HW 7B

Chapter 6
Summary- The consumer is responsible for eating billions of bushels of corn. The idea isn't to cut down the numbers of corn processed but instead to eat more of it in different ways. In the nineteenth century the way to consume corn was by drinking alcoholic beverages because there was a lot of corn in alcoholic beverages. The large consumption of alcoholic drinks lead to health problems and helped lead to obesity.
Gems-"That at least is what we're doing with about 530 million bushel of the annual corn harvest--turning it into 17.5 billion pounds of high-fructose corn syrup.(Pallon 103)"
"Much as today, the astounding productivity of American farmers proved to be their own worst enemy, as well as a threat to public health...Sooner or later, clever marketer will figure out a way to induce the human omnivore to consume surfeit of cheap calories. (Pallon 101)"
Thoughts- This chapter helped to show how much we depend on corn. I feel like knowing that we are forced to consume more and more corn almost frightens me. This could mean that corn is introduced to new products in new ways however the general public might never hear about it because there is much that it needs to be put in products to it doesn't go to waste.

Chapter 7
Summary- McDonald's food is something some people see as a treat. However even in this food there are something things that can't be explained and in many products there is a large amount of corn. In a normal McDonald's meal it is possible to eat almost half of what your supposed to eat in calories. Most of the products on the menu are corn dependent and instead of cutting down on corn the idea is to sell larger amounts of food but to also do this very cheaply. By doing this more corn is consumed and more money is made.
Gems- "I ate a lot of McDonald's as a kid. This was in pre-Wallerstein era, when you still had to order a second little burger or sack of fries if you wanted more, and the chicken nugget had not yet been invented. (Pallon 111)"
"These days 19 percent of American meals are eaten in the car.(Pallon 110)''
Thoughts- I stopped eating McDonald's in the 5th grade but before that I always use to eat McDonald's because it is one block away from my school and it was one block away from the school I attended. I also noticed that getting double the quantity would be just a couple more quarters. I always would look for the upgrades because it was more food for cheaper but this book brings more awareness to exactly how unhealthy that was seeing as the authors wife had a salad and still consumed large amounts of corn and calories.
Chapter 8
Summary- With all of the farms that are feed corn and given medicines there are some farms that do still feed the animals grass.Joel Salatin does have an organic farm. The animals are feed grass, hummus and other natural foods. This is rather uncommon because it is easier and cheaper to feed the animals corn because their are so many bushels of corn to be eaten.
Gems-"Though it was only the third week of June, the pasture beneath me had already seen several rotational turns. Before being cut earlier in the week for the hay that would feed the farm's animals through the winter, it had been grazed twice by beef cattle (Pallon 126)".
Thoughts- I think that having an organic farm would be something that should happen more often however  it would cost a lot of money to do this. It is good to see a change however. Knowing that there are some farms that have alternate ways of taking care of their animals.
Chapter 9
Summary- The line between something organic and something that isn't organic is becoming very dim. Some foods are advertised as very organic such as food from Whole Foods and other grocers which are known to be organic however it is not easy to make this statement. Some animals that are treated differently with different kinds of feed then corn such as chickens can be subject to infection even with different lifestyle conditions. In fact sometimes what some people seem to think organic is could in fact be worse than something that isn't considered organic.
Gems- "We were part of the food industry now," he told me. "But I wanted to leverage that position to redefine the way we grow food--not what people want to eat or how we distribute it." (Pallon 133)
"No farms I had ever visited before prepared me for the industrial organic farms I saw in California." (Pallon 158)
Thoughts-I feel like with this being the case what is the advantage to spending a lot of money on a product that might be close to the same as the product however the product would be at a cheaper cost. Also what would happen with the stores such as Whole Foods if they knew information like this.
Chapter 10
Summary- Grass is also something that is very important to humans. Less used than corn because it is much easier and cheaper however grass can also be used to feed animals such as cows and other animals. Grass does need more care and is not as cheap however is a good alternative. Cows can get the suns energy from growing grass and this again is transfered to humans from beef. The government doesn't even give commodity to the grass farmers. However corn farmers like George Naylor gets commodity for his work.
Gems-"At dinner I mentioned that this was probably the all-time most local meal I'd ever eaten." (Pallon 203)
"The farm and the family comprised remarkably self-contained world, in the way I imagine all American farm life once did." (Pallon 204)
Thoughts- Grass does seem like a good alternative because it is more natural. However it makes more sense to use the corn instead because it is cheaper and there is so much corn. My question is what motivates someone to grow grass instead of using the cheaper more easier acquired corn?