Speech Evaluation # 2

Last Wednesday, I gave a persuasive speech on animal rights vs. animal welfare, which can be seen by clicking here. After my introduction, I gave an explanation and an overview of my topic. I began with talking about animal rights, but then switched to animal welfare to leave the audience with the good side of animal agriculture. In regards to my physical presentation, I felt like my volume and clarity of my voice were satisfactory. At certain points, I showed more energy and enthusiasm, but at other times, I showed less and took a more serious approach. My eye contact could not have better and I did include some body language. After watching the video of myself, I did notice I leaned on the podium at certain times. My use of visual aids seemed to work out well. I used the pictures on my PowerPoint to be incorporated well in my speech, especially the first one which I used to throw off the audience before making my opposing point. The information I decided to put on my slide was relevant to my topic and concise when I felt like it needed to be. In my conclusion, I used the last slide, although stealing part of the idea from Mitch's speech to offer a comical, yet appropriate ending to my speech. At the same time, my last sentence gave a call to the audience to learn more about animal welfare. If I could do it over again, I would pick the same topic, because it is a topic that is very relevant to my life and one which needs to be talked about more. In regards to my speech and visual aid I would not change much. If I could do it over again, however, I would change how much I prepared the speaking portion of my speech. At times I was at a loss for words due to my lack of preparation and my speech would have gone smoother if I had prepared better. Besides my lack of prepartion, I felt the speech went well and I made some good points in favor of animal welfare.

Response to Carrie's Blog Post

Recently, Carrie posted a blog on "real" vs. "fake" food and concentrated on margarine vs. butter. In this blog, she talks about how she grew up using butter in her household, but now at college, she has switched over to margarine. In my home, we use butter and while i have been here, I continue to use butter. She argues that margarine is better for your health because it has less saturated fat and cholesterol.
According to this article, margarine usually healthier for your body. However, all margarines are not the same, some can be more solid and contain more trans fat than butter. This is especially common when in stick form instead of tubs. The higher fat content can increase heart disease and blood pressure. The "good" form of cholesterol can also be lowered when you have more trans fats. Alternatives between margarine and butter include consuming whipped butter or low or reduced calorie butter.
My personal choice to use butter has two main factors. The first is, the consumption of butter supports dairy farming, which in return benefits my family. The other reason is I feel butter has a far superior taste than margarine.

Say cheese! Real vs. Fake Food

One of my favorite foods in the planet, second only to mangos, is cheese. I will put it on my burgers, burritos, chips, and pretty much anything else. The majority of my milk produced on my farm goes into the production of cheese and I have had the privilege of touring many cheese factories. Pollan talks about "real" vs. "fake" food in his book, "In Defense of Food." In the case of cheese, the "fake" cheese is either American cheese or the Velveeta brand cheese. A cheese that may considered a "real" cheese would be a classic cheddar or Monterey cheese.
The process of how to make cheese, according to this link, starts with milk being curdled for 2 hours, more milk is being heated, then left over night. Rennet is added to form curds, which is later strained by cheese cloth to remove the curd from the whey. The remaining product is cheese and is then salted and pressed before being aged.
Processed cheese is often considered a fake food because it is like cheese, but has food coloring, preservatives, and emulsifiers. These add ons, give the cheese an extended life on the shelf in individual packaging or in a can. Since this cheese does not meet certain requirements to be cheese, it is considered a "cheese food."
The process cheese by some is considered less healthy due to the added chemicals as preservatives and emulsifiers. Some pediatricians recommend kids due not eat the foods due to the chemicals. Other scientists feel like the body will not react differently to the chemicals added in the cheese, then to certain chemicals found naturally in food.
Personally, I will continue to eat processed cheese, because I feel it has very little impact in my overall health. Given the choice between natural or processed food, I would take teh natural. Either way, my consumption of cheese will stay constant.