old fast, and if traveling from a far, that more dangerous or more aware you want to be about your food. So I think mine came from the far east coast of the U.S. My corn/broccoli/carrots came from a farm in Minneapolis, from a company called Green Giant. I was close. They came more so from the Middle Western part of the U.S. where they have that more of a hot weather and requirements to actually farm.

e.             This meal costs, $4.79. Compared to other junk and fatty foods, this meal costs less than a meal from McDonalds where those meals there can be $ 5.00 and unsurprisingly higher. However, a person can benefit more from just my meal. It is owned by General Mills.

f.              From a company, they add a lot of preservatives, and fertilizer rather than just you growing your own food. Companies advertise differently in order to attract hungry consumers. They say things to make a consumer want to buy from them. They have commercial ads that supposedly show where they are producing the broccoli, how, where it’s being packaged to etc, just to make the consumer feel comfortable. 

My role in the larger food system consists of different views. For me, the way that the food system is treating what and me I am receiving is OK. Mainly because the side effects of fracking aren’t affecting me directly, is why I am ok with it.  Also, the way that our food is preserved, companies use too much of this, and too less of that.  Too may cloned, plants that isn’t what the mother of nature provided freshly from nothing. My food has to be cloned. The sound is very uncomfortable. However, if I were the resident of a house who lived in an area that was being bombarded by frackers, and that effected my physically, and the food, there would not be one pinch of happiness within me. I would not even want to stay at my house to fight the system because I would already be disgusted that it has already begun.  Then again, if I was the system, I would do what   I have to do in order to better the country. As for the whole western diet. SMH. It is a matter of a person. The person who has that overweight problem has to be motivated in order to take action to change their weight.  Is the problem that they are not being motivated enough? They take death lightly? Why is that?  

My Food Rule Graphic

4.      Q:Where have you encountered the highest amount of ad campaigning?

My Food Slide

A Play On Saladworks Sophie’s Salad.

Makes: 4 Servings

Time: About 20 Minutes

Ingredients

-       1 bag or head of Organic lettuce (Any brand)

-       ½ Apple

-       2 handfuls of lo Mein noodles

-       2 handfuls of croutons (If preferred)

-       1 chicken

-       ½ Cup of shredded cheddar cheese

-       ½ cup of walnuts (Or any nut you’d like)

-        Raspberry Vinaigrette  Salad Dressing or Oriental Sesame Salad Dressing (Desired Amount)

Directions

- Grill Chicken Breast and cut into long stripes and then dice chicken up

-  Cut up head of organic lettuce and put into a large serving bowl or pour bag of lettuce into serving bowl

- Cut apple half into bite size cubes and put into a separate bowl with your ½ cup of walnuts and shredded cheese (All of these ingredients will be kept together to prevent wilting and sogginess of other ingredients)

-  Hand mix apples, cheese and walnuts together to even out the portions

- Pour apple, walnut, and cheese mix into the serving bowl with lettuce

- Lastly, Sprinkle Lo Mein noodles and croutons onto the salad mix and pour on desired amount of salad dressing

-- Grab a bowl and Enjoy!

     I believe that depending on the type of each ingredient you purchase that determines how much of this meal is processed and how much is whole food. For example, if you were to purchase organic chicken breast as oppose to the processed chicken breast that would drastically change the percentage of processed food in the meal.

      Since I usually change the original recipe to my liking and what I’m in the mood for the calories are very different each time I make this dish so below is the nutritional information for the original Sophie’s Salad.

    I’m positive that each ingredient in my salad came from the U.S.  I don’t believe any of these ingredients would have to travel any extreme distance. Again, I would say that depending on the type of ingredient you were to purchase that would determine how organic the meal was

      I believe that all together this meal cost around $25.00 and serves 4 people and sometimes more if you were to use bigger portions of the ingredients. I believe that a huge corporation would be Perdue  because they are well known chicken producers and the chances of people paying the extra amount of money to get organic chicken breast and this salad can’t be made without chicken so usually people settle for companies such as Perdue.

 My Source: 

- http://nutrition.saladworks.com/nutrition/salads

 I really enjoyed this unit because I learned a lot about some things I had never even heard of especially while watching the Food, Inc. Movie. There were some things in this unit I already knew and my knowledge was just increased and then there were things such as the “Pig Scolder” that I knew nothing about.

     My role in the larger food system would definitely be a consumer because most if not all of my money is spent on fast food.  I can honestly say I order or pick up an order of French fries once a week.

     The biggest problem with our food system is that nothing is real anymore. Everything that we are served as a society is processed or shot up with hormones in some sort of way and the foods that are real and organic are way out the average price range of families so they can never afford to eat the way they should.

     Some changes that I could make to my food choices are that I could spend less money on take out and fast foods by making more meals at home that are more healthy for me such as organic. Instead of trying to order out everyday I could make my lunch at home which would be healthier and cheaper.

     Once I made these changes not only would I actually have money during the week but I’d be way healthier and it would probably help me do things with less of struggles such as walking to the 5^th floor of the building everyday.

     Honestly, I’m not willing to give up fast food because I enjoy eating French fries too much. If there was a way to get healthier fries for the same price as fast food and they tasted just as good as the unhealthy fries I would be more incline to stop eating fast food.

My food rule has to deal with eating ingredients unknown to us. To represent this visually,  I found a wordle of all the ingredients included in a hot pocket. The amount of ingredients is disgusting. This reenforces the importance of my rule.

Recipe, Analysis, and Pictures!

All of these are on my drop box because they are large documents. Click HERE to view

            Recently, I have been working hard at erasing my impact to our world through energy and food consumption. This first quarter unit on food has helped educate me on the choices I am making and develop new choices. A year ago I became vegetarian. The choice to do this came from many sources but mostly because it was something I wanted to try. Lucky for me, the people around me mostly already were. This made being vegetarian easy. I never thought it would be something to keep but I am very proud to say I remain vegetarian. This had been a big change I wanted to make after seeing “Food Inc.” the first time. Now, after our study of food, I could not be more pleased with that decision. I would like to think that the impact of me eating vegetarian would be large but it isn’t. Although, I have influenced others into the lifestyle and as a chain we have grown as a larger group of vegetarians. This can make a small change if it were to grow continuously. Additionally, I want to start eating more locally and not buying over-processed food. This will help eliminate gas and energy used to transport food as well as improve my overall health.

            The chapter of “Food Inc.” that stuck out to me the most was the ‘1 dollar menu’ chapter where health implications were discussed. Then later, when researching and discovering information about diabetes, I saw what the biggest problem in our food system and society truly is. Our solutions to poverty is to make cheaper and less healthy food, which in return gives health implications, which then cost you more. We initially pay less for cheaper food, but in the long run end up paying much more for health care than you would for healthier food. Flawed system? I think so. As people who care for their health and the health of the people around them, we need to be more aware of everything we put in our mouth.