Hungry Planet

The photography by Peter Menzel is an illustration of the gap between nations when it comes to food supply. Foreign nations are depicted as having to ration out a few bags of grain and some fruit for a whole week while American families have a plethora of meats, pizza, junk food and candy at their disposal anytime. People in other countries are forced to make do with rotten fruits, entire pigs, and whole fish as a meal. Although some of this is cultural and people of nations such as Japan are accustom to eating raw fish, it still shows how much of a devide there is between the availability of food around the world.

EC 9/27

In the response I read, the author states that they were skeptical at first because of Wrangham's one-causal approach to human evolution. Eventually she goes on to say that she was impressed by the amount of information that Wrangham gathered in support of his theories. I was not so skeptical about this article going into it. I have read that the development of farming was the worst invention by man, so this is not too "out there" for me. Overall I found it more interesting than scientific. He did not bore me with facts on top of facts but he simply states his beliefs based off of research. I thought it was a well written piece and an interesting theory.

Sept 27th Assignment

CR Prompt #1

            The effect of food supply on the development of humans is exemplified through gorillas and chimps. Basically the humans that were willing to eat a broader range of food, such as the gorillas, grew more and became more dominate. The main development in humans however was when cooking was introduced. Humans who ate raw meat had to expend time and energy to break down all of the indigestible parts of their food. When cooked, the food took less effort to chew as well as increased the amount of useful energy gained from the food. As a result humans were able to spend less time actually eating and digesting and were able to hunt and gather more in addition to having more energy to do other things such as travel. In addition to more energy, the human body grew physically because of the increased amounts of protein and energy acquired. The most important of these increases was the human brain. The brain expends a lot of energy, but because the cooked meat offered so much more energy the brain grew.

            In order to cook, humans first needed to learn how to control fire. Wrangham believes that the first cooking took place over naturally permanent fires. This is because while humans were scared of fire at first, eventually they became curious and began experimenting with it. This lead to the cooking of meat and vegetables which made them softer and easier to eat. Eventually they learned to make and control fires of their own which mobilized cooking. This mobilization lead to earth cooking on heated stones and slow steam cooking. Overall cooking caused men becoming dependent on women and also caused children to become dependent on their parents. Lastly, cooking allowed humans to live longer lives because of their well improved diets however it also allowed them to over consume which can have a negative impact on human health.

CR Prompt #3

1.     Though there is no way to grow one’s own food in a dorm, it is still important for college students to research and become well acquainted with the growing process and to know the processes behind organic food growth.

2.     With the limited supplies allowed in college dorms, it is important to still gather ingredients that one can use to prepare quality meals. A microwave is about the only cooking appliance allowed but cold items such as sandwiches can be assembles with organic lettuce, tomato etc.

3.     With the availability of internet on college campuses, it is still important to learn the origins of ones food. Research the source of the ingredients which you buy.

4.     With few local farms around city campuses, it is hard to buy locally grown produce. In place, students can purchase organic produce from local markets.

5.     When purchasing food, it is still important to read package labels and determine what has been added to products and the overall nutrition facts of such products.

6.     Again, it is important to research what it takes to grow and harvest produce.

7.     Find out the history of the food that you eat most commonly, that way you know how such foods have developed over time and how that can benefit you most.