Blog Post

Zachary Branco
Professor Santos
ENGL 102-042
30 March 2018

Blog Post

Throughout the week our class' focus point was around our group project. I was very confused at first about what was being asked of us and how we are going to go about handling this task. Examining the rubric and details for the project, I found it very interesting how we have to pick a different way of finding research from the other groups in class. My group is faced with the challenge of finding statistical and analytical research from a local farm. At first I wasn't very enthused with leaving campus and going to some farm to present a project, but I realized all of the benefits it may do for me and my colleagues that I am presenting with. First of all, it will give us something to do and to create/increase our bond together. There could be memories made while being at the farm that we wouldn't make if we had to do research at a dinning hall or creating a social media page. Another thing is that it gives students who live on campus, such as myself, a reason to leave the campus and adventure out in Bridgewater. By doing that you can really get a sense of what the area is all about and a real visual of the community we are sheltered from because of living on campus. Finally, by going to farm we will be receiving the most accurate information compared to anyone because they are the ones planting, growing, and harvesting our crops that we consume. I will have a real understanding of which foods are actually good for you and which foods are infested with pesticides and other chemicals that can damage your physical health. When we were told that we have to present our study and findings to other people, I got very nervous. I am not one who likes ti interact with many people who I don't know but this will be an obstacle I will have to overcome and will help me in life. In class, we had an exercise that basically told us how much of a picky eater some of us can be and that majority of the food that we eat are actually from out of season, which is very interesting. How is it possible to grow that much food in season to last us many months out of season. One example was strawberries, they grow from the months of July to August. It is currently March 30th and if you walk into any grocery store, they sell strawberries and many of them. That is just mind-blowing to me. I have never really thought about that until we had class Wednesday and that was mentioned by professor Santos. If the strawberries are lasting that long out of season, is there a possibility that they are genetically modified? Looks like I'll find out the answer when I go to a local farm and dig out some information from my primary source... the farmer!!!