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.