Hello everyone. This will be my last post ever as zucchinifries00! I created this blog for my online WRIT 2 class at UCSC, and this class is coming to an end as the quarter ends. My writing skills have definitely improved throughout the course of my blog posts, as well as my critical thinking skills and ability to analyze events. As a STEM major, I always considering writing to be one of my weaknesses, so taking this course certainly boosted my confidence. I tend to forget that in order to be an good scientist, you need to write effective lab reports, that clearly outline your purpose/goals, procedure, data, and analysis, and I have noticed the quality of my lab reports have improved during this course. To conclude, I am grateful that this course and weekly blog posts has helped me become a better scientist! Goodbye to my readers 🙂

After reading your article on New York’s plastic bag ban, I too was surprised to learn this legislation had not already been in place. Living in California where people are so environmentally conscious and forward thinking, it is hard to imagine that the mindset of people living in different states can be so different than ours. I think the plastic bag ban is a step in the right direction, but I feel like more should be done in order to truly benefit the environment. 

With the plastic bag ban, businesses are no longer allowed to bag consumer’s goods in plastic bags, or else they will be fined. Instead they must bag them in paper bags, or reusable bags provided by the customer. I think businesses should charge ten cents per paper bag in order to incentivize people to bring their own bags. Not only will this reimburse the business for the paper bags purchased, but this also reduced the amount of trees needed to be cut to produce paper bags. A lot of the time we see paper bags as environmentally friendly, since they are compostable and are not a threat to wildlife. However the inconvenient truth is that trees still need to be cut down, and there is still a lot of transportation, manufacturing, and processing involved that contributes to climate change in order to produce a single paper bag. Eliminating this in addition to plastic bags is the solution our environment truly needs. 

For people who do not care about the environment and will continue to use paper bags in New York instead of bringing their own reusable bags, I feel like charging them ten cents per bag is the only way to get them to make the switch. Or maybe their paper bags will break after carrying heavy cans of soup and they will bring a sturdy reusable bag with them next time. I hate how laws have to be implemented in order for people to make a change in their daily lives. I wish people would just willingly want to change their habits in order to be more environmentally conscious. Unfortunately most people are lazy and convenience is the most important criteria to them. Legislation like this forces them to make a change in their lives, which is the only way change will ever happen. 

I also feel like plastic bag bans are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to reducing the amount of waste we produce. I look forward to all single use plastics being banned, as well as coffee and styrofoam cups. I hope one day all stores will be bulk stores where customers are required to bring their own jars, containers, and bags to fill up on detergent, produce, snacks, shampoo, and more. Imagine how epic it would be if Walmart was just one massive bulk/zero waste store! That is a world I would love to live in, and I hope to see changes like that implemented within my lifetime.

Yesterday while browsing Facebook, I came across a post that mentioned El Pollo Loco is now offering plant-based chicken burritos and tacos. El Pollo Loco is a restaurant chain with many of their locations being in California. Before going vegan, it was one of my favorite fast food restaurants, and I liked it better than Chipotle and Taco Bell because of how fresh and flavorful the food was. I don’t think I’ve been to an El Pollo Loco in over five years now, but after reading the news on Facebook, I was ready to make a mad dash over to my nearest location. That is, until I did a Google search on these new menu options. I was devastated, and I truly mean devastated, to find out that the plant based chicken offered by El Pollo Loco still contained animal products! What do I mean by this? Well, apparently, the sauce this plant-based chicken is cooked in contains an egg enzyme! Ridiculous if you ask me! Learning this shocking information made me seriously think about the way companies market food.

When most people think of the term plant-based, they think of the word vegan. Although these two words are frequently interchanged in society, there is a subtle difference. Someone who identifies as vegan abstains from animal products in all aspects of their life, including diet, clothing, using only cruelty-free products, not supporting zoos, circuses, etc. Someone who identifies as plant-based just abstains from animal products in their diet, and for example can still use products that are tested on animals or wear leather. People usually go vegan for ethical reasons, which is why they seek to avoid all forms of animal exploitation present in society. In contrast, most people who identify as plant-based usually do so for health or environmental reasons, and are not concerned with animal cruelty. Up until recently, one thing in common between vegan and plant-based individuals is that their diet is one hundred percent free from animal products. I think within the past year or so, the term plant-based has shifted to mean mostly vegan, or being comprised of mostly animal free ingredients. Since there is no concrete definition for what this word means, companies are able to use this to their advantage, which is starting to become more common. For example, while shopping for groceries yesterday, I came across pre packaged blueberry granola that was labelled as plant-based. After examining the ingredients, I was disappointed to discover that the granola contained honey, which is an animal product. Those who identify as plant-based would most likely not bat an eye with honey being in their granola, since there are no health or environmental downsides to honey, but as a vegan, honey poses ethical concerns which is why I do not consume it. 

As for El Pollo Loco, I feel like they have hopped on the new plant-based trend, which has its pros and cons. It has been proven that people are more open to trying foods labelled as plant-based rather than vegan, because of people’s preconceived notions about veganism. Additionally, all of these new faux meat options at Burger King, Del Taco, Carl’s Jr., etc. are not targeted towards vegans, rather flexitarians. Vegans make up 1-3% of the population in the United States, while many more people are just trying to cut down on their meat intake. Most people don’t care if there is a little bit of egg in their plant-based offerings, and that is the demographic El Pollo Loco is trying to target. While that sucks for vegans like myself, at the end of the day this is a win for animals and the environment, which is something worth celebrating!

After reading the title of Paul’s recent blog about a supposed “meat-patch” that helps people transition to a plant-based diet, it would be an understatement to say I was intrigued. As a vegan for over five years, I have personally witnessed an explosion in the rise of people switching to a plant-based diet in the past few years alone. Veganism has become mainstream among celebrities, more and more meat, dairy, cheese, etc. alternatives are arriving in grocery stores every day, and overall people are more open towards eating plant based. This is due to people becoming aware of the environmental destruction, health issues, and ethical concerns that arise from eating animals and animal products. I think 2019 was definitely the year of veganism officially becoming mainstream, with Impossible and Beyond Meat launching their plant-based beef at Burger King, Carl’s Jr., Subway, Dunkin Donuts, Del Taco, and more. Having vegan options in fast food restaurants that actually taste good make eating plant-based convenient and accessible for all. While an Impossible Whopper costs more than a regular beef Whopper, this is because the cost of beef is significantly lower due to government subsidies towards the beef industry, and because the demand for the Impossible Whopper is not as high. As the demand increases, the price will drop and may one day even be cheaper than real beef.

Going back to the meat patch, I personally think this sounds like a good idea. Before going vegan I never considered myself a hardcore meat lover (even though my favorite food in kindergarten was pastrami), so my transition to veganism was pretty smooth with the exception of dairy since I loved cheese. I know this is not the case for many Americans whose diet is very meat centered, and eat meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Although there are extremely good plant-based substitutes for animal products on the market, they don’t convince everyone, espeically those who consider themselves to be hardcore carnivores. Although vegan alternatives are only getting better, and I am confident that one day they will taste identical (if not better) to their animal-based counterparts, I think the meat patch is a good solution in the meantime. Although it may sound ridiculous, if it works and if people no longer want to eat meat while wearing it, I think that is certainly a win for animals, the planet, and our health. 

Purists might claim why would you want plants to taste like meat, when you could just eat the real thing instead. However, most people eat plant-based or become vegan not because they hate the taste of meat, rather their belief that animals deserve to live, our environment needs to be preserved, and our health is important outweighs our taste buds. I still love chicken nuggets and pepperoni pizza, but now I just eat vegan versions of them without the negative downsides of meat and I am perfectly happy. Overall I think this meat patch would cause a lot of positive change in the world and I hope it becomes mainstream amongst meat lovers.

Last Sunday night, Joaquin Phoenix accepted the Oscar for best actor for his role as the Joker in The Dark Knight. Now I must admit I have never seen The Dark Knight nor have I ever watched the Oscars, but after hearing so much buzz about Joaquin’s speech, I decided to look up the transcript online. I found the transcript of his speech here and honestly it is one of the most inspirational speeches I have ever read. To summarize, he spent a brief time expressing his gratitude towards The Dark Knight, however the majority of his speech focuses on the fight against injustice. When celebrities normally talk about injustice they focus on racism, lgbtq rights, or gender equality as Joaquin mentions, but the elephant in the room is animal rights. While all of those issues are important and deserve attention, animal rights are something people tend to shy away from, and even mock. Joaquin focuses on the dairy industry and how we feel entitled to artificially inseminate mother cows, steal her baby when she gives birth, and drink her milk that is intended for her calf, just so we can have milk to put in our cereal or coffee. He urges the audience to change their habits, connect themselves with the natural word, and eliminate their egocentric point of view. 

Reading this speech absolutely took me by surprise, because normally when celebrities win an award their speech usually includes how thankful they are for their fans, managers, family, etc., or how hard work pays off, or some motivational crap like following your dreams. The speech is usually centered around them and neglects to initiate actual change in the world. As mentioned above, when celebrities do mention social issues in their speeches, it is exclusively limited to humans. Millions of people watch the Oscars, so celebrities have the potential to reach generations of people with the message in their speeches. A single speech that they make could hold the power to change the world, and that is what I believe Joaquin Phoenix has done. I have already seen countless amounts of people going to Twitter to tweet how much Joaquin’s speech moved them, and that they will be giving up dairy. Additionally the dairy industry has been increasing their advertising, in an attempt to clean up their image after Joaquin’s speech, showing how threatened and scared they are. Award show speeches are a valuable tool to reach the masses but unfortunately most celebrities don’t use this to their advantage and instead focus on themselves. 

As an animal rights activist and vegan for over five years, Joaquin’s speech moved me to tears. While there are plenty of vegan celebrities in the media, most never bring up animal rights or veganism on their social media or interviews. And if they do, it is only for a brief amount of time, as their fans start to get annoyed or angry. It is so refreshing to see a celebrity not care about what anyone else thinks and to stick up for the voiceless. I try not to admire or look up to celebrities, but Joaquin Phoenix deserves all the admiration in my book.

Prior to reading chickengorl’s post about the coronavirus, I never even considered the link between this outbreak and xenophobia. To be honest, I do not even know much about the coronavirus, except for the fact that it has been causing mass panic and hundreds of people have died. News channels have been consistently covering this outbreak for weeks, and updates are being constantly posted all over social media. Personally, news of this outbreak has left me pretty indifferent, and I am not in fear of contracting this virus. I feel like that is not the case for the general public, and most people are actually fearing for their lives. I think this is due to the fact that the media is heavily covering this virus, and updates are being shoved in our faces day in and day out. Because I do not pay much attention to the media, this may most likely be the reason why I am not too concerned about the coronavirus. 

Touching on the link between the coronavirus and xenophobia, I am unfortunately not surprised that Chinese people have been facing increased racism after news about this outbreak. Xenophobia has a history of being tied to mass panic, especially when it comes to disease outbreaks. For example, when the ebola outbreak occurred a couple years ago, Black people started to face increased racism. The color of people’s skin makes them a target, even if they may have never come into contact with an infected person. When disease outbreaks like the coronavirus and ebola occur, people begin to use racial stereotypes and profiling to justify the origin of the virus. For example, the coronavirus was thought to originate in a wet market, where live fish, meat, and wild animals are sold, with lots of animal fluids, blood, scales, guts, etc. are beings circulated. Some people have been claiming that the Chinese people deserved to get the coronavirus after how they brutally treat the animals at these markets and how unsanitary these conditions are. And while it may be true that animals are treated brutally and these markets are unsanitary, have you seen a slaughterhouse in America? Is an industrialized factory farm any more humane to animals or sanitary than an open market? Is it more civilized to grind baby males chicks up alive or debeak chicks in the egg industry, or brand, gas, shackle, castrate, and artificially inseminate animals raised for food in America? And let us not forget all the meat recalls that have happened in the United States, as well as mad cow disease. It is hypocritical to claim that Western animal agriculture is humane and sanitary when so many people contract foodborne illnesses every year and animals still experience a brutal death. 

I think the coronavirus is simply an opportunity for people to project racism that has been buried inside of them. According to them, now is a socially acceptable time to project this racism, since the coronavirus has been predominantly affecting a particular race. While this is unfortunate, we need to remember that Americans are no different than the Chinese when it comes to raising animals for food, which is something we should keep in mind the next time we want to point the finger of blame to.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are probably well aware that the Super Bowl is this Sunday. Even though I know absolutely nothing about sports, especially football, everyone around me, I found out that the Super Bowl is this Sunday just a couple days ago from social media and my physics teacher who mentioned it in class while trying to solve a word problem. I knew the 49ers were playing in the Superbowl, but I had to look up online who they were playing, which are the Kansas City Chiefs (a team that I did not know even existed) in case you did not know. My family has never been big sports people, but when I was younger we would still watch the Super Bowl together, mainly for the ads. As I got older and technology advanced, we would just record the Super Bowl on our TV, and watch it a couple hours later skipping the actual football game and fast-forwarding to the commercials. Even though a majority of Americans would consider themselves to be sport-enthusiasts, even people who have no interest in football would watch the Super Bowl because of their famous commercials. When I was younger, I remember most of these commercials being based around comedy and wit, but now it is becoming more common for ads to deliver an important message to viewers. Whether this message is about social justice, LGBTQ rights, climate change, politics, etc., companies are trying to initiate change. 

I think this shift in commercials shown during the Super Bowl is reflective of our society as a whole. A decade ago, people were not as passionate about issues such as climate change, politics, animal rights, etc. since there was no urgency surrounding them. Everything seemed fine, and humans are guilty of inaction unless consequences are immediate and directly affects them. Now that time has passed, because we have not been paying enough attention, consequences from these issues are no longer in the future, but rather in the present. People are now more open to making changes in their lifestyle or behavior, if they know it will make a positive impact. After the whole Colin Kaepernick taking a knee controversy, I feel like Super Bowl ads have been more controversial than ever before. Companies are shifting away from happy fun commercials to ones that evoke an emotional response from viewers. 

After doing some searching online, I was not surprised to find out that the numbers of viewers of the Super Bowl have been on the decline. I don’t remember the last time my family and I have watched the Super Bowl, and now we don’t even have an interest in watching the commercials. Additionally people are not as big brand-snobs as they were a few years ago. People also may feel like commercials that are trying to evoke change are being constantly forced in their face, and look for other forms of entertainment instead that make them feel good. This makes me wonder if the Super Bowl will be as big of an event within the coming decades, as more people begin to lose interest and the nostalgia from traditional commercials shown in the past.

As someone who is also interested in fashion, I got super excited when I received a notification that someone else wrote their weekly blog on fashion and nepotism! I keep my interest for fashion pretty hidden from my friends and family, because I feel like it clashes with my persona. After all, is it not hypocritical to care for animals and the planet and to promote sustainability, while also having an interest towards one of the most polluting industries on the planet, following brands that sell animal skin and fur, and admiring models that contribute nothing meaningful to society? Despite all of this, I can’t seem to pull my mind away from the allure of the fashion world, and consider it to be my guilty pleasure.

Of course I am very familiar with Gigi Hadid, and agree that she has progressed immensely throughout the years, along with her sister Bella Hadid. As you mentioned, she acknowledges her privilege, unlike other models such as Kendall Jenner and Kaia Gerber. And I have a strong feeling the show you are referencing to that Gigi walked at during Paris Fashion Week was Jacquemus, because it was fucking beautiful. Anyways, I would like to discuss why nepotism is so prevalent in the fashion industry, and why I have a feeling it will not be going away anytime soon.

Up until the rise of social media, models were not constantly in the eye of the public, and in order to be successful, you had to be on as many Vogue covers as possible, walk in as many shows as possible, and land roles in commercials. Models had to work hard in order to become a household name and earn the title of a supermodel. In today’s world, in order to be a successful model, I would argue the most important criteria is having a massive social media following, which is why nepotism models are the top paid models. If you think about it, would Alexander Wang be able to sell more belts if he had Gigi Hadid open his show and post about it on Instagram, or if a random model from Russia did it? Let’s stay that Russian model has a better walk, more striking features, and even models the clothes better, making her more deserving of opening the show than Gigi. However, the millions of people who follow Gigi on social media and admire her will want to wear and purchase the same belt as their icon, tremendously boosting Alexander Wang’s sales, in comparison to the probably thousands of people who follow the Russian model. At the end of the day, a fashion house is only as successful as the amount of revenue they are able to generate. Even if their designs are breathtaking, if they can’t get anyone to buy them, they will be forced to shut down. 

So although nepotism is an absolute travesty to the fashion industry, I don’t think there is a way to get around it, especially since we are living in the time of social media. While it is possible to build a name for yourself, like one of my favorite models Cara Taylor has done, you really have to have the combination of winning the genetic lottery, immense dedication towards growing your social media presence, and of course scoring as many jobs as possible, putting more pressure on models than ever before. But even then, it is nearly impossible to be as successful, or even more successful than nepotism models.

Harry and Megan deciding to leave the Royal Family is something that has been all over the news in the past few weeks. Surprisingly, the news was just as shocking to Americans as it was to Britains, showing just how invested or even obsessed we are with this family across the pond. I think the reason why people, especially Americans, are so engrossed with the Royal Family is because our government is nothing like theirs. Sure we have a president/vice-president, a supreme court, and house of representatives, but do they all live in a palace and flaunt their wealth? I think not. Additionally, the Royal Family is seen as some sort of elite club, and the only way to get in is to be born in it or marry into it. They have lavish events, parties, and weddings and only fraternize with the uppermost of the upper class. This sounds kind of similar to the Kardashians in America, and how the masses are obsessed with them. People want what they cannot have, which is why we follow the lives of the rich and famous. I think America’s obsession with the Royal Family really exploded after the death of Princess Diana and the conspiracy theories surrounding her. But that’s a whole other discussion. 

Although they are always in the eye of the public, members of the Royal Family tend to live a pretty private life and most of their public appearances are for charity. Ordinary people get extremely invested when there is a wedding in the Royal Family because of how ‘dream-like’ they are, especially when William and Kate and Megan and Harry got married. I thought it was ironic that William and Kate were painted as the perfect couple by the press when they got married, even though Kate is an ordinary middle-class person. Megan was portrayed as a demon by the press, and I have a strong feeling that it has to do with her race. Every single soul in the Royal Family is white, and even though we claim that racism does not exist in our society, why were people critiquing Megan’s every single move? From making fun of her outfits, to ridiculing her on the way she held her baby bump, this poor woman can’t seem to catch a break. The press really ate up Megan and Harry’s decision to leave the Royal Family and most news articles about this announcement pinpoint this decision on Megan, portraying her as the evil conniving wife who corrupted poor innocent Harry. In fact, ever since Megan and Harry got married the press has painted her out as a bad person. I wonder if this was the reason why the couple decided to leave the elite family, and honestly if I were in their place, I would too. I wonder if Megan had to deal with racist remarks from them everyday, or if she constantly felt like she would never be good enough for her husband due to the scrutiny of the Royal Family. Whatever the reason, good for Megan and Harry deciding to step back from the chaos of the Royal Family, and hopefully I will never hear about them again in the press.

As someone with minimal knowledge on history/politics/women’s rights, this post was the first time I heard about the Equal Rights Amendment. I kind of just assumed women were already equal to men, and that there was no need for an amendment to be passed to outline such basic principles. Then again, laws like these hold every single person accountable, so I can see why there is a need for them. Additionally, the passing of similar laws happened during the civil rights movement, and without them, our society may not have been as equal as it is now. So even though it might seem foolish to pass such common-sense laws, not everyone thinks the same way you and I do, which is why passing such legislation is important. 

I am from California and I had no idea the Equal Rights Amendment was already adopted, but I was even more shocked to learn that it has not been adopted in all states! I think it’s sad that we have to enact legislation for the equality of sexes, because it should already be the norm. I also don’t know why people would be opposed to such legislation. What are they afraid of? I am also very curious as to what it must be like to live in states without this amendment. As a woman who has lived in California her whole life, I don’t think I have ever experienced sexism, and I wonder if that is because of the Equal Rights Amendment or I was just lucky. I know you mentioned you have experienced sexism in California, even though the Equal Rights Amendment has been passed, which I think is very interesting. It makes me wonder to what extent laws are laws like these effective when it comes to influencing the mindset of the general population. For example, during the Civil Rights movement, even after legislation was passed stating the equality of blacks and whites, black people still faced racism, and some still even face it to this day. So it makes sense why women would still face sexism in states where the Equal Rights Amendment has been passed. 

To me, passing the Equal Rights Amendment seems like only the first step in achieving gender equality. Although I personally feel like I am treated equally, I know that is not the case for many other women. Additionally, if it wasn’t for the fights fought by previous women, I would not be able to vote, have my own career, or even attend school. I don’t want any woman to worry if she is getting paid less than her male coworker, which is why we need the Equal Rights Amendment to be passed nationwide. It is very easy to take for granted the rights and privileges I have today which millions of women before me did not have. Your piece has inspired me to pay more attention to gender equality and has made me realize how pressing legislation pertinent to this issue is.