To Your Health – Supermarket Strategies

by Barb Dion

Once again, Cathi DiCocoa has managed to give her audience another fun and informative program. Are you wondering why your local supermarket is set up the way it is? It’s all in the science - the presence of beautiful flowers and fresh produce tend to give shoppers a comfortable and happy feeling. She also said that the layout of the store is planned to have the most profitable items, produce, deli, and meat counters on the perimeters.

Cathi DiCocoa, working her magic.  photo Barb Dion

Cathi also spoke about the importance of reading labels on everything you purchase. For example, did you know that the order of ingredients listed on the label show the highest to the lowest? She showed us a can of corn that was only corn and water, which meant that the highest ingredient was the corn itself. Nutrition labels have recently changed to reflect the way Americans eat today.

Some of her helpful hints included not going to the grocery store hungry, always buy organic if possible, and compare unit prices on different brands of the same item. She also said it is very important to thoroughly wash all fresh fruit and vegetables.

 The highlight of the evening was the delicious Mexican Stew that she prepared from scratch, all while keeping up her lively presentation!
 

For more information about Western Mountains Senior College visit our website at http://sad44.maineadulted.org/western_mountains_senior_college

Ian Blair and the TED Global Conference in Rio

by Lorrie Hoeh

Ian Blair  photo Lorrie Hoeh

One mystery was solved for the dozen and a half or so attendees at Ian Blair's talk on March 4 about his experience at TED Global South in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from October 6 through 10, 2014. We learned that TED is an international non-profit organization dedicated to spreading ideas. The organization sponsors speakers on every subject imaginable, speaking for around 18 minutes. TED stands for Technology-Entertainment-Design.

Blair attended out of curiosity and chose the event in Brazil to get a foreign viewpoint, and also because his mother is from Venezuela, and South America is close to his heart. The theme was TED Global South, covering the entire southern hemisphere around the world. In order to be accepted into the program, Blair had to fill out a comprehensive application, including an essay; come up with the tuition and a visa; and take an 11-hour flight out of JFK Airport. Ian was one of 1100 people accepted.

We were shown photos of beautiful Rio, which is a very modern, clean, and well-run city. Blair also mentioned that there were around 40 presenters, and all talks were in English. Morning sessions lasted 3 hours, followed by a break and then an afternoon session. Now Ian is thinking about the next TED Global he can attend!

For more information about Western Mountains Senior College visit our website at http://sad44.maineadulted.org/western_mountains_senior_college