Hwk 3

Looking at the atmosphere and people, there were many more differences than similarities between Wendy's and the Union Squrae Greenmarket. At Wendy's I noticed that majority of the customers were either Black or Hispanic. Most of the people seated seemed to be lost in their own world; staring away into space while consuming their food or poking away at buttons on their electronic devices. When I scanned around the whole seating area, I noticed that there were many people that would be considered overweight. Most of the customers had burgers, French fries or chicken nuggets with a side of an over sized drink. Even though there were advertisments near the checkout line for salads, I didn't see anyone eating a salad. However, when looking at the enviornment of the Union Square Greenmarket there were many customers purchasing organic food which was nowhere to be found at Wendy's. At the Greenmarket there were stalls for all sorts of organic foods such as cheese, fish, mushrooms, jellies, etc... I noticed that there were many more Whites and Asians unlike the customers at Wendy's.

I stopped at one stall where an aged couple were selling forest wild mushrooms which they collected from their farm upstate. They had a wide variety of wild mushrooms, and surprisingly there were many people interested in purchasing them. The lady behind the counter explained how she collected the wild mushrooms and cared for them. This couple was basically making their living off of their sales from wild mushrooms. When asked "Is food sacred?" the lady answered: "Of course food is sacred!"...can't live without it; only natural food is considered sacred to me, I don't consider Mcdonalds or Wendy's sacred at all" While walking around the Union Square Greenmarket I noticed that each stall was focused on one product, while at Wendy's they were selling many products without any background knowledge about them. When the lady behind the counter at Wendy's was asked: "What part of the chicken is a chicken nugget?" (Evan), she responded by questioning him saying: "Is there something wrong with you?" Because she ignored Evan's question, I am pretty sure that she had no knowledge about the products she was selling. This is different compared to what I experienced at the Greenmarket; each seller had their answer ready when they were questioned about the product they were selling.

Even though we are aware that Fast Food has no benefits, many of us still ignore this fact simply because we see everyone else ignoring it. I know many people that cannot go a week without consuming fast food. I feel the reason that fast food is so successful is because the option is always there for us. If you are not provided a home cooked meal every night, you can always go downstairs to select a meal of your liking from your favorite fast food restraunt. "I eat fast food once in a while when I don't have enough time to cook. Even though I know it's not healthy for me, it still tastes good...I prefer home cooked meals over fast food, but when I am in a hurry I always have fast food as an alterbnative to a home cooked meal." (Sasha) A home cooked meal is something that is considered much better than a fast food meal, but since many of us don't have enough time to prepare it we always end up purchasing our next meal from a fast food joint. A home cooked meal needs time and strength to be produced, while a fast food meal is just a simple walk away.

Even though I see many people eating fast food, I wasn't aware about how easy it is to get addicted to this stuff until now. I know some people who have fast food four or five times a week which shocks me. I come from a family that eats a home cooked meal every night. Occasionaly there are times where we go out to eat, but we never eat out at fast food restaurants. Recently a friend asked me "When is the last time you ate at a fast food joint?" I answered "I can't remember..." She was very surprised replying with a "Damnnn" since she is used to having fast food every so often. I rarely visit fast food restraunts as a customer, at most twice a year. My family usually shops at grocery stores for our necessities, but when there is a Greenmarket set up in the neighbohood my mom never misses it. I am very proud that my family does not consume fast food on a regular basis unlike many people I know do. I like to know where my food comes from and how it is prepared; I trust my parents preparing my meal since sanitation is no worry at all and it is made in front of me; unlike the meals that are given out at fast food restaurants. "When i used to work at Checkers in California, there was this lady who worked with me, and one day she dropped some fish while putting it in the fryer; I swear she put it back in the fryer....they didn't change the oil in the fryers unless there was a expection date arriving..." (Sasha) Hearing things like this makes me happy that I have a home cooked meal every night; I don't need to worry about my food being mistreated at all, I can enjoy my food at home without taking any risks.