The Ethics and Chemistry of Food and Cooking
Describe the project
In humanities, we focused on how all our food gets to our tables. We read a book called The Omnivores Dilemma which brought us into factories and farms and how it has changed peoples perspectives. Michael Pollan leads us through how our food was made processed and then put on our tables. He first started on the industrial farms and then moved to natural farms and explained their differences. In Chemistry we learned about foods on the molecular, macroscopic, and symbolic levels. We then were able to pick a dish that we wanted to make and try and change a variable to make the dish better. My group made buttered chicken and we were trying to figure out how we could make the best-buttered chicken by changing the tenderness and moistness of the meat. We tested this by letting the chicken sit in the marinade for a different amount of times and then asked people to taste each sample and fill out a survey asking which sample was the moistest and most tender.
How did the interdisciplinary nature of this project impact your learning?
I liked how in one class we were able to look at where our food was coming from and how it was being made while in the other class we were looking at the chemistry of the food. A few times it did get a little difficult focusing on two different aspects of food and would have made more sense just focusing on one aspect of food. I still enjoyed learning two different aspects of food, maybe in the future have humanities focused on food for the first semester and chemistry focused on food for the second semester.
What are your main takeaways from studying food academically?
Before this project, I did not care what I was eating and did not think about where it comes from. Throughout the project, I watched what I was eating and staying away from fast food restaurants. I can say I still have a meal from a fast food restaurant about once a week but every time I go I can only think about what I have learned and wonder where that burger came from. I have also learned that you shouldn't always follow what the recipe says, you can change variables and make the food even better than the recipe. Don’t be afraid to try new things.
Tasting Thoughts
Growing up I never really thought about where my food comes from or how it was made or processed. My dad and I have been meat eaters all our lives, while my mom, on the other hand, would only eat meat occasionally. My dad and I grew up hunting and that is where we obtained most of our meat. We never had to worry about where our food was coming from and how it was being processed because we were doing it ourselves. Whenever we traveled we would eat out more often and order different kinds of meats. We did not consider what happens for that piece of meat to get to our plate.
In 8th grade, I was tested for Celiac Disease. At first, the test results were inconclusive. I traveled to Denver and had a small bowel biopsy. It was determined that I had a form of celiac disease that is called silent celiac disease. This means that I have damage to my gut from exposure to gluten but none of the typical symptoms. When I heard the diagnosis, I knew that my life was going to change. I was told that I would not be able to eat gluten-containing foods. My family and I went gluten free for a year. Then I started to go back to the things I liked to eat. It was a difficult diet to maintain and I had no symptoms. People who eat gluten that have celiac disease normally have some sort of pain or abdominal issues that would make them not want to eat gluten, because I was not experiencing any symptoms, I gave up on a gluten-free diet. I thought that if I wasn't feeling pain then there probably wasn’t anything wrong inside of me. Avoiding gluten-free was very hard for me. The hardest part was eating out and finding things that I enjoyed and that was gluten-free.
I believe that we need more gluten-free options in grocery stores and restaurants. Being gluten free is difficult. The reason that I gave up and went back to eating gluten is because of lack of options. Even though I would like more gluten-free options, we first need to fix how all of our food is made and processed. I am against filling animals with steroids and other chemicals. I believe that animals should grow up how they were supposed to grow up. They were supposed to grow up on natural farms. Cows, for example, should eat grass that is grown normally. They should have open fields so they can have space to graze and walk. If we can change industrial farming back to traditional, pre-industrial farming prices would drop. Currently, much of the natural and healthy food on the market is more expensive than industrial and processed foods. If we can get more people to buy natural products and less of processed products that would make natural food prices go down. The lower the prices of natural farming more people will be able to afford the food and be healthier.
I can’t say that I eat locally grown foods all the time. I go to fast food restaurants more than I should. It is an easy, fast, and cheap option compared to trying to make a meal. A big part of why I haven't worried about eating fast food is because Durango is a town filled with many outdoor activities, and that is a big part of my life. If I want to make a change though and focus on lowering prices for natural products it's time for me to make the switch and focus on natural products from local farms. If you have local farms near you its time to make the switch and start buying from them or even buying the local goods in your supermarket. We need to start supporting our natural grown products and you can help make a difference.
Chemistry of Food and Cooking: The Perfection of Buttered Chicken
B. How did your cooking process transform your food macroscopically and affect the food’s overall characteristics?
Our goal was to find out how the length of time the chicken spent marinating affects the tenderness and moistness of the chicken. We had the chicken sit in the marinade for 3 different amount of times. Sample #3 we let sit in the marinade for 12 hours before cooking, sample #2 we let sit in the marinade for 1 hour, and sample #1 we dipped in the marinade and then cooked. We used the same exact recipe for each of the samples. We had peers fill out a google form that asked them about the moistest and most tender chicken for each sample. We found that sample #1 which was dipped in the marinade was moister than any of the other samples, based on the results we got from our peers. Sample #2 was the most tender based on our results. It didn’t change any of the macroscopic looks of the chicken or the sauce.
C. How successful was your experiment in helping you understand your food and improve its characteristics? What would be the next steps if you were to continue research on this topic?
I believe that our experiment did help us understand how we should improve our buttered chicken. It gave us an idea of what the most tender and the moistest samples where. If we wanted to go more in depth on this experiment I would want to get identical chicken pieces so all the samples are the exact same except for the times they marinated. I believe if someone ate a small piece of chicken vs a big piece there results would vary.
In humanities, we focused on how all our food gets to our tables. We read a book called The Omnivores Dilemma which brought us into factories and farms and how it has changed peoples perspectives. Michael Pollan leads us through how our food was made processed and then put on our tables. He first started on the industrial farms and then moved to natural farms and explained their differences. In Chemistry we learned about foods on the molecular, macroscopic, and symbolic levels. We then were able to pick a dish that we wanted to make and try and change a variable to make the dish better. My group made buttered chicken and we were trying to figure out how we could make the best-buttered chicken by changing the tenderness and moistness of the meat. We tested this by letting the chicken sit in the marinade for a different amount of times and then asked people to taste each sample and fill out a survey asking which sample was the moistest and most tender.
How did the interdisciplinary nature of this project impact your learning?
I liked how in one class we were able to look at where our food was coming from and how it was being made while in the other class we were looking at the chemistry of the food. A few times it did get a little difficult focusing on two different aspects of food and would have made more sense just focusing on one aspect of food. I still enjoyed learning two different aspects of food, maybe in the future have humanities focused on food for the first semester and chemistry focused on food for the second semester.
What are your main takeaways from studying food academically?
Before this project, I did not care what I was eating and did not think about where it comes from. Throughout the project, I watched what I was eating and staying away from fast food restaurants. I can say I still have a meal from a fast food restaurant about once a week but every time I go I can only think about what I have learned and wonder where that burger came from. I have also learned that you shouldn't always follow what the recipe says, you can change variables and make the food even better than the recipe. Don’t be afraid to try new things.
Tasting Thoughts
Growing up I never really thought about where my food comes from or how it was made or processed. My dad and I have been meat eaters all our lives, while my mom, on the other hand, would only eat meat occasionally. My dad and I grew up hunting and that is where we obtained most of our meat. We never had to worry about where our food was coming from and how it was being processed because we were doing it ourselves. Whenever we traveled we would eat out more often and order different kinds of meats. We did not consider what happens for that piece of meat to get to our plate.
In 8th grade, I was tested for Celiac Disease. At first, the test results were inconclusive. I traveled to Denver and had a small bowel biopsy. It was determined that I had a form of celiac disease that is called silent celiac disease. This means that I have damage to my gut from exposure to gluten but none of the typical symptoms. When I heard the diagnosis, I knew that my life was going to change. I was told that I would not be able to eat gluten-containing foods. My family and I went gluten free for a year. Then I started to go back to the things I liked to eat. It was a difficult diet to maintain and I had no symptoms. People who eat gluten that have celiac disease normally have some sort of pain or abdominal issues that would make them not want to eat gluten, because I was not experiencing any symptoms, I gave up on a gluten-free diet. I thought that if I wasn't feeling pain then there probably wasn’t anything wrong inside of me. Avoiding gluten-free was very hard for me. The hardest part was eating out and finding things that I enjoyed and that was gluten-free.
I believe that we need more gluten-free options in grocery stores and restaurants. Being gluten free is difficult. The reason that I gave up and went back to eating gluten is because of lack of options. Even though I would like more gluten-free options, we first need to fix how all of our food is made and processed. I am against filling animals with steroids and other chemicals. I believe that animals should grow up how they were supposed to grow up. They were supposed to grow up on natural farms. Cows, for example, should eat grass that is grown normally. They should have open fields so they can have space to graze and walk. If we can change industrial farming back to traditional, pre-industrial farming prices would drop. Currently, much of the natural and healthy food on the market is more expensive than industrial and processed foods. If we can get more people to buy natural products and less of processed products that would make natural food prices go down. The lower the prices of natural farming more people will be able to afford the food and be healthier.
I can’t say that I eat locally grown foods all the time. I go to fast food restaurants more than I should. It is an easy, fast, and cheap option compared to trying to make a meal. A big part of why I haven't worried about eating fast food is because Durango is a town filled with many outdoor activities, and that is a big part of my life. If I want to make a change though and focus on lowering prices for natural products it's time for me to make the switch and focus on natural products from local farms. If you have local farms near you its time to make the switch and start buying from them or even buying the local goods in your supermarket. We need to start supporting our natural grown products and you can help make a difference.
Chemistry of Food and Cooking: The Perfection of Buttered Chicken
B. How did your cooking process transform your food macroscopically and affect the food’s overall characteristics?
Our goal was to find out how the length of time the chicken spent marinating affects the tenderness and moistness of the chicken. We had the chicken sit in the marinade for 3 different amount of times. Sample #3 we let sit in the marinade for 12 hours before cooking, sample #2 we let sit in the marinade for 1 hour, and sample #1 we dipped in the marinade and then cooked. We used the same exact recipe for each of the samples. We had peers fill out a google form that asked them about the moistest and most tender chicken for each sample. We found that sample #1 which was dipped in the marinade was moister than any of the other samples, based on the results we got from our peers. Sample #2 was the most tender based on our results. It didn’t change any of the macroscopic looks of the chicken or the sauce.
C. How successful was your experiment in helping you understand your food and improve its characteristics? What would be the next steps if you were to continue research on this topic?
I believe that our experiment did help us understand how we should improve our buttered chicken. It gave us an idea of what the most tender and the moistest samples where. If we wanted to go more in depth on this experiment I would want to get identical chicken pieces so all the samples are the exact same except for the times they marinated. I believe if someone ate a small piece of chicken vs a big piece there results would vary.
Your Life on Earth: Philosophizing Purpose and Place in the #21C
Project description
This project was focused on helping each individual with there own personal meaning of life. We looked at different peoples stories and looked at what the meaning of life was for them. After learning what helped them with their meaning of life we were able to write about what we thought the meaning of life was for us. For me, I knew what I thought the meaning of life was for but knowing that you for each person that meaning is going to be different. I wanted to make sure I understood my own philosophy and wondering what the future looks like for. I believe that your philosophy can change over time.
New Insights
I believe my philosophy is doing the things I love with the people I love. While we where in this project and over my link internship I learned more about how I can keep doing the things I love with the people I love. I was worried about my future not being able to do those things. Link was an opportunity for me to see if there was a way for me to go out and have a career that I would love. While I was on my link I had an opportunity to see if I could have a career that would allow me to do the things I love.
Further Questions and Intellectual Work Left to Do
A few questions that this project brought to me where
How can I keep my own philosophy in the future?
Is there one meaning to this life or does everyone have there own meaning?
How can you help someone with there own meaning to life but still letting it be there's?
Can your philosophy change throughout your Life.
The question that I had a hard time answering was can you philosophy change throughout your life. I know that I love doing the things I love with the people that I love and I might have found a career that allows that for me. Right now I am acting as if my philosophy cant change and I am trying to get everything figured out early and I don’t know if that is a good or bad thing.
This project was focused on helping each individual with there own personal meaning of life. We looked at different peoples stories and looked at what the meaning of life was for them. After learning what helped them with their meaning of life we were able to write about what we thought the meaning of life was for us. For me, I knew what I thought the meaning of life was for but knowing that you for each person that meaning is going to be different. I wanted to make sure I understood my own philosophy and wondering what the future looks like for. I believe that your philosophy can change over time.
New Insights
I believe my philosophy is doing the things I love with the people I love. While we where in this project and over my link internship I learned more about how I can keep doing the things I love with the people I love. I was worried about my future not being able to do those things. Link was an opportunity for me to see if there was a way for me to go out and have a career that I would love. While I was on my link I had an opportunity to see if I could have a career that would allow me to do the things I love.
Further Questions and Intellectual Work Left to Do
A few questions that this project brought to me where
How can I keep my own philosophy in the future?
Is there one meaning to this life or does everyone have there own meaning?
How can you help someone with there own meaning to life but still letting it be there's?
Can your philosophy change throughout your Life.
The question that I had a hard time answering was can you philosophy change throughout your life. I know that I love doing the things I love with the people that I love and I might have found a career that allows that for me. Right now I am acting as if my philosophy cant change and I am trying to get everything figured out early and I don’t know if that is a good or bad thing.
Personal Philosophy
Everyone has a different definition of happiness and meaning in their life. People can tell you their stories of how they found their happiness and meaning, and try to tell you what you need to do to find yours, but the only way you will ever find your happiness and meaning is to find it on your own and not let other people tell you what it is. After reading Into The Wild, it was interesting to hear Chris’s story and how he found his meaning and happiness, but in the end, it is only one perspective out of many others. His story can help you by giving you an idea and you can try it. If it doesn't work for you then you have to move on. Chris McCandless’s meaning and happiness are not true for everyone.
I believe that my own happiness comes from the relationships that I have and the things that I do with the people that I care about. I don’t believe you can live a happy life without having people around you that care about you. Even doing the things I love, like skiing and biking, I like to have friends or family with me while I do the things I love. When I have friends or family with me it makes the things we are doing more memorable. The meaning of life to me is going out and doing the things I love with the people that I care about. I also believe when you have an opportunity to go and try something don’t be afraid to go out and try it. It might be an opportunity for you in the future or shows you what you don’t want in the future. When you have an opportunity to do something that you’re passionate about, you should go out and chase it.
I believe that my own happiness comes from the relationships that I have and the things that I do with the people that I care about. I don’t believe you can live a happy life without having people around you that care about you. Even doing the things I love, like skiing and biking, I like to have friends or family with me while I do the things I love. When I have friends or family with me it makes the things we are doing more memorable. The meaning of life to me is going out and doing the things I love with the people that I care about. I also believe when you have an opportunity to go and try something don’t be afraid to go out and try it. It might be an opportunity for you in the future or shows you what you don’t want in the future. When you have an opportunity to do something that you’re passionate about, you should go out and chase it.
The Labor Project
Project Description
In this project we where able to learn about the labor issues that are going on today. After reading about the past labour issue, we where able to go into the labor issues today and pick what we wanted to learn about more. We where able to pick what we wanted to learn more on and make a podcast on a labour issuea today.
In this project we where able to learn about the labor issues that are going on today. After reading about the past labour issue, we where able to go into the labor issues today and pick what we wanted to learn about more. We where able to pick what we wanted to learn more on and make a podcast on a labour issuea today.
Timed Writing
Caleb Gerst
9-28-18
Period 5-6
Thesis: Even though the industrial revolution paved the way for to be more technologically advanced, this was done at the cost of children who had horrible working conditions and schooling.
Even though there were terrible things that have happened in the industrial revolution, America would not be where it is today without it. WWW.History.com said “industrialization marked a shift to powered, special purpose machinery, factories, and mass production” If you think how much of our daily used tools are electronic we would not have any of the stuff we have today. Loudoun County Public School said, “One major change was the shift from work being done at home by hand in cottage industries to work being done in factories”. We would still be making our clothes by hand and farming our own food if it wasn't for the industrial revolution. Life has been made easier for us just because of the industrial revolution, I could not imagine what it would be like without our daily lives tools that help us.
Even though our life is easy now because of the industrial revolution it put kids threw terrible working conditions and in danger of losing their lives. If you were a kid in the industrial revolution you would be working long hours at a time and not having time to be with family or go to school to learn. From the document “The Bitter Cry of the Children” it said “the coal is hard, and accidents to the hands, such as cut, broken, or crushed fingers are common among the boys. Sometimes there are worse injuries” Nobody, not even adults should be working in these kinds of conditions, especially kids. People started to realize that this was unacceptable and in the document “March of the Mill Children” it says “I put the little boys with their fingers off and hands crushed and maimed on a platform I held up there mutilated hands and showed them to the crowd and made the statement saying that Philadelphia's mansions were built on the broken bones, the quivering hearts and drooping heads of these children”. Finally, someone standing up for these kids, It said in that document that this may be the “only vacation these kids may ever have”. I can’t believe this being a vacation going out and trying to stand up for yourself, it doesn't sound like a good vacation to me. At Least people are now noticing what is going on and trying to make a difference.
There was never time for these kids to go to school and learn to become something that will change the world. They had to work such long days that they wouldn't even have time to if they wanted to. Sometimes the students would be able to attend night school, but they would be so exhausted from the day that they would not be able to pay attention. The article from “ The Bitter Cry of the Children” said “Work for fourteen hours-awaiting-opening and shutting a door-then waiting again-for sixty cents. Boys of 12 years of age may be legally employed in the mine of West Virginia by day or night and as for many hours as the employers care to make them tiol or their bodies will stand the strains”. I could not even imagine working that long and these kids had to, with extreme dangers and almost no pay. After working fourteen hours six days a week you would never have time to go to school or even homeschool. Sometimes they would even have night jobs after their day jobs to help the family. So now that I think about the industrial revolution all I can think about is how lucky we are today, and was all the pain that was caused worth what we have today?
Caleb Gerst
9-28-18
Period 5-6
Thesis: Even though the industrial revolution paved the way for to be more technologically advanced, this was done at the cost of children who had horrible working conditions and schooling.
Even though there were terrible things that have happened in the industrial revolution, America would not be where it is today without it. WWW.History.com said “industrialization marked a shift to powered, special purpose machinery, factories, and mass production” If you think how much of our daily used tools are electronic we would not have any of the stuff we have today. Loudoun County Public School said, “One major change was the shift from work being done at home by hand in cottage industries to work being done in factories”. We would still be making our clothes by hand and farming our own food if it wasn't for the industrial revolution. Life has been made easier for us just because of the industrial revolution, I could not imagine what it would be like without our daily lives tools that help us.
Even though our life is easy now because of the industrial revolution it put kids threw terrible working conditions and in danger of losing their lives. If you were a kid in the industrial revolution you would be working long hours at a time and not having time to be with family or go to school to learn. From the document “The Bitter Cry of the Children” it said “the coal is hard, and accidents to the hands, such as cut, broken, or crushed fingers are common among the boys. Sometimes there are worse injuries” Nobody, not even adults should be working in these kinds of conditions, especially kids. People started to realize that this was unacceptable and in the document “March of the Mill Children” it says “I put the little boys with their fingers off and hands crushed and maimed on a platform I held up there mutilated hands and showed them to the crowd and made the statement saying that Philadelphia's mansions were built on the broken bones, the quivering hearts and drooping heads of these children”. Finally, someone standing up for these kids, It said in that document that this may be the “only vacation these kids may ever have”. I can’t believe this being a vacation going out and trying to stand up for yourself, it doesn't sound like a good vacation to me. At Least people are now noticing what is going on and trying to make a difference.
There was never time for these kids to go to school and learn to become something that will change the world. They had to work such long days that they wouldn't even have time to if they wanted to. Sometimes the students would be able to attend night school, but they would be so exhausted from the day that they would not be able to pay attention. The article from “ The Bitter Cry of the Children” said “Work for fourteen hours-awaiting-opening and shutting a door-then waiting again-for sixty cents. Boys of 12 years of age may be legally employed in the mine of West Virginia by day or night and as for many hours as the employers care to make them tiol or their bodies will stand the strains”. I could not even imagine working that long and these kids had to, with extreme dangers and almost no pay. After working fourteen hours six days a week you would never have time to go to school or even homeschool. Sometimes they would even have night jobs after their day jobs to help the family. So now that I think about the industrial revolution all I can think about is how lucky we are today, and was all the pain that was caused worth what we have today?
https://prezi.com/view/C2VWRXpMrDhkx3cQpwsc/
Caleb Gerst
Humanities Podcast Reflection
Greatest Challenge
My greatest challenge was not able to have work to do the entire time. I found that we would do something together but one person would really be in charge of that part and we couldn’t move on without that part done. This did not happen the entire time, but I did notice it a few times through this process.
What would I do differently
If I could go back and change something that we do, it would be to have assignments for everyone in the group each day. I felt that we were a little rushed trying to get our work done on time. We could have made this process much easier if assigned work better to each member of the group.
What is the greatest insight you gained about the state of labor issues today?
The greatest insight I learned out of this project was that there is still a labor issue going on today. I know in the question it says what did I learn about the labor issue and for me, I didn't realize that we still had labor issues. It surprises me that there are still labor issues going on today. It makes me wonder how we can help as students.
What are you most proud of in your project?
I think I am proud of keeping up with the work that was assigned. I think that I was abe to keep up with the work because I enjoyed this project, and tried to make personal so I could enjoy it. I made it persenal by thinking about my future and what I want to be and relating it to the project so I am almost looking for myselft.
Explain 1 way you grew as a student during this project.
I feel like I have grown into get out of my comfort zone and trying new things. I never thought I would create a podcast. Now that I have created a podcast, I feel like that give me confedince in trying new things or even looking at things diffrently.
Humanities Podcast Reflection
Greatest Challenge
My greatest challenge was not able to have work to do the entire time. I found that we would do something together but one person would really be in charge of that part and we couldn’t move on without that part done. This did not happen the entire time, but I did notice it a few times through this process.
What would I do differently
If I could go back and change something that we do, it would be to have assignments for everyone in the group each day. I felt that we were a little rushed trying to get our work done on time. We could have made this process much easier if assigned work better to each member of the group.
What is the greatest insight you gained about the state of labor issues today?
The greatest insight I learned out of this project was that there is still a labor issue going on today. I know in the question it says what did I learn about the labor issue and for me, I didn't realize that we still had labor issues. It surprises me that there are still labor issues going on today. It makes me wonder how we can help as students.
What are you most proud of in your project?
I think I am proud of keeping up with the work that was assigned. I think that I was abe to keep up with the work because I enjoyed this project, and tried to make personal so I could enjoy it. I made it persenal by thinking about my future and what I want to be and relating it to the project so I am almost looking for myselft.
Explain 1 way you grew as a student during this project.
I feel like I have grown into get out of my comfort zone and trying new things. I never thought I would create a podcast. Now that I have created a podcast, I feel like that give me confedince in trying new things or even looking at things diffrently.
Caleb, Riley, and Patric's Podcast
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