Response to Jenny Molenda's Blog Post

Jenny Molenda wrote a blog post about making a homemade meal with her friends. They decided as a group that they would make spaghetti. They would each make a separate part of the meal in order to split up costs in a fair way. Jenny was in charge of making the sauce and called her mom to get her recipe. Jenny and her friends used this time to hang out and forget about school for a while. It seemed to me like a really fun activity to do with a group of friends, and a nice way to get a home cooked meal at college.

Jenny agrees with what Pollen has to say about Americans not taking the time to really enjoy their meals and spend too much time concerned about the nutritional value of what they are eating. The meal that she made with her friends did not however influence her opinion on what Pollen has to say. She still agrees with him because her friends did in fact take time to enjoy this meal and have fun.

I think Jenny does a really good job of relating her meal making experience with what Pollen says. It was interesting to see that Jenny and her friends made their meal in a way that Pollen would suggest doing, or would approve of. The blog that Jenny links to really does a good job of backing up both her and Pollen’s ideas about how taking time to enjoy your food is important. According to the blog, your health can be improved just by taking time to eat, enjoying your eating experience, and by paying attention to when you are full. These things all lead you to eating healthier in general. I thought Jenny’s blog was interesting and she sounded like she really enjoyed being able to make a meal with her friends.

*Photo taken from diningin.com

"Real" Food vs. "Fake" Food

Michael Pollen warns us in his book that processed foods, which are major element of the Western diet, can be very unhealthy to our bodies. I have been guilty of eating many foods in their processed forms without even giving it a second thought. One of the foods that I used to eat in its natural form more in the past, and when I am away from school, is pear. When I want a pear now I usually end up eating it from a can, in its processed form.

Pears in a can, while still tasty, are simply not as good as eating a fresh pear. Usually they are cut up, skin pealed off, and floating around in sugary syrup. I know when eating pear out of a can that I am not getting all of the nutrients that I would be getting from a natural pear. I am also getting added sugar that I would not be getting with the whole fruit version. The article “Benefits of pears” explains the health benefits of pears and why they are good for you. This helps to reassure me that I should be avoiding processed pears as much as possible to guarantee that I am getting all of these health benefits without the added sugar.

The reason why I eat processed, canned pears more often now is because being in college limits my access to fresh fruit. It has become more convenient for me to go out and buy a few cans of pears when I want them. I think I will return to eating the fresh kind a lot more in the future, especially in the summer when I am home. When I am older I also hope to be able to eat pears in the real version as much as possible. Pears are after all one of my favorite fruits.

*Photo taken from cookingwithkimberly.com

Response to Kat Saltarelli's Blog Post

Kat Saltarelli wrote a blog post about a food that she sometimes eats in its natural form, but while in college tends to be eating in its processed form. She is talking about corn, about how in the summer her family loves to grill out and eat delicious corn on the cob. Kat seems like she is a little upset and discouraged about the corn that she is forced to eat in the dining halls since it clearly is straight from a can and doesn’t taste as good as fresh corn.

Kat provides good evidence on why corn on the cob is better for you than corn from a can. She links to two sites that provide nutritional information for both canned corn and natural corn on the cob, which really adds credibility to her argument. Kat then links to an article that goes into the reasons why natural, unprocessed foods are better for your body. She says that she completely agrees with the article and thinks it is important for us to eat food in its natural state.

I think that Kat’s blog is very convincing. Most of us in class can relate to her story of getting corn on the cob at home and then getting canned corn here at school. I totally agree with her arguments that we don’t really know what we are putting into our bodies all the time, especially here at school when we eat what is given to us and what is convenient. She also makes the reader think about what they eat when they walk into the cafeteria and if it is really healthy. Sometimes it is hard to get away from fortified foods in this fast paced society, but making an extra effort to eat natural foods might be a benefit to your body.

* Photo taken from blogcdn.com

Analysis of a Celebrity Endorsement

The current celebrity endorsement that I found is Drew Barrymore for Covergirl. This product is a makeup line that carries everything from eyeliner to lip-gloss. The endorsement is basically Drew in commercials and print ads looking all beautiful and made-up so she can promote the product. A lot of times the pictures and shots are very close up to her face so it can focus on the area of the body this product is targeting.

In my opinion I think Drew Barrymore is an appropriate choice for Covergirl to use to endorse their products. I think this because it makes a whole lot more sense than to have a man endorsing it or a young child. By picking a young, hip actress who would be someone that would use a lot of makeup every day, the company is trying to get girls like her to relate to the product. Because of this reason I do believe that this is a successful campaign, and probably has been successful for both parties involved since Drew is getting her face out to the public more and more by doing this.

Even though I think the endorsement is appropriate I do not think that Drew Barrymore has any more knowledge about makeup than any other woman. So in this sense they are just using her status as a celebrity to sell their makeup, not her status as someone who would be considered a makeup expert.

Even though I believe that so far this celebrity endorsement is successful, an article called “Celebrity endorsements gone bad” from forbes.com reminds us that there have been many times when celebrity endorsements seem good and then all of the sudden fail, usually because of something the celebrity does or says. So you never know, maybe someday hiring Drew Barrymore as a Covergirl might backfire on the company when least expected.

* Photo taken from dawnofanewera.com