The Epitome of Public Service Essay Example for Free

The Epitome of Public Service Essay The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, as Sandra McElwaine puts it, has had her stint with the news media for looking a bit more refreshed, the pseudo-acronym for plastic surgery . Pelosi’s refreshed look tells the story of a firm character and a patriot’s dedicated service to a nation with no sign of giving up characterized by the absence of veins of strain on her magnificent face. The glamorous grandma, as it is obviously illustrated with her sharp present-eyes that would pierce anyone who poses opposition for the pro-Jew democrat is magnificent despite her age with her seamless features . Pelosi comes from a family with a strong tradition in public service. Thomas D’Alessandro, Jr. , Pelosi’s father, after representing the city of Baltimore in Maryland for five congressional terms, also went on to serve as its mayor for twelve years. Thomas D’Alessandro III, her brother, followed in her father’s footsteps as he served as the city’s mayor as well. She graduated from Washington’s Trinity College in 1962 and together with her husband Paul Pelosi, they have five children: Alexandra, Jacqueline, Christine, Nancy Corinne and Paul. Pelosi has represented the eighth district of California in the United States House of Representatives. The eighth district consists most of San Francisco City which includes Chinatown, Golden Gate Park, Fisherman’s Wharf as well as many of the numerous neighborhoods adding up to San Francisco community’s vibrancy as well as prosperity. The current House Speaker has led campaigns for the increase of educational opportunities for young Americans as well as campaigns for the protection of employees. Additionally, Pelosi has been extremely vocal on legislations that promote health care, especially women’s health as well as the creation of a nationwide health-tracking-network that was aimed at assessing the connection between chronic diseases and environmental pollutants. Moreover Pelosi has also led efforts aimed at increasing investments in health as well as health related research whereupon she has secured financial support that doubled the National Institutes of Health’s budget . Together with the help of other representatives, Pelosi has prevailed against efforts aimed at reducing funding for international family planning programs. The creation of housing opportunities for individuals living with HIV/Aids ranks among Pelosi’s major legislative victories. Additionally, she has also been at the forefront of accelerating the development of an HIV vaccine as well as the expansion of access to Medicaid for individuals who have been infected by the deadly virus. Moreover, the speaker was also at the forefront in the house campaign that saw funding for Ryan White CARE Act increased. Other programs that have also seen her staunch support include the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative in addition to other critical programs to people infected with HIV/AIDS. Her passion for improved health services to the American public has also seen her successfully increase access to health insurance for disabled Americans by way of ensuring that they are continuously covered with a healthcare policy . Moreover Pelosi was also a vehement force in the passage of legislation that saw nonprofit organizations assisted in the creation of affordable housing. As a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) for the longest continuous time of service in the history of the committee (ten years) which also include two years as a Ranking Democrat, she worked to guarantee military commanders as well as policymakers access to accurate and timely intelligence critical for directing diplomatic initiatives as well as success during combat and protection of American forces. Pelosi’s service to the Public has not been limited to American soil as she has also been vocal in meetings the world over with both American as well as foreign intelligence leaders. In this regard, Pelosi has called for increased attention to the danger that America and the international community is exposed to with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction including nuclear as well as biological threats . In a move that finalized her passion for public service, Pelosi led congressional reviews of American security and intelligence agencies whereupon she authored legislation aimed at creating an autonomous national commission to examine the federal government’s performance before, during as well as after the September 11 attacks. Pelosi’s virtue and humanity is resplendent and reflective in her advocacy for human rights around the world. This is especially evident with her brutal but intelligent fights for the improvement of human rights in China, especially in the context of her tying of America’s commerce with China to the communist state’s human rights record. The peak of her human rights stints with China has to be her efforts to free Tibetans. Just as the environment and the public are two symbiotic aspects inextricably bound, Pelosi’s service to the public is not complete without shades of environmental efforts . She secured the passage of a stipulation within the International Development and Finance Act of 1989. In this act, the World Bank as well as all regional multilateral development banks is required to assess likely environmental effects of all development projects they finance. Additionally, the said institutions are required to make these assessments available publicly. This Pelosi tool has evolved as a critical tool for foreign and indigenous non-governmental organizations in the world. Work Cited Page American Power. â€Å"Nancy Pelosi: Safe Environment a Basic Human Right. American Power. Gaffney, Mark, â€Å"Who is Nancy Pelosi? Bi-partisan consensus on Americas War in the Middle East† Common Dreams (2005). Garber, Kent (2010) â€Å"Pelosi Fights for More Low Income Subsides in Healthcare. † US News World Report. McElwaine, Sandra. â€Å"Who Did Nancy Pelosis New Face? † The Daily Beast. (2009). Rosenthal, Cindy Simon and Peters, Ronald M. , â€Å"Who is Nancy Pelosi? † PS: Political Science Politics, V. 41. (2008)

Nationalism And Sectionalism Essay Example for Free

Nationalism And Sectionalism Essay The Era of Good Feeling: The Effects and Consequences of Nationalism and Sectionalism In 1815, shortly before the start of James Monroe’s presidency and after the War of 1812, a historical period known as the â€Å"Era of Good Feeling† commenced in America. However, though the name of this age alone insinuated a time of unity and prosperity within the nation, sectionalism became an unequivocal dilemma that seeped through the government’s attempts in promoting nationalism, and ultimately divided the country. The Era of Good Feeling was a time where only one political party reigned, sense of unity prevailed, and national pride was evident within the citizens. This post ­war nationalism fueled the country to work towards a common goal, and even encouraged creation of traditions that would be passed down generations. The McCulloch v. Maryland case in 1819 exhibits government’s attempt in putting up a unified front to further promote nationalism. In this case, the Congress’ power is questioned when the ruling prevented states from outlawing or taxing the national bank, as Maryland tried to do. The document states, â€Å"The power of the general government, it has been said, are delegated by the states, who alone are truly sovereign† (Document 4). However, the outcome of the case only came to show that the federal government had more power compared to the state government, and thus portrayed a stronger, unified system. In Document 3, people are portrayed to be celebrating Independence Day on the fourth of July within the same year of the case. This depicts the effect that national pride had, bringing together multiple races, genders, social classes, and age groups to celebrate the country’s independence. Furthermore, this era also brought forth a fundamental period in Am erica known as the Industrial Revolution. This introduced market economy to the population and transitioned America to manufacturing processes that brought economic benefits to the north. Market economy not only changed the way people worked, but also the way they lived, as it divided labor, based work in factories, and opened new markets like the American Fur Company. Due to the prior Embargo Act, merchants also invested in national local manufacturing, and thus allowed for the rapid development of urban districts and increase in population. It brought wealth to the North’s market ­based economy but contradicted with the South’s focus on an agricultural economy that depended on slaves. One of the most significant developments within the country was introduced shortly after the War of 1812, by politician Henry Clay, as the American System. The plan promoted a system in which the South was seen to be the producer of raw goods, North for the manufacturing, while the West as the breadbasket of the country. It consisted of three parts: the development of canals, road systems and railroads, creation of a protective tariff, and the reinstating of the Bank of U.S.. The North prospered from the creation of the tariff as it helped develop the manufacturing economy. The West, on the other hand, benefitted from the creation of road and canal system, a plan supported by John C. Calhoun, in order to prevent disunion within the rapidly growing country, (Document 2). These developments in transportation allowed for easier distribution of goods, thus benefitting them as well. However, the protective tariff prevented the South’s economy from growing, thus leading to an evident economic gap between the North and the South, as the former’s economy started to boom due to the increase in manufacturing.

A Financial Analysis Of Starbucks Coffee

A Financial Analysis Of Starbucks Coffee The aim of this financial analysis of Starbucks is to obtain a deep knowledge of annual financial reports and other corporate information, which can provide us measurable conclusions about the company. It is essential to understand the nature of companys business, by analyzing its economic and financial environment and strategy choices made in the past. This report will begin with industry and company description, followed by financial performance overview and projection of company development over the next two years. Conclusions drawn from above analysis will support managers in making a decision whether to invest in the company. 2. The industry description The coffee industry is growing since 2002, and in recent years there was a boom caused by consumers becoming more educated about espresso-based drinks and how they are made (H. Holmes, 2004). The coffee industry includes 20,000 outlets with combined revenue of $11 billion. Approximately 20 million people work in the coffee industry worldwide. Market is very concentrated at the top with the 50 companies taking up 70% of the sales, and fragmented at the bottom. Starbucks is the market leader (Franchise direct, 2010). 2.1. Starbucks description Starbucks Corporation is involved in: purchasing, roasting, and sale of whole bean coffees, cold-blended beverages, various food items, selection of teas, and beverage-related accessories and equipment, primarily through its company-operated retail stores. It was established in 1971 in Seattle, Washington. In 1986 Howard Shultz, Retail Sales and Marketing Manager, left the company to start his own retail coffee outlet, Il Giornale. In 1987 the original investors of Starbucks bought Peets Coffee and sold Starbucks to H.Shultz, who renamed Il Giornale to Starbucks. Firm expended with shops in Chicago and Vancouver. Starbuck was the first coffee company to offer employee stock options in 1991 and went public in 1992. In 1990s Starbucks started distributing coffee through department stores, bookstores, hotels, supermarkets and online; it signed contract with PepsiCo, AOL and Dyers and opened stores in Japan, Singapore, and UK. (Hoovers.com, 2008) Starbucks has built one of the worlds most powerful and recognizable brands and the image of a unique Starbucks Experience. Its mission statement was to revolutionize the coffeehouse industry by building a perception of a coffee shop as the third place between work and home. Wi-fi internet access in all stores makes it a place where customers can work. The companys goal was to make each location a community center for higher-income crowd of the young and college-educated, a group that tends toward higher luxury-consumption levels. (Wikinvest.com, n.d.) 2.2. Competition Starbucks close competitors include other specialty coffee shops, doughnut shops, and restaurants. Starbucks holds a dominant position in the coffeehouse market which is dispersed among the thousands of independent or small-chain coffee shops. Their largest direct competitors are Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds. Both offer specialty coffee at a lower price. Main competitors short description: Dunkin, specializes in fresh baked goods, but began offering coffee in 2005. Their level of sales is at $4.3b. Currently, their coffee sales start to exceed food sales, 5-10% of total sales are from espresso-based drinks. Dunkin has a 22.9% market share. (Starbucks in the aggregate category controls a 24.7% market share) McDonalds entered the coffeehouse industry in 2007, offering coffee at its flagship stores and opening its espresso-centric McCafe concept in some markets. McDs coffee sales generate $813m in additional annual income. Current revenue from coffee is around $490m, about 6-6.5% of Starbucks coffee sales. Their price point is at 18% discount on Starbuckss. The two competitorss targets are slightly different from Starbucks. They focus on cheaper coffee to go, whereas Starbucks is providing a premium experience for a luxury price. Consequently, they compete with each other more directly than with Starbucks, however McCafe has a negative impact on Starbucks. Analysts believe that competitors will settle into separate niches, McDonalds being the better value proposition and Starbucks offering higher quality experience. 3. Financial Performance 2007-2009 3.1. Overview of Starbucks performance 2007-2009 In the fiscal year 2007, Starbucks achieved a solid performance. All goals like new stores opening, total revenue growth, comparable store sales growth and considerable cost rises from dairy products were completed. The consolidated operating income in 2008 was $503.9 and operating margin 4.9%. This was a significant decrease compared with the past few years, the reason for decrease was a changing of structure. In 2009, Starbucks faced many challenges caused by unexpected economic environment and more intense competition, which had impact on the revenue, comparable store sales, operating income and margins. 3.2. Income statement analysis 2007-2009 While net revenues of Starbucks havent been stable from 2007 to 2009 (first increasing then decreasing), its total operating income have also been moving in 2008 it decreased by 52,2% and it was $503.9 million, 4.9% of total net revenues. The reason for decrease was high distribution costs and high rent expenses. In 2009 it increase again by $58.1. Main reason for this improvement was the restructuring charges which contain: assets impairment, lease exit and severance costs. In 2008 and 2009 while net revenues were $10,383 million and $9,774.6, total operating expenses were $9,992.7 million in 2008 and $9,334.5 in 2009 that means expenses were highly eating up more than 96% of the net revenues. The company suffered a major loss of 113.185% in net earnings between 2007 and 2008. Starbucks realized that he need to re-think its business strategy. In 2008, the company incurred restructuring charges of $266.9 million due to store closures in the US and Australia and reduction of the work force. Starbucks Company derived 84% of total net revenue from the company-operated retail stores. They opened 681 new stores in the last 12 months and this offset -3% losses in comparable store sales. Total net revenue of 2009 was showed a decrease of 5.9%, stayed at $9,774.6. The company-operated retail also went down. In detail, there was a change of nearly 6.7% in comparable, for 4% decrease in transactions and a 2% decrease in the average value per transaction. Figure 1: Net Revenue of Starbucks 2007-2009 (Starbucks annual financial report) Figure 2: Operating Income of Starbucks 2007-2009 (Starbucks annual financial report) Figure 3: Net earnings of Starbucks 2007-2009 (Starbuck annual report) 3.4. Balance sheet In term of assets, the total assets for the three years kept staying around $5,600 million. The total current assets in 2009 were $2,036 million. This was higher than in 2008 and 2007 due to the high cash and cash equivalents in 2009. The marketable securities in 2007 were $157 millions so in 2007 the company had more short term investment. On the other hand, the total liabilities in 2008 were the highest in three years because of the commercial paper and short-term borrowing in 2008. Additionally, there was no short-term debt in 2009 but it was the highest accrued expenses during the three years. The shareholders equity in 2009 was the highest in three years owing to the additional paid-in capital. 3.4. Ratio analysis: By doing ratio analysis, the company performance would be evaluated more clearly. As we can see the current ratio for the 2009 was higher than 2008 and 2007. In 2008 and 2007, the current ratio was under 1. That means Starbucks was not in good financial health in these two years. However, this situation didnt exist for a long time but it was not a good sign. The current ratio for 2009 was 1.29, so the company had 1.29 times more current assets than current liabilities. That means Starbucks was able to cover its own obligations. As the Exhibit 1 shows the quick ratio was low for 3 years that is all below 1. This indicates that the company had difficult to turning their inventory into cash like a short-term liability which the company could not pay off immediately. In 2007, the profit margin of Starbucks was 7.15%. This means 7 cents of each dollar is companys profit. In the next two years, the profit margin decreased by nearly 3 percent. That means the net income in 2009 was visibly lower than 2007. It may mainly caused from the increase of the restructuring charges. The return on assets ratio in the year 2007 was 13.77% while the ratio declined to 6.95% in 2009. From this we know Starbucks earned more in 2007 and the net income in 2007 was higher than in 2009. The reason for this decrease results is also from increase cost of the restructuring and innovation in 2008 and 2009. In terms of leverage ratio, to measure its ability to meet financial obligation from 2007 to 2009 the debt ratio was around 50%. That means nearly 50% of funds for assets came from debt. This does not seem good for the company and the most liabilities were long-term liabilities. The debt to equity ratio from 2007 to 2009 was pretty high and the highest point was in 2007, so in 2007 more debt was used. Interests earned ratio in Starbucks during the 3 years was extremely high like in 2007, the ratio was nearly 28 times, but finally in 2009 the ratio was around 15 times a year. It could be a really good margin since the company was able to cover its interest expenses 15 times with operating income. 3.5. Cash flow Operating activities: the net cash provided by operating actives in 2009 was highest during the 3 years. The main part of activities was depreciation and amortization. Same as in 2008 the company spent $604.5 thousands on depreciation and amortization. Investing activities: the net cash used by investing activities in 2007 was $-1201.9 thousands. The main costs here were addition to property, plant and equipment and the company also spent money on purchasing available-for-sale securities. But in 2009 the net cash used by investing activities was $-421.1 thousands. This was much less than in the 2007. The reason for this was the company spent less money on additions to property, plant and equipment. Financing activities: the net increase/ (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in 2009 was $330.0 thousands. That means Starbucks gained money from financing activities in 2009 while in 2008 and 2009 they had losses in financing activities. The reason for the gain of money in 2009 was the profit in short-term borrowing and nothing spent on the issuing of long-term debts. 4. Forecasting 2010-2011 In order to project the next two fiscal year performance of Starbucks, particularly to construct the pro forma income statements of 2010 and 2011, establishing the revenue (or sales) projection should be the first task of all. In the next steps, the rest items of the statement would be projected by the percent of sales method since it does provide simple, logical estimate of many important variables (Higgins, 2009). In fact, there was a visible growth of Starbucks revenue in both volume and speed during the period of time from 2000 to 2009. Especially, from 2000 to 2007, the annual company sales increased in steady pace in the range of 20% to 29%. This impressive growth of Starbucks revenue was a sophisticated proof for its great business strategies during the beginning of this decade. However, the story had some changes since 2008. At the end of this fiscal year, Starbucks finished with $10,383 million revenue, in comparison with 2007, the growth ratio was 10.3% only, the lowest rat io since 2000. Continuously, in the midst of the US economic crisis, Starbucks sales got negative growth at 5.9% after finish the fiscal year 2009, stay at $9,744 million. Figure 4: Starbucks Sales chart in 2000-2009 (in Millions) Obviously, the trustable estimation should be the sophisticated one, that normally came from data base statistic analyses. Specifically, with the availability of the last ten years data of Starbucks revenue, it was possible to apply most of time series forecast methods such as moving average, weighted moving average, exponential smoothing, and so on. Since each method had its own advantages and limitations, it is necessary to compare how every method would reflect the same provided data (Exhibit 4). The value of W3 (for the Weighted moving average method) and ÃŽÂ ± (for the Exponential smoothing method) were decided high at 0.6 and 0.3 due to the emphasis of the closest time period in term of its impact to the next following year. As a result, the forecasts for 2010 sales were quite low though there was still a slightly growth than 2009. Among the three methods, the weighted moving average method seems to be the most appropriated one since it had the smallest value of the Mean Absolute Deviation. Basically, it proved that this method had less forecasting error than others and might be the best choice of all. To be clear, the plot chart was established base on the result of the three forecast methods in Figure X. Figure 5: Plot of Actual Sales and Forecast Sales for 2010 in three different models (in $ Million) Visibly, the line created from weighted moving average method was the closest one to the actual sales line. Its trend reflected almost similarly to the actual during the period of time from 2003 to 2009. That is why this method was chosen to determine the 2010 Starbucks sales instead of the two methods remaining. Objectively, $9,920.81 million may not be a number that Starbucks shareholders and investors really expect, even it showed slightly growth at 1.5% than 2009. However, in some levels, it seems to reflect quite appropriately the reality of the economic conditions as well as the Starbucks status. In spite of many positive signs of the economic recovery, Starbucks is still continuing its plan to close 800 retail stores over two year 2009 and 2010. Since the 566 stores had already released in 2009, another 244 are expecting to be cleared in fiscal year 2010. Thus, it could be hard to see a rapid growth in revenue of Starbucks at the end of fiscal year 2010. In regard to fiscal year 2011, since all of the three forecasting method above only allowed forecaster to see the result of 2010 revenue, the Linear Regression method was applied to estimate the sales in 2011. By collecting the sales data from the last three years (2007 to 2009) in quarterly, by the calculation of the regression line (Exhibit 11), the value of a ( the y intercept) and b (slope of regression line) were found. These two values were use to determine the dependent variable (y). The regression forecast of sales in equation is: y = a + bx (Exhibit 5 ). The forecast results of $10,078.21 and $10,189.41 for each year of 2010 and 2011 once again confirmed about the growth trend of Starbucks sales in the next two year. Nonetheless, base on the Starbucks plan of opening over 500 new stores in US and over sea during 2011, there should be a stronger increase in sales of Starbucks in this year. Subjectively, the authors believed that Starbucks revenue would increase no less than 15% in 2011. In other words, if the 2010 revenue was forecasted at $9,920.81 million, the same item in 2011 would be around $11,408.93 million. This result was also determined base on many positive factors that Starbucks could get benefits from such as the economic recovery in higher volume and speed, the more effective operating of Starbucks after the reorganizing process in its retail stores system as well as the objective increase in customers demand. Moreover, the volume of average transaction would be higher due to the increase in cost of goods sold and the im pact of inflation. In the Exhibit 6, all the operating performances of Starbucks from 2005 to 2009 were displayed in detail by the percent of total revenue. Base on those historical data and theirs visible trends, it was possible to anticipate logically the operating results for next two fiscal years 2010 and 2011 (Exhibit 7). According to the Exhibit 14, the net income of Starbucks stays at $466.27 and $479.18 million for each of 2010 and 2011. This may be considered as the acceptable results in regard to the challenges of the current circumstance. In fact, the forecast net income of 2010 is 19.3% higher than 2009. Since the revenue of 2010 did not rise in a strong level (only 1.5%), this impressive net income mainly came from the reducing the stores operating expenses and the more effective tax rate. In 2011, the operating expenses are expected to increase and stay at 95.2% of total sales, this is an objective fact that many items in operating expenses areas are in trend of steady increase year by year accompany with the business enlarge strategy of Starbucks, such as store operating expenses or general and administrative expenses. However, this ratio might be less in the next following years if the restructure process of Starbucks would get its aims of improving efficiency of cost control in various act ivities. Conclusion and recommendation Starbucks has been the largest specialty coffee retailer in its industry, but due to the problems with our economy, it has been seeing an effect on its sales and profits. The economic situation has affected consumers spending at Starbucks and other luxury goods. Starbucks also raised prices by an average of 9 cents a cup in July of 2007, causing U.S. customers who face higher food, fuel and housing expenses to go to McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts for cheaper coffee. These issues have affected Starbucks stocks performance in the market and are slowly making this stock an unfavorable one for potential investors. My recommendation for potential investors would be to hold off on purchasing stocks from Starbucks at this moment because now is not a good time to invest in them. I would advise these investors to keep looking into this stock until they see a positive change in its market pattern and that would be when I would advise them to purchase the stock; before its price increases higher t han the average market price. My recommendation for investors holding the share of the company would be to hold on to it until they can see for certain if Starbucks stocks will continue to go down and become a loss or maybe potential go back up and become profitable as they once were. After conducting my research, I believe the Starbucks stock will eventually start going up again after they put into effect their plans for the upcoming year. This stock is definitely a valuable one that I would not let go of if I owned shares in it. Starbucks hold value to its stock, which is why my advice to shareholders is to hold off on selling their shares until they see how the upcoming year goes for the company. In a response to the McDonalds challenge Starbucks is teaming up with Burger King, which has announced that by September 2010 it would begin selling Starbucks Seattles Best Coffee in about 7,250 U.S. outlets it would launch its first national advertising campaign.

The Environmental Revolution :: College Admissions Essays

Since the first time having blown bubbles in my Open Water class, I've logged over 100 dives.   This love for diving has evolved into an intense passion towards protecting the ocean, and all of its inhabitants.   I've chosen to put my love for the ocean into action, as an environmentalist.   Actually, this passion extends out towards efforts that look to help all the planetary domains gain protection.   As such, I appreciate when others take the time educate me on those other realms for which I know less about.   To be an environmentalist, one must choose the cause which resonates within ones sole, and run with it.   One must be willing to educate people about the environment while being open to education from those people who support other causes.   Together we can help each other towards learning how to become a true "Environmentalist". We must all encourage positive collaboration and education as opposed to being against something.   For example, sharks are being decimated to near extinction simply for their fins.   The fins are used to make Shark Fin soup, a delicacy popular particularly in Taiwan and Singapore.   It would be easy to blame these communities for creating the demand.   However, in conversing with Asian environmentalists, they liken the culture around eating Shark Fin soup to the culture surrounding Americans eating turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.   There are ongoing efforts to educate these people, by members of their own community, on just how dangerous this cultural practice is and the devastating impact this could have on their (our) world if all the sharks were to disappear as a result. Environmentalists everywhere are making a difference!   Famous restaurants have taken endangered Swordfish off their menus, these same restaurants are buying wild-caught salmon (and boosting the economy of local fisheries in the process), laundromats have started selling green detergent, this just to name a few of these enlightened changes.

Organic and Whole Food Essay -- Health, Nutrition

From the now popular recyclable cloth grocery bags, to the organic garden at the White House, food, and the food industry is changing. The popularity of organic and whole foods is on the rise. Processed foods are increasingly advertising that they are additive and preservative free, and all sorts of products now offer a â€Å"gluten-free† variety. The popularity of what is now being called the sustainable food movement, leads many to wonder why are some people willing to pay more, sometimes double, for organic produce, meat, eggs, and milk. Will this prove to be just another trendy American fad, or are there real health benefits from eating organic and whole foods? While the organic market only represents approximately 3% of the total food market, some believe that it’s a sector that we should be supporting more (Kluger 31). The ideal in America today, seems to be to go organic. All of the day-time talk shows, such as The Doctors, and Doctor OZ, are preaching the same message, shop on the perimeter of the store, avoid the processed food, and eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Part of this movement seems to be to support farmers markets, rather than the larger corporate chains. A recent study conducted by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that there is little nutritional difference between organic produce and the produce produced by conventional means (Kluger 31). While many consumers draw a sharp line between the two, at least from a nutritional standpoint, science does not draw the same distinction. However, supporters of the sustainable food movement state that the nutritional content is not their primary concern. The issue of feeding the world’s poor no longer finds itself center-stage in American culture. Toda... ... hormone is also believed to play a role in early onset puberty. Currently, it is against the law for dairy farmers to label their products as â€Å"rBGH-free†, because of the potential adverse impact on milk sales. This sustainable food movement, like many interesting topics, is complicated. Like most issues worth debating, it has many intelligent people, with many compelling arguments on both sides of the fence. Ultimately, it will most likely be the consumers, voting with their credit cards, who will dictate the directions of the food industry. Americans are concerned with animal rights, the environment, and their health. They are also concerned with world hunger, convenience, availability, and perhaps above all, cost. An extreme in any direction would likely prove to be detrimental. Hopefully the market, and consumers, will be able to find a â€Å"healthy† balance. Organic and Whole Food Essay -- Health, Nutrition From the now popular recyclable cloth grocery bags, to the organic garden at the White House, food, and the food industry is changing. The popularity of organic and whole foods is on the rise. Processed foods are increasingly advertising that they are additive and preservative free, and all sorts of products now offer a â€Å"gluten-free† variety. The popularity of what is now being called the sustainable food movement, leads many to wonder why are some people willing to pay more, sometimes double, for organic produce, meat, eggs, and milk. Will this prove to be just another trendy American fad, or are there real health benefits from eating organic and whole foods? While the organic market only represents approximately 3% of the total food market, some believe that it’s a sector that we should be supporting more (Kluger 31). The ideal in America today, seems to be to go organic. All of the day-time talk shows, such as The Doctors, and Doctor OZ, are preaching the same message, shop on the perimeter of the store, avoid the processed food, and eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Part of this movement seems to be to support farmers markets, rather than the larger corporate chains. A recent study conducted by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that there is little nutritional difference between organic produce and the produce produced by conventional means (Kluger 31). While many consumers draw a sharp line between the two, at least from a nutritional standpoint, science does not draw the same distinction. However, supporters of the sustainable food movement state that the nutritional content is not their primary concern. The issue of feeding the world’s poor no longer finds itself center-stage in American culture. Toda... ... hormone is also believed to play a role in early onset puberty. Currently, it is against the law for dairy farmers to label their products as â€Å"rBGH-free†, because of the potential adverse impact on milk sales. This sustainable food movement, like many interesting topics, is complicated. Like most issues worth debating, it has many intelligent people, with many compelling arguments on both sides of the fence. Ultimately, it will most likely be the consumers, voting with their credit cards, who will dictate the directions of the food industry. Americans are concerned with animal rights, the environment, and their health. They are also concerned with world hunger, convenience, availability, and perhaps above all, cost. An extreme in any direction would likely prove to be detrimental. Hopefully the market, and consumers, will be able to find a â€Å"healthy† balance.

Wellness :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The wellness wheel couldn’t have come at a better time because I’ve recently been trying to change my dieting and exercising habits, as well as the way in which I feel and look at myself. Knowing that my answers to some of these questions could be completely bias, I realize that the wellness wheel is how I look at myself in my perspective. Others could have different opinions about how I score myself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I found that I did very well on section eight, scoring a perfect twenty. Now, that is just how I felt at the time I took the test. Different answers and scores could appear at different times depending on my mood. Section eight was about wellness with playing and working. I feel I did very well on this particular section because I know how to separate work from play. I know when and how to work hard; and I’m very proud of the things I do and my accomplishments. On the other hand, I know when I’ve been working too much, and personal enjoyment away from work is almost like therapy to me. I think that the way I work is what enabled me to do so well in this section. I usually enjoy work, and I always try to turn work into an enjoyable activity, instead of â€Å"work†. I feel that if you work hard, you should play hard too.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main areas that I scored low in are the areas surrounding diet and exercise. Throughout my life, up until the past couple of years, I’ve always been extremely athletic and did some form of exercise regularly. However, now that I have more responsibilities; working full-time and going to school full-time, I’ve notice that I have slipped from exercising regularly, to not exercising at all. I’ve become a couch potato, figuring that I put so much time and effort into work, that when I get home I should sit on the sofa and plop my feet on the coffee table, eating junk food till my stomach erupts. I know this isn’t me, and I don’t want to be a couch potato for the rest of my life. However, this horrible habit that I’ve developed is a cycle that spirals downward leading me to unhealthy obesity. I’m only 170 pounds, still in shape, but on the verge of gaining an actual beer belly. I need to break the cycle and set a rou tine exercise plan for myself that will also include a relaxed diet.

Internet Essay

I don’t agree if the internet give more good than harm influence, as we could see nowadays teenager or child had been contaminated by lots of negatives in internet, they become more lazy to study, do homework, and they also wasted their time mostly on internet. Some negatives are like Porn and social networking, porn have make them become wild and misunderstood about sex they just get bad influence of porn that keep disturbing their minds. In Social networking we could hear nowadays that people were killed, and divorce because of social networking like they use this for acquaintance with strangers and they are cheating through social networking,Other case is when they meet each other then that stranger is not a good person and he / she was killed. Thats why from this we could see that internets give fatal influence. I dun really want to know what my friends are doing every minute. I know of students who tweet almost every second of their lives. Gosh, dun they have better things to do? Grab a book and read! Bryan on January 30, 2012 at 1:11 pm said: Everything really only depends on the person using the internet. If they are wise, they will use it for what they need it for and will not affect them in real life in any way at all. There are some cases about cyber bullying and that some people have committed suicide. I think those are the dumb people who did that as the internet is only just a virtual thing and it should not affect them in any way. So there is more good than harm in using the internet in my opinion as you can search almost anything on the internet. If only everyone is as mature as you ! Sent from my BlackBerry ® powered by Sinyal Kuat INDOSAT 3. Internet is just like soil of fertility. If you planted something bad,you won’t get away from it and you will take care of it until it grow and it determines you that you like that kind of plant. Plant of evil. Neverthless, when you plant a good seed it will grow and benefictial to you as well. The point is when you have internet, the magnifying glass that can search the whole world ,whether it is bad or good is in your hand. Just a question of what you use it for.