blog #6

Walking down the street of the shopping plaza in my neighborhood as a child was fun. Shopping with my parents, the little Mickey Mouse rides for only a quarter. It was always fun to just walk there on a Sunday. But one store always catches your attention and that would be Bath & Body Works. The aroma of that store just smells so good. Since I was young my bother bought lotion and soaps from there. As I got older I did the same. Body sprays, lotions, hand sanitizers, lip glosses. Everything just smells so delightful. The production line that I use the most is a lotion and body spray called Moonlight Path. The smell sort of reminds me of baby powder. The fragrances make me feel like I smell really good. I like when I use the lotion and someone close to me smells it in the air and says “ Oh that smells really good”. Hearing those words make me feel good.
 

I like to read. I read all sorts of books. When I was around fourteen years old I ran across a book in a Barnes and Nobles in Union Square. The book was Burned by Ellen Hopkins. The cover of the book caught my attention, but when I opened it, it was like every page was a poem. I like the style of how the author writes. Every page was a poem, specifically arranged so that each sentence, word, kept you on the edge of your seat. I purchased the book. Still until this day I still buy and read her books. I love how she writes about real situations that go on in the life of teenagers today. Whether its rape, domestic violence or drug abuse, her books could help you relate to the situation. I enjoy reading her stories, reading what she has to say. The essence of how she describes the details of every affair. I buy her novels, each collection, pass them down to my younger cousin and then I buy and reread them again. And it never fails each time I read a certain book I feel the same sort of excitement.

blog #5

     It seems today no one can escape from the fast food industry. Since the rise of fast food, people now depend on it more and more. Fast food took a big impact on the American everyday lifestyle especially in major cities. Nowadays almost anywhere you go in New York City you’re bound to find a fast food restaurant, whether it’s McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, White Castle or many others. It’s almost as if you cannot escape from them. Not only are adults the ones that can’t escape from it but our children as well. Fast food has been programmed to stay in our minds that it becomes sort of like our culture for when we get older. Fast food tastes good and it taste pretty darn good, but ever wonder why?

     Since I was a little girl I remember my mother taking my brother and I to McDonald’s or Burger King either for the breakfast or lunch meals. Both these restaurants had the playground so we would eat, play, eat a little more and go back to playing. The restaurant also appeared to be like a social gathering for the mothers as well as for young teens. As a teenager in high school, my friends and I would cut school and just hang out in a McDonald’s. On days we didn’t cut class we would go to the nearest Taco Bell or Wendy’s. This was like our daily routine, not a day went by that we didn’t eat from some sort of fast food restaurant and at times we would even eat fast food twice a day. Since our parents wouldn’t give us a lot of money and fast food is so cheap our only real option that we had where we were all able to afford was this food. We could get full for less than 5 dollars and that’s a bargain! Not to mention summertime. Mr. Softee ice-cream trucks sell their popsicles and cones for almost 4 bucks each. Why buy that when McDonald’s has a cone for less than 2 dollars.

     When McDonald’s was first on the rise their method was to sell food fast and hassle free. Sooner than later, other fast food corporations soon began to imitate this method too. Fast food drive-in joints began with parking areas for cars where waitresses, or better known as carhops, would bring the food to the parked cars. At first this service was a success, the customer and the business owners were both please with the results. Shortly after McDonald’s thought this was too rigorous and made a new method. No carhops, no plates, no silverware just pure paper and plastic and self-serving. Afterwards, the food was wrapped, so for a small kid eating at McDonald's was sort of like opening a gift. During this time period Disney was also on the rise. With Disney as competition McDonald’s soon began to create the idea for characters that are now known as Ronald McDonald and the McBurglars. At that time, McDonald’s was trying to create its own Disneyland. Playlands were built inside the restaurant and toys now came with the kid’s meals. So for parents who weren’t able to afford Disneyland going to McDonald's was as close as it could get.

     Commercials on the television for the franchises are always colorful and cheery, an eye catcher for children. Children are the ones being targeted with commercials. These commercials are made so that we can process them into our brains since a young age, as young as two years old. Kids watch commercials and then beg their parents for what they see on TV. They learn how to trigger both parents with nagging or whining until they can get what they want. And this isn’t only for fast food. Cigarettes and beer companies use the strategy to target kids as well. “A 1991 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that nearly all of the America’s six-year-olds could identify Joe Camel, who was just as familiar to them as Mickey Mouse” (43). Children could often recognize a logo before they can recognize their own age. Along with the rise of Disney, McDonald’s was also on the rise trying to get more children customers because if a child wanted McDonald’s, the whole family would eat at McDonald’s.

     Taking your child to eat at a fast food franchise seems to be the normal thing to do. Kids like it for the toys that come with the meal, the way the food is wrapped and the playgrounds that come with the restaurant. Parents like to take their kids as a way to make up for their busy schedules, so the kids could stop nagging, or because they feel they’re doing the right thing. These fast food chains are programmed into our minds that we think it’s normal. Kids are the targeted ones because if it’s in their brains since little it’ll stay with them growing up and if it stays with them growing up then there’s a forever customer.  

Blog #4

Your Trusted Friends

     Chapter two of Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser is about Ray Kroc and the expansion of McDonald's. Since the McDonald's brothers didn't like to travel, Ray Kroc convinced them to hand over the rights so that he can expand the restaurant chain without them having to travel. During this time period Walt Disney was also rising with his amusement park Disneyland. Ray ray had a specific method to attract more costumers. His method was to target small children. If a child was enlightened and would recognized a character they would most likely want to have it. The child would ask their parents for it and the parent would sooner or later deliver. In the case of McDonald's, they used a clown to represent the restaurant and to catch the eye of children. However McDonald's wasn't the only corporation using this idea. Television is also responsible for commercials aimed at kids. A typical american child spends more time watching tv than doing any other activity. Since small children cannot identify the difference between a show and a commercial, a specific commercial would captivate the child's attention and they'll soon begin to ask their parents for it. In a way these commercials were made to be programmed in children's minds. Adds of fast food were added in Colorado's schools. Shortly after the vending machines came in. In schools lunchrooms the machines weren't much of a success due to lack of availability. Therefore it was soon decided to put the vending machines in hallways where there was more accessibility. The more it was available, the more it would be bought.

Blog #3

Joana Gutierrez

     In chapter one, The American Way, of Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser is about the increase of fast food drive-in restaurant chains in California and how it was the start of something new during that era. Fast food chains started to rise around early 1940’s. They started off with waitresses that would bring food to the parked cars, they were known as carhops. The drive-in restaurant had become popular to teenage boys who were attracted by the car scene and the young carhops. In 1937 Richard and Maurice McDonald opened a drive-in in Pasadena selling mostly hotdogs. A few years later they opened The McDonald Brothers Burger Bar Drive-In in San Bernardino.  By 1948 they closed the restaurant, fired all employees, added larger grills and then reopened with a new strategy of making food. “It was designed to increase the speed, lower the prices, and raise the volume of sales” (Schlosser, 19).  This method revolved around no carhops, no dishes and no busboys, everything was designed to be self-service. Entrepreneurs soon visited San Bernardino’s new McDonald’s and made imitations in their hometowns. Dunkin Donuts was created by William Rosenberg in 1948. Glen W. Bell Jr was creator of Taco Bell. Keith G, Cramer built Burger King in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1953. Dave Thomas opened Wendy’s. Thomas S. Monoghan created Dominos. Harland Sanders opened Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1952. “The leading fast food chains spread nationwide; between 1960 and 1973, the number of McDonald’s restaurants grew from roughly 250 to 3,000” (Schlosser, 24). The rise of the fast food chains were successful to most but unfortunately not to all. Before all of the drive-ins, the cars, the population, certain areas of California were small towns, crop growing places. The fast food restaurants improved California in to a more modern society.

Blog #2

Joana Gutierrez

     Meals are an important factor in my household. The usual meal in my home would consist of either chicken, steak, pork chops with rice beans and certain mixed vegetables. I usually eat at home unless I am outside. If I'm outside with my friends we usually go to McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, any pizzeria or a diner. I'm not a fan of eating alone so I usually eat with either my friends or my family. My mother usually does the cooking in my house, however I cook on occasions too. What I like to cook  the most would be pancakes or french toast for breakfast and chicken cutlets or lasagna either with meat or vegetables . I like to cook these because its simple to make an it taste good. When it's time to go grocery shopping my mom is the one who goes. Sometimes I go with her and we do it together. What we eat on a daily basis isn't really associated with our culture. We do have some meals that we prepare on special occasions. I am Mexican so a lot of our meals are spicy and include meats such as beef, pork, goat, and chicken. Not too long ago I worked as a waiter for a small diner not far from my neighborhood. I quit that job within the first week. Waiting tables just isn't the job for me. Throughout my day I don't really eat unless I get hungry. In between work and school I sometimes eat at night when I'm done with the day. Of course during the day I have small snacks like crackers, fruit, or yogurt. That's pretty concludes the food in my life.

Is America's Food Supply Safe?

Joana Gutierrez

     In the United States there’s this administration called the Food and Drug Administration, also known as the FDA, used to inspect food and food supply that is distributed throughout the country. The FDA also inspects food that enters the U.S. This administration makes sure that food is safe for the public to eat.

     Here in America each restaurant, fast food, possibly even trucks stand are graded by letter. These grades are graded just like school. The grades run from A to F. A dining place with a C or less is most likely unsafe. I’ve learned that from a few previous experiences.  

     What the FDA does is inspect the food that comes in to the U.S. from different countries and makes sure the products are good. The FDA works to protect food from several sorts of contamination such as bacterial, viral and chemical. They also have border patrols to inspect and prevent any damaged food from entering the country. You can’t imagine the danger of unsafe food being distributed.

     Americans are always trying to protect the health of the people. For that matter, the FDA has 625 investigators out of 20 offices all over the country working with the supply and companies of food to make sure that they do everything in their power to keep the food safe. This organization also teaches the consumers how to properly take care of all different types of meats. They also inform consumers how to cook the food in the right temperatures and maintaining it refrigerated. Who knows what kind of bacteria can come from keeping meats improperly stored.

     The FDA plays an important role in America. They keep or help us from eating food with bacteria or contamination. If we did not have the FDA we would probably be eating bacteria infested food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And aside from inspecting our food they also educate to help the consumer do their part on keeping the food safe. Since our food comes from different parts of the world it is good that we have the FDA to secure food entering the country. I couldn’t imagine the danger there would be if there were no such the FDA