What is "Soylent Green?"

  Nature is against us, simple enough. Biologically speaking, our environment is filled with carcinogens, neurotoxins, and death. There is, then, an odd paradox in the thought that in our day and age, wherein there is a growing trend to be responsible for our environment, that the environment around us feels no such responsibility towards us.

  What is considered "organic?" Biologically speaking, anything organic is something produced by living processes; chemically speaking, it is any carbon-containing molecule with a carbon-hydrogen bond. All food is organic, as it is initially produced through living processes. Politically speaking, organic relies on the appeal to nature fallacy, a fallacy that states that "a thing is good because it is natural, and that something is bad because it is unnatural." Regardless, it is safe to say that most people find common ground in the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle or sustainable production of food as a goal. Wherein we diverge is in how we achieve the means to that end.

  Science has continually shown to play an important role in increasing crop yields through the development of new strains of plants, but also in creating newer methods to combat pests and disease. Those who disagree argue that science and its development of these methods will harm the environment in a matter of ways including soil damage and runoff. At this point I must state that I am not completely against the concept of natural foods, for in fact I've never been able to reconstruct a better cup of coffee from coffee I can purchase at my usual market ($6.99) compared to the cup I made using coffee I bought at the local co-op ($18.99). Where I tend to disagree with organic food enthusiasts is in the marketing of such products: organic and non-organic foods are essentially the same product as they are both produced through biological processes, though organic foods are priced at a higher premium and justified by an alarm-ism towards standard, non-organic foods. Something being classified as "organic" does not guarantee its safety after being consumed by an individual, nor does it mean it is any more practical  or useful. It should be made clear that technological innovations regarding food should be proven to be safe and effective, and in most cases they are. Like diet, balance is key. Fluoridated water is generally healthier for you then the H20 from the Mississippi, and does away with diseases and pollutants that may be found in the river.

  In continuation of the role that science is seen to be playing in agriculture, I recently read an article regarding the development of a dietary food under the name "Soylent." To begin, Soylent is a mixture of essential and unessential nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, etc, that the body requires on a day-to-day basis, for a full list click here. Soylent is essentially a formless liquid produced from a variety of phytochemicals and other additives that replace what we tend to call food. This is a bit of an odd concept for me to grasp, especially with a name such as Soylent that reminds me of the 1973 movie wherein the world as a result of mass food protests has begun to make green "soylent chips" out of the deceased, lower class. With this, then, it is possible to suggest that food is long overdue in terms of innovation and higher food security that could also improve the health of those with an average income. This is not to say that this is an all-or-nothing affair, for it is easily possible to substitute Soylent or some other such product for breakfast and lunch, but also to be able to enjoy a nice evening meal. From the author's perspective, who is to say that this form of diet would not lead to psychological benefits, by exchanging biological cravings for psychological ones.

  In the not too distant future, as nutrition and diet continue to play a significant role in not just our society but throughout the world, we may begin to see some interesting developments take place including the form of what we call "food." What is considered natural and unnatural is relative to the individual, and I believe that further innovation in food and agriculture will allow us to put focus elsewhere while maintaining a healthy, fit lifestyle. To clarify, the average American spends roughly 13% on groceries annually. This being said, it could be suggested that spending less on groceries while maintaining a healthy, fit lifestyle will allow us to focus, or spend that money elsewhere. I also believe that these innovations will allow average income earners to improve not only their health and well-being, but many other aspects of their life.

Healthcare For All

     It must be recognized that the continuing growth in health-care spending is inevitable in not only this country but throughout the world.  The stark reality regarding health-care spending is that death is generally considered the lowest-cost option.Technological developments in medicine are to blame for the increases in spending as improvements lower the annual death rate but also necessitate costly follow ups, medication, and generally some form of  intervention years later. These advancements, coupled with the inevitability of increased health-care spending are the major creators of new medical markets, and will continue to play an important role on the United States' economy in the years ahead.

     Increases in health-care spending need money to fund, and the question therein lies how do we fund them? The implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in 2010 will produce major changes in medical insurance and govenment spending on health-care in 2014. Taxes drive government funding, so what kind of taxes are we talking about? As of 2009, healthcare-spending in the United States accounted for about 17% of GDP wherein approximately half, or roughly 8% was funded by government. Under the Affordable Care Act, we can only expect government spending on health-care to increase, and it is suggested that two-thirds of the increased taxes would fall upon the top percentage of American earners. Increased spending by the government on health-care and the coupled growth in medicine and medical technology would mostly be plowed back into the private economy that produced those advancements. Compare this type of spending to the amount spent on wars abroad, the return is tremendous. As discussed, the growth and development of medical and high-tech markets continues to be one of the larger drivers of the United States' economy, and will continue to create jobs for undergraduate college students such as myself in the near future though this dynamic is often clouded over by political punditry.

     An effective, broad-based healthcare system is fundamental in promoting and sustaining the well being of a nation's individuals. A government supported healthcare system must come with limits, as much of America's high level of spending is in pursuit of new technologies, often driven by the pursuit of higher reimbursements. Increases in obesity and the development of chronic diseases can severely impact health, but also account for nearly $3 out of every $4 dollars spent on healthcare. A suggestible solution to part of this high level of spending can come from a focus on promoting the effects of obesity on health, or by establishing care-management networks to reduce the clutter of what has become a mess in managing patients with multiple chronic illnesses. One issue that adds to the clutter involved with patients with multiple chronic illnesses is that there is no common paperwork involved which has pushed the patients themselves to become their own care providers. We as American's often find it difficult to deal with restrictions on our choices, the recently failed ban on soda above a certain size in New York City for example, but in an effort to produce an effective, broad-based health care system majority funded by the taxpayers can only be established with reasonable restraints on inappropriate healthcare procedures and unproven care.

    What do we seek to achieve by taking a visit to the doctor? One in which the doctor is unestablished in his practices, or one in which he has a solution to the issue presented? Never before has the possibility of reforming modern medical practices in America been so pronounced, and without proper attention to improvement, the state of medicine will continue to move toward a political and administrative debacle. Implementing new standards and protocols to improve the quality of care and move the current system away from a medical malpractice-based system to a workman's compensation system with expert inquiry. The American political system is not a system supportive of swift change, hence the reason why we should take care now to improve upon the system correctly while the issue is present. This being said, both Liberals and Conservatives should drop their independent beliefs that 1. healthcare will happen swiftly to move towards the "single payer" model of health insurance, and that 2. the healthcare system is not now nor will it seem to be in the future a "private sector" industry as approximately half of all costs involving health care are paid for by the government.

Delight In The Ordinary

     Ordinary is what a majority of our daily lives consist of, constantly exposing us to pleasures and pains from our culture and the natural environment around us. It is suggestible, then, that the ordinary is where we find most our our callings, our interests, but also our temptations. This past Easter weekend I was reminded of a sermon delivered by my previous pastor regarding the path to Emmaus, on which we can either lead our lives in the direction away from God towards Emmaus, or towards God in the direction of Jerusalem. Similarly, our experience with the ordinariness of everyday life can lead us further away or closer to God depending on the choices we make. This two sided attribute of ordinariness is something discussed by C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters, wherein [the devil] Screwtape criticizes his nephew Wormwood in permitting his patient to take pleasure in reading a book simply because he enjoys reading it. This is important because it suggests that important events in life are seldom extraordinary in appearance and are easy to miss, and that it is our daily decisions that affect our moral and spiritual growth. It is as though we are traveling a road toward self-actualization, which could or could not also be considered a path towards perfection and that through the development of our character, or spiritual and moral growth, we are able to or unable to gaze upon the face of God.
      Letting go of our pleasures along the path towards self actualization can be difficult, and therefor quite easy to dismiss in the pursuit of other pleasures and desires. The attempt to hold onto our everyday pleasures eventually crumbles, and leaves us with only ourselves. Retreating further into ourselves, caring only about our own pleasures would take us further way from our own self actualization, and lead us away from God. It is this predicament I find myself currently in, faced by a flux of pleasures and interests I find myself retreating further into my self, gradually falling away to value nothing more than myself rather than other people. There is a tension then, between the natural forms of love we express and our love towards God, and it is the idolization and isolation of these loves that make it so easy to turn us away from our own self-actualization. As a result of this isolation and idolization, we experience the transformation of love as painful, which is probably why few can say they have lived to see their own self-actualization and find themselves on the road to Emmaus. If anything is to be taken from this, for me especially, it is to find truth in the old adage that to take pleasure in the small things now is to look back later on and realize that some of them were the big things that truly do matter.
   

Where Are You Superman?

     So, I just watched Waiting For Superman last night, and honestly it inspired me. What the producers showed with their particular movie was the state of our public education system and it’s flawes. What they showed, were hundreds of students in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Redwood City, struggling for a decent education, one that I’ve taken for granted my entre life. I don’t think typical high school students realize how gosh darn lucky they are when they don’t have to depend on a lottery to determine their future education in a district that is overpopulated. For example, charter schools in Harlem have no less than five hundred applicants for only twenty available spots. That to me is a serious flaw that should be considered. The most emotional topic of the movie was the discussion of the national teachers union. Washington D.C’s new superintendent began her term by shutting down twenty-three public schools and firing her own child’s principle. Even she admitted that to easily piss someone off, that’s one way of doing it. Why go through the trouble of taking on the immense persona of the national teacher union? For one, she wanted to increase teacher’s annual salary to that of six digits (100,000+ dollars). At first I thought that was outrageous, but after her explanation I agreed. She thought that by paying the best teachers six digits, we could improve our ratings. But for some reason I’m still not fully grasping, the unions turned her down, outraged at the very thought of pay for performance. My parents commented after the fact that they (being the teachers) think it’s their god given right to teach. Their comment in itself made it a tad easier to understand, but still I wonder why people would turn such an idea down, I mean we want to give our children the best possible education we can give them right? The movie also included an interview with Bill Gates, which allowed me to grasp his opinion on the topic. In short, he said that by as early as 2020, our country will have available twenty million jobs in the math and engineering fields, or somewhere around there. Though we will have those twenty million openings, the U.S. itself will only be able to secure twenty to thirty percent of them. Where will the other openings go, well take a guess. Overseas, Asian schools are pumping out amazing amounts of engineers each year, and those engineers will take that remaining seventy to eighty percent. That also shows how our public education system again is flawed. So with that, I can’t stand the fact that teachers unions are preventing us from getting a high education. And to tie in the recent budget repair bill here in Wisconsin by Scott Walker, that is why there’s so much hype. Scott Walker is attempting to go for the teachers union, and preventing it from collectively bargaining, which in my opinion is awesome, the fact that teachers are so upset over this issue, and even to skip a day of school to protest shows how stuck in their ways they are. Another topic discussed was tenure, and how it is basically impossible to get rid of a failing teacher. In order to, one must go through a twenty-three-step process that could take years to get through. So, basically tenure is the immortal benefit a teacher gains when they’ve taught for more than two years. After about two years, they gain tenure, which originally was designed to protect college professors for losing their jobs due to clinical illness, etc. But now it is implemented into the public education system, and proves a very difficult barrier when getting rid of failing teachers. In New York, they have such places named “rubber rooms” in which they place the districts failing teachers that are waiting for hearings to get rid of them. These hearings don’t usually happen for one to two years, and cost the state about six million dollars a year. Even in Milwaukee, at their public schools the principles of the public schools have a “dance of the lemons” each year to distribute their failing teachers amongst each other in hopes of improving their teaching skills at a different location. It’s absolutely crude that we have developed this image of the “immortal teacher” and basically giving them their jobs for life, when the private sector does not have that luxury. Really I didn’t intend this brief synopsis to turn into a full-blown bash of teachers unions. I can easily say that teachers are a vital part of our lives, now and in the future. Key issues with our education system include the national teachers union, as well as the benefit of tenure. Without looking at those aspects of our education system, we can never hope to improve the percentage of those available openings for our children, and heck even ourselves. So I pose a question for those of you that do get this far in my blurb, where is our superman? Who will step up to the plate and take on some of the toughest challenges that face our society today, and help those several hundred applicants get into college, rather then those twenty?