THE MEAT BARN

This meat shop called THE MEAT BARN is located on 78th street and Roosevelt Ave., Jackson Heights. They boast to be the provider of full-service meat and produce market. As I walked in, I took some of the pictures of meat they were providing. All of it was packed in the store and displayed.

The whole chicken costs $1.29/ lb.

The ground meat costs $2.98/ lb.

At the back of the store there was an area called custom meat cutting counter. As described by a butcher working there, he got shipments of meat, and that area was where he packs them in nice shiny plastic wrap, and weighs them to print a price tag for each meat. You can see the plastic trays at the top shelf on the left of the following picture.

As I walked out towards the cash register to interview the cashier, whom I assume to be the owner of the store, I was very happy to see these signs posted near the register.

When I finally spoke to the cashier about the meat, my first question was that where do you get your meat supply from. To which she replied the Food Nation. I asked her if it was like a meat packing plant's name, a factory farm, or what? She had a blank look on her face. She did not know what this company represented. I then gave her another option thinking that it must be it; is the Food Nation a distributing company. She said yes, it is. I asked her if she knew where do Food Nation bring their meat from? She said she DID NOT KNOW! She only knew that Food Nation provides them with the meat needed for the store. I found this very disturbing thinking that the people who pompously provide meat with a look of an old-style butcher waiting at the back of the store to custom cut your style of meat and pack it in nicely for you to take home and cook. They didn't really know what they were providing. Maybe an E coli infected meat was lying in that store somewhere waiting to be bought by a family and ruin thier lives forever.

Urban Farming

It could be emerging as the latest trend in cities to enjoy or cater their desires of country life, but it isn’t new in Sonoma, California. Bing, a journalist, discovered this miraculous six-acre land and its owners working hard to provide its neighborhood with pesticide-free, labor-intensive methods to farm tomatoes. The type of farming done in cities is called urban farming. Since there is no land, the food is usually cultivated on roof tops or backyards. More and more people are turning towards growing their own food. They have taken in their hands to provide their family with food grown in front of their eyes. The major reason to it; they no longer trust in what farmers are providing us with. What the farmers are providing in the name of FOOD is nothing but just technology filled crap.

Most foods that we eat now are genetically engineered or rather a term which sounds much better explanation of what it is; genetically mutated. It is the process of transferring genes of one organism into another. Traditional breeding exchanges genes between similar species. But the genetic engineering is breaking the barriers. It allows scientist to insert genes from any plant or animal into any other organism. For example, genes from a fish have been used to make a more long-lasting and durable tomato. Imagine the risk we humans are put into. Consuming that tomato could be hazardous to health. Genes can change easily. Inserting a gene of living species into a plant could create a vast amount of different viruses and impossible to treat diseases. In a cross-Canada speaking tour, Fagan, a professor of molecular biology and biochemistry at the Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, defined genetic engineering in following words: "It is a dangerous global experiment in the interests of short-term commercial gain by giant biotech companies which control large segments of the world's food supply." This means that a professor teaching molecular biology himself is against such engineering, but why? It isn’t tested for its long-term effects and might put us on risk of variety of health issues. The only reason it was introduced was because it could create built-in herbicides and pesticides for crops, grow larger fruits and vegetables, lengthen the duration of a foods life span and most importantly save bio-tech companies millions of dollars because of previously mentioned so-called advantages of genetically engineered foods. Who knows these foods could create what kind of health problems, bring out new allergies or have toxic effects on humans. Another one of its possible health risks is cancer. 

Since the bio-tech companies are creating seeds that are genetically engineered to be resistant to herbicides and pesticides, the farmers can use more toxic weed killers. In response to this change, weeds have become resistant to herbicides and have now developed into super weeds. Now farmers are back to using high toxics to kill these weeds and even have to sometimes pull them out, which is very labor intensive. A number of recent scientific studies have linked these super weed-killers to increased risks or cancer, birth defects, and other health hazards (Cummins and Lilliston). The active ingredient in these herbicides is glyphosate.  Glyphosate can create health reactions even at low dose. Its effects on animals created weight gains, diarrhea, salivary gland lesions, liver damage, cataracts, and increases in thyroid, pancreas and liver tumors. Experiments on animals usually hold true to us too. If animals can have all these health issues that means even at low consumption of glyphosate we pose a risk into creating cancer. Approximately 41% on average of Americans can expect cancer in their lifetime.

With such a massive number of Americans at risk of developing cancer, we would expect that anything that has genetic mutation done to it would be marked so. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) would have passed regulations to label GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) foods. But the U.S Food and Drug Administration has concluded that bioengineered foods are as safe as conventional foods. If they are the same then why is it that one out of every three U.S kids currently suffers from allergies, asthma, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), or autism and the number of children with peanut allergies actually doubled between 1997 and 2002? This is around the same time that GE (Genetically Engineered) foods were introduced in our local supermarkets without consumer’s knowledge of what it is. Labeling genetically modified foods in the United States has been a voluntary process since 1992. Current U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines require no labeling or additional safety testing on genetically modified foods as long as the product is found to be "substantially equivalent" to its nonmodified counterpart. Most of our foods today contain atleast one ingredient comes from genetically modified crops. The three big crops that come from genetically altered seed are corn, soybeans and canola. These are major crops that any foods are made out of. There have been great debates by consumers, and organic farmers on the labeling of such foods. Meanwhile Monsanto, the major corporation responsible for introducing genetic engineering, sues a milk producer over labeling of its dairy product. According to Monsanto Oakhurst Dairy Inc is “engaging in misleading and deceptive marketing practices by carrying labels that seem to disparage the use of artificial growth hormones in cows.” Monsanto fears that labeling products containing genetically engineered ingredient would create the image of unsafe or lower in quality food in the consumers mind. If we were to be given the opportunity to know what is in our food, we would not pick the one that Monsanto is promoting. Consumers should have the right to know and labeling should be mandatory for every product.

With such hefty concerns with what our food contains, the best alternative would be to grow it yourself. We living in cities are deprived of having a farm nearby where we could go and buy our own hand pick foods. But with the world changing, this mistrust in our farmers has caused consumers to look for ways to help ourselves and our kids eat healthy. Lynn, an urban farmer says, "Our goal simply is to be a neighborhood food source and raise the bar on the issue of traceability. We think it's important that people know where their food comes from, that they can say, 'Yes, I can see where my food is grown. It's grown right over there.'’ With this mentality urban farming has begun for people who are willing to do anything to have safe food. Agriculture is difficult to do in cities, let alone create and run a farm. There are very few of them around in New York itself. Most of these small farms are created out of backyards or roof-tops. Backyards are easy to cultivate, it is just like gardening with a little bit of more care and labor to be put into. On the other hand, roof-tops are difficult and expensive to start with. But once created, they are more efficient than conventional farming. It is easy to provide sunlight and they use less water. The soil is carpeted on the roof and seeds are sowed. Urban farming provides its farmers with food grown infront of their eyes. It is labor intensive but the outcome is worth all the hassle. With farming in our own backyard or roof-top, consumers can choose what seed they buy (definitely no use buying Roundup Ready), what pesticides or herbicides they use (which really wouldn’t be necessary to use much of, given the fact that weeds or pests aren’t likely to be attacking crops in cities), and know exactly how it is grown (be more closer to our food).

Organization like FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) of United Nations agree and appreciate this new trend of farming our own foods in following words, “An industry that responds to the nutritional demands of a city, from within that city, with the use and reuse of that city’s resources while acknowledging…aspects of regional health, and food security.” From being just food, it has grown from being a farmers pride to factory farm system. What threats genetically engineered foods pose to our health are unimaginable. On top of that government finds it alright to let such foods be marketed and consumed by us. They agree with bio-tech companies on no need of labeling these products. It seems the government and these companies want to sit and wait on an epidemic soon to be spurring due to such transgenic foods. Even if organizations like organic groups fight for consumer rights to know what is in their food, the government still doesn’t want to take any action. The GE corporations have such huge hold on the government that they can actually control what happens, what laws pass, and even what cases to be dismissed if they could harm the reputation of the company. Thinking through all this, and knowing every food of having bio-technology or genetic alteration done to them, choosing to grow your own food seems a wiser choice.

Works Cited

·        Bing, Alison. "The Patch." The New York Times. Nytimes, 18 Sept. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. <http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/us/19bcintel.html&OQ=_rQ3D3Q26refQ3Durban_agriculture&OP=608aeb09Q2FQ3ExK%28Q3ETp!4Q3Cppu,Q3E,OlOQ3EOQ2BQ3ElQ2BQ3EY4Q3ElQ2B%28!jmuKvZruQ7Cv>.

·        Cummins, Ronnie, and Ben Lilliston. Genetically Engineered Food; A Self-defense Guide for Consumers. 2nd ed. Pg 47. New York: Marlow & Company, 2004. Print.

·        Guevarra, Leslie. "A Vision for a Commercial-Scale Rooftop 'Farm' Nears Completion | Buildings | GreenBiz.com." Green Business News, Resources, and Sustainability Career Tools | Business | GreenBiz.com. 11 Nov. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. <http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2010/11/11/vision-commercial-scale-rooftop-farm-nears-completion>.

·        "Invasion of the Superweeds." The New York Times. Ed. The Editors. Nytimes, 06 May 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. <http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/invasion-of-the-superweeds/?ref=energy-environment>.

·        Sand, Peter H. "Labeling Genetically Modified Food: The Right to Know." Review of European Community & International Environmental Law 15.2 (2006): 185-92. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. <http://web.ebscohost.com.rpa.laguardia.edu:2048/ehost/detail?vid=12&hid=8&sid=47afac5d-5916-4a11-a168-661a03c7268b%40sessionmgr13&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=22226829#db=a9h&AN=22226829>.

·        United States. U.S Department of Health and Human Services. United States Cancer Statistics. Center for Disease Control, 2007. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. <http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/npcr/npcrpdfs/US_Cancer_Statistics_2004_Incidence_and_Mortality.pdf>.

·        United States. Unites States Department of Agriculture. Labeling GMO Foods. By Melinda Hemmelgarn. 08 Feb. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. http://www.usda.gov/open/Ideas.nsf/0/218F694C86E8DF8D862576C400220560?opendocument

·        "Urban Agriculture." Wikipedia. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_agriculture>.

It Is pricey!

Yesterday I was buying meat from the Halal Meat Shop that I go to. I kept on wondering what is the difference of prices between the regular meat available at grocery stores and the one I was buying from the designated to sell only Halal store. I took a photo of the table it was being cut at. It will look disgusting but atleast I am sure that my meat is cut infront of my eyes.

I just bought 2 pounds of ground goat meat. It cost me $3.97/lb. While I looked the price of meat online for the other kind that I dont eat, it was much higher! It was listed $5.35/lb on this website. Next I went inside their freezer to see how they keep the frozen meat. I was somewhat relieved to see that the meat that comes from Halal slaughterhouses arrives full in these stores. The slaughterhouse's job is to just slaughter them Halal, take off thier skin and ship them at Halal shops. It is then cut here infront of our eyes. They werent faking cutting it here.

All my ground beef was selected from the window in the top pic, it was then grounded in a machine right there. :D

The shady government launched program of SIS-C

“At SIS-C slaughterhouses, visibly diseased animals – cattle infected with measles and tapeworms, covered with abscesses – were being slaughtered. Poorly trained company inspectors were allowing shipment of beef contaminated with fecal material, hair, insects, metal shavings, urine, and vomit.”(Schlosser, Eric. “What’s In the Meat.” Fast Food Nation. Pg 207. Harper Perennial. 2005. Print. Nov 11, 2010)

The thing that interested me was the SIS-C program. It stands for the Streamlined Inspection System for Cattle. It was launched by USDA under Reagan administration. It was funny how it was started. The federal government created this plan to limit the government inspectors in the slaughterhouses to inspect meat. It was created by government to have less federal inspectors inspecting the meat every American consumes. This program led to many problems. The slaughterhouses that took part in this program were mostly the one who had E-coli contamination in their meat. All the government asked of these slaughterhouses was to do their own inspection, and have themselves follow food safety guidelines. This is totally something that was not right thing to do. The slaughterhouses already knew whenever a USDA investigator would be coming to their plant. They would just clean up after themselves, fake logs of inspections, and just ship of contaminated meat without even realizing or checking it is contaminated or not. These plants had visible problems yet the safety of our meat relied on company hired employees that were clumsy enough to let E-coli contaminated meat get to our tables.

Urban Farming

I will write about the growing trend of urban-farming. Urban-farming is a type of farming done in cities. Since there is no land, the food is usually cultivated on roof tops or backyards. It is an alternative of the farming done in big fields where the usual farmer by profession does it for a broader market scale; commonly for distribution all over the country. This topic is a harsh truth of the growing disbelief in our farmers. It is expanding because people have started realizing how important out health is to us. It is done also to eliminate use of scientific technology which is harming our environment through using abundant pesticides and herbicides on large fields, which runs into rivers and streams and creates dead zones.

What is urban-farming? How urban farming came about? Why do it? Who is doing it? What is wrong with regular farms? Why not get food from them? How this will help out nation? Is the government supporting this cause? Are there any negative effects of it? More and more people are turning towards growing their own food. They have taken in their hands to provide their family with food grown in front of their eyes. The major reason to it; they no longer trust in what farmers are providing us with. What the farmers are providing in the name of FOOD is nothing but just technology filled crap.

The resources I plan to use are magazines, newspapers, books, and journals. I am hoping to make a lot of use of our LaGuardia library. I am very sure I will be searching on Lexis Nexis, and Academic Search Complete. I might use some other search database that could also provide me with information on New York as urban-farming place. Also if I could get in touch with, I might research on the city buildings’ authorities.

The slaughter

Dhabihah is the recommended method by Islamic law of slaughtering any kind of animal excluding camels, locusts, fish, and most sea-life. The process consists of a swift, deep incision with a sharp knife across the neck, cutting the jugular veins and carotid arteries completely but leaving the spinal cord intact. Furthermore it causes all the blood from the animal to gush out leaving negligible amounts of blood remaining in the body, the principle being that blood is a good medium for germs. It is also forbidden to stun an animal before slaughter. It should be in conscious state. Keep in mind this is a ritual form of slaughtering, so the Islamic law recommends this as the most traditional way to slaughter an animal.

There isn’t any specific way of slaughter of these animals. There are huge factories that are run on machines periodically cutting the animal’s throat. In most cases an animal is stunned in electric water to avoid movement and force during the slaughter.

The difference

How distinguished is one from another?

To start up my project, I first want my readers to know exactly what Halal food is. By explaining what Halal really is, you will know exactly what is the difference between Halal and American way. In the following weeks, I will choose one topic of difference between these two kinds and explain it both ways. 

What is Halal?

Halal (ḥalāl; means lawful or legal) is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law (Sharia). It is the opposite of haraam.

Islam has laws regarding which foods can and cannot be eaten and also on the proper method of slaughtering an animal for consumption, known as dhabihah. Dabiha halal only requires that an animal survive on grass and leaves.

A variety of substances are considered as harmful (haraam) for humans to consume and, therefore, forbidden for Muslims:

• Pork (i.e., flesh of pig)
•  Blood
• Animals slaughtered in the name of anyone but Allah. All that has been dedicated or offered in sacrifice to an idolatrous altar or saint or a person considered to be "divine"
• Carrion (carcasses of dead animals)
• An animal that has been strangled, beaten (to death), killed by a fall, gored (to death), savaged by a beast of prey (except by a human)
• Food over which Allah's name is not pronounced (or at least not in a name other than Allah)
• Alcohol and other intoxicants

What is American way?

The animals eaten in the States consists of a lot of different animals that also include pork and deep sea animals. The way animals are bred and grown have drastically changed over the last 50 years. All animals are now kept indoors in factory farms where they aren’t really fed what their natural diet used to be; grass and grains. For example, cows are now given a corn diet to make them grow fatter faster.

The American Way

 For my weekly blog project I will point up the differences between the American way of treatment of animals compared to the Muslim way. Each week my readers will be educated with a lot of awareness of the food they consume. I will have comparisons of the way animals are kept, the workers, the way they are slaughtered, the conditions in which they live and so on so forth. I will try to provide pictures that show difference and maybe interviews from people in the related fields.

This project relates to our theme of the class a lot. I know that I am a purchaser of Halal food. I do not in any circumstances buy or eat any other kinds of meat. On the other hand, most of my classmates buy or eat the meat that these big American corporations grow. Through the knowledge I have of Halal food, I want to convince people to buy organic meat, which is a lot similar to Halal food in ways it is being grown (but not slaughtered the same way). I am learning a lot about how American technology and race for the best led to such harsh conditions of animals. I want to show that even though there is more faster need of meat, it can still be grown humanely.

With this weekly blog project I hope to learn a lot about food and compare to the one I consume. I know not everyone is aware of such kind of details of the food they eat too. Maybe with such a public platform as this blog website, together our whole class could make a difference to the food industry. Just like the African proverb goes, “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito.” Finally, I hope I can teach atleast something to others as well and help them become conscious of their food if not bring a revolution in the food industry. After all, “We are what we eat!”

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SuperStyle Me

I know its kind of a funny title but it perfectly fits with the pictures you will see in this post. I found this article in Fast Company magazine that explained McDonald's designs from back in the days to this time. To keep up with good interior designing to the latest, McDonald has recently $2.4 Billion makeover around the world. Check out the McDonald's Design Heritage:

Problem Posing Method (HW)

Q1. Define the problem in your own words.
Ans. Hundreds and thousands of people were moving to Colorado Springs since 1990’s. This created a spur in all kinds of industries, like shopping malls, supermarkets, gas stations, and most of all fast foods. Colorado Springs’ population doubled from what it was in the 1970’s. Most of Colorado Spring residents have lived less than five years there. From it picking up from being a sleepy tourist town to a hustle-bustle city in 50 years is fanatic.
Q2. Give a quotation to represent the problem, and explain how it represents the problem.
Ans. “In many ways Colorado Spring today is what Los Angeles was fifty years ago- a mecca for the disenchanted middle class, a harbinger of cultural trends, a glimpse of future.”
This quote to me means that Colorado Spring became a mini Los Angeles with people who were weary of rough and tough life. It has a possibility of turnover in cultural trends or could initiate more hidden changes. It also gave a view of what laid ahead for Colorado Spring i.e. the sprawl of industries
Q3. Personalize the problem with an anecdote or observation from your own life. Explain.
Ans. To migrate from a crowded city after retirement or to retreat from the fast life, is a common thing for Americans. Many people get frustrated and want to relax after a long run in their lives. Such a thing always happens even now. Every year people move out of New York City for peaceful lifestyles in other suburbs.
Q4. Describe solutions to the problem that have been tried and that failed. Why did they fail?
Ans. People moved out of citied to get a better quality of life, more open space, less congested, and increasing spare time. Colorado long time residents didn’t like newcomers and often sported bumper stickers like, “Don’t Californicate Colorado”. Even their open mokery to these people migrating into Colorado didn’t stop. The newcomers saw Colorado Spring as an opportunity land.
Q5. Invent your own solution to the problem.
Ans. People moved to smaller, less in-the-spotlight towns, to get peaceful atmosphere. If the high-officials governing the big cities could make them a but less of a hustle bustle/ calm, maybe people would think of moving out and would rather stay in the cities.

DESCRIPTIVE WRITING (edited version)

Experience of a fast food restaurant


‘Mmmmmm’, ‘Aaaaahhhh’, such an aroma in the air. Even a mile or so away. This is true a mile in radius around Al-Baik. It is situated at the corner of Tahlia street, one of the busiest in Jeddah with huge supermarkets, renowned clothing stores, and restaurants along its length. When you are walking up towards your craving extinguisher, your mouth starts watering with images of its tasty chicken and that garlic sauce… Yummmmm!

Its one place where I’ve never seen its doors closed, be it any time of the day. There is no way the doors can close, the line is too long! You have to push through other people trying to get in line first. The restaurant is roughly 30 by 30 feet. It is lit with fluorescent lights, no big advertisement or special deal posters hanging from its ceiling. The first thing you would notice is the crowd of course. All packed in one small space like bees in their bee hive. Just heads of people from all aspects of life: poor, wealthy, the common, all packed in that one restaurant (leaving all restaurants in the area, including KFC and even McDonalds to squat flies all day in their boredom of empty restaurant).

But the real experience goes like this: you just LOOSE It. It smell makes you take deep breaths and it is hard to focus. When you look at the counter, you see very fast speaking Sri Lankans taking orders at a pace of maybe 10 costumers per minute. If you look a little above their heads, you would find the menu. It is not a fancy one full with delicious, mouth-watering pictures of food, but just simply lists. Every Jedanian knows exactly what he wants to order, ‘one box of Al-Baik with extra buns and lots of garlic sauce’. You purchase the Al-Baik for the price of just SR.10 (equal to $2).

With the plastic bag in your hand, you can start picturing that crispy broasted chicken that you will be biting into as soon as you get to your car. And that soggy fries that are soft and oily, just perfect to enjoy with your meal, and that sesame seed bun that will be dipped into that creamy garlic sauce and munched in to… OoooLLLllaaalllLAaaahHHh!

DESCRIPTIVE WRITING

Sumaiya Shakeel
Experience of a fast food restaurant

‘Mmmmmm’, ‘Aaaaahhhh’, such an aroma in the air. Even a mile or so away. This is true a mile in radius around Al-Baik. It is situated at the corner of Tahlia street, one of the busiest in Jeddah with huge supermarkets, renowned clothing stores, and restaurants along its length. For some reason, there is always a particular rush on the signal where Al-Baik is situated (and you cannot pass through their without hearing honks from cars trying to make their way thru before the light becomes red). It’s a difficult job to find a parking too. When you finally are walking up towards it, your mouth starts watering with images of its tasty chicken and that garlic sauce.. yummmmm!

Its one place where I’ve never seen its doors closed, be it any time of the day. There is no way the doors can close, the line is too long! You have to push through other people trying to get in line first. It is easier if a woman goes to purchase, Arabs know how to respect and usually deal with women thru the kitchen door connected from the street for deliveries. But the real experience goes like this: you just LOOSE It. It’s smell makes you take deep breaths and its hard to focus. The restaurant is roughly 30 by 30 feet. It is lit with fluorescent lights, no big advertisement or special deal posters hanging from its ceiling. The first thing you would notice is the crowd ofcourse. All packed in one small space like bees in their bee hive. Just heads of people from all aspects of life: poor, wealthy, the common, all packed in that one restaurant (leaving all restaurants in the area, including KFC and even McDonalds ro squat flies all day in their bored and empty restaurants) when you look at the counter, you see very fast speaking Sri Lankans taking orders a pace of maybe 10 costumers per minute. If you look a little above their heads, you would find the menu. It is not a fancy one full with delicious, mouth-watering pictures of food, but just simply lists. Every Jedanian knows exactly what he wants to order without even looking through the menu. They know it by heart. When it comes to your turn, you have are asked, ‘How may I help you ?’. To which 95% costumers answer, ‘one box with extra buns and lots of garlic sauce’. You purchase the Al-Baik (that is half chicken fried with fries, garlic sauce and 2 buns in the box) for the price of just SR.10 (equal to $2). Hardly anybody prefers to sit due to the long queues. So you get back to your car and enjoy the meal with your partner or whomever.

Annotated Bibliography (BPA; trial)

Grady, Denise. "In Feast of Data on BPA Plastic, No Final Answer."
New York Times. 6 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Sept. 2010.
.

In this article Grady talks about the possible health issues of having the chemical bisphenol-A, commonly known as BPA, used as an element in production of plastic. Half a dozen states have banned BPA in children’s products due to a possible risk of endocrine disruption. There is the European Union that banned BPA as opposed to United States which believes it shouldn’t be banned unless there is proof of harm. The possibilities of obesity, diabetes, breast and prostate cancer, disorders of developing immune, cardiovascular and nervous systems, and also multigenerational effects caused by BPA are still under research (done mostly on rodents).

Grady has done a lot of research on BPA; on the use of BPA, its health issues, its progressive research, different peoples’ different opinion on it etc. this article is a good overview on BPA as component as well as its possible side effects reported by scientists and activists who are against its use. There has been reported a link between BPA and several diseases by a “presidential panel on cancer and environment”.

A NEW CHICKEN IN THE HOUSE

HI!

My name is Sumaiya and my blog is for ENG-101/ fall 2010 at LaGuardia Community College.
I am 20 years old (note: my birthday is on August 30; DO NOT FORGET TO WISH ME :D). I am from Pakistan.

Knowing where i come from, you should have a pretty good idea of what could be my food choices. I love 'desi' food; particularly known as Asian food. I myself cook at home some very delicious and spicy dishes. I do not like going for grocery shopping since there is a lot to carry out of the stores then.... lol. Since I have no choice but to go for it, I like to shop in Indian stores where the kind of food we eat is largely available in many varieties. I like to mostly eat vegetables. LOVE THEM. Since its an essential part of a healthy diet, I do periodically cook meat as well. My own favorite food is Rajma (spicy kidney beans).

Being the cook at home its my speciality as well as some special Asian dishes as Biryani, Quorma, Haleem, Paye, Pilao, Nihari, and Katakat. These are special dishes because first of all they taste great! Also, they are made with alot of spices and efforts; sometimes cooked a whole night.

The food I cook is mostly herbs, spices, and vegetables. The meat we eat is HALAL, so it comes from a special Muslim Farms where it is slaughtered according to Islamic Sharia. The farms usually have a slaughter house attached to it. The animals in the farms are basically the same like any other farm. Unlike other slaughter houses that have machines, these have Muslim workers to slaughter each animal individually with the name of Allah.