Meta-Reflection

This course has been a great experience for me; I was able to learn more about the area and the culture within it. I loved getting the chance to go out and see different parts of St. Catharines and how it differs from Mississauga. My favourite OOCLO was the one where I listened to Leslie Meisels talk about his perspective of the holocaust. I have always been fascinated with what went on in that time and how Adolf Hitler was able to get enough followers to cause everything that happened. I thought it was an amazing opportunity to go and listen to his firsthand account of the holocaust. I look up to him because he is so strong and so optimistic even after everything he has been through. If I could go listen to his story again, I would go in a heartbeat; I would go and listen as many times as possible so that I could learn as much as I could from his story. This was an academic learning opportunity and I was not able to help anyone, accept myself. After I got home, I told my roommates about Leslie Meisels story and they were fascinated that he went through all that and survived. The most important thing I learned from this OOCLO was that silence is not standing up for anyone; silence is siding with the enemy. I will always remember Leslie Meisels’s story because it made such an impact on me.

Through this class, I have learned a lot about myself and about others as well. I met a guy in this class named Danny, now he is one of my close friends. I find it really hard to talk to people because I am fairly shy at first.  This is something that I have worked on this semester through this class. Each OOCLO has made me talk to different people so I have taken that chance to open up more and become less shy. This is something I will continue working on and going out in the community and talking to people is a great way to do it. I have met so many different people through this class and the opportunities that have arisen. However, it is hard for me to go up and talk to strangers but I know that if I continue to try that it will be very satisfying. I know it will be satisfying because it allows me to get to know more people and get to know their stories. Therefore, this class has helped me become a better person and help others along the way. 

Fresh Foods As Commodities Meta-Reflection

All prices are too high, this is why we are in a recession; also, the number of poor people is rising because of this. Not enough people are standing up to the government saying that prices need to be lowered. I know many families that are struggling to make ends meet because everything is so much more expensive. Prices will continue to rise and the gap between rich and poor will become even more defined than it already is. More and more people need two or three jobs just so they can support themselves. Bread used to be five cents and now it is more than three dollars, how does it jump that much? It is hard to understand why the government needs this kind of money, now I realize it is because they choose to import food instead of using the food that is grown in Canada. 

Fresh Foods As Commodities

I agree that in our society everything is commercialized. It is all about getting Canada as much money as possible. It does not matter if it means that people starve because they cannot afford these commodities. It seems that this is the government’s way of getting as much money out of us as possible. They do not care if it raises the number of starving Canadians because the government is still making money and that is what really matters. Not too many people stand against this because the Canadians that can pay for it do not see a point in arguing and the people who cannot afford it do not feel the need to stand up. This is why food banks are in higher demand, more and more people do not have the money to buy these fresh vegetables. A pack of 4 peppers is about the same price as a big mac meal from McDonalds, that is not right. The longer we wait to do something the higher the prices will get.

Fed Up At Brock Meta-Reflection

Throughout my school years, they have always had a program where they served food to kids. My mom helped with a breakfast program in public school, she said many of the kids did not have enough money to feed their kids breakfast. This was a great way for those kids to get a healthy meal for free; also no one knew who these kids were. Whenever I asked who the kids were my mom would always say, “There are a lot of kids, some are even your friends.” This taught me early in life that it does not matter where you live, what you wear, or who your friends are, some people struggle to make ends meet. Some of the people who struggle choose to not get help but other people ask and that is why this program started. It gave everyone the chance to have a healthy breakfast and start off the day right.

Fed Up At Brock

I think this is a great idea; it gives students a chance to meet new people. In addition, the prices of food on campus are amazingly high. I find that if I have classes all day I will just bring a light snack and wait until I get home to eat. Now knowing about Fed Up I think it is a great alternative. Students need cheap and healthy food options, instead of getting chips or a chocolate bar. This is a great alternative and I think it will have a great turn out if students get to know more about it.

Eat Real, Eat Local. Meta-Reflection

After this lecture, I went to the grocery store to see how hard it is to buy locally. It turned out that a lot of the food we were buying was in fact grown in Canada. We shop at Zhers and I find they do a great job of letting you know where your food is grown. Another great way to shop, which is a lot easier, is by going to farmers markets. The farmers know about their food and can answer any question you have. My family always goes to the farmers market at the cottage because their food is much fresher. In addition, I find it a great experience to talk to the people that grow your food. Therefore, if it is important to buy locally grown food, then you will see how easy, cheap, and delicious it really is.

Eat Real, Eat Local

This video opened my eyes on how important it is to buy locally. Although it is easy to not care about where your food is from, it is also not very hard to at least try to buy locally grown food. This video opened my eyes to how much Canada imports when we could grow most of what we import. I find that the locally grown food is much fresher and therefore tastes a lot better. There is a market at our cottage, Anderson’s, which is where we buy all our produce because of the taste, and the prices are lower too. My mom tries her best to always buy locally grown food, as she prefers the taste to the food that has been transported to Canada and lost its freshness. Also through the transportation process, it loses a lot of its nutrition too. I find that buying locally is about the same price as buying imported food, the only difference is you have to look at the label to see if it is grown in Canada. Canadians need to start taking pride in what we grow and start supporting our farmers, whether it is convenient or not!