Introduction

Well hello there!

My name is Joshua Thorne, I am a senior at UNL studying graphic design and minoring in music technology. When I'm not obsessed with projects or working as an AmeriCorps member I like to sit around cafes and drink too much coffee, or stay up all night making weird electronic music.  My current food addictions are honey and cinnamon. You can put it on ice cream, cereal, in coffee. I mean, it's pretty awesome.

I began taking a critical eye to food around high school when I started to gain a lot of weight and had issues with my blood-sugar levels. Realizing that diet was the biggest factor, I consciously cut HFC and unnecessary sugar and carbs. I know just how much influence food has on the way you feel. In this class I realized how even though in Nebraska we are surrounded by corn, I never really knew where it went or how it was being used.

Research and Destroy:

"Design only generates longing. The problem is the problem of luxury."

I think all of the problems discussed in this article also highlight what is positive about design. How it is more than a profession and more than a 9-5 job. And how there aren't strict definitions or any set career path. While I haven't experienced it myself, I know and have heard of the industry of design where designers are told what to do. I agree that designers need be independent, self-driven, and critically thinking about what they are doing and why. I was at first annoyed by the tone of this article which seemed to be speaking as a designer to the rest of the world. However I realized this article is directed towards designers as a plea to shake up the system and take responsibility for more purposeful work.

Omnivore's Dilemma 
I really enjoyed this article. Nothing like looking to the past to contextualize the present. My mother told me stories she heard from her mother about the Great Depression. My grandmother, around age 12, would have little to eat during the day, however at every meal she would be given a glass of whiskey. This was mostly because whiskey was the most affordable source of energy at the time. Same goes for today, now that corn is the most abundant crop it is everywhere and it also the most affordable source of energy. It is interesting to see the political and socio-economic systems that lay behind this industry of corn. It's easy to be cynical in investigating our corn-problems, but maybe someone out there said that this would be a good thing. A way to avoid food shortages. All in all, our current position isn't easy to avoid as repercussions and consequences of a corn-country begin to show.