Magazine Ad 3

Source: http://www.treehugger.com/wwf-ad-fish-head.jpg

Target Audience: all Americans, particularly those that are ignorant about climate change and its looming dangers to human kind.

Product: An opportunity to save the planet/our lifestyle

The reader needs to take become informed about the affects of climate change, and therefore become more involved in climate mitigation. It is implied that if the reader does not help create change in America, then human kind will evolve to a hotter earth taken up mostly by the ocean. Human appearance will become more fish/amphibian-like, as our lives will probably involve living in/around the water. The strategy used is to shock the reader- nobody wants to look like this guy (fish).

Magazine Ad 2

Source 1: http://officeroom.org/uploads/posts/2010-07/1279833104_s16.jpg
Target Audience: recently married young women/homemakers who are presented with the task of impressing their man with a great meal.

Product: Schlitz Beer

The consumer, particularly younger married women, need to purchase Schlitz beer for their man in order to either offset a poorly-cooked meal, or just make them happy in general. As a result of purchasing Schlitz beer, poor cooking skills can be offset with the availability of a refreshing cold beer.

Magazine Ad 1

Source 1: http://azharkamar.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/funny-ads-braun-2.jpg

Target Audience: All males, particularly older men who need to shave regularly/trim hair and keep up with their appearance.

Product: Braun hair trimmer

The consumer needs the Braun hair trimmer to go from having a horrendous hairstyle to a well-kept hairdo. The product will bring out the "human" in every man, and make him look handsome and confidant- even in older age. As a result of purchasing the Braun trimmer, every man will be able to tremendously transform their appearance.

Peter Menzel: Food Around The World

     On Peter Menzel's online gallery, his section on food aims to enlighten the world about foreign eating habits. Just by looking at the differences portrayed between an American family's weeks worth of food and that of an African family, it is very saddening to see the meager amounts of food some people have to eat. Some of the pictures of foreign delicacies such as marinated grasshopper are meant to shock the audience, and show the interesting tendencies of foreign cultures. Although I am an American, it was shocking to see the food choices of the American choices. It seemed that some lower class families abroad had healthier meals than people that could afford to eat lavishly.

A criticism of Wrangham's "Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human"

     Although there is a general consensus that Richard Wrangham delivers a well-written analysis of human eating habits over the years, I did find one thorough criticism of his book that was written on Amazon by "JDT" in Anchorage. JDT claims that Wrangham's claim that "'we [humans] fare poorly on raw diets' (p. 53) are rife with bad science and logical fallacies, and he does not substantiate his claim."
     JDT demonstrates two particular instances where Wrangham's research falls short. In his first attack on raw foodists, Wrangham writes about a study  done where nine unhealthy participants were put on a raw food diet for only 12 days, and they saw unhealthy decreases in weight as well as bad balances of cholesterol and blood pressure. JDT points out that the evidence is ridiculous considering the participants were unhealthy to begin from, and the diet lasted for only 12 days- very little time to collect any sufficient evidence. In Wrangham's second study, scientists ran a study of 513 people in Germany. In their transition to raw food, they lost an average of 21.9 pounds, and "scientists thus concluded that 'a strict raw food diet cannot guarantee an adequate energy supply.' JDT suggests this study is too broad- each of these 513 people undoubtedly had different diets, and it is unclear what outside factors affected their weight loss.

Source: http://www.amazon.com/Catching-Fire-Cooking-Made-Human/product-reviews/0465013627/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_summary?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

Dorm-Dwellers and "The Pleasures of Eating": A Revised List

1. Participate in food production to the extent that you can. Although living in a dormitory limits your ability to grow food, there are still things you can do to overcome your lack of space. Herbs such as basil and rosemary are easy to grow, and are compact enough to fit into your dorm room. Perhaps try to ask the college to permit students to have plots to grow their own food (if available). Any opportunity for a "green initiative" makes an institution look good.
2. Prepare your own food. Purchase a smaller meal plan, and make use of communal kitchens to cook your own food. You will be healthier, your food will taste better, and you should encourage other students to do the same.
3. Learn the origins of the food you buy AND the food that is served to you in the cafeteria. Schools should be encouraged to incorporate local produce into their food, to keep students healthy and support the local economy.
4. Learn everything you can about the food economy and the technology of industrial food production. You may not know what you are putting into your body. On average, food travels 1500 miles to make it to your table. Eating locally would also lessen fossil fuel impact on the earth.
5. Learn what you can about nutrition. Most students eat whatever sounds good, not is good. You might suffer from it in the future...for example; did you know your body can no longer digest milk fats? All that excess milk you drink stores deposits of calcium in your joints, contributing to arthritis later in life.

Richard Wrangham: How Cooking Makes Us Who We Are

     In this interview, Richard Wrangham discusses the discrepancies of modern homo sapiens and early apes/human ancestors. Because the author now dedicates his life to research the evolution of eating habits and cooking in particular, he makes some connections between the identity of human beings and our use of fire to cook foods.
     Although it is unclear when or why human beings adopted the practice of cooking, the author states that he believes our species started using fire about 1.9 million years ago. It is a known fact that earlier humans had different bodies- they were smaller, and had smaller brains. Wrangham attributes this to their need for energy to digest raw foods, and therefore lack of "expensive organs" such as the human brain. Cooking food makes it easier to eat and digest, and increases our caloric intake. The author makes the observation that humans travel much farther than apes, justifying our need for fast calories. The implications of cooking also created a need for social structure. Males expected women to provide food for them at all times, and in return, protected women from being harassed by other males.