Fast Food Nation

The first time I had food poisoning was from a hamburger in Cody, Wyoming. It was not pleasant; I ended up hospitalised. I do not know what circumstances contributed to that particular instance. Was it improper washing of a dish; mishandling of the ingredients during preparation; bad meat from the wholesaler; improper packing or slaughtering? From my plate (it was a plate; we ate in a “family-style” restaurant) to the beast that provided the raw material, there is a line of potential mishap. At one time, during the middle part of the 20th century, the instance of mishap was abated by government regulation and the fact that most of the meatpacking industry consisted of well paid, unionised, career meatpackers. This is no longer the case.

I have just finished reading Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation: What the All-American Meal is Doing to the World. It is a thoroughly researched account of the history, marketing, employment practices, safety issues (both the food itself and the people working with it), economic ramifications (from the “farm” to the counter), and worldwide reach of the fast food industry.

I’ll not rattle off statistics here; however, it’s enough to say that a particular fast food restaurant’s logo is now more widely recognised worldwide than the Christian cross. Its mascot is more trusted by children than many other given authorities. It is the largest purchaser of beef and potatoes in the United States and one of the largest employers. With this power, it has vast influence over agricultural practice and government policy concerning wages and the environment.

The book is a bizarre and, at times, harrowing account of what goes on behind the facade of happiness promoted by the fast food giants (after reading once chapter in particular, I broke down into tears). This is a truly unpleasant book to read (certainly not for the weak stomached). It is not a tirade against any particular company or industry. If anything, it is somewhat sympathetic to men who were the original pioneers of this phenomenon; they were living out the opportunity of the American Dream. What is does do is trace the results of dreams when compounded with massive amounts of money and the unchecked openness of American society to allow corporate growth (and the self-regulation of these corporations).

I have had food poisoning several times since that first incident in Wyoming; this is to be expected, I’ve travelled all over the world to some fairly dodgy places. However, the dodgy places are not where I’ve been poisoned. Except for one instance, it’s all been in the States. After reading this book, I’ve a better understanding of why that may be.

New old way of shaving

​As I mentioned recently I’ve been looking into ways to economise and reduce waste. Consequently, I’ve purchased a double-edged Merkur Futur razor set (razor, brush, shaving bowl, etc.). I’ve used the setup now for a couple weeks and I must say that the shave quality far exceeds my prior experience with Gillette products. Previously, I would either have to settle for a somewhat close shave with skin irritation or, to avoid irritation, I would have to leave off shaving before all the little hairs were removed. The DE razor allows me to carefully (and one does have to be careful; though I’ve only nicked myself once) get an excellent shave with very little irritation. Part of this may be the use of a brush with the shaving soap; but I think the main thing is the use of a very sharp blade (I’m using the Merkur blades so far, but also have some Japanese blades that are supposed to be as sharp as precision medical instruments). The disposable blades I was using previously seemed to dull quickly and “catch” the skin, thus causing a cut.


Also, though I’m using the shave soap, when I was travelling last week, I used the King of Shaves shaving gel. Despite the rather silly macho name, it really is a great product (though it’s a bit odd at first to shave with slime rather than lather). The soap I am using is made by Classic Shaving (where I ordered the set). It’s their sandalwood scent; it has a vaguely “pottery” smell to is (which is not unpleasant…however, it reminds me of unfired ceramics). The soap end of things will, I’m sure, be a continuing experiment as there are many brands and types available.

If you go to the Classic Shaving website, you’ll see a whole array of razors and accessories. (By the way, I’ll put in a little plug for them here; they were quick to respond to some initial questions and just seem like generally nice people.) The Merkur Futur razor I picked is highly regarded as are also their other offerings (not that they have a lot of competition).

This may become a closet obsession (finding the right blades and soap); so you may have to bear with the occasional rambling concerning the state of my face.

Visit to Center for Human Ecology

I returned on Monday night from a several day stay in Glasgow; I was there to check out the Centre for Human Ecology at the University of Strathclyde as I’m looking into a Masters in Human Ecology (would be a two year commitment).
From the CHE website:

Human Ecology is about uncovering and understanding the connections between personal action, social systems and the ecology of the planet of which we are part. The challenge is to critically examine the way things are and to ask why and how they could be different; to find new and better ways of arranging our lives, our businesses and our societies; ways that reduce poverty and inequality, reduce the amount of resources we use, restore the environment and improve quality of life for all – now and for generations to come.

So, as you can see, that covers about everything! They are covering topics as diverse as agriculture to the workings of spirituality in societies. The classes meet in solid blocks over long weekends. From the brief time I was able to spend with the students and lecturers, I was greatly impressed with the topics they are discussing and the people involved. Class time is divided between weekend sessions at the university in Glasgow and longer (one week or so) sessions at various locations in the UK (field research trips in different cities, etc.).

I interviewed for a position in next year’s cohort; this is a very exciting opportunity for me (on a personal level, I’ve had a lingering interest in environmental studies for some time now; at the professional level, this is really a training centre for BuildaBridge. I heard arts-integrated language left and right through the weekend). On Friday evening, we had a group of former graduates speak (the centre has been in existence since the early 70’s) on what they are doing currently. There is much practical application of the skills acquired there in the social service sector (The UK seems especially welcoming of environmentally friendly design and planning).

So, the next big barrier (or, just the big barrier period) will be finding funding; the program itself is only about $14,000 USD for the two years; however, it’s significantly more expensive to live in Glasgow than where I am in the Czech Republic. Alternatively, I could live out in the countryside for a good bit less; however, that would not afford the community and networking connections available in the city. So we’ll have to see where that all balances out.

Outward Bound Urban video

Last year, Ben Goodman (a producer I know in Philadelphia; see his website here) asked if I could come along and videotape a photo shoot he was coordinating for Outward Bound. He’s been working on a new branding campaign for OB Urban and wanted to concurrently produce a short promotional video if possible. I went on two photo shoot days (on on an absolutely frigid day in Philadelphia; the other in Baltimore). From that video material and audio interviews I did with kids when they weren’t getting photographed, we produced this video. It was rather difficult as I did not have many “action” shots. Most of the time was spent setting up and shooting stills; so the kids did a lot of standing still. However, the client seems happy; so that’s the acid test (or, I suppose the acid test is gauging what response they get from the campaign). 

Absence

I apologise to all for my lack of recent updates; I’ve been, for the past two weeks, in the US training for a team I will lead in the Czech Republic this summer and spending some time at the BuildaBridge offices catching up on “administrative tasks” and “concept development” (which, mostly, consisted of chatting with Nathan Corbitt by a woodstove).
Right now I’m visiting my parents for a few days; then it’s off to Glasgow for a visit to the Centre for Human Ecology at the University of Strathclyde (more on that later).

Blessings

I remembered an occurrence today; it happened a few years ago when I was leading a cross-cultural team in Bulgaria. We were waking through a mountain town on a very hot day and came upon an old Moslem woman. She brought us all cold water and chatted a bit with Vlady (our Bulgarian logistics fellow).
As we left, she said something that returns often in my memory:
“May all your villages be blessed.”

I’m giving some thought to the power of blessings; in many cultures the hex or curse is considered a powerful statement. However, I think a blessing must be the most potent words any human can speak.

Dinner

I’m working into the evening and ate dinner whilst editing a document. Earlier, I picked up a dish of (what I thought) was egg salad at the store.

When I went to wash my plate and rinse out the little plastic tub of egg salad, I found, not eggs, but fish heads in the mix. I should have thought those were odd tasting eggs. This either states that I pay absolutely no attention to what I eat or, alternately, I am able to completely focus on my work. (Not that I mind little dead-eyed fish, just not when I thought I was eating eggs—it’s a matter of principle.)

This was a much better finding than the time I discovered I’d eaten most of a [name withheld] sports-snack bar that was riddled with an exotic moth larva (reading the newspaper at that time).