CC4: What Kind of Meat

     On FoxNews.com there is an article, Horse meat found in Ikea's Swedish meatballs, by Stockholm. In thirteen countries, Swedish furniture giant Ikea was drawn into Europe's large food labeling scandal, as authorities had said they have detected horse meat in frozen meatballs.

     The Czech State Veterinary  Administration said, "horse meat was found in one-kilogram packs of frozen meatballs made in Sweden and then were shipped to the Czech Republic for sale in Ikea stores. There was a total of 1,675 pounds of meatballs that were stopped from ever reaching shelves at the store." An Ikea spokeswoman, Ylva Magnusson began to say, "meatballs from the same batch had gone out to Slovakia, Hungary, France, Britain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, and Ireland." Manusson also said, "meatballs from that batch were taken off the shelves in Ikea stores in all of those countries. Other shipments of meatballs were not at all affected."

     European Union officials met Monday to discuss tougher food labeling rules after they had discovered horse meat in a range of frozen supermarket meals such as, burgers and lasagna that were supposed to have contained beef or pork. The Czech authorities also announced that on Monday, they found out there was horse meat in beef burgers imported from Poland during a random tests of food products.

     This scandal has now created a split between nations like Britian who see further rules as a protectionisht hindrance of free trade under the bloc's single market, and those calling for tougher regulation. Standardized DNA checks with meat suppliers and more stringent labeling rules will add costs that prouducers will more than likely hand down to consumers, making food more expensive.

     The scandal started in Ireland in the middle of January when the country's announced the results of its first ever DNA tests on beef products. It tested frozen beef burgers taken from store shelves and found that more than a third of brands at five supermarkets contained at least a trace of horse. The sample of one brand sold by British supermarket kingpin Tesco was more than a quarter horse.
Such discoveries have spread like wildfire across Europe as governments, supermarkets, meat traders and processors began their own DNA testing of products labeled beef and have been forced to withdraw tens of millions of products from store shelves. I believe, horses are not meant to be eaten. I think it is just inhumane to eat horse meat.

     With all this being said, I think before you start to just scarf down food, you should check the labels and see what it is you're really eating. I know this has not happened in the United States, but there is always a first time for everything.

CC3: Chivalry

     In a recent article "Life Perspectives From a Hospital" by Nancy Colasurdo on the FoxNews website, a 51 year old man starts to appreciate how meaningful it is to still have his parents around.

     Last week, this mans mother went to have knee surgery and he stayed with his father for four days. He said, "it felt heartbreaking to see him a little lost without her in the house." They spend each day, every day, at the hospital. His father would read The Daily News in a chair over in the corner, he would pocket the sugar packets that would come with his wife's meals, he would act as her coach in physical therapy, while she rolled her eyes. The father, being 81 years old, would drop his son off at the hospital door while he went to park the car in the garage. This man would refuse to let his son switch roles and park the car for him.

      This 81 year old man is showing that chivalry is not dead. Still, at the old age he is, he is parking cars for his family, trying to take care of his wife while she needs the help of others. When I read stories of people like this man, it makes me think there is hope. This man is teaching his son and hopefully other people that watch, valuable lessons on being a polite person.

     Not only does the husband show he has patience, the therapists at the hospital do too. In this story, the man being interviewed says, "I'll be sticking with the images of the most delightful physical therapist joking with my mother about whether she did 19 reps or 20. And the occupational therapist patiently going over everything twice because my mother is deaf in one ear. And the nurse assuring her that she is not bothering the staff at all when she asks for assistance."

     Just being there and helping other people, brings smiles and joy to their lives. The husband and son left the hospital one day and on their way home, they picked up a tray of cookies to take over to a neighbors house whose husband died the day before.

     Doing acts of kindness like this father has done and is teaching his son, shows people that chivalry is not dead and there are still people out in this world today, who believe in helping others. 

Book Review #1: Forget Me Not by Carolee Dean

     After Ally has jumped off the top of the school building, she enters a hallway only to find out she can either stay there for forever or go back to the top of the building and try to get her life back. Carolee Deans's Forget Me Not had me on my toes wanting to know what's going to happen to Ally next.

     The summary on the inside of the book was what instantly drew me in. I enjoy reading books about other peoples struggles and what they go through. When I started reading this book, I began to be a little doubtful because it was written in verses. I am not the biggest poetry fan, but the way this book was written made me enjoy poetry. Carolee Dean definitely had a creative way of writing this book.

     In Carolee's book, there are two main characters named Ally and Elijah. They both are two very different people with a lot in common. Ally is a very naive girl who doesn't really seem to know who her real friends are until it's too late. Ally is a just a bit arrogant and nasty. Elijah is the complete opposite. He doesn't care what anyone thinks of him. He cares too much about other people and is just a sweet guy. What makes them the same? They both tried to kill themselves and ended up in the "hallway", the place where people go when they have decided to finish their job or try to give life one more chance. Elijah has been to the hallway before, but he didn't give up. Now, it happens to be Ally's turn to decide whether the pain is worth it or if death could be the better option. The time Ally spends in the hallway makes her reconsider her whole life and she starts to realize that maybe she has no one to blame for her situation but herself.

     While this story is a bit gloomy, it never is too heavy. There were parts in the story where I just felt sad because of all the bad things that were happening not only to Ally and Elijah, but the rest of the characters, including the ghosts that were in the hallway. Things were never quite what they seemed on the surface and Carolee Dean really did explore how even some of the people that can seem the happiest can also be hiding something really big.

     Overall, Forget Me Not is a book that should not be missed. After have read this one, I will most likey check out more of Carolee Dean's other books. I would and do reccomend this book. I personally think this book is worth reading.