GMO's:Future Food or Frankenfood???

I have my own opinion about GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms), but for the purpose of this article, I will present both sides of the issue. First, however, let’s discuss a little of the science behind them.

Biotechnology is the field of science concerned with modifying the DNA of plants by adding or removing genes. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) are plants or bacteria which have been changed in this manner to produce certain desired traits (Schlenker & Roth, 2011). Genetic Modification is accomplished through biotechnology or plant breeding. Prior to 1990, crops were grown using traditional methods. After that time, biotechnology dramatically changed the way food was produced. Today biotechnology is used in agriculture and food processing.

The three major goals of biotechnology are:

• Resistance to Disease and insects: Because plants that are produced using biotechnology have a built in resistance to disease and insects, fewer pesticides need to be used which is better for the environment (Biotechnology Industry Organization, 2012). Pesticides are designed to kill and therefore by their very nature pose a risk to all living organisms and the environment (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2011).
• Increased tolerance to weather conditions: Plants genetically modified to survive in extreme weather conditions are less likely to be destroyed by late frost. This has the potential to increase crop yields and food shortages, especially in the developing world (Schlenker & Roth, 2011).
• Increased nutritional value: Genetic modification has increased the monounsaturated fatty acid content of soybean oil and scientists are working toward increasing the lycopene content of tomatoes and increasing the protein and micronutrients of grain. This could help lessen nutrient deficiencies in developing countries (Schlenker & Roth, 2011).

The three major concerns those opposing GMO’s have are:

• Risk of allergic reactions: Biotechnology changes the proteins in these crops and may introduce proteins which have the properties of known allergens. There is a growing body of evidence of allergies which have been caused by GMO soy and corn and even though screening for this is recommended, many of the GMO crops in our food supply fail those tests (Institute for Responsible Technology, 2009).
• Potential toxicity: Biotechnology crops have been linked to disease, sterility and death. Animal deaths were linked to Biotech cotton plants, corn and potatoes and people in five Filipino villages became ill when Biotech corn was pollinating (Institute for Responsible Technology, 2009).
• Environmental concerns: The GM crops may themselves become weeds, they may move GM crops may serve as conduits and move to wild plants creating weeds, they could produce toxic substances which can spread to plants and animals, and they could affect the ecosystem. So far none of these concerns have come to fruition (Mellon & Rissler, 2003).

Here in the United States GMO’s are considered safe based on experience not on scientific testing. In order to know for sure whether they are safe or not, scientific research and testing must be conducted to find out how the new proteins which are formed affect human health and how the transfer of the new gene affects plant metabolism (GMO Compass, 2006).

So to answer the question posed in the title of this article, even though the benefits of GMO crops have the potential to increase crop yields, reduce food shortages and improve the nutritional value of the world’s food supply; not knowing whether or not these foods are safe for human consumption makes eating them a questionable practice.
References:

Biotechnology Industry Organization. (2012, June 1).Global economic and environmental benefits of ge crops continues to rise. Retrieved from http://www.bio.org/articles/global-economic-and-environmental-benefits-ge-crops-continues-rise

GMO Compass. (2006, February 15). Evaluating safety: A major undertaking. Retrieved   from    http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/safety/human_health/41.evaluation_safety_gm_food_major_undertaking.html

Institute for Responsible Technology. (2009). Health risks - gmo's. Retrieved from             “http://www.responsibletechnology.org/health-risks

Mellon, M., & Rissler, J. (2003, June 12). Ucsusa. Retrieved from             http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/science_and_impacts/impacts genetic_engineering/environmental-effects-of.html

Schlenker, E. D., & Roth, S. L. (2011). Williams' essentials of nutrition and diet therapy.    (Tenth ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (2011, November 29).Environmental contaminants  program. Retrieved from http://www.fws.gov/contaminants/Issues/Pesticides.cfm

The Health Benefits of Journaling

All my life, the leaders of my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) have counseled us to keep a journal (LeAnn, 2011) . Their reason of doing this was to preserve your life history for your posterity. If you want to know more about the LDS (Mormon) perspective on journaling you can go to: http://mormonwoman.org/2011/06/06/the-purpose-of-a-journal/

Recently, while studying stress for my Exercise Fitness class in college, I was reminded of the other benefits of keeping a journal. Journaling in general is a great way to get your feeling out and an excellent mental health strategy. Sometimes writing things down helps you identify your problems and get your feelings out. We sometimes don't recognize that we are under stress until we get our feelings on paper. One great thing to do in a journal is look for the positive things in your life.

In an article I found entitled “The Health Benefits of Journaling”, the scientific benefits of journaling are discussed (Purcell, 2006).

These benefits include:

• Clarifying your thoughts and feelings. Taking a few minutes to jot down your thoughts and emotions will quickly help you get in touch with them.
• Help you get to know yourself better. Writing routinely will help you get to know what makes you feel the way you do and become more clear about situations and people who are toxic.
• Reduce stress. Writing about anger, sadness and painful emotions helps you feel release some of the intensity of the emotions and feel calmer.
• Solve problems more effectively. Writing unlocks your creatively, which engages your right-brain and gives you another prospective on them.
• Resolve disagreements with others. Writing about misunderstandings helps clarify your feelings thus releasing some of the emotions so that you are better able to understand the other persons point of view (Purcell, 2006).

In addition to all the benefits previously mentioned, journaling helps you look back and see patterns, trends, improvement and growth over time. Reading your journal enables you to look back at past problems and see how you have resolved them (Purcell, 2006).

References:
LeAnn. (2011, June 6). The purpose of a journal. Retrieved from http://mormonwoman.org/2011/06/06/the-purpose-of-a-journal/

Purcell, M. (2006). The Health Benefits of Journaling. Psych Central. Retrieved from http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/the-health-benefits-of-journaling/

Humanities Essay-American Dream vs Filipino Dream

I think when most people think of the American Dream they think of the part in the Declaration of Independence where is says that all men are created equal and that they have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But that’s the rub, what is happiness. I think now-a-days most people would equate it with making as much money as possible to have the “good life”. Of course, this can mean different things to different people. I think most people would like to own their own home and have enough money to provide their family adequately.  In 2006, my husband and I were privileged to be able to make a trip to the Philippines to pick up my son who served a two year mission there for our church.  From what I saw there, what my son told me and remarks made by our native Filipino guide, Beth Grafilo, I have concluded that the Filipino people envy the American people and would love to be able to live the American Dream. (J. Saxton & B. Grafilo, personal communication, 2006). The unfortunate fact is that the majority of them live in abject poverty and will never attain it. Mrs. Grafilo is affluent in contrast to most Filipinos. She owns a van, which is considered a luxury there. For her it is her means of livelihood and therefore a necessity. The Filipino people are hardworking and good at figuring out ways of making money. If they have a good job, they have to lean over backwards to keep it.  Therefore, customer service is exemplary there. Entrepreneurship is valued also because often the best way to make money is to have your own business. A couple of interesting things that I noted were that in the most humble homes that we visited they still had a TV.  I also noted that there is basically no homelessness in the Philippines because they will live anywhere they can put up a shelter. Shanty Towns abound there. Lucky for them the Philippines has a very temperate climate. I have never been out of the United States before and to go to essentially a third world country was quite eye opening. I did go on the internet to read more about the Philippines and Filipino culture.

Reference:

Roxas-Lim, A. Cultural Heritage in Philippine Society . PDF. University of Philippines. Retrieved from http://fahnoe.ph/filer/toledo-cebu/Cultural-Heritage-in-Philippine-Society.pdf.

Humanities Time Capsule

Because I wanted to keep this project in it's original format, I uploaded it to Google docs and you may view it here: Humanities Time Capsule
I hope you will take the time to read it and give me some feedback!

Music

Introduction

            A wide variety of music has played a very big role in my life.  I didn’t really realize this until I read the assignment for this unit.  I was born in 1946 and my life had spanned many musical era’s from Big Band to Contemporary. For this assignment, I thought it would be fun to write “The Symphony of My Life” because the assignment has four sections and a symphony consists of four separate sections.

1950’s and 1960’s

            In 1950, I was just 4 years old. Most of the music I heard during my early childhood was on the radio and at church. My mother listened to an Easy Listening station which consisted of music from the Big Band Era, Show Tunes and singers like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Pat Boone and Rosemary Clooney. I loved the children’s songs from my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). Fun songs like “"Popcorn Popping" and "Give" Said the Little Stream and religious songs like "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" and "I am a Child of God"

I was lucky to live through the birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Although I was only 10 years old when Elvis first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, my parents watched it regularly on Sunday nights.  I didn’t know what to make of him at the time, I do remember seeing him.  What I remember more vividly was The Beatles first performance on the Ed Sullivan Show in the mid-sixties since by that time I was in High School.  Again, I didn’t quite know what to make of them; but soon came to love them. One singer that had a major impact on my life during my teenage years was Ricky Nelson.  I grew up with him on the The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.  We didn’t get our first TV until 1956, but I watched it from then until the end of the show. I loved his music and still do.  It was so neat to see him perform live on the show. My peers thought I was weird because I preferred him to Elvis! Another singer whom I loved during adolescence was Donny Osmond. Since the Osmond’s are “LDS”, you can imagine how I looked up to them.  Even though Donny was nine years younger than me, I loved his songs even the teeny bopper ones. I especially liked The Donnie and Marie Show.

            Also when I was a teenager, I started taking ballet lessons and this exposed me to some of the great classical music.  We did a ballet production of   “Cinderella” and I was the Fairy Godmother.

1970’s and 1980’s

            I married at the age of 19 in 1966. My husband was in the music business in Los Angeles; so he exposed me Rock Music for several years until we divorced in 1976. Being part of the music scene in Los Angeles during this time was very interesting. My first husband, Ron Lewis, worked with and I got to meet some of the major DJ’s in Los Angeles radio. I met Casey Kasum, Robert Morgan, Jay Stevens and Roger Christian. Roger Christian wrote the Beach Boys “car songs”. He also co-wrote some of Jan and Dean’s songs also mainly car songs. I listened to so much music during that time that I got burnt out on it. So much so that when I was by myself, I didn’t listen to much music. But, Donny Osmond along with Barry Manilow continue to be favorites of mine and luckily they are both still performing and doing new songs. 

             

Comfort

            The first song that comes to mind when I think of comfort is Frank Sinatra’s "My Way". During the time that the song was popular, I was going through the collapse of my marriage to my first husband. He was a very controlling person and wanted me to do everything his way from cleaning the house to how I dressed.  When I heard “My Way”  sung it spoke volumes to me; because all I wanted was to be able to do something my way.

            The hymns of the “LDS” church have also been a source of much comfort in my life. Songs like "Families Can Be Together Forever" which speaks of the belief that you can be with your family in the afterlife helps me when someone dies. The knowledge that I will see them again someday is very comforting to me. "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" is one of my favorite hymns and it speaks volumes about the Savior’s role in my life. My very favorite hymn is "I Stand All Amazed" because it talks about the atonement and how the savior atones for everyone even the rebellious sprits like me.

Happiness

            When I think of songs that bring me happiness today, church songs and the songs of the 50’s and 60’s still come to mind.  I am also enjoying going to live stage productions of musicals now.  The first play that we went to recently was “Mary Poppins”. I remember seeing the movie and nothing compares to seeing it live.  We also have been to see “The Lion King”, “Grease” and “The Nutcracker”.  I had never seen a live performance of “The Nutcracker” and I really enjoyed it and could appreciate it because I took ballet as a teen. We also went to a local production of the “Music Man” and really enjoyed it too.  The first live theater production I remember going to was as a pre-teen. I went with my school to see “My Fair Lady”.  My husband and I are really big movie buffs and I enjoy movie scores. We are also reality show junkies and shows like “America’s Got Talent” and “The Voice” have exposed me to new singers that I probably would have never listened to had I not watched those shows.            

Conclusion

            There is much more I could say about “The Symphony of My Life”, but I have run out of space. This assignment has been a wonderful reflection. .  Until I really stopped to think about it, I didn’t realize how much music had influenced my life. I had thought that because I never learned to play an instrument and cannot read music or sing well that it didn’t really influence me much.  Well, I was wrong and I will continue to write “The Symphony of My Life” for many years to come. 

A Moral Dilemma

Would I blow the whistle if my employer was acting unethically? This is a hard question. I think that most of us would like to think that we would.  But if truth be told, I think it can be agreed that it would be a hard decision.  There are many factors that I feel need to be taken into consideration. I think that first I would have to consider the depth of the potential harm that would be done. Second, I would consider how hard it would be to get heard.  Third, I would consider how much harm would come to me or my family. Fourth, would it do any good to blow the whistle.  Fifth, how long it would take. These are just the things that I can think of off the top of my head. The biggest factors that I would need to consider before I would report what I know would be how much harm would be done to other people if I did not report it and how much harm would come to me or my family. These two factors would be the biggest factors that would prevent me from acting, along with a basic fear of confrontation.  I was a very shy person when I was younger and am still that way a little. Although I have learned to be more assertive and to stand up for myself and my family, being a little fearful still is a factor in making these kinds of decisions. How much do you think your personality would help or hinder your decision? Do you think your basic moral beliefs would be a factor? 

Poetry Review

In this post, I am analyzing two poems that I read for my Humanities class. To view the poems that I am talking about click on the titles:

My first choice is Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes

I found this poem very easy to understand. The example given were well thought out and described. To me this poem is reflective.  I think Mr. Hughes is trying to justify why America does not live up to the ideal.  The problem with that is that reality never does live up to the ideal. The founding fathers had a vision when they created this country and wrote the Constitution and The Bill of Rights, but if truth be told America has never lived up to their vision of what it should be.  I don’t think it ever will because humans are human and also because we keep changing the Constitution and messing with their vision. Admittedly, some changes are for the better but on the other hand some are not. I was surprised that this poem was written in 1994, because the things that he talks happened many years before that.  He talks about the slavery’s scars, although I realize that even though we no longer have slavery that the black ‘s still bear the scars.  In some parts of the poem when he talks about things that happened in the past, he uses terms from that time which no longer apply.  For example, he uses Negro in one part when that is no longer the correct term and I believe it wasn’t even in 1994.

Do you agree with my interpretation that Langston Hughes is trying to justify an ideal America?

My second choice is The Lanyard by Billy Collins

I found Billy Collin’s poem easy to understand also.  This poem was more of a narrative as it told a story. It was written in poem form, but it could have just as easily been written as a short story. I love his descriptions and feel that they are an important part of the poem.  Aside from that the idea behind the poem is that we can never repay our Mom’s for all they have done for us.  The only time we can come close is if we end up taking care of them in their later years. Even then those few years still would not make up for them having giving birth to us.   Accordingly, to the biographical data he wrote this poem as early as 1995, but this poem is timeless . The data also says that “the central theme of poetry is death”  (Collins, B.  2005).  Personally, I don’t see that as a theme in this poem. Do you?

Reference:

Lyden, J. (2005). Billy Collins 'The Trouble With Poetry'. Npr books. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4990320