Thoughts on Paul Bunyan

I know this is a little late, but I thought I would give my thoughts on the stories. Paul Bunyan is one of the most famous folklore characters there is, and has been for quite awhile. I always look forward to reading folk tales like this because I always seem to enjoy them, and the Paul Bunyan stories were no exception. Reading these stories always keeps you entertained, because something always comes up that you didn't expect. The use of hyperbole always keeps the reader wanting to know what other ridiculous thing the author can come up with. One of my favorite exaggerations is "Well, he twisted out of his harness lickety-split and stepped over the mountain to introduce himself" when referring to Babe the Blue Ox seeing a calf on the other side of a mountain. Exaggerations like these always seem to keep the story moving along. Paul Bunyan tales are a very entertaining read.

Contemporary Connection- Expectation vs. Reality

I don't know about everyone else, but I hate reality TV.  I hate it and openly criticize it, yet I can't stop watching it. Maybe it's because after a long day I want a show that doesn't require me to think, or maybe I just enjoy watching shitty things happen to other people instead of me.  Whatever the reason is, I watch it often, and I know there are many people who watch it religiously. However, there are certain people that take what they see on these shows way too seriously. I'm sure you're all already aware of this, but reality TV is anything but reality; it's often staged and/or scripted. (If this is news to you, I apologize for shattering that beautiful dream of entertaining, trashy TV. Also, Santa isn't real).  People that are not a part of American culture or people that are extremely naive will take the things they see on theses shows to heart and think that they are accurate depictions of American society.

This reminded me of  "My American Wife" and the viewership that it has. Almost everyone behind who is a part of the creative team of "My American Wife" choose which families to show and stage how they want them to be portrayed. The producers behind "My American Wife" are trying to tell viewers in Japan that this is is how Americans are, and that this is somehow an "accurate portrayal of the ideal" life to live. I know so many people who think what they see on reality TV shows are real and try to live their life like that. A classmate of mine became obsessed with tanning and became a party girl because she thought Jersey Shore was an ideal standard to live by, that it was somehow the cool thing to do.

So with that being said, is reality TV a lie? Many people know that it is [mostly] fake, but there are people that don't.  Reality TV is supposed to be mind-numbing entertainment, so is it okay if a TV advertises something as reality, when it's not as long as it's entertaining? Or should they just market it as a regular TV show?



Relevant material:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bustle/i-was-on-reality-tv-faking-real-life_b_4823714.html

http://thoughtcatalog.com/charlie-shaw/2014/08/31-reality-tv-show-contestants-and-producers-answer-how-much-of-the-show-is-actually-scripted/

My Year of Meats Discussion Leading- Austin Curreri

 

Discussion Questions 
"'You'll never get it on TV, not in Japan anyway. It's much too...real." (pg.343)

In this part of the story, Jane, Suzuki, and Oh celebrate the documentary-to-be they helped to film about the meat industry. However, a statement Oh makes seems to imply that due to it's content, this will not make it on to Japanese television, to which Jane says probably not American television either. Why not? Is the media, if the documentary is too real, fake? And if so, why?

"Akiko had plenty of very good reasons for leaving, and she wanted him to know each one. Only then could she be done with him, once and for all." (pg. 347)

In any relationship, a breakup can be devastating, let alone an abusive one. Akiko, after contacting Jane, is directed to stay with Dyann and Lara in Northhampton.  As she was settling in, she decided to write John Ueno a letter. Why does Akiko decide to write this letter, despite what he did to her? What will this action allow her to do, and what does it indicate for her future?

Contemporary Connection

http://www.thehotline.org/2013/05/finding-closure-after-abuse/


The contemporary connection I made is a list of steps to help recover from domestic abuse, which Akiko demonstrates throughout the last chapters. Pain is something we as human beings have to deal with, and recovering from this pain is essential to growth, or at the very least, to enduring.






Opinon?
What do you guys think of this book?

Contemporary Connections- My Year of Meats and American Ignorance

The Meat Industry has been working in the shadows for hundreds of years. Animals that are raised for slaughter on factory farms, which is a large number of them, have been given antibiotics and hormones for much longer then we have all been alive. These animals are treated as if they aren't even breathing at all; tortured and beaten, and often being ripped apart in these factories while still alive. Regardless, millions of americans still ignore the fact that animals are treated this way and disregard the unhealthy substances the animals are given. According to the article I've provided, many americans simply aren't aware of where their meat is coming from, which is similar to what Jane discussed in Chapter nine of My Year of Meats. The author of the article interviewed many students on a college campus and many of them didn't seem to understand what the animals went through to provide them with meat. The ignorance of Americans on this issue is what fuels the meat industry to continue making their riches. If people truly saw what was going on inside of these factory farms and meat packing factories, then they might think twice before they tried the meat that comes from there. People simply have to educate themselves or horrible industries such as this one will continue to grow and prosper.

http://www.thecorsaironline.com/lifestyle/2010/05/04/ignorance-fuels-meat-industry/

Contemporary Connections: My Year of Meats and Infertility

Contemporary connections: My Year of Meats and Fertility treatments

In the novel “My Year of Meats” Jane and Akiko both struggled with not being able to have a baby. About 6% of married women in America are infertile. This leads to many alternatives to having a baby such as adoption or fertility treatments. Many of these fertility treatments have negative side effects and can even lead to birth defects. The most common fertility treatment is in vitro fertilization. In vitro fertilization is the process of manually combining sperm and an egg in a laboratory and then inserting the embryo into the uterus. The average cost of one cycle of this method of fertilization is roughly $12,400 around the United States. Other options include injecting hormones into the women's body to help start or regulate ovulation. While these methods are currently viewed as safe, we cannot determine the long-run side effects as they have not been around long enough.

Success rates of In Vitro fertilization

• 43% for women under age 35
• 33-36% for women ages 35 to 37
• 23-27% for women ages 38 to 40
• 13-18% for women ages over 40

Risks of Fertility Treatments:

Multiple Births

Having a multiple birth is the biggest health risk associated with fertility treatments. Having multiple babies at once can be a health risk to both the mother and the babies.

Ovarian Hyper-Simulation Syndrome

This is caused by an over-reaction to fertility drugs that are used to stimulate egg production. Ovarian hyper-simulation syndrome is when cysts form on the ovaries and fluid collects in the abdomen.

Ectopic Pregnancy

An ectopic pregnancy is when an embryo implants inside the fallopian tubes rather than the uterus. This can cause a rupture through the fallopian tube and internal bleeding.

Birth Defects

 Some research suggests that fertility treatments can lead to a higher risk of birth defects in newborn babies. 

 http://www.hfea.gov.uk/fertility-treatment-risks.html 

http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/Infertility/Index.htm

Paul Bunyan/ Pecos Bill

These tales, are a lot like legends, as they explain why certain land marks came to be. They also offer plenty of feats that make these people out of this world, Paul having to be woken up by blasts of the British Navy and Pecos Bill being raised by Coyotes.

I also noticed that within these stories, they seem to imitate how this story might have been told originally. I also noticed this in certain versions of these stories animated, like Disney's Paul Bunyan

Link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uPt822HC5w

and a Rabbit Ears version told by Robin Williams.

Link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNswbV4BLWk

It's also cool to notice the difference between the two versions.

Discussion Leading- My Year of Meats 10+11

My Year of Meats- Allison, Rachel, Kendra, and Bella

Chapter 10 Summary

Jane begins the chapter by telling the story of the production crew trespassing on private government property because they didn’t research the area in which they were going to be filming in. Dave is introduced as a new character and serves as the production crew’s driver through Colorado. Dave is very talkative about the agriculture of the West, which keeps Jane interested for most of their time driving.

Akiko faces medical complications from the sexual actions of John but is not aware of the severity of the complications.

A new episode of My American Wife is to feature a woman named Bunny Dunn. Part of this episode will feature the family business called, “Dunn & Son, Custom Cattle Feeders.” Gale Dunn is the son of Bunny and her husband John and he has a lot of control over the business. Jane’s primary interest seems to be questioning Gale on what he feeds or gives to the cattle. Gale admits to feeding the cattle recycled plastic, cow pieces, and manure, combined with shots of the hormone Lutalyse which aborts pregnancies in cows.

Rose is the five-year-old daughter of Bunny and John, who is discovered to have fully formed breasts. Jane recognizes that the cause of this could potentially be the hormone DES. Bunny agrees to interview with Jane and the crew regarding Rose’s condition, showing them her advanced puberty in an effort to raise awareness to the issue. Jane questions Gale on the matter, and he denies any responsibility for it. At the conclusion of the chapter, the crew visits the slaughterhouse and Jane is knocked over by a hanging cow and is unconscious.

Chapter 11 Summary

Akiko awakens in the hospital with no memory of how she got there and the only thing she could remember before waking up was her crying through her bleeding eye. The nurse gives her a note from her husband which basically says not to tell anyone that he had hurt his wife, and that what happens between husband and wife, stays between husband and wife.

Jane finds herself covered in blood and Suzuki explains to her that it wasn’t her blood, but that she fell into a pool of blood in the slaughterhouse. The injuries Jane has are a small fracture and a concussion. Jane discovers that she lost her baby due to a miscarriage and she blames herself for it. Bunny tells Jane that Gale had told her that he never gave Rosie anything. Jane asks the doctor if she can see her baby but is then informed that the baby was incinerated immediately after removal and that the baby would have been a boy. Jane tells Kenji to find and keep her tapes but he tells her the tapes have been destroyed and that she has been fired by Ueno. Sloan calls and Jane informs him about the miscarriage and he is upset.

Akiko tells Nurse Tomoko that her husband had raped her and that she knows she’s pregnant because she saw it all happen the previous night. Akiko tells Tomoko that she needs to leave the hospital and Tomoko tells Akiko that she doesn’t want her going back to her husband and that she must leave him immediately.

Jane’s mother tells her that she threw away her baby but Jane explains that it was a miscarriage. Her mother tells her that she lost four babies before Jane and that when she and Jane’s father tried for a fifth baby, she would have a go-en in her mouth. She said that when she and Jane’s father got really drunk one night, she accidentally swallowed the go-en and that’s why Jane was born. Jane tells her mother that the medicine she was on when Jane was still inside her is the reason she had the miscarriage and Jane’s mother slips her a go-en when they say their goodbyes.

Akiko returned home when John calls and immediately after her conversation with him, she calls a travel agency to start her escape plan. Akiko invites Tomoko over and takes a pregnancy test to prove she is pregnant. Bobby Joe Creely is playing on the bus Akiko is on and she smiles because she feels as though she’d finally done something “worthy” to the women in Bobby Joe’s songs.

Discussion Questions

1. “Forget it. I gotta do something. You guys are journalists. Maybe you can figure out a way to help.” (275)

This quote shows that Bunny’s reasoning behind exposing her daughter’s condition is to try to make people aware of the issue so a cure could possibly be found. Bunny exposes her daughter to these journalists completely, showing them her symptoms after she was given a sleeping pill. Do you think it is okay that she exposed her daughter in the way she did? Or would simply talking about her symptoms (instead of showing them to journalists) be sufficient?

2. “In the dust lay a slimy, half-dried puddle containing a misshapen tangle of glistening calf-like parts--some hooves, a couple of bent and spindly shins. It was an aborted fetus, almost fully grown, with matted fur, a delicate skull, and grotesquely bulging eyes. Suzuki rotated the lens into a telephoto setting, but even without it, through the swarms of flies, I could see that the eyes of the calf were alive with newly hatched maggots.” (267)

This quote shows the blind defiance that John and Gale (a.k.a Dunn and Son) have when it comes to enhancing the outcome of their product, beef. They inject ALL incoming female cattle with Lutalyse to abort any pregnancy that may be in term, no matter how far along they are, as well as the non-pregnant cattle. What do you think about the substances being injected into the cattle? Do you think that this is a message the author is sending to the audience about current/modern farming practices?

3. “It doesn’t matter so much for a son, but since she’s a girl, I want her to be an American citizen. So she can grow up to be an American Wife.” (318)

This quote emphasizes the difference of having a son and a daughter in the Japanese culture. In Japan it is a lot harder to raise a girl than it is a boy.  Akiko wouldn’t care to move if she was having a son, but since she thinks she is having a girl she plans on moving to America.  She wants her daughter to feel free to do whatever she wants in life, even if she doesn’t follow the traditional the Japanese culture. What do you think the significance is that Akiko is certain her child is a girl, but Jane is unable to carry her son?

  4. “I pressed my face into the rigid fabric and wept, which got me all covered in blood again, and then I didn’t know what to do with the clothes, and in the end I just walked out onto the street and threw them in the garbage, figuring, it’s New York; there’s something bloody in everybody’s dumpster.” (Jane-pg.303)

What do you think this says about what Jane thinks of New York? Do you think this is more of a literal statement or a metaphoric statement? In other words, do you think that people literally have bloody things in their dumpsters or do you think it’s a metaphor for everyone having an important secret of some sort?

Contemporary Connection

Currently, there are six steroidal hormones approved by the FDA for use of “food animals.”  

http://healthychild.org/easy-steps/keep-hormones-and-antibiotics-off-the-menu/

Extended Discussion

Below are two websites discussing cattle slaughterhouses. I tried to find two articles with opposing views on the matter so you could get “both sides of the story”. I know there is a lot of reading so, I’ve attempted to shorten it. In the first article read through  So most people think of a cow as something that's out grazing, and then is taken to the slaughterhouse. The second article answers six questions, read three of the six.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/meat/interviews/pollan.html

http://animalhandling.org/ht/d/Faqs/pid/26755

The "I hate "John" Ueno" Fan Club

Looking into the last few chapters we had to read; and Jane and Akiko finally crossing paths, I feel like there was so many connections that led to this very moment. Both women believe they do not need a man when it comes to actually raising a baby, both have issues when it comes to infertility, both women were paired up with their significant other though either a business associate or friend,  and sadly both have to interact with "John" Ueno. Near the end of chapter 9 I have so much pent up rage for this character. I would say that a Akiko should just easily leave him. but as mentioned in the text, it is shunned against to do so in the Japanese culture. Both girls represent their own cultures and it really shows a reader just how much you get assimilated into your own nation. Jane is this free, sassy, independent, opinionated women. But her having the free range of being raised in the "land of the free" its understandable as to why she is as out spoken as she is. Some simple examples can be seen: 1) in her ongoing research of the meat packing industry in order to expose them of the harm they are doing to people 2.) Her views of the baby, the fact that she will keep it whether Solan is happy with that or not, even though he states is her body and she can do with it as she likes. 3.)Just look at the way she responds back to Ueno in her emails(can some one say SASSY). Now lets take a look into Akiko's personality and her relationship with her husband Joichi. Akiko is reserved, very shy, secretive, and rolls with the punches (literally, sadly). Some examples can be seen with : 1.) Akiko keeping her fertility and menstruation a secret. 2.) Her secretly faxing Jane. 3.) Her sticking around despite John being abusive not just physically but mentally. (I believe she was hit around 5 times in just one chapter). 4.) She bows her head and stays silent around John rather than speaking up. Just like the set cultural rules and bindings of the Japanese Culture, and how delicate it is, we can see this through Akiko herself.
The news that was brought up about the meat packing industry and the causes of cancer back in the 1980's (Believe that was mentioned in chapter 6). I actually texted my mother about DES to see if could have any impact on the people we have lost in my family to cancer, and my dad who is currently under going the battle. The thing about the meat industry is there is absolutely no way to escape it unless you are made of money, or you follow under the dietary choice of vegetarianism. But sadly any food we eat that comes of the market could be possibly touch by some form of genetic modification. Some drug, hormone, or pesticide that keeps it from going bad, grows it quicker, and lets not forget to mention how fat or larger it makes the food. The meat causing a lot of infertility issues and miscarriages, I don't mean to be horrible but, it could honestly be the thing that can stop the over population that is occurring in America. It really the ironic part of the whole situation. We do this genetic modifications in order to get more food quicker, in order to feed more mouths. But yet the same food we are pushing and eating, could be the future reason to the plummeting drop in population.

My Year of Meats Chapter 9 "A few random thoughts"

• I find it interesting that as Akiko struggles with her identity so is Jane.  Yet, Akiko "looks to" Jane to assist with her newly acquired hunger of freedom and independance from "John".    
• In reference to the Upton Sinclair's novel, The Jungle
•  Even though I was aware of the important role that the meat industry played while reading The Jungle it was the role which social class played within the storyline that I was drawn to. Although the meat industry plays a critical role in My Year of Meats it is the various human interaction and as well as their transformations that creates a storyline which I can identify with. 
• I've also noticed that not everything/everyone is as it seems. Of course we know this to be true with My American Wife! yet it is also true with the various characters within the novel. We, as readers, understand the thoughts, wants, and needs of the characters yet as they interact with each other they are not their authentic selves.  In some cases, such as Akiko's, it is because they themselves are unsure as to who they are and what role they play within the relationships they are in.   
• I enjoyed the blooming sisterhood between Jane and Akiko within this chapter.  
• Jane identifies with Akiko as they are both at a crossroad.
• While reading through these chapters I am constantly thinking of flesh, cells, fluids, beef, and meat and what the real difference is between "us" and "cattle".      

Chapter 9 thoughts

I really enjoyed reading this chapter.  I liked how the first half of the chapter was mainly faxes. It made the chapter go by really quickly and found it's contents to be very interesting.


I like the fact that Jane was reaching out to Lara and Dyann to get research for her little project. I just find it funny how she used them to help promote the show, but she's also using them to turn it around.


I loved seeing Akiko take charge. She got the courage to write a letter to Jane, and ask for her advice. It takes a lot to tell someone how much something as simple as a TV show has such an impact on your life, and then share personal problems with them..to someone she really doesn't know. And  it's heart breaking seeing that she's starting to blossom and she's still going through these hardships of being made fun of by the Laundromat wives and, being abused by John.


Sloan and Jane's relationship is so uneasy because neither of them know what to do about the baby. I would love to see this relationship work out.

Chapter 9-further discussion of meat industry

Chapter 9 is very interesting for a number of reasons. I enjoy the chapters that talk exclusively about the meat industry; it is interesting to learn more about a topic I knew very little about before. I like the way almost the entire chapter is written in emails, faxes, and journal entries, and it is still able to develop the storyline. Jane's story is the focal point of this chapter. Jane goes through a serious internal struggle during this chapter. She needs the current job she has on the set of "My American Wife!", but the people running the operation, such as John Ueno, seem to think there is nothing wrong with the meat industry, but we all know at this point that that is far from true. Jane continues her research on the corrupt industry, and finds even more horrifying evidence about what goes on inside factory farms and other such places. She finally works up the courage to tell Ueno that she has been researching the meat industry and has found out about the drugs and hormones they use on the animals, and that he should be cautious in how they proceed with their process. In his response, he essentially tells her to mind her own business, and assures that BEEF-EX is a business of integrity and honesty, and they have the highest quality meats. Based on Jane's research, this could not be a bigger lie. After this, she is picked up by Sloan at the airport and she informs him of the research she has been doing. He is impressed, but doesn't seem quite as concerned about the situation as she does. John Ueno also continues to treat Akiko poorly, which is nothing new. At the end of the chapter, Akiko informs Jane that John Ueno is heading to Colorado, which is of huge concern to her. I believe that Jane will not give up on her research of the corrupt meat industry, and she will find someway to put a stop to this show; not because she wants to, but because she has to for her own moral reasons.

Chapter Nine Thoughts

After reading through some of other people's thoughts, I wanted to give my response in a post, rather than commenting on everyone's. Personal preference. Pat had said: "I find it interesting that Jane is pregnant and needs her job for the obvious support of her child but she is so driven and such a documentarian that she may be willing to lose her job to show what the meat industry has done and is doing to the human condition."  which I find interesting as well. In a sense, she's risking her child's life. How so? Well, if she loses her job, she cannot support her child, or at least support her child as easily. Not to mention, even supporting herself. I understand determination for something you're passionate about, but I think that when it comes to survival, and a kid, whom I'm to assume that she will/already does love, you need to put those needs first. Like Madi, I too would take the approach to quote "get inside the head who is in the factory everyday." There's no better way than working with someone who is involved directly in the issue you're looking into. When Akiko wrote that note to Jane about where she could find happiness, that didn't really click with me. The only reason I say this is because everyone's happiness is different, and I don't think that you can really find it in a certain place. I think it's more of a "figure it out on your own" sort of thing. I think people can aid you in to how to find your happiness, but they cannot tell you where it is, what it is, or find it for you. If any of that makes sense.

Chapter 9

Chapter 9 was probably the easiest chapter to read in the book so far, in my opinion.

While Jane's story was interesting, Akiko's is the part of chapter 9 that made me want to keep reading. It felt like an eternity between the time that she sent the fax to Jane and the time when Jane finally saw it. I also liked how Jane's response is on page 233 and then when you flip the page it's straight to John reading the fax. It almost felt like a really cheesey scene change in a movie, but reading it the only thing I could think (at the top of page 244) was “Shit. This isn't going to go well.” and it didn't. John Ueno may really be one of the most easily dislikable characters I've ever read.

It was also pretty disturbing that on page 228 after Jane tells Kenji that Ueno tried to rape her, his response was that she simply didn't understand. Cultural differences aside, I can't imagine how someone could have so little empathy for another person that the response of “you don't understand how these things work” would seem reasonable. It's rape. It's not something that she can not understand. This novel certainly doesn't paint Japanese men in a very good light. Aside from Suzuki and Oh, every Japanese male in this story is not only detestable but easily so.

Last class we talked about having sympathy for John Ueno and that he only wants the show done his way, despite the increased ratings. I think this is because his objective is to sell more meat that raises money for BEEF-EX, not to simply have good ratings on the show. Most of Jane's shows that have had great ratings have been shows that didn't sell meat. For example, even though the lamb show had great ratings, it made BEEF-EX companies no money. The lamb came from Australia and BEEF-EX is for American meat producers. That said, John Ueno is simply too horrible of a person to feel any sympathy for, especially after Chapter 9. How he treats his wife is disgusting, even how he speaks to her is horrible.

I'm really hoping that Akiko leaves John while he is gone to Colorado in the next chapter. I also really hope that she doesn't end up pregnant with his child now. In my mind, she would be so much better off cutting him out of her life all together than having a child, which would link them together forever. Especially because I'm going to guess that being a single mother in Japan isn't a very easy task.  

Chapter 9, miss you guys!

I love that chapter 9 is solely focused on the meat industry. A lot of the other problems facing Jane in the book are put to the side so she can finally reveal the truth about the meat industry. Jane uses a family in particular for her movie, who's husband is in the meat packing industry. I  personally thinks this shows a new side of Jane, quite cunning. She wants to get inside the head who is in the factory everyday. Personally, that is an approach I would definitely take.
A lot of Akiko in this chapter is about her finding her true happiness. I think the development of both characters is really coming into play. I think that as both of their bodies change so much, they can let go of some of the negatives in their lives and be able to focus on the future (in Akiko's case) and focusing on being able to complete her documentary and airing her next episode which will show a huge reveal to those watching (in the case of Jane)

Chapter 9 Discussion Fun

I find it interesting that Jane is pregnant and needs her job for the obvious support of her child but she is so driven and such a documentarian that she may be willing to lose her job to show what the meat industry has done and is doing to the human condition.  Sorry for the run-on there.  On page 211 Jane sends a letter to the infamous John Wayno saying that she is ethically troubled portraying the meat industry in a false light.  She explains that the research that she has obtained is proof that the meat industry is a direct cause to sterility in men and the cause of some cancers.  With this being said I think we can go back to my discussion of overpopulation that I brought up in discussion leading.  Whatever your opinions may be about our Earth's sustainability, having seven billion mouths to feed makes it difficult to produce meat at an effective rate, which is why our cattle are pumped full of antibiotics and hormones which then negatively effect us.  Why don't we ever talk about regulating the human population? Why do we always recognize problems, discuss problems, but then do nothing to correct them?  I also was offended that male hamsters have a more effective sperm count than human men :1
We also see Akiko breaking free of John's grasp, as well as breaking free of the Japanese traditional housewife image and the idea that her job is to make babies for John.  She writes a fax and in it she describes how life changing the episode with the lesbian couple was for her and the episode with the "black woman".  She doesn't want to be John's wife and she sure as hell doesn't want to have his kids and she feels as if her life has been a lie.  All of this is due to the authenticity of the families that have recently been documented in My American Wife! and the realness that the show is portraying.

   

 Brief Chapter 9 Summary:

         In chapter 9 of My Year of Meats, Jane finally decides to expose the beef industries. With the help of Dyann she is able to gain more information about the industries and what they are doing to its buyers. Dyann gives her articles she wrote about the pharmaceuticals in feedlots use in the past to help Jane get a better understanding. Jane then chose two families to observe. One family included a husband who owns a feedlot and the other family where the husband worked in a beef industry. In order to hide her actual intentions of observing the families, she sends her information to Ueno and hides their occupations and focuses on their family life.
         While I was reading this part of the chapter I just kept thinking about the book, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. Jane is on the hunt for exposing the beef industries just like Sinclair did. His purpose of The Jungle was to show the conditions of the meat industries. All the health violations that we read about in My Year of Meats reminded me of The Jungle. These stories were published to show to public what is going on "behind the scenes" of meat industries. I think it is really bold of Jane, and Upton Sinclair, to gather all this information and to share to the public.

Contemporary Connection: My Year of Meats and American Over consumption

When I think of America I think BIG. America is a nation that consumes a lot; we can't help but over indulge. Americans are struggling with obesity while in other countries they are struggling with famine. We don't know our limits with any of our resources; not food, not with buying unnecessary goods, not with our fossil fuels. 

• The United States, with less than 5 % of the global population, uses about a quarter of the world’s fossil fuel resources—burning up nearly 25 % of the coal, 26 % of the oil, and 27 % of the world’s natural gas.
• Calculations show that the planet has available 1.9 hectares of biologically productive land per person to supply resources and absorb wastes—yet the average person on Earth already uses 2.3 hectares worth. These “ecological footprints” range from the 9.7 hectares claimed by the average American to the 0.47 hectares used by the average Mozambican.
• the U.S. ranks highest in most consumer categories by a considerable margin, even among industrial nations. To wit, American fossil fuel consumption is double that of the average resident of Great Britain and two and a half times that of the average Japanese. Meanwhile, Americans account for only five percent of the world’s population but create half of the globe’s solid waste.

Americans are fueled by greed and love over excess and the Wal Mart Mentality epitomizes that. In the book they talk about how the character Suzuki loves Wal-Mart. "the capitalist equivalent of the wide-open spaces and endless horizons of the American geographical frontier. All this for the taking! Your breast expands with greed and need and wonder...I was learning. This was the heart and soul of My American Wife!; recreating for Japanese housewives this spectacle of raw American abundance"(pg35). The power of access. They talk about how they want the American culture of over consumption brought to Japanese house wives. "want is good" but how much want is too much? When will it be enough, when we run out of all of our resources, when we are forced to look at our lives?  "...because profligate abundance automatically evokes its opposite, the unspoken specter of dearth"(pg35).

  

http://business.time.com/2012/07/02/ten-ways-walmart-changed-the-world/slide/the-culture-of-overconsumption/

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/810

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/american-consumption-habits/

Contemporary Connections: My Year of Meats and Lack of Diversity in Television

In My Year of Meats, Jane and her colleagues are producing the show My American Wife. This show is supposed to promote the products of BEEF-EX and showcase All-American families with All-American values. The Tokyo Office sends a fax saying:

DESIRABLE THINGS:
1. Attractiveness, wholesomeness, warm personality
2. Delicious meat recipe (NOTE: Pork and other meats is second calss meats, so please remember this easy motto: "Pork is Possible, but Beef is Best!")
3. Attractive, docile husband
4. Attractive, obedient children
5. Attractive, wholesome lifestyle
6. Attractive, clean house
7. Attractive, friends and neighbors
8. Exciting hobbies

UNDESIRABLE THINGS:
1. Physical Imperfections
2. Obesity
3. Squalor
4. Second class peoples (12).

This is not a true representation of America. The majority of the families My America Wife uses are Caucasian families who look appealing to the eyes. While this is the majority of families they showcase, there are a small number of families that do have imperfection. They chose to use the Bukowsky family because the daughter was not born with her disabilities, but they were caused by an accident involving her and an automobile. They also decided to showcase a married lesbian couple, Lara and Dyann, but Jane did not believe that would go over well with her bosses. She says, "I mean, lamb was one thing, and lesbians were another, but vegetarian lesbians were something else entirely" (174). And of course, she almost gets fired.

This novel takes place in the early 90's where it was rare to see people of color or LGBTQ characters on a television show. In recent years, there has been an increase in diversity of characters, but it is still nowhere near the actual representation in America.


This chart is from a study done in 2013. I focused on the top seven articles when doing my research. America is a melting pot of different cultures, races, sexualities, and ethnicities. Most shows try to create a realistic representation of America, but they do not include diverse people. Granted, not every place in the United States is as culturally diverse as others, but people like to see themselves and their cultures represented in the media, and most are not.

Since 2013, there have been an even bigger increase in television shows that have diverse casting. How to Get Away With Murder and Orange is The New Black are just two of the most recent TV shows that have a variety in racial and sexuality identities.

Diversity in television is becoming more common and embraced as we continue to move on. While it still is not up to what is actually realistic, there have been great strides since the time when My American Wife would have aired in Japan.

How to Get Away With Murder

Orange is The New Black

http://www.buzzfeed.com/regajha/race-and-gender-diversity-on-television-vs-in-the-united-sta#.riddDneE8

Contemporary Connections: My Year of Meats and Lobbying in America

Lobbying plays a large part in My Year of Meats. Underneath Jane's struggle to be a documentarian that makes a difference is the BEEF-EX lobby. They attempt to further the show simply to sell more meat. Today lobbying is a huge part of American politics. Framers of the Constitution attempted to keep special interests from obtaining too much power and control over the government. However, the Supreme Court has upheld their right to do so under various amendments, such as the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has also allowed corporations to have the same rights as citizens to justify their ability to lobby government officials for their interests.

Today there are lobbies for nearly every major industry or union fighting to affect change that benefits their interests. The meat industry is no different and many real lobbies exist for corporations that benefit from less regulation. Some of these lobbies are the American Meat Institute, the National Meat Association, and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. While they claim to simply be using their knowledge and experience to help enact laws that are best for both the people and the corporations the reality is a bit different. For example, in 1995 the USDA (the portion of the federal government that develops policy on farming and food) attempted to implement new regulations for food safety because of an E. Coli outbreak at Jack in the Box, which caused 700 people to become sick. In response, the meat industry did all it could to slow the introduction of new regulations. James Walsh an upstate New York Representative, who happened to have received $65,000 from the agriculture special interests in the 1996 election, forced the USDA to conduct more extensive hearings before implementing the new food safety regulations. This would have prevented the regulations for up to two years which would have effectively killed change. The industry would have had the same level of inspection as they had when Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle. Only thanks to public outcry was the meat industry forced to compromise and negotiated for new meat inspection rules. This is far from the only example of the meat industry using lobbying to effect or prevent change.

The amounts various Meat Industries spend on lobbying

In My Year of Meats the BEEF-EX lobby is existent but appears as almost a passive player in their role. The only people who really seems to care about the lobby are “John” and at times Jane. This is understandable because the novel isn't about the meat industry as much as its about Jane's experience. However, I believe it's important for people to have at least some understanding of how lobbying can affect their everyday lives. BEEF-EX is definitely having some type of affect on Akiko and Japan. After the episode about lamb all of lamb in he country sold out which made the news. Akiko and many other people are buying the meat that is shown on the show and attempting the recipes. Those are a lot of people buying a product that they may not have bought before due to the show. First and foremost My American Wife! is about making the meat industry money; and its working. 

Throughout the novel Jane does learn a bit about the meat industry and tells the reader of the harm they have done. For example, they cut costs by giving cattle synthetic estrogen to help them grow bigger, quicker and with less feed. They then fought change when it was revealed that there could be negative health aspects for people consuming the meat. This is a great example of what the meat industry thinks of health regulations. It's important to remember that despite what you're told, the point of the meat industry is to make money and they'll continue to do whatever it takes to make the most of it.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/meat/politics/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbying_in_the_United_States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_lobbying_in_the_United_States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Agriculture

Picture Sources:

http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2012/05/20120511-meat-industry-versus-animal-rights-spending.jpg

https://reachingbeyondnow.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/recycled-propaganda-antibiotics-meat.jpg