Peer Response: Carrie Jo's blog

Carrie Jo's post talks about how Queen Latifah has been a great endorser for CoverGirl because she is able to target the correct consumers for CoverGirl products; whether it be mascara, foundation, lipstick, or any other kinds of make-up. Queen Latifah has been such a desired women who has given many people powerful messages to promote beauty.

I do agree with Carrie Jo that Queen Latifah is a women of success and it definitely shows in her advertisements for CoverGirl. She has brought her great success to CoverGirl and shared it within their beauty industry. I really liked Queen Latifah's quote that Carrie Jo posted, "It might sound cliche, but beauty for me really does start on the inside. It's like a state of mind, a state of love, if you will. Then whatever you can do on the outside is all like a bonus." This totally reveals why she is the perfect endorser for CoverGirl. Not only does make-up matter to her but also what comes from the inside and most women today strongly believe that inside beauty matters a lot more. This is able to attract the right target market for CoverGirl products because so many people are in favor of what Queen Latifah believes and stands for.

Using celebrity endorsers effectively
By Brian D. Till
This article relates very well with Carrie Jo's post on celebrity endorsements because it talks about the importance of choosing and using your celebrity endorser effectively. Based on the way you use your endorser, it will determine how consumers make their choice to either stay loyal to your company or lean towards another. Celebrity endorsers can definitely create brand loyalty, promote your products to new consumers who idolize the celebrity used, establish a trust between you and your consumers, and possibly increase your sales.

Compare two online articles: Should Abortion be Legal?

The article "Reasons Abortion Should Be Illegal" by ChristiaNet states that abortion is considered murder and the disturbing stories of how aborted babies sometime scream as they come out should be enough to stop people from making a bad decision. By understanding the biology of the developing fetus will allow stronger arguments for opponents towards the idea that abortion is murder. There are many untold stories that describe the human characteristics of aborted babies; therefore, women who are not aware of these horrifying stories are still supporting abortion. Abortion will cause lifelong health risks for the mother and with the inclination of healthcare costs, staying healthy should be a very important component in an individual's life. Furthermore, this article mentions that taking 9 months out of a woman's life does not compare to the elimination of 80 years of someone elses.

The article "Should Abortion Be Banned?" by Joe Messerli mentions the many reasons why abortion should not be legal at all. Some of his reasons stated are: abortion is a form of murder, there are already birth controls available so abortion should not be another form of birth control, abortion eliminates legal rights of the unborn child because he/she had no say, and etc. He believes that abortion is a form of murder because when a women feels a kick in her stomach, she doesn't react to it by saying "Oh, the fetus kicked," instead she says "The baby kicked." There is a human being waiting in there to be entered into the world and by aborting it, you are definitely taking away someone's life. Joe also stated that if abortion was never to be an option for people, they wouldn't be so careless of their sex lives in the first place. Everyone in the United States is entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. By allowing abortion to be legal, we would be taking away that right from a future American citizen.

I think the second article by Joe Messerli is more convincing than the first because he clearly stated his reasons why abortion should be illegal and also gave very understandable explanations to each reason. He was able to make his point very clear and concise. After reading these two articles, my opinion on this controversial topic definitely has not change. I believe that abortion is wrong when it comes to getting pregnant due to having sex with someone out of your own will. It is taking away the lives of innocent individuals that deserve the right to live. However, I do strongly support abortion if pregnancy occured because of rape. With that said, I think abortion should be legalized to help the women who suffered traumatic incidents.

Peer Review: Joy's Blog

As I was reading Joy's Blog, I really envied her family and friends because they were fed such a delicious meal! Joy prepared a casserole bake called "Awesome Chicken", turtle cake and green beans. I thought it was great that Joy was able to find all the needed ingredients at home because it definitely saved her the hassle of going to the grocery store. Also, it's always so rewarding to make a meal that everyone loves and enjoys, and she obviously did just that!

Joy disagrees with Michael Pollan's claims that American's have a problem taking pleasure in eating. She says that although she understands that American's are always on the go, there are always still times where they would sit down to enjoy a nice meal with their loved ones. The meal that she made did have a factor in her disagreement because her family along with herself was able to enjoy a meal without having to worry about anything, which is something that Pollan said that Americans are incapable of doing. They were also able to socialize for about an hour as a family. This proves that not all American's are like what Pollan had stated.

A Nations Eating Habits
By David E. Williams

The beginning of this article strongly supports Michael Pollan's claims on American's eating habits. It clearly states that American's barely have the time to sit down for a nice meal which leads to their heavy dependence on take-out, fast food, and easy-to-fix convenience foods. I do agree with most of what it is saying because even based on my busy college schedule, I barely have time to make a meal at my apartment. Therefore, I usually end up eating out with friends. However, it does also state that American's still do eat at home and that it is not always necessarily true that American's have abolished that "eating at home" habit. I really liked this article because it relates so well to Joy's decision toward page 54-55 in In Defense of Food.

Prepare a Meal

Before making a meal, the process behind it definitely requires many stages. The meal I had prepared for my family is Chicken Eggplant Stir-fry with rice. First thing is first, writing out a grocery list!! This usually takes about 5-10 minutes for me to write down the main ingredients I need, which in this case are:

- Purple Eggplants
- Chicken Breasts
- Red and Green Bell Peppers
- Green Onions
- Cilantro
- Oyster Sauce
- Sweet Soy Sauce
- Sriracha Chili Sauce
- Oil
- Rice

However, I do always have to keep an open mind when I shop for food because sometimes the store I'm at might not have everything on my list, so I would have to substitute other things for it.

The second stage is grocery shopping. I always enjoy this stage because only I get to decide what I want to purchase for the meal, this way it won't be so complicated. Usually, I would shop at Wal-Mart for my groceries because of their great variety of products and with the fact that I am a college student, I love their affordable prices.

The third stage is making the rice in the rice cooker. This is done before making the Chicken Eggplant Stir-fry because you would want the rice to be ready in time to eat.

The fourth stage is preparing the ingredients, such as: slicing the meat, chopping/slicing the vegetables and mixing the sauce.

The fifth stage is actually making the Chicken Eggplant Stir-fry. In order to accomplish this stage efficiently, there are steps to which ingredient goes into the frying pan first. First, pour a little oil into the pan and let it sit for about 1-2 minutes. Second, pour in your sliced chicken and cook it until it whitens. Third, add in half the sauce you have pre-made and mix it thoroughly with the chicken. Fourth, add in the chopped bell peppers, mix it and cover the pan with a lid for about 5 minutes to soften the bell peppers. Fifth, add in the sliced eggplants. Let it sit for about another 5 min without covering the pan. Finally, add in the remainder of your sauce as well as the minced green onions and cilantro. After all these steps are finished; grab a plate, get yourself a a few spoonfuls of rice and top it off with the warm Chicken Eggplant Stir-fry. You will now have a delicious meal that will fulfill you and your family's taste!!

The clean-up process was definitely not a big issue in my family because everyone was so willing to help!!

If I have not followed these stages in chronological order, my meal probably wouldn't have turned out as appetizing as it should. But because I was able to accurately and precisely pursue those stages, my meal was a great success. My family loved my cooking and look forward to me going home more often for other satisfying meals. I had a great time making this meal, for the reason that not only was I able to cook for people I love but also socialize and spent quality time with my family!!

In regards to Michael Pollan's book, pages 54-55, I do somewhat agree with his claim of why American's think processed food is so bad. Since American's are known to be the most obese people, they have learned to cut down on their bad eating habits so that they aren't always stereotyped in that way. However, something that I didn't quite agree with was when Pollan quotes Laura Shapiro because in order for someone to eat a satisfying meal, it must taste good to them. Therefore, the gratification of appetite and the sense of taste are very big factors when it comes to eating. I really don't think anyone would want to eat a meal that tastes bad. There are definitely other ways of eating healthier yet satisfying your taste in food! The meal that I made definitely did have an impact on my decision toward Michael Pollan's claims. As my family and i ate, no one was worried about eating an unhealthy meal. We were able to easily socialize and dine as a happy family!

Making Healthy Food Choices
By American Heart Association

This article talks about the importance of eating healthy and it states the kinds of food that a person should eat in order to maintain a healthy balanced meal. It definitely supports Michael Pollan's idea of processed food because it states that there are other food choices that are healthier for people.

Peer Response: Brianna's Blog

"Real" food vs. "fake" food post:
I love the way McDonald's food taste and I love their prices, so the whole scrambled egg issue does not really matter all that much to me. Nonetheless, I do still strongly agree with Brianna that the taste and color of McDonald's scrambled eggs compared to "real" eggs from the farm is very different. You will never be able to get the fresh and satisfying taste out of the scrambled eggs at McDonald's, so if you're a picky eater, I would prefer you to cook your own eggs at home with real farm raised eggs. Brianna also stated in her post that although the taste and color is different, the smell is identical to "real" eggs. Though, from my personal experience with McDonald's scrambled eggs, it definitely does not have as strong of a smell when it's fully cooked as "real" eggs. Farm raised eggs have a smell that fills up a room, which allows people to know that someone is cooking eggs whereas at McDonald's, you wouldn't be able to notice that eggs are being cooked in the same room you are in.

McDonald's uses an egg substitute for their meals. It comes as a liquid form and gets poured onto the grill, where it eventually turns into cooked eggs with almost the same texture as "real" eggs (just without the same smell, taste and color - in my opinion). Even though McDonald's uses artificial eggs, it obviously is not keeping their customers away because there are still many consumers like me, who does not have a problem with it because it's still able to provide some similar essential vitamins/nutrients as farm eggs would. Also, even if they do have an issue, they can always purchase another meal from the menu that does not consist of "fake" eggs. McDonald's is such a well known and popular fast food restaurant that something this small will not affect their business.

The link that Brianna provided with her post definitely supported her argument of "fake" food. I do agree with a lot of the information on the link as well because by consuming natural food, it will be a lot healthier for you since you're getting all the nutrients you need. "Fake" food just takes away some, if not all, of the good stuff you need to being healthy.

Food Games: Teach Kids "fake" vs. "real"
By Nanci Hellmich

This article does a great job explaining the bad things about "fake" food and why it leads to so many unhealthy and obese children and why people should consume more natural food.

Self Evaluation: Demonstration Speech

Quick and Easy Strawberry Flummery:
Desserts are very attractive to the eye and yet very simple to prepare. As we all know, desserts are a huge part of our everyday lives, whether it's a small chocolate bar or a big piece of pie. My demonstration speech will teach all of you a very easy recipe to making a delicious and satisfying dessert in less than 5 minutes.

INGREDIENTS
- Chopped Strawberries








- Pudding Cup, flavor of your choice










- Whip Cream/Cool Whip










STEPS
1) Open up your pudding cup
2) Thoroughly mix in your chopped strawberries
- Be sure to leave aside some chopped strawberries for your topping
3) Add whip cream/cool whip over
4) Top it off with however many pieces of chopped strawberries you would like

RELEVANCE
Being college students, we are all very busy and barely have the time to make a nice dessert. Quick and Easy Strawberry Flummery will be a delicious, sweet, and simple dessert that will fit right into our busy lifestyles here in Madison!!

Self-Evaluation:
CLICK HERE for my Demonstration Speech

Physical Presentation
As I watched my speech, I realized that my tone of voice was very positive and engaging. Also, my volume was loud enough for all my classmates to hear. I was able to maintain a straight posture that faced my audience and had great eye contact during my speech (with an exception of looking down at the dessert when I was making it). Something that I thought was very helpful in my speech was physically demonstrating how to make a Quick and Easy Strawberry Flummery dessert right in front of my audience with all of the ingredients visible. Additionally, as I ran through the steps a second time after passing out the 3 ingredients needed (pudding cup, chopped strawberries, and cool whip) to my audience, they were able to follow my easy steps and created delicious desserts for themselves!

Nevertheless, one thing that I could possibly work on for my next speech is my word choice. There were a few times during my speech that I wished I would've used different words to better explain my topic.

Visual Aids
I was able to bring all the ingredients needed and placed them on the table where I giving my speech so that they were visible to my audience. Therefore, making them more aware of what I (along with them) will be working with throughout the speech.

Something that I could have done but did not was to have a picture of the finished product projected in the background behind me, allowing my audience to have a clear idea of how the outcome will look like and they'll be more aware of what I will be demonstrating. I do remember thinking about this idea before giving my speech but did not follow through with it. Next time, I will be sure to incorporate this idea into my future speeches!

If I was to give a my speech a second time, I definitely will not change my topic. Although there were a few things I didn't fully like about my speech, I really enjoyed what I did and I take pleasure in giving a speech on something that I love (DESSERTS)!!!

Analysis of a Celebrity Endorsement

Omega is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland with a production rate of 240,000 watches produced annually. It was founded by Louis Brandt in 1848. Their brand is one of the most known and recognized watches in the world! Omega (Ω) is the last letter of the Greek alphabet and represents accomplishment and perfection - two qualities that exist in every Omega watch (Omega, 2008). Their watches are very popular and highly collectible, which holds a very distinctive place in many collector's showcases.

Omega's marketing practice is heavily depended on Celebrity Endorsements, that's why they are extremely careful and cautious of choosing their endorsers because if they become slightly careless of their decisions, their reputation might be ruined! However, Omega is a brand that has successfully used popular, well-known celebrities such as Nicole Kidman to create differentiations. Because of Nicole's great looks along with her clean and positive reputation in the Hollywood community, Omega has chosen her as their endorser to give a special touch of luxury to the brand. Nevertheless, I do find Omega to have a personality of their own aside from what Nicole brings out for them. In my opinion, giving a brand a "face" for Omega is more than just a marketing strategy to increase their sales, it is a decision that can and hopefully will change the future of the brand forever.


I believe that Nicole Kidman is an appropriate choice for Omega because she has the ability to endorse the product efficiently and positively to the targeted audience (which in this case would be older, upper classed, elegant and well-dressed people). Nicole Kidman is a very stylish, luxurious and mannerly figure, allowing her participation with Omega to lure in many consumers who look up to her classy lifestyle. Furthermore, Omega probably chose Nicole as their celebrity endorser because of everything that I have just stated above as oppose to, let's say, Britney Spears. Her lifestyle and personality leans more towards the "funky" and "wild" side. I'm guessing that if Omega was to use Birtney Spears as their endorser, they will definitely be attracting the wrong consumers. With that said, Omega has definitely chosen the right endorser for their brand because Nicole Kidman's advertisements will appeal to the right type of consumers!

REFERENCE:
Omega Watches History. (2008). Retrieved March 21, 2010, from
Interwatches.com website: http://www.interwatches.com/omega-history.

Celebrity Endorsement Deals Gone Astray
By Apryl Duncan

This article helps defend my point about how advertisers must be careful when choosing their celebrity endorser. For the reason that it might end up in turmoil, costing them a lot of money to overcome whatever the issue may be with the endorser.

Peer Response: Chang's Blog

Response to In Defense of Food Post:

“Meat or Plants, does it really matter? Food is food, right? As long as I get filled up and have energy to perform my daily tasks, it doesn’t really matter what I eat, right?” As a response to Chang’s questions, I do strongly believe that it does matter what you decide to consume on a daily basis. Although your stomach is full and you are loaded with enough energy to follow through with your day, you will definitely cause harm to your body by not making healthy food choices! In Chang’s post, he briefly summarizes Michael Pollan’s arguments in In Defense of Food. Chang has stated that Pollan argues about the different kinds of food that would be considered healthy and also, the food that people should stay away from. Furthermore, Pollan argues that instead of replacing fats in diets with carbs (which is what we have all been advised to do within the past half century), people are getting more obese rather than becoming healthier. I do agree that obesity is becoming a huge issue for Americans today.

I took a look at Chang’s link he provided with his post and was surprised to see that during the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. No wonder why America is home to the most obese people in the world!!! I found this article to be very frightening, because of the growing adult population of obesity and health issues. It made me realize how important Michael Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food is for consumers today. If we don’t start to eat healthy, in the next 20 years, the United States percentage of obese adults would definitely double. Chang has mentioned in his post that he feels like there is too much information that Michael Pollan has left out, which does not allow people to get a solid answer on whether or not it’s really based on the food they consume that makes a person unhealthy. I don’t agree with his statement, because even though Michael Pollan does not directly say that food choices result in health issues, it's common knowledge to understand that the food someone consumes does have an effect on their overall health!

The obesity epidemic in the US is due solely to increased food intake
By Fran Lowry

I found this article to go along with Chang's post. It clearly explains the reasons why Americans are still so obese till this very day.

"Real" Food vs. "Fake" Food

Imitation crab is what many people on a budget would consume when they are craving seafood. I am a huge fan of sushi, and spend a lot of my time making it for friends, family, and myself when I can. I have used "real" crab meat before and loved the way it smelled and tasted; nonetheless, I eventually came to realize that it was costing me too much. In order to save me money for more important things, I had to force myself to make the switch. I was able to get imitation crab meat for about one quarter the price of "real" crab meat!!

Imitation crab meat contains textural and nutrition properties that allows it to be a good substitute for its natural alternative. Although imitation crab meat does not maintain its flavor after a few bites, it’s definitely affordable, flexible and does not need to be cooked ahead of time. This alternative is made in a process using whitefish, usually Alaskan Pollack. It does have the great benefits of fish but unlike fresh fish, there are preservatives and colorings. Imitation crab meat is, as a matter of fact, healthy for consumers even though it's a processed food. It provides important nutrients that are required for people to live a healthy day-to-day life. Also, since imitation crab meat is made from whitefish, it is heavy in Omega 3’s (healthy fat). The only drawback is that it doesn’t quite taste and smell like “real” crab meat.

However, I was able to overcome the negative aspect of the "fake" food because as a result of consuming imitation crab meat, it definitely made me feel better about myself. I was able to save a lot of money towards school, transportation, and many other things, yet still enabling me to consume what I love most! I think that after so many years of using this alternative meat over “real” crab meat for my sushi, I have become so attached to its cost that I might not return to the real thing, unless I am making sushi for a special occasion!

Are You Filling Up on Real Food or Fake Food?

by By Dr. Leslie Van Romer

I do not agree with this article, because although "fake" food is considered to be lower on nutrients than "real" food, it does not necessarily mean that with the consumption of "fake" food, it will reduce the number and quality of an individual's days on earth. I believe that it just depends on how well people control their eating habits and how well their choices are while picking "fake" food over its natural rival.

Response to In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." These are very simple yet such meaningful words in Michael Pollan's book, In Defense of Food. He does a wonderful job explaining his beliefs of why people should start paying more attention to what they are consuming and the reasons why eating healthy is such an important part of our every day lives.

So far, Michael's arguments in chapters 1-4 is mainly focused on the fact that he believed there was a time when humans "used" to know how to eat healthy. However, due to the complications and dilemmas caused by food industries, journalists, and nutritionists, the balanced dietary recommendations that were passed on to new generations have been confused. As a result of this situation, today's society is facing a world of bad advices, which then leads to poor decisions on what they should consume. For example, many products in the marketplace today are often packaged with health claim labels that are usually very misleading and wrong. So, if you want to eat healthy, you should probably avoid products that make health claims.

I agree with Michael's statement that eating food is also about pleasure, community, family, spirituality and about expressing our own identity apart from others. Our culture does have the biggest impact on the things we eat and the way we eat it. Sometimes, the foods that are consumed in certain families will never be consumed in others or maybe some families might even incorporate different culture's food into their diet. Nevertheless, it does not matter whether you are from a different culture and have different beliefs of what and what not to eat, everyone is and should still be seeking for the same thing; staying healthy!! Also, I would like to defend Michael's suggestion that if we, as consumers, would pay a higher price for better and well-grown food, but just purchase less of the product, we will definitely benefit not only ourselves, but also our environment at large. I believe that by doing so, we will be able to recover from a bad eating habit to a more balanced, enjoyable and enriching path to eating healthy.

How Personal Factors, Including Culture And Ethnicity, Affect The Choices And Selection Of Food We Make
Most major cities in the world are made up of diverse societies, consisting of a wide range of individuals from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Ethnicity refers to a social group, which shares certain distinctive features, such as language, culture, physical appearance, religion, values and customs. Culture on the other hand refers to how we do and view things in our group...