Ashlyn

Week 4: Hair as Plant Food This week, we had to write our sustainability paper. Wen searching for a topifor my wiki, I came across an article which mentioned the possibility of using hair for plant food. Sound crazy? Actually, it would be a very "green" way to provide energy to plants if it worked, thus ceating a sustainable environment. Here is the link to the article:

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Although it was combined with compost, the plants that grew in this combination had more yield than those which grew in regular soil. Hair is everywhere, and though some say it might be made of corn (King Corn) it proves to be a good addition to plant soil. This could help provide more food for humans and animals instead of using harmful chemicals.

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Week 3: Water Purification

During this week, we watched a TedTalk video about ways to purify water and cool food in 3rd world countries, such as using "Life Straws" and ceramic containers. I found this video to be very interesting and decided to look up more interesting ways to purify water. media type="custom" key="9673580" width="189" height="189" This TedTalk features a water purifying bottle...it's amazing! If this technology was employed in a larger scale in more countries, this would solve the problem of dehydration and water-ridden disease in various countries.

media type="youtube" key="ZNKifJHqScc" height="349" width="425" This video highlights the clay food preservation systems in India. The Ted Talk we watched in class briefly mentioned them but this quickly gives a clearer explanation of them. What if all countries used these methods of preservation? Not only is it "green", but it helps keeps foods fresher for longer.

Week 2: Organic vs. Conventional Food During the past few weeks we talked about corn fed animals and various vegeterian diets. All the talk about various foods inspired me to investigate the difference between organic and inorganic foods. Many say that organic food is healthier, but is this true? Here are the differences: Did you know there are different degrees of organic foods? Here are the various "levels": ~ **100 percent organic.** To use this phrase, products must be either completely organic or made of all organic ingredients. Organic foods generally aren't grown using pesticides or additives. ~ **Organic.** Products must be at least 95 percent organic to use this term. <span style="color: #109310; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">~ Products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients may say "made with organic ingredients" on the label but may not use the seal.
 * ~ <span style="color: #109310; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Conventional ||~ <span style="color: #109310; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Organic ||
 * <span style="color: #109310; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Apply chemical fertilizers to promote plant growth. || <span style="color: #109310; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Apply natural fertilizers, such as manure or compost, to feed soil and plants. ||
 * <span style="color: #109310; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Spray insecticides to reduce pests and disease. || <span style="color: #109310; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Use beneficial insects and birds, mating disruption or traps to reduce pests and disease. ||
 * <span style="color: #109310; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Use chemical herbicides to manage weeds. || <span style="color: #109310; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Rotate crops, till, hand weed or mulch to manage weeds. ||
 * <span style="color: #109310; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Give animals antibiotics, growth hormones and medications to prevent disease and spur growth. || <span style="color: #109310; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Give animals organic feed and allow them access to the outdoors. Use preventive measures — such as rotational grazing, a balanced diet and clean housing — to help minimize disease. ||

<span style="color: #109310; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**Are Organic foods healthier?** Most likely, no.The fruits and vegetables that are grown organically contain the same amount of nutrients as regular foods. They are beneficial, however, because organic foods don't contain pesticides or additives, and they are grown in ways that yield less pollution and conserve water.

<span style="color: #109310; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">More information: [] [] []

<span style="color: #7f00ff; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">media type="youtube" key="SjCwJUAAeUk" height="349" width="425"media type="youtube" key="HodaFCFlNEg" height="349" width="425"

<span style="color: #7f00ff; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Week 1: "Healthy" Fast Food <span style="color: #7f00ff; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Fast Food chains have begun to promote healthier food choices on their menus. Items such as salads, fruit, yogurt and even oatmeal have become featured favorites at places such as McDonalds, Wendy's and Chick-Fil-A. While these foods appear to be healthy on paper, are they really providing our bodies with the proper nutrients?

<span style="color: #7f00ff; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Say I decide to have an Apple Pecan Chicken Salad from Wendy's for lunch one day. Doesn't sound bad, right? Here are the nutrition facts:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #810081; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: auto;">

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #810081; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: auto;">[]

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="color: #7f00ff; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 90%;">Where do I begin?! This salad has about half of the daily recommended amount of calories, 54 grams of fat, and enough sodium to last about three days. Not to mention the 77 grams of sugar...the equivalent to almost 4 Jr. Frosties! <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="color: #7f00ff; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 90%;">If the nutrition facts aren't bad enough, when looking at the ingredients, I found some of the following: > > > > > > <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="color: #7f00ff; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 90%;">While we know that producers are looking for ways to provide cheap food (as we saw in "King Corn"), do they have to jeopardize our health by saturating it with chemicals and preservatives?! Lesson learned: taking an extra 10 minutes to make the food ourselves could prevent the consumption of unnecessary fat, calories and chemicals, which in turn could help us live longer. After all, at the rate we're going, our generation might have a shorter lifespan then our parents simply because of our eating habits! (again, from "King Corn" :-)) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #7f00ff; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">More information: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #810081; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: auto;">[]  <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #810081; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: auto;">media type="youtube" key="OqjIkBxSCgQ" height="349" width="425"
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #7f00ff; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Powdered Cellulose (to prevent caking)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #7f00ff; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Maltodextrin
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #7f00ff; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Modified Corn Starch, Corn Syrup, Yellow Corn Flour,Corn oil (the inevitable "King Corn"!)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #7f00ff; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">sodium bicarbonate, sodium acid pyrophosphate (sounds like chemistry class rather than a meal...)
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #7f00ff; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Dimethylpolysiloxane [anti-foaming agent]) - this was in the "homestyle chicken"...since when does chicken foam?!
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #7f00ff; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; font-size: 90%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Xanthan Gum