Hi everyone,

There’s a new documentary called “Fed Up” about our country’s obesity epidemic that was released on May 9th. I thought I would share some information about the film because the topic of obesity in the U.S., especially in children, is something we have discussed in our class before. The documentary talks about how businesses selling sugar and fat are making billions of dollars but is putting the health of Americans at risk. Dr. David Ludwig, a professor in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, says “We are placing private profit over public health.” We have also discussed the government’s role in trying to curtail the progression of this epidemic. The film addresses this issue and explores to what extent the government is being active in combating it. As author Michael Pollan argues in the film, “The government is subsidizing the obesity epidemic.” I think it’s important to think about these issues as every year the percentage of children and adults with obesity increases, and the film can also make us rethink what foods we eat and how they may be harming our bodies.

Here’s a link to the website for the documentary that you can explore:

http://fedupmovie.com/#/page/home

Here’s a good article in the NY Times about the film:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2014/05/12/fed-documentary-sums-obesity-epidemic-one-word-sugar/l8vZ8c76lMmwCR3DNzQPHK/story.html

Hi everyone,

Since we have been discussion immigration in NYC in class recently, I thought I would share some relevant news that concerns immigration. On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to hear appeals from the cities of Farmer’s Branch, Texas and Hazleton, Pennsylvania that wanted to enforce stricter laws regarding illegal immigration. The Supreme Court decided not to hear the cases, in which the towns wanted to revive ordinances aiming to keep illegal immigrants from being able to rent housing. The last time the Supreme Court dealt with an immigration case was in 2012 when it partially upheld Arizona’s immigration law, letting police check people’s papers if there was “reasonable suspicion.” These two cases address a bigger issue about the power of local governments versus the federal government to monitor and make laws regarding immigration. What do you think about the Supreme Court’s decision? Who should be responsible for policing immigration- local or federal government? And to what extent should it even be regulated?

Here is a link to an article further discussing the news:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/03/us-usa-court-immigration-idUSBREA221C220140303

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