Sherry(Tzu Hsien) Tang- DESMA 9 Event Blog 1

 

Event 1









I attended an online and in person hybrid event hosted by the Sociology Department at UCLA covering the topic on the history of Ultra Processed Foods. From the beginning of the seminar, the speaker introduced us to a variety of foods chemicals, their history and how they are integrated in processed foods we see today for instance yogurts, or other processed meats. A majority of the seminar was dedicated to discussing emulsifiers and the risks they have towards our health. Emulsifiers are defined as any of the chemical additives that encourage the suspension of one liquid in another for instance the mixture of oil and water in margarine, ice cream and salad dressing. Majority of those mentioned in this seminar are very commonly seen in the foods we see in our daily lives now, but have only been more common after industrialization and the rise of science. The most common emulsifiers are derived from algae as well. While listening to these examples, I thought back to my daily diet, for instance the spread I chose to accompany my morning bagel is fresh due to the invention and integration of these emulsifiers. For lunch the salad dressings I regularly get or the strawberry puree I add in my matcha drink are all due to these chemicals. Even after listening about the potential health risks especially to our digestive cells, I think it would still be challenging for me to completely conduct a diet with natural, unprocessed foods. 





Relating back to our course on science and art, I think the beauty behind these chemical reactions can be seen as a form of art. Some people view the creativity behind each dish a chef brings out as a form of art in the medium of food on a plate. With this presentation, our development in processed foods, how we eat food and our choices can also be seen as a development on the food options we are given. This event opened a new perspective on not only the scientific topic of food, but the cultural stories behind them and the scientific progress society has done to come to this progress. 



Citations:


 “The Many Health Risks of Processed Foods.” LHSFNA, 30 Jan. 2024, lhsfna.org/the-many-health-risks-of-processed-foods/#:~:text=Heavily%20processed%20foods%20often%20include,Lacking%20in%20nutritional%20value. 

Vesna, Victoria. “Robotics pt2” Lecture. BruinLearn DESMA 9.  April 20. 2024.Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.  


Vesna, Victoria. “Robotics pt3” Lecture. BruinLearn DESMA 9.  April 20. 2024. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024. 


“What Are Emulsifiers?” WebMD, WebMD, www.webmd.com/diet/what-are-emulsifiers. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024. 


“What Are Emulsifiers and What Are Common Examples Used in Food?” Eufic, www.eufic.org/en/whats-in-food/article/what-are-emulsifiers-and-what-are-common-examples-used-in-food. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024. 





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sherry ( Tzu Hsien) Tang DESMA9-W1

Image
  Two cultures  As a double major student I walk from north to south campus almost on a daily basis for classes all the way at Anderson to Psychology or coding classes at Boelter Hall. Not only do the buildings remind me of this divide between humanities and science focused subjects, but also the students', their facial expressions and even clothing details. North campus classes and students focus on collaboration, creativity and tend to dress in more vibrant colors and patterns. South campus classes tend to emphasis on mastery of skill and practice and students dress also in solid darker color schemes. After reading and watching over the lectures, I gained a refreshed perspective on this topic of “two cultures” or the divide between arts and sciences. As mentioned by C.P Snow, the author believes that the lack of understanding and communication between people in these two fields stem from the the lack of appreciation. Adding on to this point, Vesna mentions the a potential solut
Read more

Biotech Art -Week 6

Image
Genetically modified / Selective Breeding Animals         This week’s content on biotechnology and art was quite fascinating to read about and ponder on. I personally think the concept of life isn’t considered a valid enough expressive medium, but rather an artistic concept or theme that art pieces can focus upon. Both mentioned in lecture 1 of this week and the article written by Ellen K. Levy “ biotechnology is constantly challenging the status quo of society” (Levy). New genetic modifications of food has allowed humans to taste different delicacies and experience food options that originally weren’t available during that season. Other forms of biotechnology altered animals and even human genome to create medical advances to increase the human life.  Genetically modified food example I do think the usage of biotechnology in selective breeding, or swapping DNA as seen in clones can be considered a form of art, but I disagree displaying it through the medium of a living creature (Ves
Read more

Sherry (Tzu Hsien) Tang - DESMA 9 Week 3

Image
Industrialization and Art Industrialization has been part of why society is this convenient and developed since humans starting integrating science and scientific method of thinking into our lives. From the ancient invention of printing press to more recent developments on Artificial intelligence and robots, humans have never stopped in seeking industrialization. With the integration of AI in our daily lives and work environment, the trend these two years seen in Investment Banking and Consulting especially has been more layoffs and more people finding it challenging to find jobs. AI has slowly replaced jobs with higher efficiency and lower cost. I think society has always been welcoming towards industrialization and praised the development of science but these few years there has been more focus on whether or not we need industrialization at such a high speed and if robots would replace the human warmth and emotions that relationships stem on.   Fobes Animation of AI Referencing word
Read more