"Fresh" Food

Food is indispensable in human life. Food provides people with nutrition and health, helping people to function and work effectively. But who has ever asked where this nutritious food comes from? Are these foods grown from hard labor in a harsh environment of farm workers? Nobody wants this to happen. So what is the exploitation of farm workers? A person should not work more than 8 hours a day, but a farm worker works 10 hours a day. A person can work 6 hours a day in the sun, but a farm worker works relentlessly under the heat of the sun. A person who works, especially in contact with chemicals, must have protective equipment, but a farm worker picks crops with bare hands. They are exploitation of farm workers. But this is what is happening every day throughout the farm in the United States. Therefore, bringing better conditions to farm workers is what everyone should do. A really fresh food must really be a food from an unencumbered farmer's hands.

Farmers and farm workers are different. Farmers are people who work in the field, under the temperature of the environment, grow whatever product they want. Farm workers are also people working in the field, under the temperature of the environment for entire working hour, they follow the rules of cultivation in the field, but there are no regulations on rest time and their safety. Overtime work is nothing new to everyone. However, overtime work every day is a serious problem. According to Shaw, working too many hours in a day leads to many health problems: cardiovascular, resistance, body fatigue, nervous exhaustion, and stress. This is a problem that many people encounter. However, for farm workers, what they are suffering is even more. Farming has never been easy. Many conditions and factors that people cannot control make the job more difficult. Humans cannot adjust to improve healthier themselves to be able to do more strenuous tasks: carrying, fertilizing, tending plants on a large area. Farm workers are not healthier than anyone else, they are just used to enduring these things.

"corn_Starbucks" by mhall209 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 

Field work is greatly influenced by the weather. Good weather brings good harvests for harvesters. Sunny and rainy environment must combine harmoniously to bring fresh food. But none of us wants to pick juicy red tomatoes on a scorching sunny day, or to pick up a bunch of fresh green grapes on a stormy lunch. However, the farm workers have to do it. The rigors of working hours as well as the weather-based working environment make the work of farm workers much more difficult.

The main reason leading to the health status of the farm workers is the chemical medicine used in farming. Although many agricultural reforms have been carried out to bring more nutritious food, but the use of chemical fertilizers is unavoidable. From the movie The Harvest, people who are most exposed to chemical fertilizers become farm workers. We eat green vegetables, and people who directly suffer from the negative effects of fertilizers are farm workers. Chemical fertilizers mix not only in soil but also in the air. Farm workers in the process of working must be in direct contact with chemical fertilizers by hand as well as through inhalation. The farm working environment does not allow them to choose which types to harvest and how to harvest. They become machines that work incessantly at the farm. Machines need rest and maintenance, so do they. However, the difficult life and the need to make a living has led the farm workers to trade much better working conditions to be able to work on unsafe farms like this.

Although forced labor may sound unrealistic in the 21st century, the truth is still happening. According to Bowens, decades ago, farm workers had to work around the clock and were caught in produce trucks. Their lives went through violence and death in the fields. Suffering seeps into their lives, like chemicals ingrained in their bodies. Man is born equal. People should work in a more equal environment. Therefore, Bowens mentioned that the violence of farm workers was continuous in many places and years. Even the Immokalee farm workers are well known for the scandals of human rights violence, which took place in tomato growing areas. In addition, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers fought heroically to improve wages and working conditions for farm workers working in tomato fields. Bowens mentioned in the article, "The Coalition of Immokalee Workers continues to fight for the rights of its majority Latino, Haitian, and Mayan Indian farmworkers, and continues to investigates slavery in the fields today”. Meanwhile, not only Florida farm workers continue to suffer from these problems, but farm workers around the world are also facing such bad things.

Exploiting farm workers is illegal, but migrant's exploitation of child labor is even more inhumane and unethical. The Harvest by U. Roberto Romano, a documentary is about the difficult and needy lives of immigrant children who have to work as adults in the fields. The film struck a heavy blow on the minds of viewers about the process of harvesting the fresh food sold in supermarkets. These foods are the miserable life of the children and their families, the time not to go to school, the effort spent for the little money. Children are the future of a country, a generation that everyone must protect. Children can pick crops in the field, but must be under the condition of learning and playing. The life of migrant children should not be dominated by money. If we were a school, we should share those difficulties with migrant children. If we were a tree, we should shade the migrant children to go to school and have a better future. There are many associations to help immigrant children in the US such as Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) or Act Blue's Support Kids & Families at the Border. Becoming a volunteer to help migrant children who need help is a very meaningful job. Helping children who are in more difficult circumstances than themselves is the best job we can bring to society and the future.

If one thinks the co-ordination difficulties are always suitable for colored people or migrants, it is a big mistake. According to Holt-Gimenez, smallholders, women and people of color, they're the world's main suppliers of food. But seeing how this world treats those who diligently create food will make us not want to stay still. Marosi mentioned in his article The Times that uncovered the truth behind fresh food at Wal-mart, Whole Foods, Subway and a number of other brands: farm laborers detained for months at a time. rat-infested camps, lack of running water and no beds to rest; Unclear wages lead to a lack of living expenses, and workplace violence. Therefore, protecting the rights of farm workers is a right thing amidst the many difficulties they are facing.

The life is hard, the material is escalating, but the wages of farm workers have never changed. Helping farm workers to raise wages is difficult, not an overnight job. But things related to human rights and the rights of working people are things we can change together. Want to change the working environment of farm workers, we can change our own small daily living habits. We should start by choosing to buy food from reputable stores or directly from the supermarket. We cannot control the activities of others, but we can be self-conscious. “It takes both sides to build a bridge”. In order to change the working conditions of farm workers, both farm workers and those who want to help them have to fight together. Farm workers must make clear arguments and opinions to their employer, where they work. People who want to help farm workers can communicate with each other, spread the message through public places, or social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are great choices. Helping everyone around is something everyone should do. Everyone eats every day, but helping others sometimes only needs one of those days. With our small actions, migrant children will still be able to go to school. Also, farm workers, who work diligently can keep their hands safe, continue to bring us fresh food.

Pho 24

Every weekend night, my family will meet at restaurants that my parents or I love. We rarely go to new restaurants. My parents always like old things. Every weekend, I would think over and over where to have dinner. After receiving the menu from the waiter, I thought about it a long time to choose my favorite dish. I often think about ingredients and the taste of food, but I have never wondered where these ingredients come from, are there any stories behind them? Aside from the food in the restaurant, I have never known another world in the kitchen, nor where the leftovers are going.

Pho 24 menu

Sometimes, I have my favorite pho at Pho 24 with my parents. The restaurant is located at 1825-C Mall of Georgia Blvd, Buford, GA 30519, in a small corner. The restaurant's menu is very diverse about Vietnamese cuisine. The menu is organized based on appetizers, soups, and rice. I can easily find what I want. The menu is available in both English and Vietnamese. Every time I come here with my friends, we will discuss the menu items in English. Whenever having dinner with my parents, we will prefer to order in Vietnamese.

The restaurant atmosphere is very cozy and comfortable. The main color is brown, sometimes I think this is the kitchen of my grandmother's house. My parents and I like to go out for meals because it's convenient and fast, as well as experiencing delicious but complex food at home. I love the sound of everyone laughing in the restaurant. Sometimes my parents and I will hear some interesting stories from other guests in the restaurant.

On a Saturday night, my family had dinner at Pho 24 restaurant after my parents picked me up from school. The restaurant was a bit empty that night, mom and dad told me something very surprising: my mom and the wife of the restaurant owner- Mrs. Bui had studied together when my mom had just moved to America. I knew my mom was very close to her, but I didn't realize they had known each other so long. Now I have the answer to Ms. Bui's occasional free deserts for our family. Sometimes in the middle of the meal, Mrs. Bui and my mom would go to the restaurant's kitchen together, I didn't know what they were doing, but it took them a long time to come back.

I always go to Pho 24 restaurant with my parents or friends, so this will be my first time coming here alone. I stopped by the restaurant on a Sunday afternoon. I had never before noticed the opening and closing hours of the restaurant. The restaurant opens at 10 am and closes at 10 pm seven days a week. The flashing neon sign is very appealing to the eye. In front of the store, a large screen is displayed, introducing the restaurant's dishes to the customers through eye-catching images.

The vegetable dish which is serve
with pho

I sat in a small corner of the restaurant, ordering my favorite pho. Pho is the most special dish of this restaurant because pho is the national dish of Vietnam. Pho consists of three main components: pho noodles, broth, and meat. Pho noodles are made from rice, also known as rice noodles. The broth is made from cow bone, herbs and spices. Depending on each person's taste, every type of meat will be ordered by customers: tender, flank, fat brisket. Pho is served with vegetables such as bean sprouts, culantro, Thai basil, and some lime. At the restaurant, they even have vegetarian pho. I really like this restaurant because there are always many choices for diners.

The service staffs were friendly to everyone, and look like everyone were happy to talk and learn new things in their native language. I asked a lady sitting next to me, she also came here alone. I asked her how her pho was, she said it suited her taste, and she bought a small bowl of pho to bring back to her daughter. She shared, "Today my daughter went to her grandparents' house, that’s why I’m lazy to cook diner. I immediately came here to eat. I felt so good so ordered one more, to save for my daughter who will be hungry at night.” I also should do that, order some more pho to bring back for my parents.

After clearing my delicious bowl of pho, I saw Mrs. Bui also returned to the restaurant after picking up her son from the nursery. She smiled, walked up to greeted and asked me about some study. I also gave her son a small bag of candy I brought before coming here. She took me to visit the restaurant's kitchen. This was my first time in such a large and professional kitchen. She introduced me to each person in the kitchen. There were people frying rice, with a very big and hot fire, I watch it very passionately. After a quick tour of the kitchen, she took me to see two "giant" fridges of the restaurant. One is used for storing vegetables, the other is used for storing fish and meat. Depending on the food, the refrigerator must be adjusted to the appropriate temperature. She also carefully divided each food into separate areas. Above each food, are carefully written the name of the food, the expiry date, and which dish it is used for. Outside the fridge, the rules for using the refrigerator are posted everywhere, and especially next to the fridges, there are thermal jackets for everyone in the restaurant. She shared that, in addition to these two large refrigerators, under each food processing area, there is a dedicated fridge. The main purpose is in addition to preserving food, but also to minimize travel. In the kitchen, moving around with many people at the same time while preparing food is extremely dangerous.

After watching everyone bring each sort of sauce neatly organized into the refrigerator, she led me to another refrigerator. This refrigerator is very special, a place for unprocessed vegetables. Refrigerator with bean sprout, cilantro, culantro, Thai basil, chilli, lemon, each dish with beautiful vegetables stacked on top of each other. She proudly told me that this is a vegetable from the restaurant. The main reason the restaurant has to provide these vegetables by itself, is because these are special vegetables, which she said, these are mostly vegetables originating from Vietnam. Previously, finding suppliers of these vegetables was very difficult, and also very expensive, so she and her husband decided to "provide" for themselves. She and her husband bought a small farm in Madison to grow these vegetables. Every three days, fresh vegetables will be provided at each of her restaurants. She also revealed that the cultivation of these "Asian" vegetables was very convenient, so she dropped the termite at some markets near the area. In "Farm to Fable", Troy Johnson mentioned that the restaurant offers food from the farm. “The farm-to-table movement is (or was) a very good thing. Restaurants buy from local farmers, supporting the area economy and serving their customers the freshest possible produce grown in season.” Although the restaurant does not provide 100% organic food, it has partly brought the best food they can to their customers. This is great.

Mrs. Bui told me, no matter how crowded the restaurant was that day, she and everyone in the restaurant stayed behind to handle the garbage. She told me, "correct" waste is the most environmentally responsible work. She divides waste into several categories. Recyclable waste is put in a large bin. Every Wednesday every week, someone will come to pick it up. Leftovers and obsolete foods, which will be shipped to a fertilizer factory. She always put these "garbage-that-is-about-to-become-fertilizer" in a "garbage" refrigerator to preserve them from stinking while waiting for people to transport. Maybe I should call her restaurant kitchen "fridge kitchen". With her small farm, she saved tea or coffee bodies, took them home, mixed with other fertilizers, created her own "green" fertilizer, for her vegetables.

I have been a long-time diner of her restaurant, but I have never thought, behind every delicious bowl of pho, is a lot of effort. After leaving the restaurant, I felt like I was "fresh". She shows me that the small, everyday things we throw away, can be very helpful later. If I didn't visit the restaurant today, I don't think I would have a second chance to get acquainted with the "refrigerators". I have never thought of using a refrigerator to store garbage, using corpses of tea and coffee to make fertilizer, never have thought of "doing" the above. I feel that I have created the opportunity for myself to be lazy with daily useful things. I hope after today, I will treat waste better.

Behind many delicious bowls of pho, there are many good things to deserve.

Works Cited

Bui, Anh Nhu. Personal interview. 29 Oct. 2019.

Johnson, Troy. “Farm to Fable.” Food Matters. Ed. Holly Bauer. 191-195. Print.

Porridge

Every country, every nation has a unique culture, especially when it comes to food. Food is not as vibrant as music rather, just a short moment can draw people closer together. Food is a harmony of taste buds, sharing daily eating habits, helping people better understand each other. A food lover like me is really confused when choosing only one favorite food. However, when I thought of the emotions, memories, the joys of eating this dish, I decided to share it with everyone. This dish is porridge, an extremely simple and warm dish, both literally and figuratively.

"DSC_8780.JPG" by autan

Rice is a cultural beauty of most Southeast Asian countries. With abundant fresh water and fertile soil all year round, they are suitable for growing and developing rice. Stretching from plains to hills, everywhere you can admire the immense green from the fields. It is the freshest green I've ever seen.

There are so many delicious dishes made from rice, such as fried rice, rice rolls, sushi, sticky rice, so many that I can't remember them all. Every time I mention the special aroma of rice, I remember the aroma when rice is cooked and boiled on the fire. It was my own childhood taste. As a child, I didn't have many teeth and they were really weak, so my mother came up with a way to cook porridge for me to eat every day. I do not know the real recipe of porridge exactly like. I only know how to cook in the style of my mother, because I have watched her cook this dish every day. First, she washed the rice so many times. While waiting for the water to boil to cook rice, my mother used to wash vegetables beside. In my childhood memories, every kind of vegetable that I hated, my mother would prepare them to cook for me. I'm not a picky eater, but sometimes I pretend to dislike this and dislike that. Yet whenever my mother finished cooking, I grimaced but ate continually. After preparing a lot of vegetables like carrots, potatoes, beans, mushrooms, and tofu, the pot of water next to it would start to boil. My mother would put rice in, stirring constantly, so that it would not stick together. I like the rice scent slowly ripening in the atmosphere. At that time, I would pretend to ask her if I had a half of chocolate bar from yesterday that I could eat. Although I knew my mother wouldn't agree, I still asked until she asked me to bring the previously prepared vegetable basket to her. She would put everything in after the rice is done, and add some water to the pot. Next, mom would stir fry meat, shrimp, or fish in another pan, season with some salt and pepper. Then she put in the pot of boiling porridge. Therefore, I had my hot bowl of porridge.

"Pidan Chok" by chooyutshing 

Even though the porridge is very hot, each piece of porridge I have to blow for a long time, my mother always forced me to eat when it was hot, she said that it would not be as delicious when it cooled down. While I was eating that hot porridge, my mother would cool down a small plate of porridge for Lucky, my lovely dog. She was the only member in the family who was not force-fed by my mother, while the porridge was hot. My father next to me would look at my hot bowl of porridge, ask if I ate it well. After seeing me eat well, my dad would take his own bowl. My mother would stand there smiling and peeling fruits for us.

I don't remember the year when I stopped eating porridge; but the last time my mother cooked porridge for me, it didn't have as many vegetables as it used to, or I didn't hate them anymore. After that, my parents separated, every time we finished dinner with the endless arguments, sometimes I could understand and sometimes not. So up to now, I still don't understand the reason why they are separated. I also didn't have time to sit and think about whether I had to live with my mother or with my dad, because they had already chosen me. I lived alone. When their clothes and furniture were no longer in the room, I was 18 years old.

While I said I was not sad because of my parents, I lied. But I understand and sympathize with them. They also need their own lives. I started to learn to cook from there. I fry the eggs for Lucky along with the boiled vegetables. I cook for myself a pot of chicken soup and shiitake mushrooms. I also made a salted yolks cake for myself. But none of them makes me delicious. I started to learn how to cook rice porridge, just like my mother's way. Sometimes I add eggs or some kind of beans that I like, leave the carrots that I pretended not like in the old days, although when I ate it, I could not tell which vegetables they were. I even left a small plate of porridge for Lucky, and she still ate it.

"161225-027" by waferboard

Sometimes my parents still go out for dinner. Mom will ask me about housing issues. Dad will ask me how this car is. My parents gave me a car, quite nice. Using that as an excuse, I invited them home, I wanted to cook them with the three of us favorite porridge. My mother’s bowl was more onion less black pepper. My father’s bowl was less meat, and I would add some chili paste for him. He likes something spicy. All three of us gathered on the dinner table. Lucky was quietly lying beside the cactus pot that my mom had just bought. Before that, when my parents were not separated, we rarely had the opportunity to eat at the same table. I was always the first to eat, then my mom and dad would eat last after preparing our desserts. My mother talked about her new job, where she had lots of beautiful and strange flowers. I am very sorry for my mother, because when she was living in this house, she could not plant a garden full of peony that she loved. Both my father and I are allergic to pollen. My father told us about his practice of shopping alone. He still wondered why my mother and me could spend hours there. My mother and I both laughed at him, who had been wondering about this for over ten years. In order to have that happy evening, I didn't tell them about the burn on my arm while I carelessly cooked the porridge pot. I also did not tell them about my broken pots of porridge. There was a pot for that I added too much salt. There was another pots that I forgot to adjust the heat to low and ended up burning the rice. At such times, I would often turn around to see if my mom was there, so I could ask her what to do. But my mother wasn't in the kitchen to clean up my mess, my father wasn't in the garage, fixing the vacuum cleaner I damaged. I missed them so much. That night, I ate more vegetables than usual, I added a little chili even though I didn't eat spicy food. I want my parents to see, I'm older now, they don't need to be apologetic for not being able to live with me. I hope they live a better, happier life.

"Love Quotes" by Sam Howzit

Sometimes I get sick, my parents still take time to look after me. My father will still be with me on the sofa, watching an old movie from ancient times. I watched that movie a hundred times, and my dad probably a thousand times, but we still watch it happily. My mother will still be in the kitchen, cooking dinner for us. Especially in the eyes of my mom, porridge like magic. She told me to eat hot porridge to cool down, to reduce fever. I don't know if hot porridge really cures the fever, but every time I eat it, I feel like everything is fine. The discomfort in my body does not make me tired anymore, the pain in my arms and legs does not prevent me from taking care of Lucky, even the excess porridge from yesterday can still help me stay happy all day. My mother probably didn't fool me, the porridge is really magical.

If my parents are asked about their favorite food, I think they will answer the same as me. Porridge. In a spoonful of hot porridge, there is full of nutrition, full of meaning. I hope that when my parents are tired, they will also tell me. I don't know what to do much, but I'll quietly cook them a nice bowl of porridge. I'll cut the vegetables really and nicely. I'll cook them well. I'll force my mother to eat a lot of pepper, even though she doesn't like it. I will force my father to eat some fish even though he doesn't like it. I want to look after them, like they took care of me as a child.