https://www.freshplaza.com/north-america/article/9764968/ecuadorian-plantains-lose-ground-in-the-u-s

There are fewer fresh bananas and plantains being exported from Ecuador and earning less money for those that are being exported. The reason for the decrease exportation is the quality of the Products, crop diseases, and lower productivity of the crops. Other countries are gaining from this decrease and taking leaving Ecuador behind. While the crop itself is decreasing with time, processed plantains are helping and however this is just for the moment and will change with time. If the fresh produce exportation decrease so will the materials needed to make these processed foods. While this issue is localized in Ecuador at the moment, it can lead to works in these processing factories to lose their jobs to make up the loss of production. Seeing how processed foods is a big part of Americans income, fewer exportation from Ecuador can lead to long term risk of manufacturing facilities not being able to sustain growth and laying a lot of workers off. Farming is crucial for manufacturing and processing.

Question: How does farming and manufacturing shape and connect with job stability of food service workers? How might competing countries like Guatemala add more pressure to Ecuador’s agriculture?

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1EWOZ5kOIAJV62EovPA2y34tOyIYwMbM&usp=sharing

Food System Map
5 minute radius from (subway station, line): J/Z
Researchers (initials): AC
Category	Count
Food Service (prepared meals or beverages)
Restaurants – full service	6
Restaurants – limited service	10
Bar / Coffee / Beverage	3
Street Vendors – service (permitted)	3
Street Vendors – service (informal)	4
Total Service Establishments	26
Food Retail (food products or ingredients)
Big Box Retailer	1
Supermarket	3
Market (small or specialty retailer)	7
Deli / Bodega	6
Street Vendors – retail (permitted)	0
Street Vendors – retail (informal)	2
Total Retail Establishments	19
Additional Indicators
Chain establishments (all types)	5
Independent establishments (all types)	0
Street Vendors (total)	1
Total Food Businesses Identified	6

The address for my fruit stand that I choose was 859 Jamaica ave. This fruit stand has been around since I lived in my neighborhood and move here in 2007. I always walk past it on my way to the train station when I go to school or when I take the bus to work. I have even bought mangos, avocado, and banana from this stand. In my neighborhood there isn’t a lot of actual produce stores where my community can go and get produce, there is about 1 ctown and 1 Spanish grocery market aside from this produce spot. Beside that there is more fast food chains like McDonald’s, mamas empanadas, Wendy’s, Popeyes, and Chinese food stores. This reflects our main class topic of “we are how we eat” because of the lack of nutritional foods. While I can’t say this specific produce spot is expensive, other stores that considered remotely close to my community are too expensive. By limiting produce variety and making fast unhealthy food more accessible and affordable, we are now lacking in nutrition. We are deficient in nutrition because we eat food that lacks nutrients. 

Question:

Are the result of food oasis places done purposely or just out of lack of attention?

Food Service Workers at MSP Airport May Go On Strike Before Thanksgiving Holiday

Around holiday times people think only about home-cooked meals and going home to spend holidays and breaks with their families. However, people do not acknowledge the amount of labor and effort people are putting into so that their families could have certain foods that being a turkey to cook at home, cooked ham, premade mashed potatoes, and sweet potato casserole, etc. During the holidays, people buy a lot of food either to cook at home or already made, and it is putting a lot of strain on the workers. The workers are not getting paid a sufficient amount for their labor and here in certain states they were protesting against it and going on strike. I found this very interesting because we see that food service people are essential workers and they are not getting paid a price that matches this high demand.

https://culinacooks.com/blogs/blog/which-avocado-oil-brands-are-real

Avocado oil is constantly being pushed as the healthier option of cooking oil and many people opt to get it however, avocado oil does not have a clear regulation for how it is supposed to be made. With ends up happening is a lot of of the oils that are put in grocery stores on the shelf and people buy are not real avocado oil but instead it’s something else that is labeled as avocado oil. There are many supermarkets where you can go and find a bottle of avocado oil for a little less than $10 and people would buy it without questioning why it’s so cheap however, even if somebody were too slightly question why the price is so low they might look at the bottle and they still would not see any indication to let them know if the avocado oil is 100% authentic or if it’s made of something else. This is because a lot of companies do not have a clear indication on their label from where they get the oil from or how it’s made. They just label it as 100% avocado oil without saying anything else so that they can have people buy the oil. To me it’s very crazy because avocado oil is something that is pushed upon us, but people cannot even get its benefits because a lot of companies are profiting off making fake avocado oil. I feel like there should be a food regulation or a law that prohibits this and makes it so that all the oil that is on display claiming to be avocado oil is 100% authentic avocado oil.