Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Reflection on Michael Pollen's show, Cooked: Fire
In a comment (not a new post), respond to one of the three questions below. Include the number of the question to which you're responding. Then, comment on at least one other classmate's post.
1. Pollen contends that everyone who eats meat should hunt it and prepare it to learn where it comes from. Do you agree or disagree with this perspective? How would hunting improve our understanding or appreciation of the meat we eat? What are the challenges in accomplishing this goal? How can we better connect to the food we eat without physically hunting?
2. Pollen suggests that the truest connection to our hunter/gatherer roots is found in barbecue cooking. Does your family barbecue? What are some important traditions around BBQ in your family? Have you ever been part of the whole process of slaughtering, cooking (over a fire/pit) and eating the food fresh off the spit? How does it make you feel?
3. The Martu people of Australia were forcibly removed from their land and introduce to "Western" influences. Only recently have they had the opportunity to return their ancestral lands. Pollen describes how many pre-diabetic individuals were prescribed a return to their traditional diet and within 6 weeks they had improved health (weight loss, cardiovascular improvement). Have you or a family member ever made changes to your diet (eg. eliminating processed sugar, etc) that have made immediate improvements? What are some of the challenges to maintaining this type of "non-Western" diet? What are some of the advantages?
4. Pollen states "Most sustainable agriculture involves plants and animals...If the whole world were to go vegetarian, I don't think it would be a good thing." What are some of the reasons that he makes that assertion? What are some of the benefits of being vegetarian? What are some of the benefits of eating meat? Are you a vegetarian, meat-eater, vegan, pescatarian, etc and why have you made that choice?
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1. I disagree that everyone should hunt and prepare the meat they eat because alot of people are against the killing of animals for food. I enjoy meat but I do not think It would be as enjoyable or even as good for me if I had to physically kill and cook it myself. Hunting our own meat would improve peoples understanding of the meat process because you are first hand witnessing the life of the animals, their habits,and then by preparing it you can learn about the animal. The challenge in accomplishing this is that it is not as easy as you think to kill an animal. You can still connect with food without killing it by preparing it. Because the way you prepare food is also the best way to understand it.
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DeleteI agree with your observations that not only hunting food allows you to connect with wildlife but also the act of preparing food.
Delete1. I disagree with Pollen's theory that everyone who eats meat should hunt it and learn about it because many people do not feel it is right to kill the animal's they eat themselves. I personally do not feel comfortable, since I love animals, seeing them die in front of my eyes and then cutting and cooking it myself because it would be less enjoyable. Hunting would help our understanding of the meat we eat because we would know where it comes from and what process it goes through so we can enjoy it. The challenges of accomplishing this goal is difficult because many people do not have the courage to kill animals especially the ones they are eating. We can connect to the food we eat better without physically hunting by preparing it and understanding its background better.
ReplyDeleteIf you do not feel comfortable killing an animal how can you feel comfortable eating it?
DeleteI agree with your statement that it is not necessary to hunt animals in order to understand the process of how meat comes to our table. I believe that we should understand this process and animals are killed in order for us to eat them. It is not inhumane for us to hunt animals and eat them though, it is part of our human nature. I think the best thing we can do is to buy animals that were raised sustainably.
Delete1. I agree with Pollen's idea that everyone who eats meat should hunt and prepare it. Hunting and preparing your own meat helps you to better understand the process and events of making your food. When you see an animal alive before you eat it you can respect what you are eating and feel more value towards it. This can increase enjoyment of food and prevent wasting it. I understand how people could find killing their own food troubling, but I would say that if you can't kill it don't eat it. There are still other ways of better connecting with your food such as buying local, organic products at the supermarket or at a farmers market.
ReplyDelete2. When Pollen says the "truest connection to our hunter/gatherer roots is found in barbecue cooking", I can completely understand his thinking. Perhaps even if not for food, the fire used for barbecue (or for marshmallows), brings families together and has the ability to provide warmth and light. I feel like our connection to fire is stronger than just food because my family does really enjoy barbecuing in the summer but it also is a time for us to catch up. We tend to make barbecues special and always eat outside on a summer night during one. I do agree with Pollen that the taste and texture of the meat cooked with barbecue is uniquely flavorful and crispy, but I think beyond that it's just a symbol of union with one's family or close ones. I did once see a slaughtered pig during the Urban Farming Jterm, and I personally do not think it is appetizing. I think that being able to cook with fire through evolution has also evolved us to be able to make connections with other animals, so when we see the full-body of a dead animal, it's kind of shocking and repulsive. I feel like barbecue is a great, wonderful time and it does not need any addition of full body carcasses.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you! The idea that barbecue brings people together is true, since sitting around a fire always ends in people telling stories or jokes. Seeing that pig in Urban Farming must have been disgusting, I can't imagine seeing a dead carcass. I honestly feel like it would ruin the idea of a barbecue meal if I saw the dead pig.
Delete3. In the video, I found it very interesting how a few diabetic individuals who returned to their traditional diet had health improvements such as better cardiovascular function and weight loss. I believe this is the result of cutting processed sugar out of their diet. As the Martu people said in the video, they have the sugar of the bush, meaning they only eat sugar that grows naturally in the bush, and many foods that they consider sweet do not contain sugar. I think a disadvantage of returning to one's traditional diet is that it can be very hard to process and digest the food. Suddenly changing one's diet from processed foods to leaves and hunted meat can make it difficult to digest natural foods. Changing one's diet can be both advantageous and disadvantageous, depending on the situation. I have a friend who was formerly a vegetarian, but was often getting sick and was not eating enough protein. She changed her diet to become a meat eater again. While she is healthier now, it has been difficult for her to digest red meat and it often makes her sick. I think changing one's diet for beneficial health purposes can sometimes be difficult, but overall is better for one's health.
ReplyDelete3) Escaping the Western Diet can be difficult because of the ease of access and low price of fattening foods especially in the United States. Changing your diet can have significant effects on your health and quality of life. A better diet leads to a happier and healthier life if one takes the time to and effort to have one.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever changed something about your diet that lead you to this conclusion? I agree with you on the last sentence!
DeleteI actually have. Forgot to mention it thanks.
Delete1. I mostly agree with Pollen's theory that everyone who cooks with meat should hunt and learn from where it comes as long as they are physically and mentally able to hunt. Hunting would teach us where most of the food we eat comes from and through hunting people can learn how to appreciate where the meat comes from by having to hunt for it yourself. Some challenges in accomplishing this goal are if someone is not able to go hunting due to medical reasons, they can still cook the meat on an fire as a whole animal and not just go to the store and get a piece of it. The next best thing after hunting for the food would to do what they did in the film, which is to cook the animal whole to understand what a person is really doing when they eat meat that has been cooked for them. Overall, hunting can improve someone's appreciation for the meat they eat; however, it is not necessary for to hunt to appreciate meat
ReplyDelete3. The fact that the Martu who returned to their homeland became healthier physically makes a lot of sense, since the Western diet is full of processed sugars, saturated fats, and unsustainable ingredients. The advantages of maintaining the Western diet are that one can eat food from anywhere in the world, since the ingredients do not have to be grown in one's homeland. They can experiment with different fruits, vegetables, grains, and meats, and the Western diet generally has sweeter and more flavorful foods. However, the Western diet's high levels of fat clog pores, arteries, and adds pounds. The Western diet is full of fake sugars, which are unnatural for the body to digest. One of my friends cut out processed sugar from her diet over the summer, only eating fruits or vegetables as sugar. She lost weight, started running faster, and her skin cleared. The Western diet, although delicious, poses many health disadvantages.
ReplyDelete1) I agree that everyone should hunt and prepare their meat to know where it comes from. If everyone did this instead of buying from the store, big companies who mistreat animals would be decrease and people would know exactly where their food is coming from. Hunting would improve our appreciation of the process it takes to sell meat. This also could increase the amount of vegans and vegetarians because meat is sold with a different name like "veal" or "pork", disguising which animal you are consuming. Hunting at least once in a lifetime can connect you better with food, what you are eating, and how it got to your plate.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I didn't think about the fact that the big companies who sell meat and who pollute and do cruel things to animals would lose their business. In that way, despite having to see carcasses that might not be appetizing to many people, it's more natural for the environment and safer for the wildlife because it will lessen the amount of land covered by industry. In conclusion, it would be better for the environment and animal welfare to be naturally hunted in the wild opposed to cruel, torture in the factories.
Delete3. The Western diet is so prevalent to our culture that it has become extremely hard to abandon. Processed foods are not only cheaper, but often favored over the healthy alternative. By stepping away from junk foods and returning to ones roots, as demonstrated by some Martu people, significant health benefits can be achieved. My cousin is gluten free and so her diet is regulated very carefully. I once tried to support her by doing it for a week and it was incredibly difficult. Due to the fact that gluten doesn't pose any sort of threat towards my health, I had no interest in continuing the diet. While I felt "cleaner" and more energetic, the disadvantages were worse than the advantages (to me). I definitely understand the appeal of a diet, but I doubt I could force myself to go on one:)
ReplyDelete1. I agree with the fact that everyone should experience hunting and the preparation of meat-based food to develop an understanding of the origin of meat. These actions improves our appreciation of meat only because it shows people the amount of work and effort to hunt and butcher an animal properly and ultimately ending up with a slab of perfect sirloin on the diner table. Clearly some skills in hunting and butchering is required to better prepare food in this process. We can still connect to the origin of meat simply through other means like fishing with is much more relaxed process.
ReplyDelete1. I agree that everybody should try hunting and killing the meat one wants to eat in order to understand the process behind it. However, if I had to hunt for my own meat, I would not be able to because I would feel guilty killing an innocent animal. I also do not like touching raw meat, so even if the meat was already killed, I would not be able to prepare it. If everybody were to prepare their own food, it was create a better appreciation for what they were eating.
ReplyDelete