Blog 3

Dear government officials,

Imagine a world where you are starving and the only water that you can drink is from a dirty lake. Over 805 million people are going through this right now; and government officials are not paying attention to it. America, as a whole, should help and do more for poor countries and help end world hunger.

World hunger is an enormous problem in places such as Africa, Eastern Asia, and other developing nations around the world. We should lower America’s military costs and put that money toward helping feed people in these areas. For example, about one week of US Military spending would wipe out world hunger. America spends 30 million tours for the military that we could put to better use by not trying to build the most powerful military in the world.

To this date, thousands of people die because of world hunger. My suggestion is that, the government should make it a law to donate food to countries in need. Or at least make countries pledge to those nations that suffer from poverty and hunger. Also, advice others to not waste food by trying to eat all that is on their plate, or at least make it a left over for future meals. You should tell your favorite restaurants to make food and donate it to the poor. Successful restaurants should be required to donate a certain amount of food each year to help out. Similarly, tell people to donate their time to this worthy cause. They can work at the nearest food drive. If they do not have time to do that, they can just donate 15 dollars. This is all it would take to end hunger. Hope you do all you can to donate to people in need.

Although, donating food as aid or charity in non-emergency situations is also not always the long-term answer, either. Rather than benefiting recipients, such food aid has amounted to economic dumping, helping destroy local farmers and their production, while supporting and bolstering large agribusiness. Hunger and poverty have increased as an effect.

On the other hand, we also need to help other counties with their education. For example, we can help them by sending teachers or other people that are willing to help. We can also create a program the raises awareness to these countries and try to come up with school supplies for the less-fortunate children. If we provide better education for these children, then, we can help them with better opportunities in their future. Furthermore, we can do an education for food program where you get food free. That is what we can do to help with countries with the help of education.

In my opinion, the government is not spending enough time and money to end world hunger, just because we are in a so much better place, that does not mean that we should not act to help out our fellowmen around the world. So please listen to these ideas and try to help. Donations and education would help children who are starving. You and America could wipe out world hunger, through progress and teamwork.

Sincerely yours,

Alyssa Mae Marquez

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Amayah Jackson

9694 Lightheart Ave

Las Vegas, NV 89148

(661) 418-3978

Mayajackson13@yahoo.com

26th March 2019

Food and Drug Administration

10903 New Hampshire Ave

Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002

Dear FDA,

Most food that people consume is bought from a grocery store rather than made and processed by themselves, knowing that information it would be hard for someone to indicate how long they have until this food loses flavor or has gone bad. However you do not require the states to put expiration labels on their food, unless it is food for infants, and that is because of the nutrients they could lose which is very unhealthy for them. Food that has been expired is also bad for anyone not just babies, eating food past their expiration date can expose our bodies to bacteria that can harm us, causing vomiting, fevers, and diarrhea, although its ok to at some stale foods like crackers, that will not kill us. However eating bad meat can cause bacteria like Staphylococcus, Salmonella, Bacillus, Clostridium and Escherichia coli, two can kill you if not treated, and one is contagious.  In all i feel that it would be such a great help if all the state were required to put expiration labeling on food for the benefit of the people and their well being.

Sincerely,

Amayah Jackson

Tessa - Blog 3

Dear James Quincey,

            My name is Tessa Pieretti, I am a student here at the University of Nevada, Reno and I would like to bring to your attention all of the things wrong with one of your products, Diet Coke. Personally, I do not like soda because I think it has a gross taste and has far too much sugar in it, which brings me to my main point. Diet coke is nowhere near being considered “diet”. Unfortunately, so many people drink it because they actually believe it is good for them or healthy in a way. Although diet sodas do not have any regular sugar in them, they are full of artificial sugars which may be even worse. Some of these artificial sugars include aspartame, saccharin, sucralose or an herbal sweetener like Stevia, which are 200–13,000 times sweeter than regular sugar. Just this small part shows how bad it is for people. It is common sense to know that an artificial sugar that is 200-13,00 times sweeter than regular sugar is horrible for everyone’s overall health. The fact that it isn’t regular sugar just proves how many different ingredients you have to add to it to make it taste good, which makes it even more unhealthy. Now even though people know about the artificial sweeteners, we still don’t really know what exactly those are even made of, which is kind of scary to me. Not only does it have an excessive amount of artificial sugar, but it contains a lot of caffeine as well. Most people start drinking diet soda because it is supposed to have little to no caffeine in it, and they want to be healthier, but here you are serving diet coke with a lot of caffeine. The worst part of diet coke, is that it can increase your risk of a heart attack, as can any other soda. Action needs to be taken on this issue to help fix it. Because you are the CEO of Coca-Cola, I was hoping to propose a solution to this issue. Now the main issue is all the preservatives and artificial flavors. Obviously, we can’t take out the carbonated water or syrup, but we can add natural flavors instead of artificial ones. There are many different fruits, herbs, extracts, spices, etc. to use in soda. For example, lemon, oranges, pineapple, vanilla, almond, ginger, berries, mint, basil, lime. There is an endless amount on other ingredients that would make it so much healthier and it would be an actual Diet Coke. Another thing that may contribute to it, is not putting it in the aluminum cans. You should use a more eco friendly and biodegradable element than cans. It would be better for the environment and everyone living in it to use an alternative. I truly believe that if you use these precautions and you actually start to research different ways to do things to help everyone who drinks your products, you will be more successful. There would not be so much controversy around you and your company and the products that you guys sell.

Thank you for your time,

            Tessa Pieretti

Fate - Blog Post 3

Fate Jacobson
38 W 11th St, Reno,
Reno, NV 89503
Fate.Student@gmail.com

25 March 2019

Sonny Perdue
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250

Dear Mr. Perdue,

I’m reaching out to you in regards to the carbon emissions produced by
livestock, and how these emissions can greatly be reduced with a simple
solution.

Globally, livestock account for nearly 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Cattle alone account for 65% of these emissions, which means cattle is
responsible for roughly 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Now, the United
States only has about 10% of the worlds cattle population, so our cattle are
responsible for 1% of the world's Co2 emissions. It’s easy to dismiss this figure
as being insignificant, but, consider for a moment, a scenario where 1% of
victims who were murdered during the holocaust were spared. Bonaire,
Georgia (the city where you grew up and currently live) has a population of
around 16 thousand people, 1% of holocaust victims being spared would be
more than 10 times that amount of people (170 thousand).

It may seem dramatic and maybe even insensitive to compare the holocaust to
the consequences of global warming, but, it is a valid comparison when we
consider that by the year 2050, 250 thousand people will die each year as a
direct result of climate change according to experts. This would mean the Co2
emissions from our cattle today will be responsible for 2,500 deaths every
year. Unlike the holocaust, there won’t be some enemy for us to defeat that
will stop the suffering, instead, climate change will continue to cause havoc
over the decades. By 2060, 25 thousand people will have died as a direct
result of our cattle’s emissions, by 2150, 250 thousand people will die as a
direct result of our cattles emissions (this estimate is very conservative since I
haven’t increased the death rate of 250 thousand people over the years. That
rate is likely to be higher by 2060 and much higher by 2150). The point is, 1%
of Co2 emissions is very significant, and if we can easily diminish this figure,
we should. Not to mention the fact that the U.S. is a world leader and any
policies we put in place are typically mimicked in other countries, which means
any measures we take to reduce our emissions will likely have a large global
impact.

So here’s the easy solution, seaweed. Early research in california has found
that supplementing a tiny amount of seaweed in a cow’s diet will reduce its
emissions by nearly 99%. That’s it, that's the solution. The research isn’t final
but experts say the results are extremely promising and surprising.
Farmers today are already finding it difficult to meet emission regulations and
as these regulations become more strict over the next few decades, many
farmers will be forced out of the industry. Just a little bit of seaweed can slash
these farmers emissions and easily allow them to meet government standards.

So not only could 2,500 lives be spared each year by 2050, but more farmers
would also be able to stay in the industry and contribute to the U.S. economy.

Because of this, I believe the government should subsidize this new research
and subsidize it’s implementation immediately.

Sincerely,
Fate Jacobson

Daniel - Blog Post 3

To whom it may concern over the past couple years food has been going to waste when it can be given to the people in need. Many families buy food and it just sits in there house and it goes straight to waste and its bad for the people. Many people die through the year because they starve to death. This can help so many families and friends across the world. All the wasted food just piles of wasted food and that all could have been given to the people. This can be solved if people know they won’t eat what they buy then they could give it to the people that need it. But we just need to stop the throwing away of food when people can give to there community and make it a better place. Even when the due date is expired by a couple of days people don't need to throw it out so fast it can be good to eat for a little while longer after the expiration date. For the farmers they should not grow as fast so we don't was more food than needed. If we slow the process of getting the food ready for the people to eat so we could save food that way as well. People can send their food to a storage unit so that they can stockpile food for the people so they won't starve to death. Of course there will be some food that might be wasted because the people can not eat all of the food that is being made for the people. Also big store name brands can help bring communities together in making people share their food with the people in need. The more people we have on board for making this food change happen is only making the world a better place. Then when the storage unit goes across the country we can start helping out other countries with the same problems we are having in our towns. We could then help families with their food problems so they won't be starving for life as there community needs it the most.  If we help the other countries we will have a better relationship with them so we can make more beneficial problems that the people can fix for the world. If we can accomplish this we can change the world as a whole and help many families around the globe. It will take a group effort so we will need everyone to help out with send food to the people that need it. To end we need to do these things so that we can stop the hunger for the people that don’t get food on the daily.

Dalton - Blog Post 3

Dear Senator Cortez,

            My name is Dalton Taylor a college student at University of Nevada - Reno. Healthy food is not cheap, anywhere and on a college budget I cannot buy much of it. A bag of Lay’s potato chip or a soda I can buy on an extremely tight budget. I have always been told by my parents,coaches, teachers, and mentors to eat healthy. That everyday I should have 3 serving of fruits, 3 servings of vegetables, complex carbs, and lots of protein. However, I do not understand how I am suppose to provide with purchasing healthy wholesome food when for the same price for a bag of apples I can get a box of frozen pizzas.

            The businesses in the area around my university do not help eating healthier either. The private businesses within the outer perimeter of my college include a multitude of bars, many restaurants, and a couple of gas stations. Nothing really screams, speaks, or even whispers “healthy eat and shopping come here”. The food that is sold at these institutions is cheap but gas station food is supper unhealthy and no person/family can live off of dollar Big Macs for forever.

            As well, there are no grocery within walking distance of campus. The university does provide a shuttle service a few hours over the weekend for students to go to Walmart. However, healthy groceries are costly on a any budget especially one that is low budget.

            My grandparents inherited a farm from my great grandparents and fruit that was ediable was left behind all of the time because it did not meet the sells standards. As well I have read articles and news reports of how grocery stores just throw perfectly good food because the food has past a sell by date. Why do these grocery stores not donate this food that is good to eat and nutritious to food banks or colleges for people to eat?

            So much healthy food is wasted across the United States that is costly for people on tight budgets to purchase. The food is going to be throw away any. So Senator why isn’t this food either being lowered in price or being donate to food banks or programs at colleges? I grew up in a poorer income area and saw that families could not buy fruits and veggies all of the time because they could not afford it. And doing so people got sick a lot and some of my classmates were very malnourished. The school cafeteria was the only place some of my friends could get edible vegetables and half decent fruit. Seeing my friends and their families go through that and seeing my friends go through college and not be able to get wholesome food is honestly unacceptable because so much is being wasted. Fruits, vegetables, meat, and other healthy food is just to expensive, and I can see where families are turning towards fast food because it is cheap. But no one can live on fast food forever and eat out all of the time. The price for natural food needs to be lowered to save the human race.

Sincerely,

Dalton Taylor

Rigo - Blog Post 3

To whom it may concern there has been an ongoing problem with food in america that affects the entire nation and its people. The problem that has been going on is the mass food waste that happens everyday in every certain location. There is restaurants that waste food knowing that they can give it out to the homeless people or the families in needs that are starving day by day. I know this sound like a hard task to do for these types of restaurants but it really isn’t it all starts off by one person taking initiative and decide that a change needs to happen to reduce the lost of food. I can say this with confidence because I have done it myself multiple times, when I use to work at Subway the one at Legends Mall I use to rack up the leftover bread in a large bag and give it away to people that really needed it. Not only that but there will be times where the food was about to hit its expiration date so what I would decide to do is use that food and make something out of it even if I had to pay for it. Also throughout my years working at Qdoba there has been cases where plenty of food is being thrown to waste because they can keep if its a day old. So what I did is make bowls or just take the leftover food and notify my family to not eat because i’m bringing food from work. Simple task like these could really help out on reducing food waste all over the nation, it starts by one person then it will be followed by others. There has been facts stated by the USDA that the first ever food-lost and waste goal was launched to reduce food but before that was launched in 2010 they calculated approximately 31 percent of food loss comes from retail and consumer levels. This ended up being about 133 billion pounds of food lost which accumulated to be $161 billion worth of food. That is the amount of food that could end starvation on a wide scale also all that money being wasted could have been used to build schools or help people in need. Also on the article Why Americans Lead the World In Food Waste they stated that “roughly 50 percent of all produce in the United States is thrown away—some 60 million tons” Now that is 50 percent that could be easily saved by people and food companies.This all has to do with estimating how much food needs to be made throughout the day or how much food the person thinks they can intake before throwing away a whole meal. I always tell myself that I am only getting the amount of food I think I can intake because in my opinion wasting food is just horrible to me. It is time all americans realize that there is a major problem of food waste that can be easily solved if we all put in our effort together, this could end starvations and also save money for it can go to other things we need.

Sincerely,

Rigo cardenas

Blog 3

Dear Sukuma Brothers,

As you may already know, since this is regarding your workers and this is a huge problem that is starting to pick up a lot of attention. The many hard-working people working in your field, picking fruit day in and day out working in the hot sun and or inside a big manufacturing building are getting severely underpaid while working in horrible conditions. Where is the justice in that? Yet many of these workers are undocumented doesn’t make it them any less human. They have rights and are worth something just like everyone else in this world. While trying to find a solution for all of this is tough which I understand but certainly not impossible. Many of these workers have created a union and have began protesting just about everywhere tying to make a difference while putting immense pressure your company to sign a contract allowing union representation for seasonal Farmworkers. I believe with more and more pressure to you; the workers will succeed. They’ve already started a union called Familias Unidas Por La Justicia meaning Families United for Justice. When protesting this union really makes sure to emphasize everything that you guys do. For example, exploiting how in justice it is paying only 28 cents a pound but selling it for $4 a pound which is absurd. I feel like these workers aren’t asking for much for they should have already been provided with good working conditions, better pay, and overall have their products affordable toe everyone rather than racking up the price so much. And if your main concern is that these people are undocumented then don’t hire them in the first place, find other people who are documented and are willing to work in your conditions.  

Food waste control directed towards restaurants

To whom it may concern,

Food waste is a massive problem that can be solved if everyone did their part. In regards to restaurants, several efforts can be implemented throughout every department significantly decreasing the food waste from that restaurant alone. Reducing the amount of food that is not paid for by donating it to feed the hungry and integrating a strong recycling mindset in the workplace goes a long way. In addition, one can shift food waste from landfills to compost which betters the Earth and as animal food. Reports have stated that approximately 63 million tons of food is collected annually in the United States alone. A grand forty percent or 25 million tons of waste are brought out from consumer-facing businesses. Actions that can be integrated in restaurants can range from having smaller plates, decreasing the portions of food, promoting to customers to grab only what they will eat, and getting rid of trays. Smaller plates decreases the area of space that customers would have so they can actually grab a practical amount of food that they will finish. Same reasoning applies to decreasing portions of foods. Now, while voiding trays from their restaurants may seem odd, it decreases the average consumer from going back for seconds in a self service environment. Having rid of trays in a certain restaurant in Kentucky showed a thirty percent decrease in food waste. Although decreases the sizes is a sly way to go about decreasing the amount of food that would most likely be thrown away by limiting the space the buyer would have, verbally promoting to customers to grab only what they know they will eat or giving to a person in hunger nearby if it’s not all finished would be an effective method to lesson the amount of garbage that will end up in landfills. The importance of decreasing the number of food waste is countless that benefits not only the consumers from all over the world, and lessening the negative environmental impact, but the owners of food establishments as well. The amount of uneaten food in America for the year of 2008 in restaurants and homes was valued at a staggering three hundred and eighty dollars per person. By tracking the waste impact, it is a small investment that would bring more buyers to the diner which coincides with larger overall earnings. In a world where people are starting to see the negative impacts their daily actions can have on the Earth, possessing a place to eat that supports a “go green” mindset will encourage more businesses to do the same while gaining the support of the people. Outside of these methods, restaurants can also combine their efforts with organizations to offer their remaining food items to feed the homeless. Substances ranging from bread to meals that would have been thrown away at the end of the day.Actions stated and countless more to be thought about are what will help cut down the huge amount of food waste we add to an already enormous pile of garbage taking us a step closer to making the Earth a more suitable place to live.

Sincerely,

Angel Valdez

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Dear FDA,

Food is the what we need everyday to fulfill the nutritionist needs of the body. Sometimes we cannot differentiate between the “healthy food” and “food”. There are many factors that doesn’t make the food healthy and if the food is not healthy it cannot satisfy all the needs of the body. The major issue today with food is that people are not aware that some of the foods which they eat have added antibiotics and it can affect their health badly. Nowadays, people believe that they should eliminate sugars in there food because it causes diabetes or they believe that all the heart problems and other diseases can be genetics it is nothing related to the food. This mentality is causing so many problems because it is causing many diseases and people are not aware of the fact that what is the reason behind this problem and what they need to eliminate from their lives to stay healthy and avoid diseases. People needs to be aware of the fact that the major cause for diabetes is not sugar rather it is the amount of fats they take in everyday and nobody tells them. The meat is the major food which contains a lots of fats in it and people who are suffering with diabetes are not asked to avoid meat but they eliminate sugar from their  lives. And the most important thing the meat contains carcinogens in it and there are no caution on it at all and it is as dangerous as a cigarette can be which means if a person stop smoking he is still taking in a carcinogen which is equally dangerous .When people buy their kids the meat products nobody tells them that these are carcinogenic which can be very dangerous for kids. The problem is not with eating meat but the issue is added antibiotics and carcinogens to the meats and other food after knowing how dangerous they can be. If it continues to be like that situation can get even more critical. People think that diseases are genetics but they are not genetics it’s just that we are getting the same eating habits from generations which causes the diseases.There should be strict actions against that matter and precautions should be given before they buy it. People should know what is the main cause of the problem. And the food companies should stop adding the carcinogens to the meat and chicken because it is dangerous. If they start giving the precautions in that way people would know what they are eating and what they need to avoid to stay healthy. The FDA should put restrictions for the food companies so they do not add so many chemicals and carcinogens to the food and such food should have precautions on them because studies have prove that they can cause heart diseases and they can be very addictive so even when people try to avoid them it gets harder for them to eliminate such foods.

School Lunches

Dear National School Lunch Program,

I hope this letter finds you to be doing well. I am writing this letter in regards to health concerns in school lunches. After observing several schools I have noticed that hot lunch is not the hottest option in school. Our school system is promoting healthy living but not providing it to those who rely on the school lunch system.

After attending multiple schools I have seen the diminishing options of food that the school provides. School lunches are not nutritious for others to eat. The school may be perceived as healthy but the students are provided with greasy pizza, chicken, tater tots, old fruits, and occasionally a little salad. The problem here is that junk food is the majority of the plate. The food is not only unhealthy but is not edible for those who have problems with gluten or that are dieting. There is also a lack of flavor which causes many students not to eat during the school day. The last problem is the school lunches have bland flavoring and are sore to the eye.

School lunches make a bigger impact than we think. It has been proven that eating healthier food will help students learn and memorize more. They can also improve their concentration in class if they are provided with vitamin and minerals. There have also been multiple experiments to see the different behaviors of those who eat unhealthy to those eating healthy, the healthier the food the fewer problems the school had with behavior. Another great reason to give students healthy food is that it will improve their overall health and help them build great habits for the future.

The real task now is getting rid of the bad options we have now and finding healthier alternatives. One thing that is already provided in hot lunch is salad so we can expand that and give the students bigger portions, in fact, we can incorporate a salad bar into the lunchroom. Another way we can allow kids to eat healthy well keeping a low budget is soup. We can also provide students with fruits and vegetables. Now we have to capture the kid's attention and make them want to eat it. We have to focus on the presentation of the food. I am not saying put it on a golden plate but the food should look lively. A lot of food served is stored in a freezer for weeks. There are tons of local farmers everywhere that can provide healthy lively plants to the school. Now that we got healthy food we are halfway there, now we need it to taste good too. We can roast the vegetables, blend spices, and not over seasoning the sauces. There are tons of ways to find healthier alternatives well still staying well below the schools budget.

School lunches are not only destroying kids health but it also is affecting their academics. Today is the day we can start changing school lunches for the better. There are tons of healthier alternatives out there we just have to go out and find them. You will not just be changing kids lunches but you will change their life. They will be able to accomplish so much more physically and mentally. This small change will change American society forever.

Blog #3

Chase Rodie
123 Candyland Avenue
Reno, NV, 89511
(775) 111-1111
johndoe@gmail.com

March 27, 2019


Andrew Wheeler
Director- EPA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters
1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW
District Of Columbia, Washington, 20004

Dear Mr. Wheeler,

I write to inform you of a huge problem that lies within our country. This problem is the food excess that we contain. Every day we line our shelves and restaurants with more food than we can consume. According to Tristram Stuart who is a leading expert in this field we produce 4 times the amount of food we can actually can consume. The extra food we do not consume ultimately gets wasted and is thrown out. This is obviously not an efficient use of our food supply. This issue stems from our strict aesthetic requirements for food. Most supermarkets only allow certain types of food that consumers will pick. We need to change this view of how we see food that is not aesthetically perfect. Because ultimately we consume food because our needs it not because of what it looks like. Consumers today think that a misshapen pear or bruised avocado effects the nutrition that we are getting from the food while it most certainly does not. Even supermarkets now are selling bread loafs without the crust. Where does that crust go? It is thrown away and wasted. I understand that there will be food waste but the food that is being wasted can go to better things such as feeding the homeless. Another issue with food waste is the effect it has on the environment. To get all this extra food we are cutting down forests, depleting water reserves, and emitting fossil fuels at an unprecedented rate. We are ruining the environment just to mass produce food that we as a nation do not even need. Tristram for evidence used raw data to show food waste. He matched up the amount of food we have been producing with what was likely being consumed. This data showed that we had double the amount of food we were consuming in supermarkets in restaurants. Then coupled with the food provided towards livestock that was nearly quadruple in excess to what we are consuming. Our ancestors set out to achieve feeding themselves by farming 12,000 years ago but unfortunately now we are mass producing food we do not need and then throwing it away and ultimately polluting the earth in process by that food going to landfills. This problem is also not isolated in the US I urge that the US distinguishes itself in the fight to end food waste by educating our people and other Western civilized nations.

Dear,


Chase Rodie 

Dear Department of Health and Human Services,

There are various studies that have been conducted that there is an abundance of fast food places across the country. In the article Neighborhood Disparities in Access to Healthy Foods and Their Effects on Environmental Justice conducted by Hilmers et al.. in which they discovered that fast food places are usually placed in an area or district where the people in that area are in the low-income bracket and thus have no choice, but to purchase these cheap unhealthy foods due to their lack of money and resources to go to another place other than what is nearby. This is taking advantage of those who already don’t have money and encouraging them to buy these types of food which will eventually result in them wasting more money once they’ve got diabetes or obesity because of the food that is presented to them. These fast food companies should not take advantage of this group of low-income people because they already have their own struggles. There are various organizations that are trying to lower the rates of obesity or unhealthy eating habits, however, this can’t be done if in every corner a fast food place is there as the only choice to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In Fast-food culture serves up super-size Americans an article by Bridget Murray,  she does explain that obesity and unhealthy eating habits is in the genes, however because of the environment that people are living in right now they have no choice but to live their fate of becoming obese or having an unhealthy eating habit, “Genetics is what permits the problem to occur, but environment is what drives it”(Murray). It is our very own fellow Americans that is causing other Americans to live this kind of life because they want to make money off of people who already don’t make enough. There needs to be an equal ratio of disbursement of fast food places across the country, not just in poor neighborhoods. The stores that should be nearby shouldn’t be just fast food places there should be at least a few supermarkets so that people are still able to cook a proper meal and not just get some takeout. For every, fast food that is placed there should be a fair amount of supermarket stores that are built nearby these areas; a supermarket store that is walking distance so that people can’t make excuses eating unhealthy. People blame the system too for having an unhealthy lifestyle, but if they were presented of healthy options they wouldn’t be blaming the food industry anymore, but themselves for not having self-control. If these individuals were presented with all possible options for eating, they wouldn’t be forced into such a lifestyle of being unhealthy. Those who are in the Department of Health and Human Services should understand the crucial part of this letter which is that America is giving people an unhealthy way of living, therefore they can be the only one to fix it because their main concern is human and health.

Blog 3

Pamela DeLa Riva
1664 N.Virginia St.
Reno,Nv 89503

03/27/2019

Nutrition Services
Washoe County School District
585 Spice Islands Court
Sparks, NV 8943


Dear Washoe County School District,

       One of the biggest problem I noticed throughout the 12 years I was a student in the WCSD was constant food waste. For example, not all students qualified for free food, and the ones who didn’t would always take their own although the school always had plenty of extra meals. All of those meals would go directly into the trash after lunch was over. The school district had very strict policies when it came to school lunches. As of what I remember, every student had to turn in an application that would determine if the child qualified for free school lunch or not. The students that did not qualify had to take their own lunch or pay in order to get food at school. This was based of the income of the student’s parent/s. I also remember that some students would not get full from the food they were served, and as they would sometimes as for more, they would not allow them to get more. I found this unfair because everyone has a different intake amount and some children would still be hungry after finishing their meal. As I noticed this being a problem I always saw many easy solutions to this problem but the district had a total different perspective on it.

       Some of the solutions to stop wasting food in schools part of the WCSD are allowing all students to have access to free food, allow children to have a 2nd meal, and give the extra food away at the end of the school day. If all students were allowed access to free school food, there would be much more less food going to waste, and the number of students that consume would increase. This would not only stop food waste, but would allow the child to always have a healthy meal at school and would keep the parents from worrying about packing a school lunch everyday. Allowing a child to have access to a 2nd meal would not only keep a child happy and satisfied but it would help stop food waste. More meals would be consumed throughout the day, decreasing the number of food waste. One of the last solutions is giving away all the extra food instead of throwing it away. If the extra food was offered to students and their families at the end of the day, it would not only stop food waste but it would allow families who don’t afford healthy meals to have easier access to them.

       As there are many solutions to stopping food waste, many more can be proposed. I believe the ideas I mentioned should be taken into consideration especially because they do not ask for much. Not only would my solutions stop food waste, but they would keep more tummies full, and more smiles.

Sincerely,
Pamela DeLa Riva Moran

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To whom this may concern,   

The CDC estimates that 48 million cases of foodborne illnesses are reported each year. Then each year 128,000 people are hospitalized because of foodborne illnesses and 3,000 deaths. Foodborne illness is a frequent public health problem but can still be prevented if there were more regulations on food. Food poisoning affects about one in six people each year. Many foodborne outbreaks result from people consuming foodborne pathogens that are Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, and norovirus tend to be the most common. Restaurants tend to be one of the primary sources of foodborne illnesses outbreaks. These pathogens can get into food by contamination during manufacturing and distributing, improper food handling, contamination in stores, and unsafe practices on farms. But sixty percent of foodborne illnesses have been linked to restaurants. Since many restaurants tend to be on the news periodically because of foodborne illnesses. The health department tends to go to restaurants only twice or three times a year to do their inspections. The health department would send a health inspector more than three times each year if there were a complaint by a customer saying that they got food poisoning or if a restaurant has had previous problems keeping up with their regulations. The health inspectors have a point-based system to know if a restaurant will pass or fail the inspection. In order for a restaurant to pass the inspection, they have to get a 90 to 100 points. If they get 60 –80 points on the inspections which are a fail, but the restaurant can remain open which risks the public to get sick, and the health inspector will return to that restaurant to check if they have fixed the problems. Anything below 60 points the restaurant will be automatically closed for business. Then the health department only requires chefs, supervisors, and managers to have certification in food protection. Then one person has to have the certification in every shift. To get the certification, the employee must complete the sixteen-hour course before taking the exam. Each employee will have to be recertified every four years to keep their job positions. 

Meanwhile the cooks who are the people who mainly prepare the customer food does not have to have the certification in food protection. One solution to stop foodborne illness would have restaurants require all their employees that handle food to have the certification in food protection. Also, if there were more regulation on food in restaurants and farms, it would be easier to prevent people from getting food poisoning. The health department should be visiting restaurants more frequently to do inspections especially if the restaurant does not pass the inspection to make sure the restaurant will not go back to their old habits once the health inspector leaves for the second time. Then the certification in food protection should be retaken more often than waiting four years to pass by since people can forget how easy it is to contaminate food with pathogens.  

Sincerely,  

Celeste Marquez Suzan   

Malnutrition

To whom it may concern,

There are many countries that don’t get the option of food as much as places like the United States. It is obvious that starvation is a major world problem, especially in places like Africa. Africa sometimes deals with areas that are overcrowded, leaving people to share the little food they have. Not only are they starving for lack of food but also from not having the right food. Without the necessary resources we face the problem of malnutrition. Africa can be seen as one of the many places suffering from malnutrition and its effects. The lack of nutrition harms a majority of the people living their and creates this hard-to-end cycle.

With so many people dealing with this issue we can see how serious this affects people. Malnutrition results in many things like low weight, sad moods, less strength, higher risk of infections, the lowering of performance or intelligence, and many other problems. Malnutrition often leads to stunting and in many cases results in death. There are high numbers for the people who are affected by this ,a big cause of death of children in Africa is still because of malnutrition. Although Africa has great amounts of land that people suggest are good for farming, it is still hard to start this. Often times it is hard to cultivate the land due to expenses, or how hard it is to grow anything on the land. The land of Africa can vary from desert dry to wet rainforests, rarely the perfect environment for farming. The people can be very poor and those that do farm only have enough to farm for themselves. Even though they do farm they are often lacking important nutrients. All of this adds to the lack of healthy Africans.

This is a serious long-occurring issue. Although the numbers have slightly gone down, they are not decreasing quickly enough. With the lack of resources, the people are getting little food and the wrong kinds of foods. To fix this, research can be done to provide Africans with nutritious resources, such as foods and supplements. We can work together in getting people the resources they need, the vitamins, minerals and nutrients. We can learn and come up with ways to farm and cultivate more of the land in Africa, and look for ways to provide cleaner water. Doing this with a long term mindset will allow Africa to really improve. This cannot be done alone, and it takes money. Being able to raise money from donations or things of the such can allow people to make the difference. We can create realistic diets and put the emphasis on the children who are affected most, as well as teach the people how to efficiently farm. We can push the African government to do what they can to enforce more nutrient rich foods and provide better health care. We can work together, and unite to provide a healthier and safer food environment for Africa and most importantly the children.

Sincerely,

Gysel Hernandez

Blog 3: Food Waste=Starvation

To whom this may concern,

     Two of the major issues in America is food waste and starvation. A recently published study funded by the United States Department of Agriculture found that American consumers waste about one pound of food per day, or 225-290 pounds per year. With all that food waste we can feed people that are starving. To me it seems pretty clear, we need to stop throwing away perfectly good food and start donating it.

     One of the ways we can begin to fix both starvation and food waste is by donating the "expired" food. Expiration dates refer to food quality, not food safety, which is why they also have the label "Best by...". If the shelters are willing to take the "expired" food then I don't see why they shouldn't donate it instead of throwing it away. Another way we can help fix these situations is by donating the "ugly" food. Ugly food is the food that doesn't pass the FDA's standards. For example if a peach is oddly shaped it is considered ugly and is throwing away. Personally I think that this is one of the most ridiculous things, and I doubt a starving man/women/child is going to care if a piece of fruit is misshapen. The final way to help decrease food waste is by educating people on the situation. I'm sure if you gave people the cold hard facts on how much food they waste compared to the amount of people starving in the US they would waste less food(I know I would).  People just need to see how much they're wasting so they can realize what they're doing.

     This is a major issue that we, Americans, need to fix or it's going to lead to bigger problems later down the road. So by donating, saving, and educating we can change the way everyone deal with food.

Sincerely,

Sydney Hinkell

Blog 3

Dear FDA,

     As we all know when it comes to food, there are many regulations that have to be done before it can be sold to the public. First, they producer has to make sure the food is ready to be put out and not just sent out not knowing if there is anything wrong with the food. This is a major one because without proper sanitation for food, a lot of people can get sick and it can kill a lot of people. Salmonella is one of the biggest food borne illnesses out there. If the producer of a certain food for example fish, and they sell it with Salmonella in it because they did not check if it was clean or not, than it can kill a lot of people and they can get blamed and even sued because of it. Without food sanitation, than hundreds of thousands of people could die.
     Another problem with sanitation is that if you do not use the correct personal protective equipment or PPE, than it could possibly get the food contaminated. If you are working in the factory where they packaged the food and you cut yourself without knowing it than you could get the food contaminated and possibly get more of that food contaminated. Also, if you do not where gloves while you package the food and you have some sort of disease, than you could easily contaminate the food without knowing.
     Food contamination is a huge problem when it comes to packaging and even serving food. We need to make sure that we are properly checking to see if the food is properly handled and packaged before we sell it to anyone.

      Sincerely,
                   Evan Roy

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Dear FDA,

In America and Europe are the leading countries of food production yet, billion worth of food is wasted. Those countries agriculture and food industries are producing more food than needed to feed the citizen. Food is expanding to all kinds of different types of food, but there's a expires day on every food. Producing too much food in a short period of time is wasteful. Most food products in America are not eaten, and more food are being thrown out. There still the issue of hunger around the world, who struggle to receive food. Restaurants and markets are afraid of giving leftover food to those who needed it. The lack of understanding of the processes of donating food cause restaurants owes and farmers to throw away food, and it is more convenient for them to waste rather than give. They do not know that law enforcement supported food donation. They can sue donated food if there is an problem. So far there are only three cases related to the food donations. All the overproduce food is technically being trashed and send to landfill. Overproduction is damaging the ecological and expensive economically. There should have some changes in the thought of food being directly focused on marketing rather than actual usage to feed people. As the improvement of modern days food has become something that is luxury. Marketing has created a variety of strategy to promote their food. For example, the shelf on the grocery store is full of food, a better view for the consumers and the likely chance of buying it. Also, food has the brand to represent the company and new business related to food. There’s already have plenty of fast food stores, restaurants, food markets and more food business over these recent years. Therefore, food wastes will become more problematic over time. The school and government can enlighten us and the food business about the fact of the issue of the wastefulness of food are harmful to landfill. The rotten organic elements such as food are creating methane gas that is the significant pollution corporating to global warming. Organic food decomposes and becomes good fertilizer for plants. Control and reducing the amount of food being wasted. By producing sustainable food for the population and donating so food is eaten, not wasted. The separation of trash into different categories, which will improve the issue of the landfill. There is limited land to provide the increasing amount of debris we are producing. That why it is important to start as soon as possible to speed up the process of improving the separation of trash.

Sincerely,

Mandy Lu

Blog 3

Dear United States Department of Agriculture,

Most of the ethics now a days that farmers use are not good for the environment. Your industry is responsible for a little over one third of the green house gas emissions. These green house gas emissions are putting holes into the Earths ozone and also melting the ice in the poles. Each individual cow emits 30 to 50 gallons of methane a day through their stomach gas. Another thing that is effecting the environment is the over use of pesticides on crops. Chronic diseases are brought up from crops because they are essentially poisonous to keep the pests away so there is no way that it can be doing anything good for the environment or humans. Another point about farmers doing damage to the environment is deforestation. In the United states 260 million acres of land has been deforested to make room for crops. This is astronomical because trees are an essential part of our environment because trees can take CO2 and convert it into oxygen so trees are taking pollutants out of the air and turning it into oxygen so we can breath better. The next thing is water pollution. Agriculture uses around 70 percent of the earths clean water. Farmers are not using water effectively. One technique that farmers use is flooding their crops. This technique uses millions of gallons of water that doesn't all have to be used. Also all the huge tractors and other farming vehicles use fossil fuels that emit a ton of pollutants. This is first off wasting natural gasses and destroying the Earths surface from all the wear and tear that they do. The last issue is food waste. Farms all across America have a standard for their foods that they produce so if a product is not up to the farmers standards by physical appearance but is still completely healthy they will toss it because they do not believe it will sell. I believe that they should at least be donated rather than just thrown away. I hope that this letter can influence the people of your department a little bit.

Thank you, John Leland

School Lunches are Boring and Repetitive BLOG 3

Every day of middle school I was stuck to choose between pizza or a spicy chicken sandwich. For three years I was limited to only these foods and it became a boring routine. The food left no room for creativity or even nutrition. The chicken was often bits smashed together and frozen from a farm 1500 miles away. There's no way this kind of food can help students' performance in the classroom.
Kids need to be eating better food that isn't prepared so for in advance. A lot of kids look forward to the lunch meal and/or breakfast meal that they get at school because they don't get it regular anywhere else. Also, kids should be more educated on how to eat healthy and what foods are good for you. Teaching kids valuable life lessons with food can be a beneficial impact on the students inside and outside the classroom. It could help the population become more aware about what they are eating and not just the students. Having classes that teach students how to cook would also be very beneficial to the student. It could teach those who have a big role in their family to provide for the household in a great way. Its a good life skill that people should all have. Doing this in schools would also give some kids more of a motivation to go to school. Being able to have a class that you love going to everyday makes sure they are in the classroom getting the education that will help them out for decades. Food is such a big part of culture and our world and should be used more in schools to teach more life lessons and skills. 

Shaye Koszer The food we feed children.

I think that a problem we do not look at as a group is the amount of sugars that are in specific foods, or even just looking at how much sugars are in foods, epecially when it comes to children from elementary to college. The education given on foods is so limited that when it comes to things like natural sugars and added shugars many people think that they are the same things. Many of the schools lunches include starch, donuts, cupcakes, and basically anything that is high in shugar. Although the standards have changed the foods they are reciving are still unhealthy, and not neccesary for a healthy diet. The New York Times talks about the time children have to eat and of what they really will eat in that small amount of time. They say,  "Whether pressed for time or just grossed out, leave much of their meals untouched; particularly neglected are the fruits and vegetables, which they are now FORCED to put on their trays before they can exit the cafeteria line."
I understand the why specific foods are able to make it into the caffeterias. They are not expencive, and they taste good to the children who are able to eat them. However in the case that this could be a childs only lunch, for most, it should be one that has everything they need, and it should be longer them 20 minutes.

Dear Yogurt Shops

To whom it may concern:

I have been working at a yogurt shop for the past two years, and over my time there I have noticed many wasteful food practices being taught and are commonly accepted by most of the employees. many of the fresh toppings that are put out often are washed and prepped. In this process of washing the fruit, our job is to pick out any berry that looks like it has been rotted or beat up. No standard is taught so many of the employees throw out perfectly good strawberries and raspberries that can easily be salvaged for a topping. So how might we limit this fruit waste? Lets start with the rotted fruit, if there is a spot or piece of the berry that is effected and can be removed then use a knife and cut around it, rather than tossing half a carton of fruit into the dumpster because of some white fur growing out the pores of a strawberry. Second a lot of fruit can go bad if not properly stored or managed so STOP over stocking! Much of the food that is wasted is due to the fact that the establishment has over ordered fruit with the idea that the fruit will stay good for more than a week which would make sense if the fridge's temperature didn't fluctuate due to the active foot traffic a store with the majority of its inventory needing to be refrigerated. It is time to start making better conscious food choices when it comes to wasting "almost rotten" food. Less waste = less money spent its simple and easy to fix. 

Sincerely, Jackson Litchfield

Blog 3

Dear FDA,

   There is a problem occurring that has become an issue, which is the distribution of food around the world. Specially, the food being distributed around the world is unfair and unequal, as well as being unhealthy. Furthermore, the food being distributed around the world that is meant to feed the people are difficult to obtain due to high prices. Also, the food being imported from other countries can potentially be dangerous towards the public health due to lack of supervision or care into the foods condition and overall quality. Our food system is unjust because it does not provide healthy, affordable food to everyone. People in urban areas often have no access to any fresh food at all because there are no grocery stores. Likewise, rural residents in the heart of agricultural areas sometimes cannot afford to buy the very food they may help to harvest. According to a survey of farm workers in Fresno, county – conducted by The California Institute of Rural Studies – in 2007, 45 percent faced food insecurity. Also, children who are hungry at home are more likely to depend on school lunch programs for most of their nourishment. Also, the FDA is not authorized under the law to approve, certify, license, or otherwise sanction individual food importers, products, labels, or shipments. Importers can import foods into the United States without prior sanction by FDA, as long as the facilities that produce, store, or otherwise handle the products are registered with FDA, and prior notice of incoming shipments is provided to FDA.According to international and national NGO representatives, the government continues to hamper their access to the resettled areas. As a result, vulnerable persons, including former farm workers, are largely excluded from food aid provided by the international food program. Sources in the agricultural industry reported that the government restricts general distributions of international food in the resettled areas on the basis that such distributions would show that the land reform program has been a failure GMB distributions in the resettled areas have also been inadequate The government reportedly perceives farm workers as supporters of the Movement of Democratic Change (MDC). It also asserts that farm workers who receive food aid become food aid dependent and are unwilling to work. Sources familiar with the farm workers’ situation have found, however, that food aid enables farm workers to work their own plots of land rendering them more self-sufficient and financially better off. Without food aid, farm workers are often compelled to work for less than minimum wage as casual farm laborers in order to buy food.

Dear Washoe County District Health Department

To Whom it May Concern:
I was a student in WCSD for elementary through high school.  As a student I saw considerable food waste.  For example, if bananas were on the menu for that day and not all of them were eaten the kitchen staff were not allowed to just give them away.  According to your regulations, there was no guarantee of clean food practices.  I understand that there are regulations for safe food handling but I also believe that there needs to be reasonable regulations. Another example of food waste that I witnessed was with the main course. If you wanted seconds you would have to pay, and if you could not afford it then you would have to pass. After lunch everyday we would walk through the cafeteria, and watch all of the cooked food that did not get eaten being thrown away.  If it could be offered for free there would be less waste and less children that are hungry.  Also we would see the leftover bananas or other fruit get thrown out. A parent made a deal with the kitchen staff that when they were going to throw away a box of fruit the staff would call the parent.  The parent would then pick it up outside the cafeteria and take it to the food bank. It is against regulations for the kitchen staff to donate the extra food.  This makes no sense.  I think we can make a clear system for less food waste and therefore less hunger.
Sincerely,
Joel Constantino - Smith

Blog 3

To whom it may concern,

I am currently employed at C******* of the S**** working within the dining staff as a server for over a year now.
Throughout my time working here, I have first-hand witnessed restaurant food waste in multiple capacities.  A 2014 study found
that 84.3% of unused food in American restaurants ends up being disposed of, while 14.3% is recycled, and only 1.4% is donated.
That translates over to restaurants generating 11.4 million tons of food waste, costing about $25 billion per year. Food waste and
food insecurity are both very real and very large problems in the United States. At our location, every shift we throw away a
plentiful amount of unused foods such as full bins of bread, soups, and complete trays of entrees. Some nights the chefs will even
refuse to serve the leftovers to the staff without a meal ticket and right into the trash it goes in front of us. When I first suggested
donation, I was immediately shut down by the Dining Director due to legality and transportation, “It’s too much of a legal issue
if someone gets sick.” At the time I rescinded but there is actually no available public record of anyone in the United States being
sued because of harms related to donated food. This a very common misconception in the restaurant industry and unfortunately
contributes in a very large scale. The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act was passed in 1996, which protects
restaurants from civil and criminal liability should a recipient get ill or hurt as a result of consumed donated food. (Excluding
intentional and malicious causes.) I do although propose that rather than focusing on food banks for donation due to their high
volume deals, finding local soup kitchens and college pantries would be the most efficient and direct route. In hand with this,
establishing packaging procedures should be the main concern. It’s an investment to the Earth.

Donation is not the only way to reduce waste, it also has to be addressed and controlled down to the root by food waste
management. I first propose establishing waste audits and reinforcing procedures to go along. The primary goal of a waste
audit is to identify where waste comes from, so we can then find ways to reduce it, thus creates numerical values to generate
a blueprint for action. This can be done by providing the dining staff with logs to track not only what is being thrown out but
also why it’s been thrown out including the amount. By keeping a record, the kitchen will have a deeper
understanding/knowledge because it allows the opportunity to evaluate the inventory and maximize shelf life in storage.
We receive delivery every Tuesday and Thursdays, but often times the kitchen still runs out of an item. Not due to
consumerism, but due to what ends up being wasted. Disposables are also a very large issue at our establishment and I propose
offering incentives to promote eco-friendliness.

By initiating a partnership with organizations, donations would not only benefit the company but the community as well.
By self-reflecting and auditing food waste, a lot of money can be saved.

Sincerely,

Caro Serrano