What's in the Beef?

Between the Lines

   This article informs us about a recent issue that is extremely important, and could affect us all. We rely on the government agency called the “Canadian Food Inspection Agency” (CFIA) to determine whether the foods we eat are safe and clean or not.  We also rely on the  “Public Health Agency of Canada” in cases where the food is maybe infectious or contaminated and emergency and prevention measures need to be undertaken to control and kill dangerous bacteria.  Both of these government agencies play a very important role and we need them to ensure we are not going to get ill from infected foods.  Without these agencies, the chances of people becoming sick in our country would increase.  This could even result in some deaths.  

   It’s because of the CFIA’s timely testing for bacteria and contaminated foods are quickly discovered.  Once they find this, they act quickly to ensure that the food is not distributed to stores and sold to consumers.  The agency finds out the plant or facility where the contaminated food came from and then inspects their facility and investigates the cause.  Once the cause is found, the agency ensures that the facility corrects all “deficiencies” and “sanitizes” the plant.  The plant has to comply otherwise the agency can close them down and they don’t want that because they would suffer income losses and the employees would lose their jobs. 

  In the worst cases, if the foods have already reached the consumers and a bacterial outbreak has occurred, the Public Health Agency of Canada, is responsible for stopping further spreading of infections and providing help to the people affected.  In order to stop the spreading of the disease, all affected foods are quickly “recalled” (taken off the stores shelves).   
 
 The existence of the agencies and their efficient work not only ensures public safety, but also maintains public confidence.  Anyway, my point is, we need the government food inspection agency, and without them, it would be terrible.  I think the agencies have a good system of inspection and enforcing correction and helping during health emergency situations.

Just Talk About it

   After reading this article, I do feel mostly reassured about the safety of Canada's food supply, because I know the government food inspection agency are always carefully checking foods before packaging them and sending them to food stores. Despite the E. coli 0157:H7 incident in the beef, I feel safe about the foods we eat. Besides, it was the XL Foods of Brooks fault, in Alberta. And I believe that the government food inspection agency will work even more carefully from now on, to prevent any further incidents like this.

   I also do feel a little bit uncertain of the food we eat, because there is always a small chance of there being bacteria in the meats we eat. The government food inspection agency found, "leaky pipes, clogged water nozzles, and smelly drains," (1^st page) at the Brooks facility. The thing I'm mainly worried about is that the XL Foods "supply 35 percent of the beef Canadians eat. The meat is processed at three facilities in Alberta," (THE XL FOODS RECALL), (including the Brooks facility). That's a fairly big percentage, and all those meats go around the whole country. It comes to us too, so there still may be a chance of getting meats with bacteria, from the Brooks facility.

Is there other life in this big universe?

  I believe that we humans, are not the only ones living in this enormous universe. Everyone always asks themselves, are there other people in space ( the universe, more specifically)? Well, its probably impossible to find out, but I think there is other life (related to humans or animals) somewhere because our universe is so BIG!!! I think there might be another version of humans on another planet, far away. Maybe that version of humans is more advanced than us. They might have a different physical appearance, or different way of living, or communicating. I always think to myself, it can't be possible that we're the only ones in this universe. Earth can't be the only planet that has life, out of a billion other planets. There are such vast distances between all the planets, that it is impossible to find any other life with our current technology. It is my personal belief that there is other life somewhere in the universe.

 The most common thing that people think of outer-space life is the existence of aliens.  Aliens is the term we use for outer-space living beings, yes, but many people think of aliens as ugly, slimy, deadly monsters. I believe that is just a myth. Aliens like that are only in science-fiction movies.
I was doing some research about whether there is life in space. Many opinions came up. Some people said no, some people said yes. Some people have a religious point of view on this topic. They may believe that God created new life, or something. This topic brings up a good argument. Like I said before, its about your personal belief. There are no scientific answers that can determine for sure whether there is other life in our universe.

Living things are not only things that we can see, like animals or humans. Living things also includes microscopic organisms that are invisible to the naked eye. There's probably trillions of bacteria all over other planets, but that's not what we're looking for. We're looking for intelligent life, like humans. The questions is, "...do you think there is other intelligent life in the universe?..."
Everyone has a different perspective on this topic, and there is no right answer. There are millions of possibilities of what there could be in the universe, because everyone has a creative mind and a different way of thinking. That's why this topic brings up a good argument. But, its about my opinion, and I believe that there is other intelligent life in the universe.

My Advanced Abilities

  If I could change something about myself, I would change my strength. I would want to increase my strength to become very muscular, stronger and faster. By increasing my strength, I would also do better in most sports, such as basketball, or even running. Strength is not only about weight lifting. Strength would also help me become a better athlete, and benefit me in daily life activities. Many things would be easier for me if I become physically stronger.

  Strength would not be the only thing I'd change about myself, for everyone has their unique differences, but nobody is perfect. I would also want to increase my intelligence. This would enable me to understand difficult challenges and I would be able to absorb a greater amount of  knowledge more quickly. If I was much smarter, everything would be done more easily. For example, homework could be done more quickly and I would always get good grades without worrying. This will give me more time to socialize and enjoy fun activities with my friends. I would have more time to work on other things outside of school, such as practising my piano and playing basketball. With advanced intelligence, in the future I would be able to get a great job.

 If I had these advanced abilities, this would make my life much easier, because I would be able to achieve a lot more than I already can. With my athletic capabilities I would be able to score many baskets in basketball, as well as perform better in other sports.
I would have a greater amount of knowledge, and with this, I would do much better in school and I would have more free time available to do the things I like. This is why I would want to change these two things about myself.

Curiosity Lands on Mars

   What I find most significant about the Curiosity's mission is that it may find valuable resources. I am very excited about this. The Curiosity is the most advanced rover NASA ever created. The Curiosity's mission is to, of course, find if there is or was life on Mars, "... a question that has puzzled people on Earth for centuries..." (Curiosity's Mission, page 2). I think that there is a high chance of the Curiosity discovering something valuable or important because NASA had spent a lot of time working on the rover, and this is the most advanced rover yet! The Curiosity has, "an array of scientific equipment, including high-definition cameras, a robotic arm with a power drill, a far-reaching laser beam for analyzing distant rocks, the world's best chemistry set and a powerful detector to measure surface radiation levels. A weather station on board will also provide valuable data about the climate." (Curiosity's Mission, page 2). I can't wait to hear future news about how the Curiosity's mission is going.
    In this article, it states that the Curiosity's mission is going to last at least two years. What I can infer from this is that the rover will find something valuable. The mission is going to last for a long time, so the Curiosity has a good chance of finding some resources. Two years will give the rover enough time to search around. I think that the Curiosity will discover water for sure, and possibly some life, because water is the key ingredient for life. So, where there's water, there's life. Mount Sharp is a mountain on Mars, that is five km high,created out of sedimentary rock. "Studies from orbit indicate that the bottom layers of this mountain contain clay and sulphates-materials that form in water." I am inferring that the Curiosity will find water, and this might give clues as to how Mars, a planet that used to be warm and wet, changed into what it is now, a cool and dry planet. NASA did a great job building the Curiosity and planning the mission. I think they will be successful.
 
It would be a very big, and significant event for NASA and all of mankind if the Curiosity found some kind of life on Mars. Why? Well, people have always been wondering if there has been or if there is life on Mars. Now, if we actually discovered that, we would be able to bring down one of the living organisms from Mars, referred to as Martians, and study them. We could learn everything about them, if they're useful, intelligent, or dangerous. Then, a brand new species would be introduced to Earth. They could help us improve our world, if they are super smart! If there is life on Mars, then we could maybe even live there! Most likely there will be all the required things needed for us to live. We may also find resources like, coal. If we do, then economically, our world would do better. Then we could rely on our non reusable resources more often. However, not only good things would come from the discovery of new life. What if Martians were evil? Then they may invade us, ruin our world! Now, that does sound a little crazy, but the possibilities are endless, and we'll never truly know until the Curiosity's mission is over. I will keep reading about the Curiosity's progress, but that is my opinion on NASA's Curiosity.

My Day in History with Nikola Tesla

   If I had the chance to spend a day in history with anyone, I would choose Nikola Tesla. Nikola Tesla was a very smart and educated man. He was a Serbian inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and physicist. Tesla is best known for his design of the modern alternating current (AC) electrical supply system. Nikola Tesla is one of the best scientists in the world! He is one of my idols, he inspires me to explore science. I am very interested in the kind of work he does and I am planning to do my science fair project on his experiments, such as the alternating current, or the radio.


  Tesla came up with so many great inventions and it's hard to choose which one I like the most, but one really caught my interest, the x-ray. I would choose to go back to the year of 1894, so I could learn about the x-ray and possibly help Nikola Tesla build it. That would be awesome!
My dream is to go back in time, and work with  Nikola Tesla to create something new. A creation that he never thought of, or couldn't do because he died. I would help create something that could make us have a better future, with more advanced technology.


  We, Serbians, are very proud of what Nikola Tesla has accomplished and he is a very important figure to our people. Nikola Tesla worked in the United States and had a very big impact in North America due to his great inventions. I look up to Nikola Tesla for the great inventions he had made and for making our world a better place. That's why I dream about spending a day with him and experiencing how life was back then.

Violent Teens

   This article, "Are violent teens suffering 'the rage of the unparented'?, was written and published in 2004. People may think that this does not concern us any more because it was eight years ago. Well, even today there are violent teens. There are murders, and robberies and many other criminal activities. This problem concerns us all and is very important. We need to keep a safe atmosphere in Toronto. It is dangerous for younger kids, as well as older kids and children.  Parents are more concerned and need to be careful with their children. When you are a young kid, you have a great time, but, when you grow up into a teenager, the world seems more violent. Kids are introduced to things like drugs, weapons, and they get surrounded by bad people, and let peer pressure get to them. I think that the main reason for teenagers acting like this, is due to a bad childhood.  Their parents didn't care for them, and they were probably abused. When they're young, they look up to their parents, and copy what they do. If there is violence at home and parents are not getting along, then when the kids grow up, they're filled with hatred and frustration, so they decide to do stupid things. In the article it says, "the engine of aggression is frustration." (Paragraph 7).

   As children grow up, they lose their connection to their parents, and start to think of their bad friends as role models. They start to rely on their friends. "Children relying on each other are unavoidably frustrated." (Paragraph 15). Parents are supposed to be our role models. They teach us what's right and what's wrong. As I was reading this article, I found something that I really agree with. Someone named Dr. Neufeld made a wise statement; "Kids were never meant to nurture one another, they are not up to the task. It's the immature leading the undeveloped." (Paragraph 14) That is very true. That's why it's important that parents lead us through the right path when we're young, before it's too late.
My parents always tell me to avoid the bad groups when I get into high school and to never get influenced into doing drugs or other bad things. Even in school nowadays, teachers are telling us this.



  I think that this article is very important. Mainly adults would read these types of articles because it concerns them most. "All of us adults- in our homes and in all our institutions, from daycare and kindergarten upward at all levels of education- must hold the emotional nurturance of children as the highest value. We must reclaim our kids from relying on each other." (Paragraph 23-24). That's a very important quote from the article. This article is trying to get parents to teach teenagers and especially young kids to follow the right path, so our future will be more friendly and safe. Then there will be fewer violent activities, and we will be more able to prevent them from happening.





 

The Perfect Place

   What is the perfect place? Well, its anything you like, but everyone likes something different. My perfect place to live at would be Cancun, Mexico. Cancun is an amazing place and it is the nicest city in Mexico, in my opinion. I would love to live there because it is beautiful. Just think about it, going to bed, hearing the nice sound of waves lapping each other, and waking up early with the ocean breeze and all you see is a wonderful beach. Cancun is a great place for relaxation. I would never get tired of living there. I would swim all the time, relax, drink coconut milk and just enjoy the view. Plus, it never gets cold. Not just that, but, Cancun has great food! I remember a few years ago, I went to Cancun, and the food was delicious! There was this mouth-watering dish called "Chalupa." Chalupa are made by pressing a thin layer of masa dough around the outside of a small mold, and deep frying to produce crisp, shallow corn cups. These are filled with various ingredients such as shredded chicken, pork, chopped onion, chipotle pepper, red salsa, and green salsa. That was the best food I ever tasted.

Yummy!

   If I lived in Cancun, Mexico, I would buy a nice house on the beach. I like the atmosphere in Mexico. The local people are very friendly and always in a good mood, knowing this from my past experiences in Mexico. I would love to make new friends there. Also, I love the mariachi band, they play great music. The music gets everyone in a great mood, it is very lively.
Another thing I like is the Spanish language. Everyone in Mexico speaks it, and I would love to learn it because it is such a nice language.

Isn't it beautiful?

  As you can see there are so many good things about Cancun, and Mexico in general. If I lived there, I would always have a great time, and just live life with no worries. That is why Cancun, Mexico is my perfect place to live at.