Consuming Kids 30-11-14

Consuming Kids

30-11-14

Key Points:

• An enormous amount of spending in the U.S. is influenced by children.
• Children are a key audience in marketing. 
• Children are easily impacted by advertising because they don't fully understand its purpose. Therefore, many people consider it unethical to advertise to children.
• Over the past 50 years or so, marketing to children has greatly increased as marketers realized they were an ideal target.
• Now children grow up with constant bombarding from advertising.

After watching this video I was amazed at how much children are taken advantage of, and how much money we spend on just stuff. I was disturbed by the idea that marketers take advantage of younger childrens' lack of understanding of advertising. I also never thought about what an ideal target children are, they are far less frugal with money than adults and fairly easy to persuade into thinking they want something. It seems sleazy to me to do that and I understand why many people don't want young children to be advertised to. I never have given a thought to how much advertising there is, or that there was a lot less targeted at children in the past. I was surrounded by it and still am, as it has become a part of everyone's life. We are accustomed to being immersed in the constant competition of advertisers trying to get you to spend money on their products. I can't think of specific time when an advertisement prompted me to buy something, but I do know that packaging definitely impacted me. The documentary showed a child having a meltdown in a grocery store, something my younger cousin does annoyingly often. I really like the idea of no advertising to young children. The documentary also mentioned "nagging". The highly irritating and therefore highly effective strategy that children often use to get their parents to buy them things. I will end this by suggesting we all go apologize to our parents for not kicking us out to the streets when we drove them mad with this constant annoyance. 

image:

http://ia.mediaimdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTk0ODczNzQwNF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjk2NjAyMg@@._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg

Mosquitos, Malaria, and Education 8-11-14

Bill Gates: Mosquitos, Malaria, and Education
8/11/14

Summary:

• In Bill Gates' talk, he explains the extreme problem of malaria, links it to flaws in the education system, links the two issues, and suggests solutions to both.
• The malaria problem: Malaria is a disease. It is spread by mosquitos, and found abundantly in many areas, especially regions of Africa. It affects pregnant women and children under five the most because their immune system is less functional.
• The education problem: Education could be improved significantly if changes in the teaching style and teaching expectations were changed.
• The solutions:

• Encourage use of bed nets in areas that have a malaria problem.
• Change the teaching style: Reward teachers who teach affectively, not teachers who have been teaching longest. 

Before watching the video I didn't know anything about the mentioned issues that should be improved in education. I also wasn't aware of quite how prevalent malaria is. Though the proposed solution wouldn't be easy, it was more straightforward than I was expecting. However, he didn't mention what should be done once mosquitoes became immune to the used insecticides. There is a certain point where you can't just keep using new chemicals, because eventually you will end up with ones so strong that they could do more harm thanhelp to people. In addition, I think it would be better to try to iradicate malaria than mosquitos. It would most likely be much harder, but mosquitos are part of the environment. I don't know how important they are in the environments where malaria is found most, but common sense and past mistakes by others is enough to know that you can't just pull out one organism in an ecosystem without having an effect on all the other organisms. I think it is of the upmost importance to protect people from malaria, however, I think we should be as lackadaisical when messing with the environment, because you could end up creating more problems. I think people should carry out research on how mosquitos fit into the environment, and if it is discovered that they have a big role (e.g. if they are the primary food source for an organism that helps pollinate the crops grown by people in malaria infected areas, it wouldn't be a good idea to go about slaughtering every mosquito and therefore limit the food production in an area) then people should try to find ways to kill malaria, and not the mosquito. Another question I have is: can the mosquitos bite through the nets? If so, how do people make sure that they are far enough away from the fabric that they don't get bitten. The reason I wonder this is because mosquitos would bite me through our "mosquito proof" tent whenever we went camping.

The movie:

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsgvhP07BC8

Images:

http://www.everythingessential.me/mainimages/Malaria%20mosquito.jpg

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJPRRMLGldY5yYA1qRuskHAzjAVLWPLNO6g8He9l7GNgIO6GIl64BNDZYg7UPtMTL19o0sxA1fehem3X6Bq0o8qWYq9VbStsDo_w9WnWg-Ht4WKjQFdBhNm4CHynbKk_oQiK6PkKuAytf/s1600/Malaria+blog.jpg

Chocolate Insights 12-10-14

Chocolate Insights

12-10-14

Summary:

• This was a set of two films that were related. 
• Video #1: Showed how little we know about how we get our food and what our food is made from. People in the Netherlands were shown a cacao (there is a difference between cacao and cocoa) fruit and asked what they thought it was. None of the people in the video could recognize what it was.
• Video #2: Cacao farmers were asked what happens to what they harvest. They had no clue. They didn't know what happened to the cacao after it left their farm. They said they knew it was made in to some kind of food that was supposedly delicious. One of them said they had been told it was was turned into wine! They were invited to try the chocolate and they loved it (of course)!

Before watching the video I knew what a cacao fruit/pod looked like, but had never given a thought to whether or not cacao farmers knew what was done to what they produced. I hadn't really even thought about the farmers before. Chocolate was just something that magically appeared in my life, with the sole purpose of making life enjoyable. I was absolutely amazed that the farmers didn't even know what happened to what they grew and harvested. I would have thought that they were told that, even if they hadn't been able to try it before. 

For me, it completely exposed the fact that people in other parts of the world today have totally different lives. Access to chocolate has never been something I've thought about. I began to wonder how much we actually have that these farmers didn't. How many things do I have that I consider to be a necessity for existence (such as chocolate), that they live without just fine? They seemed to be like very happy people and manage it without all the stuff that clutters our lives. Then again, there are probably a few things that would help them in their daily lives that they don't have access to. Maybe some of these things are things they don't need, but some of them might be. In summary, this video really got me thinking about the differences between life in countries at varying levels of development. 

My reaction was bitter sweet -like chocolate- because I loved how happy the chocolate made the farmers, and I loved that they got to try chocolate. However, I was disappointed by our ignorance of where our food comes from (this isn't to say that I'm not just as ignorant as everybody else when it comes to other food) and the fact that these workers don't get to see or at least know what all their hard work is put towards. I think we should try to learn more about what we eat and where comes from and how it's produced. 

It would be fantastic if an organization was started with the purpose of getting workers to have a taste of what the fruits of their work are, whether they are farmers, factory workers, or something entirely different (and also make sure that they are being paid and treated fairly for what they do). Even better, the organization would work on informing the consumers on what they buy in everyday life, whether it's where their chocolate comes from or home the workers are treated. And finally: Maybe we should start using "access to chocolate and similar luxuries"  as a major measurement of how developed a country is.  :)

The website with the two chocolate videos.

Random chocolate statistics and information:

And finally:

(even though correlation doesn't equal causation)

And a random chocolate picture and gif to finish on a happy note... 

IMAGES

http://images.picturesdepot.com/photo/l/lots_of_chocolate-11552.gif 

http://www.yourveglife.com/sites/default/files/cacao_produces.jpg

http://blog.thomsonreuters.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/chocolate-1024x756.jpg

http://www.wickedgoodies.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Guide-to-Chocolate-Production-2-by-Wicked-Goodies.jpg

http://www.knoll-mb.de/fileadmin/knoll_mb/aktuelles/bilder/Pressemitteilungen/B01_Knoll_Ritter_Sport_AlpenmilchKurve.jpg

http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/draft/images/choc_manu_chart.gif

http://eyapolitics.pbworks.com/f/1398480154/chocolate1.png

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYQTf1cg_btcJGZMB-hlFlQ0ofBfwEajWBQxAJyDMMZnr_gxI27dAGcDqxxTR0q3lqYke2_GyAKbz7j4y1xUg-cJsx8WiH6AHNzpxOSWbrGv0Bk_O_7ErUpOjsBztwNM4-5kuO-7fVNk/s1600/international_chocolate_organizations_bg.png

http://www.foodess.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DSC_0215.jpg

http://elgrancatador.imujer.com/sites/elgrancatador.imujer.com/files/imagecache/completa/Licor-de-chocolate-casero-1.jpg

http://imgls.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/3-chocolate-logo3.jpg

http://irecommend.ru.q5.r-99.com/sites/default/files/product-images/2473/X5SibtQJWrCHHGeIBK5Xw.jpg

http://yoism.reality-movement.org/media/Chocolate-Frog.gif

Primark on the Racks 30-09-14

Primark on the Rack

September 30, 2014

• A short summary of the documentary:
• Primark sells its products at extremely low prices. It claims that it treats its workers well and that all of its goods are made in factories. However, this is not the case:
• Primark's products have been found to be made on the streets of India, by both children and adults who are being payed far less than what they should be earning. Primark denied any knowledge of this happening.
• The documentary also brought up the following concerns:
• How is Primark able to sell its clothing at such inexpensive prices?
• It doesn't pay its workers enough, and doesn't treat them properly.
• Just because you buys products that cost more from other companies, are the items that you purchase any more likely to have been produced ethically?
• The less you pay for something, the more likely it is that the people who made it were payed enough (e.g. if something is worth $10, but is sold for only $3, then it is likely that that the workers were payed too little, so that the company could make a greater profit)

• Before the watching the documentary:
• I didn't know many details about this topic, especially in regards to Primark before I watched this documentary. I was vaguely aware that people aren't always treated well or payed enough when they make our stuff. I didn't really know many details about this, and hadn't given it much thought. I especially hadn't thought that stores that I buy things at may not actually treat their workers well, even if they claim to.

• After watching the documentary:
• I am now more aware and conscious of how my stuff was made, who made it, how they made it, and under what conditions. I have no idea how much of stuff has been made under unfair conditions, and it disturbs me to think that there is no good way of knowing for sure. I am also now more aware of how prices correlate with production of a product, I used to think it mainly to do with quality and material, and hadn't really thought about other factors that allow items to be sold at inexpensive prices.

People protesting against Primark:

• Questions that arose after watching the documentary:
• If there are other companies like Primark that lie about the treatment of their workers, then how can you be sure that what you buy was created by people working under good conditions? 
• How many companies are making false claims like Primark's?
• How much of what we purchase has actually been made ethically?
• How I can answer my questions:
• I don't think there is any easy way to find the answers to my questions. there is always the option of doing what the people in the documentary did: Tracking down where your products come from and how they were made. However, this isn't something that I can easily find time or money to do. Therefore it isn't the most realistic solution for me. There is always the option of researching and finding out more about a company, unfortunately you really have no way of knowing if the claims they make are true unless you- or someone else- can find out for yourself. It really all boils down to your own judgment of the company and the products you buy. I think avoiding products that are being sold at prices that don't seem to accurately reflect the item's worth will at least help somewhat. 

The documentary

Images

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/44770000/jpg/_44770602_shirt_composite2_466.jpg 

http://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/wpid-article-1308297217697-0c987c9d00000578-734485_466x310.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000697567092/3a370b29d5393058aede8cc017d2c3ee.jpeg

http://static3.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/a_scale_large/2000-9/photos/1367690131-may-day-protesters-target-primark_2021899.jpg

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWio7NVOnaI

Addicted to Plastic 23-09-2014

Addicted to Plastic

September 23, 2014

• In the film "Addicted to Plastic", two men talk about their experiences and what they have learned about plastic by tracking it down in our lives. Plastic is a great material, it can be changed to fit our needs, it can light, heavy, strong, colorful, clear, thick, or thin, depending on what we use it for... And we use it for almost everything. Two of the things people love about plastic is that it's disposable and relatively cheap. Even though plastic is such a versatile, adaptable, convenient, and seemingly foolproof material to use. But, as we all know, few things are so perfect that they don't have a catch... And what's the catch with plastic? It doesn't go away. A hundred years from now, the plastic you are using could still be around. This doesn't play out well for the environment, because it is toxic to many organisms and simply isn't a part of the environment that they evolved in. 
• All the plastic that has ever been made still exists, except for the plastic that has been incinerated.
• 80% of the debris found in the ocean, originated from land.
• There is no organism (that we know of) that is capable of degrading plastic. 

• Before watching the movie, I actually knew quite a bit about plastic and its negative affects on the environment because I had seen some TED Talks about related issues. For example, I knew that our oceans are full of plastic, and that the plastic is not going anywhere anytime soon. I also was aware of the extremely negative affects on organisms and our environment that it has. I knew that plastics can't be degraded, but also that there is a huge industry in alternative materials that we can use in the future.

The TED Talk I watched: 

(If you go to TED.com you can find many more videos related to this subject, I just didn't have to include them all) 

• Though I didn't find this documentary quite as engaging as "The Story of Stuff" that we previously watched, it still provoked lots of questions. For example: How can we clean plastic out of the ocean without disrupting the environment? Is it actually realistic to try to clean plastic out of the ocean and still expect to make a difference? I also began to wonder about the availability of plastic. If plastic is usually made from petroleum, and we use it at such a fast rate, how soon will we run out of petroleum? And though it isn't an ideal solution to our world's plastic situation, I found a little hope in the fact that eventually we would not be able to continue making plastics from petroleum products, and we would be forced to make bio-plastics. We always have the option of recycling the plastic we have, but if we do that, we still aren't disposing of the plastic into our environment. I also began to wonder what would happen once we ran out of petroleum. We always have alternatives, but maybe once the problem with natural resources becomes more real, maybe people will make bigger steps to using them more sustainably. Perhaps we would also start using more of the bio-degradable plastics that are made from plant products.

• Because I chose not to finish watching the film, I think that I might be able to find the answers to many of my questions later in the documentary itself. I could also research on the website "American Chemistry Council", because it includes a section devoted to plastics and sustainability, though it doesn't go into much detail. Another website I found that I think seems more useful is:
• http://www.sustainableplastics.org 
• I also found another website which states the complete opposite of what the documentary was about. However, I'm only sharing this to show more perspectives on plastic use, and I think their argument isn't actually valid based on the information they showed and lack of evidence for certain statements:
• http://www.curtec.com/en/sustainability-plastics 

The documentary: 

Images:

http://images.moviepostershop.com/addicted-to-plastic-movie-poster-2008-1020544792.jpg 

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vu-n5VIR5h4fvNTBLQQh6hJdj98igr2b_X2ylYWeedBhE5UXl8FNc0cwpHSqEUbiFH75NbADJFpZFlAcNNVEArSXzt077QMfaVCystLBnybkA9N3aGukbJMiAnvNZeBqrYcnqLetdOw/s1600/How+long+until+its+gone.jpg

http://oceanicexplorer.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/ocean-plastic.png 

http://blog.wegowise.com/static/images/content/v1/recycling%20plastic%20statistics-resized-600.jpg

Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZnw-d_Axy8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fddYApFEWfY

The Story of Stuff 13-09-14

The Story Of Stuff

September 9, 2014

• A very short summary: The documentary told you about how things were produced and how our consumerist society works. Basically: 

1) The government needs to keep the economy running.
2) It makes sure that we, being the people, keep BUYING and CONSUMING. 

3) Unfortunately, production is carried out in an extremely unsustainable, inhumane, and unsafe (for workers especially) way.

A few other points- The stuff we by is designed to break (see the diagram below of a quote next to a man)! That way we keep BUYING! Production of goods goes through a "cycle" that doesn't connect the beginning and ends: Basically we take as much as we can from the Earth and return it as toxic waste. Most of what we buy ends up being thrown away within only six months.

• Before watching the video I had thought that our society was very material and "stuff" oriented, but was absolutely blown away by both the extent of it and the U.S. government's role (I'm assuming that many other countries are like this, but perhaps not be to the same extent) in making it this way. I'd never really thought about the government's direct interference with our consumption of products or that they interfered with it to such any large extent. I was aware that the rate we consume things and how they are produced is very unsustainable, but I was alarmed by how MUCH we consume and the impact this will have on the future. I was also extremely unsettled by corporations ability to turn a blind eye on the way they treated people at all points in the production model and the way they could completely disregard the necessity of our planet's upkeep.

Yikes... This part was quite astounding and perturbing.

• My reaction to the video can basically be summed up as: How can people be so STUPID? Our entire structure of life -extreme consumerism- is flawed. We take more from people and the earth than we can give, yet ignore the implications and obvious debacle and disastrous future we are setting up for ourselves and future generations. Why aren't we doing more to change our way of living? Some people are doing things to help, but unless everyone tries to change things, nothing will happen... And the government having less power than corporations? That's extremely disturbing. How can that actually be changed if the one thing that should be able to make a difference easily -the government- cannot do so? People could try to change this, but how would we go about doing that? What can be done to make a major positive impact on the world? What would need to be done? How would you get enough people involved? And finally: How much can we actually change? Some things we can't fix -loss of natural recourses- and some things we can only prevent. If we do everything we can to protect our future, our people, and our planet, will we actually have enough natural resources to survive in the future? 

The video:

And finally:

Images:

http://thesociallyconsciousblog.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/StoryofStuff_poster1.png 

http://www.brainpickings.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/quote1.png

 http://www.priceofzero.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/The-Story-of-Stuff-Act-Now.png

http://rootsinquicksand.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/sochange_equation1.png

http://divergentmba.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/screen-shot-2011-04-11-at-10-08-24-am1.png

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM 

Food Inc. 29-08-14

Food Inc

 August 29, 2014

• The documentary informed the viewer of how fast food chains, which produce extremely unhealthy food, are subsidised and are therefore capable of selling their food at cheap prices. People often have to choose between buying cheap, unhealthy, food or more expensive food that is more nutritious. They are often forced to buy food that is base for them simply because they can't afford any other option.The movie explained that, because fast food is so innexpensive, people are not consuming enough fresh produce. This leads to widespread and major health issues (especially diabetes), in turn causing people to purchase expensive medicine in order to cope with their aquired health problems. The documentary argued against eating unhealthy fast-food, made you more aware of the food you did eat, and also more aware of what kind of food consumed by our society. 

These images describe what the documentary was explaining*:

                           

       

• Before watching the movie I was aware that many people eat unhealthy fast food because they can't afford anything else. I was also aware that fast-food can lead to health issues. My opinion on fast-food had been that it you shouldn't eat it often because it isn't good for you and it contains many ingredients that you would not normally put in food. 
• Now that I have watched the documentary I feel even more strongly about my previous opinion because I have factual details and stories to back up what I had previously thought. Before watching the movie I didn't  know that the reason fast-food was so cheap was because the companies are subsidized. I still want to know why unhealthy food would be subsidized when it clearly isn't good for people. Is it more profitable? I was also extremely disturbed about the story where a boy dies from eating a hamburger with ecoli on it, and the family can't talk about it very much because then the company threatened to sue them. I have rarely eaten at fast-food chains, but now I think I will be even more aware of other kinds of processed foods that I eat, avoid them even more, and try to eat more natural products. 

The movie:

 Images from:

 http://ia.mediaimdb.com/images/M/MV5BNDM4MjY4NjU1Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNzg4NzA1Mg@@._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg

http://becauseblogdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/a-place-at-the-table1.jpg

http://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/8303_5.jpg

Video from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Oq24hITFTY

*The images are from a different documentary: A Place at the Table