My Year of Meats, Article Summary

Article Summary/ Quiz

This article analyzed the implications behind meat and the melding of the American and Japanese cultures. The article discusses the ideas behind making Japan more “wholesome” and American through eating meat. The entire idea of the My American Wife show was to promote beef sales to an originally untouched beef market and this was done through the help of eroticizing and familiarizing the idea of the “average American”. The article touches on the ideas presented in the novel that not fully understanding what we “exoticize” (be it meat or people) is dangerous. The idea is that since the subject at hand is not fully understood and then there is a motion to make it exotic and not grasp the full implications behind its relevance.

The second half of this article analyzes the ecofeminism aspect of the novel. Explaining that through a global perspective we can work towards a sort of “environmental and social justice”. Here the article takes a moment to redefine what the reader might interpret as the “forces of globalization”. It discusses the detrimental aspects of globalization in that giant corporations are able to transcend boarders and avoid the negative implications of their metaphorical web. Essentially, as globalization occurs the mode of capital is becoming easier and there is less to answer too when things go wrong (like the hormones and antibiotics in the meat that are effecting the majority of the people who eat them). There is also a discussion on the media role in the consumptions of meat and the American culture and how this could have an effect on the individuals who lack certain knowledge about those specific topics to make their own educated decision.

Words: 280

Works Cited

Fish, Cheryl J. "The Toxic Body Politic: Ethnicity, Gender, and Corrective Eco-Justice in Ruth Ozeki's "My Year of Meats" and Judith Helfand and Daniel Gold's "Blue Vinyl.." MELUS 34.2 (2009): 43-62. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 7 Apr. 2011.

SL blog post 3

Activism:

This week was all about activism. I passed out all sorts of flyers , I spoke to people, researched countless topics and I attended events galore! Wednesday was the movie night that Chelsey and Kelsey set up. The video was very interesting and we had some speakers from YAYA come to talk about the farmworkers as well. Saturday was the symposium event. Although this event essentially fell through and we weren’t able to get our message across to very many people, it was an excellent learning experience. I’m assuming that our marketing wasn’t in the right place and we probably could have done more to get the word out, but we all conducted a lot of research about the information we would have presented in regards to the farmworkers and became very knowledgeable on how to better plan a successful symposium for the next time. Finally, Sunday I attended the community gardens event AFTER I RETRIEVED MY KEYS THAT I LOCKED IN MY FREAKING CAR!!! This was amazing. It provided us with a firsthand experience of the world these individuals have to do every day. We were able to sit and talk with the women about certain topics that affect them and their daily lives and how they are treated in the fields because they are women.

Reflection:

This week gave me the opportunity to apply everything that we have been learning in the books to real life situations. Talking with these women one on one and actually hearing what they go through and seeing with my own eyes what they need help with was a real eye opener. Although the symposium turnout was rather upsetting, it was firsthand knowledge of exactly how difficult it can be to organize locally much less get people together on a global level.

Reciprocity:

This week was amazingly eye opening for me. My privilege was slapped in my face several times throughout the week (especially at the gardens) and I realized just how difficult it is to organize things that involve more than two people. I learned that SPF 40 is simply not enough when you sweat all the time and horse poop really doesn’t smell as horrible as one might think. I always knew that working on a farm was hard work and it takes A LOT of knowledge and skill to make sure that everything works and all the plants grow properly. I realized today though, that I have always taken for granted my ability to just go home at the end of the day and not really have to worry about the garden or the food growing there if I really didn’t want to. Also, for the first time in my life I locked my keys in my car, which made us an hour late… so I this week I learned to MAKE SPARE KEYS.

Words: 475

SL blog post 2

Activism:

This past week of activism was more behind the scene than actual forefront motion. Although I did not attend the woman to woman’s conference like the majority of the class, I did dedicate time to our class cause. I did some research and some brain storming for our symposium event to take place next weekend. My research included speaking to a very peculiar, old chemist about his thoughts on the pesticides/chemicals being used on the farms. Unfortunately, he became rather side tracked throughout our discussion and I didn’t gather much useful information. I did learn, however, of his numerous conspiracy theories and the alleged extraterrestrial involvement with the periodic table (it was most entertaining). I had a short meeting/discussion with my classmates about the research that needs to be done for the specific events to take place in the upcoming weeks. I also spoke with some people about donating food/drink items to the community gardens event on Saturday. I have not had any stone confirmations of donations but I did plant the metaphorical seed. Finally, I put up all my flyers. I spoke to people, found bulletin boards and got the world out in my local community.

Reflection:

Since I didn’t do very much frontline activism this week, it is rather hard for me to connect it to our class. I understand that movements take time and there are many ways to go about making a difference, with many different steps to take. Our readings about the various movements in different parts of the world show that making a difference is possible and accomplishing our goals is attainable. I feel like at these moments I just have to remind myself that part of being active is understanding that even very small steps towards the end goal are still heading in the direction of the goal.

Reciprocity:

What is there to say about this project? The further we delve into these issues the more aware I am of my privilege. Just this Thursday I was at publix and saw that the strawberry’s were on sale. Before this class and this project, I have never thought twice about where my produce comes from and how many hours overtime the people picking these delicious looking red berries had to work in order to supply the vast amounts of the three boxes for five dollar strawberries. Perhaps if we have the ability to make just a few more people stop and think the same way that we now stop and think, there will be a sort of domino effect created and this movement will take further flight.

WORDS: 337

SL blog post 1

Janet Audette

Activism:

This week was all about some research. After our sub-group meeting, where we discussed our plan of action for hosting the symposium, we decided to split up some of the work. My portion was to contact Lake Eola (in downtown Orlando) to request a facility to host our event. We were thinking that it would be a great place to contact other demographics and help to spread our word and perhaps gather more donations. Although I finally contacted the right person (Susan of Orlando Parks and Recreations gets an extremely long lunch break), our requests were not granted. There were simply too many lop holds and snags (AH , the simplicity of local governments…). Luckily, working in a large group has benefits as well as problems. We are able to split the work further, which allows tasks to be completed in a more timely manner but communication then becomes a bit of an issue.

Reflection:

The goals we are working towards and the information we are trying to spread are very connected to all of the ideas that we are learning in class. I was struck by a sentence that helped to put things in a bit of perspective for me. “This is the world in which I move uninvited, profane on a sacred land, neither me nor mine, but me nonetheless” (Minh-ha 1). Admittedly, in the text it made much less sense, but when applied to this project I seem to grasp her concepts much easier. Understanding the situation that the farm works are in, gives the text a tangible outlet for connection making. In terms of the farm workers current economic stand point in relation to the labor demanded of them; our text simply becomes much more realistic when applied to this project.

Reciprocity:

This project is allowing me to understand something that I have not previously had any knowledge. I readily admit to being ignorant of the situations that claim millions of farm workers across our nation. I am certainly more aware of the types of produce I purchase, where it comes from and who I will be supporting with my purchases. As far as the pesticides go, I think this will be a battle of mine for quite some time. I feel like it would be a wonderful project to push for a stricter regulation/screen process for pesticide use. So, I would say that this project is giving me the inspiration to work on yet more projects concerning the farm workers. I also feel that it is an extremely easy (and disgusting) scapegoat to classify carcinogens by a simple defect in molecule boding (or lack thereof). But alas, that is for another blog entirely… A feminist comparison of my enlightenment would be just that; curing my ignorance. The processes by which we (our group) move for a change mirror the feminist fight for rights in all economic and social avenues.

WORDS: 487

Trinh, T. Minh-Ha. Woman, Native, Other: Writing Postcoloniality and Feminism. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1989. Print.

Service Learning proposal

There are three sections, which you should label, to the SL Proposal:

· 1. Contact Information:

• The Farm Workers Association of Florida
• Janet Audette
• February 10, 2011

2. Community Partner/Global Theme Profile:

· 2. Community Partner/ Global Theme Profile
The Farm Workers Association of Florida
1264 Apopka Boulevard Apopka, FL 32703
(407) 886-5151

· The global themes that we will be working with in relation to this service learning project include, but are not limited to brining awareness to the women rights are human rights campaign. (Snyder 8) Working with woman to organize for a fight to justice and knowledge. Margret Snyder states in Global Feminism Transnational Women’s Activism, Organizing, and Human rights that “Global issues are women’s issues, and the two are interwoven as threads in a fabric” (48).

· Our groups is working to bring awareness to the working and living conditions of the Farm Workers. Our course text, Global Feminism Transnational Women’s Activism, Organizing, and Human rights says that “Feminism is a goal a target for social change, a purpose informing activism, not a constituency or a strategy” (6). We plan to reach this goal by dividing in to sub groups in which we will reach out to the public and work with the women directly. Each of us has devised specific ways in which we feel it would be best to accomplish both of these tasks. We hope to assist the Farm workers association “by building a strong, unified force that gives voice and power to the farmworkers” (http://floridafarmworkers.org/about us).

3. The Project Proposal:

· Most, if not all, of the people working in our local farms are forced to do so under deplorable conditions. These farm workers are constantly exposed harmful (sometimes deadly) chemicals, excruciatingly long hours, and labor intensive days all for wages that keep them well below the national poverty line. Many of these women are not aware of their legal rights in regards to their safety. Their children do not have the proper access to education and healthcare. These workers and their families are being exploited on every possible level and many people directly participate in the grotesque oppression of these individuals without the slights knowledge. , Global Feminism Transnational Women’s Activism, Organizing, and Human rights says that “Human rights is seen as the central focus of sustainable human development: it offers the means, the ends, and a framework for assessing sustainable development and for guaranteeing a full array of rights that went well beyond those found in legislation and constitutions” (63). I too was a member of this group until just recently. Our course text, Global Feminism Transnational Women’s Activism, Organizing, and Human rights also states that “Feminist mobilizations often intersect with other forms of transformative struggles. Activists originally inspired by feminism may expand their goals to challenge racism, colonialism, and other oppressions…” (8).The vast lack of knowledge in the local community in regards to the lives of these farm workers needs to and will be eradicated.

· Our plan to work with the public community and directly with the farm working community has lead to the development of sub groups. Since everyone in the class has ideas of how to better our cause we have developed many plans of action. In attempts to access our local community, Heather and I have been discussing the idea of working local farmers markets to spread knowledge through flyers/pamphlets/information packets. Heather as also discussed the idea of traveling to my home town of Vero Beach and work alongside women in community gardens. Gumbs and Atena have developed an idea of hosting a symposium. Our class has also discussed the idea of holding fundraisers at all of these events. Since the farm workers earn such low wages, they are in constant need of certain items and we would be working to find out exactly what they need and seeking donations for those items. Some of these items will include food, clothes and hygiene products. We will also be attending a W2W conference in which we will be assisting in the mechanics of the seminar.

· I plan to work a lot with the local community and bring awareness to the conditions that these individuals are forced to work. I plan to create informational packets or flyers that provide information that the local community is not aware of. I am fortunate enough to have some knowledge of chemicals and their effects on environments and human bodies. I plan on contacting scientists who work with the pesticides used in these farms to gather more information. In order to create these flyers I will need to further my research on the pesticides used in the fields. I definitely plan to consult my fellow group members and devise some all inclusive information packets that will allow a plethora of information on these farm works. In my opinion, it is paramount to involve our local community and bring attention to the conditions that the farm workers endure. I plan to work in the community gardens with Heather to gain a better understanding of the effort involved in supplying the produce that so many of us take for granted. I also plan to assist Gumbs in her action to organize an event to spread awareness to the local community. Finally, I will also help in a means to fundraise for needed items for the farm workers.

· This time line is preliminary and will change once our dates are more concrete and our work has started

• February:
• Tour Apopka Farms
• Contact Service Learning coordinator and determine Farm worker needs for fundraising purposes
• Establish venue for symposium
• Create fliers/informational packets
• Locate time and places of farmers markets
• Work with public to raise awareness
• March
• Work in community gardens
• Work with public to raise awareness
• Collect donations
• April
• Work with public to raise awareness
• Collect donations
• Host event

Works Cited:

Ferree, Myra Marx., and Aili Mari. Tripp. Global Feminism: Transnational Women's Activism, Organizing, and Human Rights. New York: New York UP, 2006. Print.

The Farm Workers Association of Florida. 2011. 9 February 2011 .

"MSDS Methyl Iodide." ScienceLab: Chemicals & Laboratory Equipment. Web. 10 Feb. 2011.

Word Count: 1042

Introduction Letter

Janet Audette

Introduction Letter

WST 4415

Hello Everyone!

My name is Janet and I am in my fourth and final year at UCF. I'm not going to say that I won't miss it here, but I certainly can not wait to move on. My major is Anthropology and my minor is Woman Studies. As for the ever prevalent question regarding my plans after graduation-- I would have to say that they are still churning in the mind blender (picture that as you wish). Basically, I really do not have any solid ideas yet, but in my opinion this makes life more exciting. Yes, I have definitely heard every sort of retort to that statement; there are just so many options...

As for the here and now...I live for culture! I love everything about culture diversity and learning what makes other people so fascinatingly and amazingly unique. The Global Woman's movement is something that transcends cultural differences (or at times barriers) and enables women everywhere to set aside these differences and work for something magnificent. The ability to learn about all the steps that countless people have taken to make this movement more attainable for all is simply profound.

I must say that I am most interested to learn how the uniting of woman cross culturally interferes (or threatens) the local governments of the less accepting nations. I feel that this is something that I must remember to consider when learning about these particular geographic places. What might seem like a small stride through my ego centric perspective is actually leaps and bounds for more stifled, less active nations. I am certainly excited to have much of my ignorance of transnational feminism annihilated!

I also agree to all of the terms and comprehend all information presented about this blog, the syllabus and the class.