-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/1909/archive/files/5de1ded768c33f37f977d1d179ce25ac.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=o9QDchfE8aoP7LyXISLlqZs8uGFt34sn1UVuz7147pOZIV4uny4fayk6d6PDUAZXbb9eUBhwxySrclUozJKJS0LqUnjB2zUPUnoWhafQFKbyrs8aEf7CHRXg-17ovFMLTFLCavDO5wtPV6bm34aF%7ECD2FbkKVTtxhKxyy6hBUO7pGBdw1RmkcKSkN%7Eqq%7Euezs4qytRz4Lb1xiiN3Kbx-F77pJaatVJ8laK3o8Xz6hcy9fGGlP4gFOcQaZi%7EKBY8JnQ3-HohU6rfY%7EHSmK86h46JXsQsQP5G3zEYsWS0yNmyNP1aQvBI54%7EMBiHtm78yS6S8TA%7Eni4fn0HJoJpe-XHw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
5f2c98f0eba89826f132616a909eb832
PDF Text
Text
��EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION
The Wagner Forum for Undergraduate Research is an interdisciplinary journal which
provides an arena where students can publish their research. Papers are reviewed with
respect to their intellectual merit and scope of contribution to a given field. To enhance
readability the journal is subdivided into three sections entitled The Natural Sciences and
Quantitative Analysis, The Social Sciences, and Critical Essays. The first two of these
sections are limited to papers and abstracts dealing with scientific inquiries, business
research, clinical investigations and the use of mathematical/statistical modeling. The
third section is reserved for speculative papers based on the scholarly review and critical
examination of previous works.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating and prompted many changes. However,
the Wagner College community is resilient and moving forward. Different teaching
modalities and creative approaches have allowed our students to continue to pursue the
knowledge that will prepare them for their professional aspirations. This issue highlights
their fine research accomplishments.
Read on and enjoy!
Gregory J. Falabella, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief
Editorial Board
Dr. Annemarie Dowling-Castronovo, Nursing
Dr. Donald E. Stearns, Biological Sciences
Dr. Amy Eshleman, Psychology
Prof. Andy Needle, Art
Dr. Lori Weintrob, History
��Section I: The Natural Sciences & Quantitative Analysis
Full Length Papers
3
Income Inequality in the United States and Its Effect on Consumers
and Corporations
Adam Rotenberg
Section II: The Social Sciences
Full Length Papers
21 E-cigarette Use Among Adolescents in Staten Island
Lauren Dina Arslani, Kristi Simonetti, Jessica Verga
32 Satisfying the Growing Health-Conscious Consumer Market
Lauren Duffy
50 ‘Kids Against Asthma’ Educational Program for Pediatric Asthma in
San Joaquin Valley
Jessica Diemer, Marlena Sokolska, and Lindsay Volpe
Section III: Critical Essays
Full Length Papers
61 Emma Goldman: The True Pioneer Behind Birth Control
Jolie Lenox
69 For Their Own Safety, Oil and Water Remain Separate: How Antony
Navigates Western and Eastern Values in Antony and Cleopatra
Holly Alexander
76 French Turn of the Century Puppetry
Dana Rudnansky
86 Psychological Factors that Motivate Bystander, Perpetrator, and
Rescuer Behaviors
Megan Chiu
����Income Inequality in the United States and
Its Effect on Consumers and Corporations
Adam Rotenberg (Business Administration) 1
This thesis will discuss the impact of income inequality on consumer behavior as well as
on the national Gross Domestic Product. Income inequality impacts the way businesses
are changing the products they sell and how they sell these products to consumers. The
thesis will examine the growing income gap between managers and workers and how this
trend hurts the country as a whole. Analysis will demonstrate the benefit of limiting
inequality and promoting income redistribution.
I. Introduction
Income inequality is one of the most important social and economic issues of
our time (Stiglitz, 2019). Not since the Gilded Age, a period of wealth concentration at
the end of the 19th century, has there been such an imbalance of wealth between the very
rich and the rest of the population. (Stiglitz, 2019). The growing wealth disparity is
already producing social unrest in the United States (Vogel, 2019). The Occupy Wall
Street movement, a spontaneous series of protests around America, erupted during the
2012 election cycle. This group was protesting economic and social inequality as well as
corporate corruption and its excessive influence on government. Outside the United
States, riots in Chile and Brazil, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon have occurred during this
calendar year because of wealth inequality (Vogel, 2019). The unrest in Chile began after
the government raised the subway fare in the capital city, Santiago. In Iran, an increase in
the price of gasoline was enough incentive to push the poor into rioting in the streets
(Vogel, 2019). In the run up to the 2020 election in the United States, income inequality
is one of the most important themes that voters and candidates are discussing because it
has such a huge impact on people’s lives and on the economy as a whole (Vogel, 2019).
Working and middle-class people often think that entrepreneurs, who start and
operate new companies, are the only individuals in the United States that make a lot of
money (Hungerford 2013). That is not the case as this thesis will analyze in detail. As
unions weakened in the mid-1970s, labor income’s share of increased economic
productivity declined (Reich, 2014). The benefits of growth accrued to the very
1
Written under the direction of Dr. Shani Carter in partial fulfillment of the Senior Program
requirements.
3
�wealthiest Americans including a tier of highly compensated executives and corporate
managers (Piketty, 2014).
While many wealthy individuals claim that unequal income eventually trickles
down from the rich to the less affluent, the data demonstrates that it does not (Reich,
2014). Researchers in economics have proven that inequality of income leads to poorer
health outcomes and shorter lifespans for the less wealthy segments of the population
(Stiglitz 2019). Economists and ethicists question the fairness of government policies
which allow huge fortunes to pass untaxed from one generation to the next as this
perpetuates poverty in the U.S. (Reich, 2014). Changes in the estate tax laws under the
Bush administration, which were further expanded by the Trump administration in 2016,
allow even more family assets to pass to future generations untaxed (Reich, 2014).
Progressive estate taxes in the U.S. had historically returned some wealth to society
reducing inequality.
Redistribution of income through progressive taxation allows poor and middleclass individuals an opportunity to exceed the wealth and education level of their parents’
generation. It promotes social equality and results in greater economic growth for the
entire nation (Benioff, 2019). Research data confirms that more even income distribution
correlates directly with higher GDP growth in the United States which benefits the whole
nation (Piketty, 2013).
II. Literature Review
Growing income inequality is a fact (Piketty 2014). It has really been happening
in the U.S. Figure 7 in the results section highlights the increased concentration of family
wealth in the top decile of earners from 1989 to 2013. Because most of the income earned
through investment in financial instruments under current tax policy goes to the wealthy
(Hungerford 2013), the rise in the financial markets from 2010-present has benefited the
rich resulting in greater income inequality. Ninety percent of American children born in
1940 eventually earned more money than their parents did during their working careers
(Reich 2014). In America today, the percentage of individuals that earn more than their
parents has gone down to 50% (Reich, 2014).
Capitalism Automatically Produces Inequalities
At this time, one tenth of 1% of the population of the U.S. holds as much capital
as the bottom 90% (Reich, 2014). Some researchers have promoted the idea that income
inequality would decrease in the later phases of capitalist development, but other
economists believe the opposite to be the case (Piketty, 2013). Some researchers believe
income inequality will harm democratic institutions because corporations pour money
4
�into political campaigns to support their special interests (Reich, 2014). When economic
growth is weak, people who are already rich can actually accumulate more wealth even
as workers are earning less. Researchers believe this is another threat to a fairer
distribution of income in the long term (Piketty, 2013).
Researchers believe the economic divide has led to a political divide as well.
Wealthy people use money to persuade politicians to create laws that favor them (Stiglitz,
2019). For example, changes to U.S. tax law in 2016 created Opportunity Zones which
were designed to promote capital investment in poor neighborhoods. Wealthy investors
receive incentives to sell stock without paying taxes on their profits if they reinvest the
proceeds in these Opportunity Zones (Lipton, 2019). Under this plan, any profit they earn
within the Opportunity Zones is deferred for almost a decade (Lipton, 2019). On its face,
this looks like a great deal for rich investors while at the same time serving to promote
the development of underprivileged areas. Instead, some influential investors
manipulated the new regulations. The investor Michael Milken persuaded U.S. treasury
secretary Steven Mnuchin to expand an Opportunity Zone in Nevada to include an area
where his company was already building a luxury property. Political maneuvers like this
are occurring all over the United States to the benefit of the wealthy and at the expense of
the poor (Lipton, 2019). Consequently, experts now agree that instead of helping develop
poor neighborhoods, 95% of the benefit from these Opportunity Zones is going to rich
investors (Lipton, 2019).
Tightening Credit Impacts the Strategy of Corporations and Consumers
During the Great Recession of 2008-2009, lenders experienced extremely high
delinquencies from poor and middle-class borrowers (Reich, 2014). This led to much
tighter credit policies after the financial crisis as lenders made less money available for
consumers to borrow (Stiglitz, 2019). Businesses altered strategies and consumers
changed their buying behaviors as they had less money to spend on purchases (Lobaugh,
2011).
The Consumer is Changing Behavior due to Reduced Income
Consumer spending represents 70% of the American Gross Domestic Product
and remains the most significant driver of economic growth in the U.S. (Reich, 2014).
Due to the pattern of growing income inequality, a bigger share of the country’s total
income goes to the very top earners leaving the majority of consumers with less money to
spend (Reich, 2014). The category of millennials has been especially hard hit
economically: The net worth of individuals under 35 years of age has dropped by 34%
between 1996 and 2017 (Lobaugh, 2019). The trend of increasing income inequality has
5
�changed consumer behavior in a number of ways (Kalish, 2011). The availability of
credit has decreased since the financial crisis in 2008 as banks and other lenders have
tightened credit policies in reaction to the delinquencies in consumer loans after the crash
(Kalish, 2011). Debt laden consumers have spent years paying back the money they had
borrowed before the crisis leaving them with less money to spend (Kalish, 2011). There
are other economic constraints hampering the middle-class consumer: A rise in the cost
of nondiscretionary expenses such as healthcare and education has eaten into their
discretionary funds (Lobaugh, 2019). The average cost of healthcare increased by 21%
during the period of 2007-2017 while food cost rose 26% and education expenses
increased by 65% (Lobaugh, 2019).
The deepening economic bifurcation between the top earners and the rest of the
working population has affected consumer behavior in other ways as well (Lobaugh,
2019). Now and in the coming years, the bulk of the increase in consumer spending in the
United States has been projected to come from upper-income households (Kalish, 2011).
During the decade from 2007 to 2017 income growth rose 1,305 percent more for
households earning over $100,000 than it did for those earning less than $50,000
(Lobaugh, 2019). These wealthy households tend to save a large portion of their extra
income. They do not spend incremental income as lower income households do on
discretionary items which would boost economic growth much more significantly (Reich,
2014). Meanwhile, financially constrained middle and lower-income consumers have
very little income remaining to spend on discretionary articles (Lobaugh, 2019). They
will be more price sensitive consumers, shopping for bargains and buying fewer
expensive items and capital goods (Lobaugh 2019). Even so, these consumers will still be
looking for products and services which seem like the luxury goods they see wealthy
people enjoying (Lobaugh 2019).
Corporations are Changing Marketing Strategies
These new trends in consumer behavior may lead companies to sell luxury-like
brands in discount stores, one of the ways that businesses will change how they market to
consumers (Stevens & Simpson, 2019). There are now two distinct types of consumers:
Wealthy consumers with growing salaries and investment income and low-middle
income consumers with stagnant wages (Kalish, 2011). Businesses can either target one
group by itself or each of these different consumer groups separately. This change in
business strategy has already been happening (Kalish, 2011) in the retail space as a direct
result of income inequality (Lobaugh, 2019). The premium stores Sak’s 5th Avenue and
Nordstrom have opened outlet stores called Sak’s Off 5th and Nordstrom Rack to service
less affluent people (Kalish, 2011) who still want to buy luxury brand merchandise.
6
�Although retailers previously used outlet stores to sell products that failed to move in
their flagship stores, the outlets have become a key component of the change in business
strategy. Retailers now recognize that marketing all things to all people will be less
effective because the consumer market has become so bifurcated (Kalish, 2011). The
consumer market is also not expanding anymore (Lobaugh, 2019). With middle class
income stagnant and discretionary dollars falling, consumer product companies are no
longer competing for a share of a growing market: Companies are now fighting to take
market share from each other (Kalish, 2011). What this means is that a business will
grow by taking a larger segment of an available market from its competitors.
Businesses selling to the poor has become a trillion-dollar market (Periu, 2013).
The median household income in the United States is $51,404 per year (Periu, 2013). The
American government defines the poverty threshold at $23,550 of income for a family of
four and $11,490 of annual income for an individual (Periu, 2013). Over 40 million
Americans currently fall below this threshold. Although each family has little to spend by
itself, together they represent a significantly large market. For example, dollar stores such
as Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, which only sell inexpensive items, are expanding
rapidly throughout the U.S. (Prahalad, 2004). Payday lenders that make short term loans
are extremely profitable as they take advantage of poor people’s immediate need for cash
between paychecks (Periu, 2013).
New businesses that profit from the poor are being created with greater
frequency in the United States. The company RentNRoll allows people to rent tires for
their cars because tire prices have risen dramatically—almost 60% since 2006 (Periu
2013). Their business model permits buyers to satisfy a basic need, auto tires, with
payments they can afford as the company makes a healthy profit (Periu, 2013). Rent-ACenter, a Kansas-based company, now has more than 3,000 locations across North
America. It rents appliances, furniture, and electronics, charging for them by the week
until products are paid off or the rental is terminated (Periu, 2013). Customers can end up
paying nearly 300% of the original price for an item this way (Periu 2013). Although
critics say this is gouging the poor, the business model is actually perfectly legal and very
profitable (Perui, 2013). Industry defenders point out that borrowers usually understand
the terms of these transactions and are not being fooled into renting products (Carter,
2019). Other companies are marketing individually wrapped portions of many types of
items from snacks to soap which makes these products more affordable for poor
consumers while increasing profits for sellers (Periu, 2013).
7
�III. Hypothesis
The multi-decade (1980-present) trend of economic growth benefiting the
wealthiest is a fact. This trend, during which economic growth has aided the wealthiest
20% of the population (Piketty, 2013), was disguised by easy debt availability (Piketty,
2013) to the middle class and to people below the poverty line. Real wages, which are
hourly wages adjusted for inflation, stopped rising for most Americans in 1970, the same
year that consumer credit cards began to be issued in volume (Strickler, 2019). Credit
card spending replaced wage growth. People did not feel poorer because they had money
to borrow (Strickler, 2019). This created a dangerous illusion: Individuals in the middle
class actually felt like they were earning more income because they had more money to
spend despite the fact that the money being spent was really borrowed. As long as these
borrowers could buy the things that they saw wealthier people acquiring, they thought
that they were getting richer as well (Strickler, 2019).
Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet together have more wealth than the
bottom 50% of the people in the United States combined (Stiglitz 2019). The top
managers of the Fortune 5000 companies, comprised of CEOs and executives whose
compensation includes stock, have been progressively earning much higher incomes than
the rest of the labor force (Reich, 2014). Some researchers have pointed out that with the
top 5% of earners in the U.S. purchasing 37% of all consumer goods, the middle class
cannot keep the economy growing without incurring more debt (Reich, 2014). This
presents a fundamental challenge for U.S. economic growth because credit is less
available as noted previously in this thesis.
Elite Americans are continuing to get a larger share of wealth in the U.S. than
ever before (Schneider, 2019). As of September 2019, this concentration of wealth is at
its highest level since the government started tracking the data in the late 1960’s
(Schneider, 2019). Rising income inequality means that the lower and middle classes lack
purchasing power. Seventy percent of the U.S. economy is consumer driven (Reich,
2014). If most people do not make enough money to buy things, the economy will
stagnate or grow more slowly (Reich, 2014).
Even before the financial crisis occurred, researchers noted that the middle class
was being squeezed by excessive debt while the poorest 40% of the population saw their
wealth decline by 63% between 1983 and 2007 (Wolff, 2010).
8
�IV. Method
Subjects
Role of Corporations
Corporations are only representing the interests of shareholders. (Stiglitz, 2019).
Erosion of Progressive Taxation and Government Factors
Because super managers, executives including directors, vice presidents and
CEOs, are often paid with company stock instead of cash, much of their income is taxed
at the capital gains rate which is much lower than the rate most people pay on their
income and these taxes are often deferred (Hungerford, 2013). The United States tax
system has become much less progressive with the decline of marginal tax rates on wages
(Hungerford, 2013). In addition, the tax rate for long-term capital gains decreased from
28% in 1991 to 20% in 2006. More recently, the tax rate for capital gains and dividends
was lowered to 15% (Hungerford, 2013). These factors combined to steadily reduce taxes
on the rich from the end of World War II to the present day.
Effects of Capitalism
Many economists now believe that capitalism without government intervention
results in such acute income inequality that social instability will inevitably follow
(Piketty, 2013). This has already been the case outside the U.S. in countries previously
discussed. Although correlation does not imply causation, it adds weight to the position
of the researchers who contend that income inequality ultimately leads to social unrest
and even violence (Piketty, 2013).
Measures
Meta data: Multi-Year Tax Returns
A recent federal survey found that 40 percent of adults in the United States do
not have enough cash to cover a $400 emergency expense (Reich, 2014). Advocates for
the rich claim that higher taxes on the wealthy will slow economic growth, but some
researchers demonstrated that this is not true. In the early 1950’s when the top tax rate
was over 70% of income, GDP grew at 4% per year in the United States (Piketty, 2013).
In 2018 the top marginal rate was 28-30% and GDP growth was only 2.1% (Piketty,
2013). If higher taxes on the wealthy slowed economic growth the opposite result would
be in evidence.
Income Distributions over Long Periods
Much of the income disparity appears to be a result of so much income going to
the top level of management sometimes referred to as super managers by economists
9
�(Hungerford, 2013). Between 1950 and 1980, the top 10% of earners made 30-35% of
America’s national income (Piketty, 2013). After 1980, this percentage increased to
nearly 50% in the 2000s (Piketty, 2013). Simultaneously, there was a steady decrease in
the top marginal tax rate after 1980 (Piketty, 2013). Research confirms that the income of
top-level managers has increased the most since 1970 compared to mid-level and blue
color workers (Hungerford, 2013). In addition, tax cuts during the Reagan and Bush
administrations benefitted the affluent and helped to concentrate wealth even further as
figure 4 in the results sections shows (Stiglitz, 2019).
Analysis of Wealth Sources
New Federal Reserve data confirms that the top 1% of United States households
have, through dividends and capital gains, achieved significant returns from the stock
market during the decade from 2008 to 2018 (Sasso, 2019). At this point, the top 1% of
households now controls over half the equity in public companies in the United States
(Sasso, 2019).
V. Procedure
Extract Trends and New Developments from Data
The richest 10% of the population owns 75% of the wealth (Stiglitz, 2019). In
the United States, a class of top tier, highly compensated super managers has developed
in the last few decades (Picketty, 2013).
Statistical Analysis Excluding Census Data
Census data as a research tool has the benefit of full participation across the
United States (Schneider, 2019). Analysis of tax returns provided to the Internal Revenue
Service has advantages over the census: It differentiates income sources from wages,
dividends and capital gains and provides more detail about individuals at the top of the
income curve (Hungerford, 2013).
Gini Coefficient
The Gini Coefficient is a statistical tool for analyzing income equality (Piketty,
2013). Its range is from 0-1.0 with 0 indicating perfect equality and 1 meaning total
inequality (Piketty, 2013). Several authors make use of the Gini Coefficient to measure
changes in after-tax income.
10
�11
�12
�13
�14
�VII. Discussion
Prior to the work of Piketty, Wolff and other scholars, the debate about income
inequality was more difficult to understand because it was analyzed with complicated
statistics. The simple charts presented in the previous section tell a consistent story and
are most instructive when compared to each other. The first chart isolates the income of
the top decile of households in the United States for 100 years. It is U shaped, rising
steeply in the 1920s then falling before rising steeply again after 1970. The graph shows
how, since the 1970s, the top 10% of households have been capturing more and more
wealth. In figure 2, we see the trend line of the Gini index during the same time period
and it has the same U shape. This statistical device measures inequality on a scale of 0-1
as previously noted. The Gini Coefficient increased 15% from 1991 to 2006 which
demonstrates a dramatic rise in income inequality during those years. In chart number 3,
we clearly see the share of income earned by the top 1% during the same period and it
also has the same U shape. What is different is the blue line which includes interest,
capital gains and dividends. This line shows us in graph form what Hungerford noted:
Almost all of the profit from financial instruments goes to the wealthiest people.
Charts 5 and 6 tell two sides of the same story. In chart 5, it is apparent that
wages and productivity were rising in tandem before decoupling dramatically around
1970. This means that wage earners stopped participating in the extra profit companies
were earning by becoming more efficient. The steep rise of the productivity line on chart
5 corresponds almost exactly with the upward trend in inequality which graphs 1-3 show
after 1970. In figure 6, the reason for the decoupling is apparent: Union membership,
through which wage earners have effectively negotiated with companies for profit share,
declined by 50%. At the same time, the minimum wage adjusted for inflation actually fell
from $6.57 per hour in 1996 to $5.57 per hour in 2006 (Hungerford, 2013).
Seen together charts 7 and 8 tell a story about the effect of tax rates. After World
War II there has been a steady decline in top marginal tax rates. This corresponds with
the increasing share of wealth accruing to the top decile shown in chart 7.
VIII. Conclusion
Capitalism has caused a great financial imbalance in the United States according
to billionaires Mark Benioff, Ray Dalio and Warren Buffet (Clifford, 2019). These
individuals are the beneficiaries of the current system of income inequality. The fact that
these billionaires all acknowledge that they are earning too much money in a broken
system with horrifying consequences for the poor serves as a red flag about how extreme
income inequality has become in the United States (Clifford, 2019).
15
�Corporations Dominate Whole Sections of Our Economy
Big companies used to consider the well-being of their stakeholders which
consists of their customers, their employees and their communities. Since the 1980’s,
large companies only consider maximizing the profits for their shareholders who are the
wealthiest 1% of Americans (Benioff, 2019). Corporations should not have to choose
between making money and doing the right thing for the greater community. Recently
two hundred members of the Business Round Table committed their companies to
increasing stakeholder return (Benioff, 2019).
Income Inequality is Damaging Our Economy
The bifurcation of wealth in the United States is slowing economic growth. The
rich by themselves cannot spend enough money to drive a consumer-based economy. The
tightening of credit has inhibited middle class spending. The U.S. economy will not grow
faster than 3% per year until the trend of income inequality is reversed (Reich, 2014).
Because income inequality peaked just before the financial crisis of 2008, as it did before
the market crash of 1929 (Figure 1), it is reasonable that researchers conclude that
income inequality, while not the sole cause, was certainly a principal cause of the Great
Recession (Piketty, 2013).
Income Inequality is Damaging Our Democracy
Many economists and social scientists have concluded that widening inequality
undermines democracy (Reich, 2014). With the upward flow of wealth, money from
special interest groups pours into political campaigns to further the interests of the rich
(Reich, 2014). This has led to regressive tax policy which has made inequality even
worse. Democracy is supposed to represent the will of its constituents and not the
interests of corporations and the wealthy (Stiglitz, 2019).
Income Inequality Leads to Social Unrest
The dramatic decline in upward mobility has caused the poor to remain that way
and the middle class to stagnate, a fundamental shift in American society (Reich, 2014).
Social unrest including violence is a realistic potential consequence of the hopelessness
and pain caused by poverty. Capitalism is simply not working for most people in the U.S.
(Clifford, 2019).
16
�Strategies to Address Income Inequality
Difficult changes require coordinated government action. Virtually all the data
supports the argument that unregulated capitalism is a broken system (Clifford, 2019).
The absence of government constraints has resulted in the excesses documented in this
thesis. Here are the recommendations to increase fairness and reduce income inequality.
The federal minimum wage should be raised to $15.00 per hour. The goal is for no
American to work at a full-time job and live in poverty. Unions need to be revitalized as
soon as possible. The data shows that unions in the private sector gave bargaining power
to the middle class and allowed it to secure a larger share of the growth in productivity
(Reich, 2014).
Public funds must be invested to improve education from early childhood
through college. A quality education should be affordable for Americans without their
incurring burdensome debt (Stiglitz, 2019). Government at the local state and federal
levels should invest in infrastructure. Not only is this necessary to improve the quality of
people’s lives, it will provide decent paying jobs for millions of Americans (Reich,
2014).
Government Action
In order to pay for these strategies, taxes have to be raised on the wealthiest
Americans. The data shows conclusively that the tax structure is more regressive today
than it has been since the 1920’s (Reich, 2014). A first step towards progressive taxation
is to remove the cap on payroll taxes so that high earners pay tax on more of their income
(Reich, 2014). Another important change is to raise estate taxes and tax the capital gains
on inherited wealth (Piketty, 2013). Marginal income taxes have to go up so the
wealthiest Americans pay a more equitable share of tax.
IX. References
Carter, S. L. (2019, November 1). Loan Sharks Play a Useful Role in the Economy.
Retrieved from http://www.bloomberg.com/.
Clifford, C. (2019, November 8). How America's capitalist system is 'broken,' according
to billionaire financier Ray Dalio. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/.
Hungerford, T. L. (2013). Changes in Income Inequality Among U.S. Tax Filers between
1991 and 2006: The Role of Wages, Capital Income, and Taxes. SSRN Electronic
Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2207372
17
�Deloitte US: Audit, Consulting, Advisory, and Tax Services. (2011). Retrieved from
https://www2.deloitte.com/.
Lipton, E. (2019, October 27). 'Junk Bond King' in Line To Profit From Tax Breaks.
Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/.
Lobaugh, K. M. (2019, May 29). The consumer is changing, but perhaps not how you
think. Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/.
Periu, M. (2013, July 1). Selling to the Poor: A Trillion-Dollar Market Opportunity.
Retrieved from http://www.americanexpress.com/.
Piketty, T., & Goldhammer, A. (2017). Capital in the twenty-first century. Cambridge
Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Schneider, M. (2019, September 26). Income inequality grew again: The highest level in
more than 50 years, Census Bureau says. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/
Stevens, B., & Simpson, J. (n.d.). The consumer is changing, but perhaps not how you
think. Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/retaildistribution/the-consumer-is-changing.html.
Stiglitz, J. E. (2019). People, power, and profits: progressive capitalism for an age of
discontent. UK: Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books.
Strickler, Y. (2019). This could be our future: a manifesto for a more generous world.
New York: Viking.
US Census Bureau. (2019, September 9). American Community Survey Provides New
State and Local Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Statistics. Retrieved from
http://www.census.gov/.
Vidani, P. (n.d.). How to Shrink Inequality. Retrieved from http://www.robertreich.org/.
Wolff, E. N. (2010). Recent Trends in Household Wealth in the United States: Rising
Debt and the Middle-Class Squeeze - An Update to 2007. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:
10.2139/ssrn.1585409
18
���E-Cigarette Use Among Adolescents in Staten Island
Dina Arslani (Nursing), Kristi Simonetti (Nursing), and Jessica Verga (Nursing) 1
E-cigarette use is expanding throughout the United States and worldwide at an
astronomical rate. This research proposal addresses the vaping epidemic, a highly
controversial issue, among the adolescent population in the Staten Island community. The
intent of this research study is to explore the adverse effects that long-term e-cigarette use
poses on vulnerable populations. Use of e-cigarettes has the potential to cause
psychological, physical, and emotional disturbances during one’s lifetime. This is a major
concern to the adolescent population as their brains are still undergoing crucial
development. A proposed solution to this epidemic would be to use social media’s
platform to raise awareness and educate the most vulnerable age group, adolescents. The
proposed solution is based on the evidence of theorist Everett Rogers and his work,
Diffusion of Innovations Theory.
E- Cigarette Use Among Adolescents in Staten Island
Vaping, a term used interchangeably with electronic cigarettes, was initially
advertised as a healthy alternative to smoking in hopes of weaning one off traditional
cigarettes. However, the reality is far from the original intent. This paper focuses on
answering the question; how is vaping affecting the health of the adolescent population in
the Staten Island community? Vaping is seen as convenient, easily accessible, and
mainstream activity for the adolescent population. The author, Erik Bascome, stated:
“Staten Island has the highest rate of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among high
school students in New York City, according to recent data, and U.S. Sen. Charles
Schumer is urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the inhalable
product” (2019). Research shows the dangerous health effects of vaping, including
associated diseases and psychiatric disorders. Engaging in such an unhealthy activity
potentiates addiction at an early age during which young bodies are still undergoing
crucial development. “The number of middle and high school students using e-cigarettes
rose from 2.1 million in 2017 to 3.6 million in 2018—a difference of about 1.5 million
youth” (CDC, 2019). To curb this epidemic, a proposed solution is to promote the use of
media as a platform to educate the adolescent population.
1
Written under the direction of Professor Tinamarie Petrizzo-Hughes for NR400: Nursing
Research.
21
�Community Assessment and Analysis
Staten Island is one out of five boroughs that encompass New York City. This
borough contains the smallest number of residents in comparison to the other four
boroughs (Staten Island Population, 2020). Ironically, Staten Island was the only borough
that experienced an increase in population in 2018 (Dalton, 2019). According to the NYS
Comptroller: “The population of Staten Island doubled between 1960 and 2000, growing
even during the 1970s when the rest of the City experienced large losses” (Bleiwas &
DiNapoli, 2018). The immigrant fluctuation to the island represents the population
growth that has taken place during the past several decades (Bleiwas & DiNapoli, 2018).
The Staten Island community is composed of predominantly whites, being 75.2% of the
total population (United States Census Bureau, 2018). About 20% of the population is
foreign- born with the top two demographics being of Italian and Irish descent (Staten
Island Population, 2020). Italian Americans make up 37.7% of the total population and
represent one of the largest influxes in ethnicity throughout history.
On Staten Island the rate of employment has risen by 13% since 2017 in the
following work areas: construction, social assistance, leisure and hospitality, and health
care (Bleiwas & DiNapoli, 2018). About 70% of the population living on the island are
homeowners, the highest rate in comparison to all five boroughs (Bleiwas & DiNapoli,
2018). The average household income is $79,200. The highest incomes represent the
populations of the South Shore, with an average of $96,800 and lowest in the North
Shore, representing an average of $62,900. Due to the average salary in Staten Island, ecigarette purchases are affordable for these affluent adolescents.
The major health issues that are currently plaguing the Staten Island community
are obesity, poor air quality, smoking, unmet mental health needs, and drug overdoses
(Baker, 2016). Smoking comes in third place. The most prevalent chronic conditions are
diabetes, lung disease, cancer, and heart disease (Baker, 2016). Deaths from heart disease
and chronic lower respiratory disease represent the highest in Staten Island when
compared to the other four boroughs (Baker, 2016). One of the leading contributors to
these chronic conditions is the “lack of education/awareness regarding health-related
issues” which oftentimes are preventable (Baker, 2016).
Staten Island offers an array of community resources provided to all its
residents. One such resource is known as Staten Island Performing Provider System (SI
PPS). There are currently 180,000 people residing on the island whose health is affected
due to lack of health insurance or they are reliant on Medicaid. SIPPS targets the
uninsured by “improving access to high quality, culturally sensitive care, improving
population health and health literacy, fostering a 25% reduction in avoidance of
22
�emergency room visits, and reducing preventable hospital admissions and readmission”
(Staten Island Performing Provider System, 2017). The available resources include:
“preventive health, healthy eating habits, diabetes and asthma management, mental
health, substance use disorder, and the cessation of smoking” (Staten Island Performing
Provider System, 2017). SIPPS has teamed up with Staten Island University Hospital and
Richmond University Medical Center to improve access to health care to populations in
need.
With Staten Island having the highest rate of opioid use in the nation, local
organizations have been made available to the community to provide life-saving training
centers (Kattan, J. et al., 2016). "Among New York City’s 5 counties (boroughs), Staten
Island’s opioid analgesic overdose death rate was more than 3 times higher than that of
other boroughs in 2011." (Kattan, J. et al, 2016). Narcan Centers provide free training
and free medication (i.e Naloxone) to individuals in the event of an overdose. Some
locations where training is offered includes Christopher’s Reason Resource Training &
Counseling Center, Project Hospitality and Project Hospitality - Recovery Center,
CHASI Next Step Resource Center, Richmond University Medical Center – ED and
Pharmacy, etc. (Staten Island Performing Provider System).
Efforts are being made in addressing the health issues specifically associated
with e-cigarette use. For instance, on November 23, 2019, Forest Avenue on Staten
Island hosted an event called, “Staten Island Vape Escape” which targeted adolescents
between thirteen and eighteen years of age who participated in this informative lecture.
This event was aimed at educating adolescents and their parents about the harmful effects
of all tobacco-related products, with special attention to the vaping crisis. Borough
President, James Oddo has partnered with Truth Initiative, a motivational support group
that provides reinforcement strategies via text messages, videos, live chats, and emails
during the cessation process. The enrollment process is simple, you text QUIT to (718)
306-6608 and the motivational support process begins. Truth initiative has had a positive
impact on the adolescent population- “We’ve helped bring down teen cigarette use from
23% in 2000 to less than 5% today” (Truth Initiative, 2019).
Problem in the Community
The electronic cigarette (e- cigarettes/vaping products) has gained widespread
popularity nationwide and has an increasingly negative effect on public health. These
devices have acquired recognition based on the belief that it is a safe and viable potential
smoking cessation aid (Eltorai et al., 2019). Because e-cigarettes have only been on the
market for ten years, specific data is limited but will continue to emerge (Walley et al.,
2019). This growing epidemic has been attributed to health issues including, but not
23
�limited to, respiratory, cardiovascular, and immune system diseases. Ongoing studies
continue to gather data investigating the effects of vaping on the vital organs. “People
using vape products have reported a variety of symptoms, developing over a period of
days to weeks, including: pulmonary symptoms (cough, shortness of breath, chest pain),
gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea), fatigue, fever, headache, and
weight loss” (Department of Health, 2019b). E-cigarettes appeal to their audience:
designs include tanks and mods, look-alike cigarettes, and rechargeable ports resembling
USB sticks. These products “produce an aerosol by heating a liquid that usually contains
nicotine- the addictive drug in regular cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco productsflavorings, and other chemicals that help to make aerosol” (CDC’s Office on Smoking
and Health [OSH], 2020).The most frequent additives of liquids and heated liquids of the
products include nicotine, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, ethanol,
acetone, silica, and heavy metals such as nickel, tin, lead and some also contain cannabis.
These are only some of the harmful substances that make up the aerosol, “including
cancer-causing chemicals, and particles that reach deep into the lungs” (OSH, 2020).
Since the specific compounds or ingredients causing lung injury are not yet
known, the only way to assure that you are not at risk while the investigation
continues is to consider refraining from the use of all e-cigarettes, or vaping
products (CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health [OSH], 2019).
"The cases of pulmonary illnesses associated with vaping are continuing to rise
across New York State and the country," said Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker "
(Department of Health, 2019b). One of the substances reported to have the most harmful
effect on public health is vitamin E acetate. This substance is found in almost all
cannabis- containing vaping products and “is now the key focus of the Department’s
investigation of potential causes of vaping associated pulmonary illnesses” (Department
of Health, 2019b). Although the main concern of vaping is the effects it has on the body’s
organ system, it can also cause unintended injuries. Serious injuries have resulted from
defective e-cigarette batteries that have caused fires and explosions (OSH, 2020). “In
addition, acute nicotine exposure can be toxic. Children and adults have been poisoned
by swallowing, breathing, or absorbing e-cigarette liquid through their skin or eyes”
(OSH, 2020).
The popularity of e-cigarettes is on the rise globally. The European Region has
the highest recorded tobacco use in the world, “with an estimated 209 million people
smoking” (World Health Organization [WHO], 2019). The United Kingdom along with
France and Belgium have the highest levels of e-cigarette use (Shapiro, 2018, p 41).
Trends in the U.K. show e-cigarette use among nonsmokers remains low; however, the
24
�use of e-cigarettes is largely found in current and ex-smokers. E-cigarettes are now the
most common method used for smoking cessation. The U.K. has reported that “of the 2.9
million current e-cigarette users, approximately 1.5 million (52%) were ex-smokers”
(Shapiro, 2018, p.51). Conversely, the United States reports people are more inclined to
using e-cigarettes without prior usage of traditional cigarettes. Surveys have also revealed
that in the U.S., “many youths use e-cigarettes with other tobacco products, which is
known as dual-use” (Walley et al., 2019).
“Unlike the U.S., Britain has tight regulations advertising vaping; all TV, online, and
radio marketing is banned” (Cheng, 2019). Whereas, the U.S uses enticing e-cigarette
flavors to lure adolescents, and young adults to engage in vaping products (Walley et al.,
2019). America is moving towards banning all e-cigarettes and warn people to avoid
using these products altogether. “Although in the U.S. there have now been 1,299 alleged
cases and 26 deaths across 49 states, in the U.K. only a single victim has been identified
after nearly 10 years of e-cigarette use" (Hawkes, 2019). Although these countries have
distinct differences when viewing e-cigarettes, they share a common goal, in finding an
alternate way to cease cigarette smoking.
As of February 18, 2020, a total of 2,807 hospitalized e-cigarette, or vaping
product use- associated lung injury (EVALI) cases or deaths have been reported
to the CDC from 50 states, the District of Columbia, and two U.S. territories
(Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands). Sixty-eight deaths have been confirmed
in 29 states and the District of Columbia.
Among 2,668 patients 66% were male. The median age is 24 years and ranges from 1385 years. Among the age group, 15% of patients are under 18 and 37% of patients are 1824 years old (OSH, 2019).
Vaping among adolescents and young adults continues to rise as the most
common product used. One of the major e-cigarette brands, the JUUL, has received a
massive amount of attention among the youth and seems to be the e-cigarette of choice.
The solutions of the JUUL pods include flavors such as mango, crème brûlée, mint,
cucumber, and fruit medley with each pod marketed as equivalent to one pack of
cigarettes. The popularity of these products stems from the variety of solutions that
appeal to adolescents ranging from fruits, desserts, candy, and soda (Walley et al., 2019).
In a 2017 survey of 15 to 17- year- old adolescents in New York State currently
using electronic vapor products, 19% of the adolescents said that flavors were
the reason that they first tried an e-cigarette and 27% said flavors were the
reason for maintaining use
(Governor Andrew Cuomo, 2019).
25
�As of October 17, 2019, the company JUUL has announced they will no longer sell
certain flavors of its e-cigarettes pods, such as mango, crème brûlée, fruit, and cucumber
online, and “has previously stopped selling these kid-friendly flavors in stores” (Edwards,
2019). However, “JUUL will continue to sell tobacco, mint and menthol flavors online,
insisting those products may be able to help adult smokers move away from cigarettes”
(Edwards, 2019). Marketing these products, using deceptive advertising and normalizing
tobacco-product use, lures adolescents to use these products. Media is also a key
component in reaching the adolescent population. “A quick internet search reveals a
myriad of videos demonstrating the ways e-cigarettes are used by the adolescent and
young adults. “Cloud chasing,” “stealth vaping,” and “dripping” are popular terms”
(Walley et al., 2019). The persuasive marketing tools these companies use in promoting
appealing flavors are directed towards the adolescent and young adults contributing to the
outbreak of vaping in this age bracket.
The use of e-cigarettes, specifically in youth, can lead to nicotine dependence,
which is a major concern in the development of the adolescent brain.
Using nicotine in adolescence can harm the parts of the brain that control
attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. Each time a new memory is
created or a new skill is learned, stronger connections – or synapses – are built
between brain cells. Young people’s brains build synapses faster than adult
brains. Nicotine changes the way these synapses are formed. Using nicotine in
adolescence may also increase the risk for future addiction to other drugs (U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, 2016).
Adolescents who use e-cigarette are more likely to engage in risky behavior. The
correlation between adolescent e-cigarette use and other substances such as alcohol,
marijuana, and amphetamines increase with the use of e-cigarettes (Walley et al., 2019).
Of the 5 boroughs, Staten Island is known as vaping central (Bascome, 2017).
Vaping has dominated the adolescent population island-wide due to its convenience,
accessibility, and its appealing nature. Staten Island has the highest rate of e-cigarette use
among high school students in New York City, about 1 in 5 high school students are
vaping (Bascome, 2017). Between 2014 and 2018 the rate of e-cigarette use has fully
increased by 160% from 10.5% to 27.4% (Department of Health, 2019a). E-cigarettes
remain the most common “used tobacco product among youth surpassing cigarettes,
cigars, smokeless tobacco, and hookah” (Department of Health, 2019a). With the
continuing rise of e-cigarettes, Staten Island faces an increase in use among adolescents
especially while in school. As school administrators noticed the increasing popularity
among students, they have decided to take forceful disciplinary measures. Monsignor
26
�Farrell High School, located in Staten Island, has a zero-tolerance policy for vaping or
smoking. To ensure this policy is carried out, they have created a system designed to
prevent students from using these products while in school (Knudson, 2019a). “Vape
detectors have been installed in the bathrooms and will trigger an alarm if e-cigarette
smoke is detected” (Knudson, 2019b). Along with smoke detectors, each student will be
required to swipe their ID card to enter and exit the restroom (Knudson, 2019a). These
measures are implemented to provide safety while promoting the health and wellness of
students.
In September of 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo implemented “emergency
executive action to ban the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes in New York State”
(Governor Andrew Cuomo, 2019). A contributing factor for the easy access of ecigarettes is the fact store owners allow adolescents (under twenty-one years) to purchase
the e-cigarette. The governor has also stated any retailer selling vaping products to
minors will now face criminal penalties along with civil penalties. “The Governor also
signed legislation to expand current school-based programs and marketing campaigns
aimed at reducing tobacco use to include e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine” (Governor
Andrew Cuomo, 2019).
Proposed Solution
A proposed solution for the cessation of e-cigarettes is to educate and change the
false narratives that e-cigarettes are a safe and healthier alternative to smoking. The main
problem is the lack of education on this topic, especially in the adolescent population. As
a community, we need to promote education on the use of e-cigarettes and the substances
found in them. Media has an enormous influence on this specific age group; therefore,
utilizing this platform to address the harmful effects would be an effective method.
According to Pokhrel’s research, social media plays an integral role in promoting ecigarette use among young adults (2018). Using social media to explain the harmful
effects of e-cigarettes rather than promoting these products will help lure adolescents
away from seeing e-cigarettes as a healthy alternative to smoking.
The goal is to spread awareness through television, radios, posters, and social
media. By increasing the awareness of the harmful effects of e-cigarettes, we can
challenge the advertisements seen on social media. This proposed solution is based on the
theorist, Everett Rogers, and his work called, Diffusion of Innovations Theory. The
diffusions of theory will be used as a guide to help us promote, spread and increase our
social media page. Rogers defines diffusion as “the process in which an innovation is
communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social
system” (Orr, 2003). The four key components of this theory consist of innovation,
27
�communication channels, time and social system. Innovation is the belief that an idea,
practice, or project by an individual can be viewed as a new method (Sahin 2016).
Communication channels are the participants who share and spread information to
solidify understanding of what is taught. Time, according to Rogers, is seen as the most
ignored aspect although it is one of the strengths in his theory. Lastly, a social system
defined by Rogers as “a set of interrelated units engaged in joint problem solving to
accomplish a common goal” (Orr, 2003).
Rogers’ theory includes five stages in his Diffusion of Innovations Theory,
which will be used as the framework for our solution. The awareness (knowledge) stage
is when a person becomes aware of an innovation and proposes an idea of how it
functions; interest (persuasion) stage is when an individual forms a positive or negative
attitude toward the innovation; evaluation (decision) stage is when the person chooses to
adopt or reject the innovation; implementation stage when a person puts an innovation
into use; evaluation (confirmation) stage is when the person evaluates the results of an
innovation-decision already made (Orr, 2003).
The awareness stage will bring attention to adolescents and young adults by
creating an aesthetic and functional social media page that displays important facts and
articles. The interest stage will consist of creative interactive features such as quizzes and
linked videos of personal experiences while using e-cigarettes. These features will help
capture the interest of the participants. This serves as a way to engage participants while
simultaneously teaching them. These additional features will create encouragement and
increase the desire to learn. In the evaluation stage, we will assess the views and
popularity of the social page. The desire is to increase the number of followers and
participants’ activity on the page. The implemental stage will consist of the participants
becoming knowledgeable about the harmful health effects of e-cigarettes. In the
evaluation stage, the participants will state their desire to quit smoking. Being wellinformed of the associated health risks will increase the desire to better one’s health. This
theory is used for long-term change projects, which is our goal by implementing an
educational social media account. The objective is to educate the youth through social
media and create a large platform to raise awareness. The creation of this social media
account is to encourage the cessation of e-cigarettes. This is an ideal solution because
social media is linked as one of the sources of promotional advertisements for ecigarettes (Pokhrel et al., 2018).
Learning objective goals are:
● Recognize the adverse effects of e-cigarette use
● Enhance public awareness by utilizing social media platforms
28
�●
Minimize the use of e-cigarettes among the adolescent population
The new course of e-cigarettes swept in and changed the dynamic of what we
thought would have been the end of an era of tobacco smokers. Instead, we see a rise in
nicotine addiction among the adolescent population due to the increasing demand for ecigarettes. To reduce this up rise in popularity, a proposed solution is to create a social
media platform to provide evidence and risk factors about e-cigarettes. This method can
be effective by influencing adolescents and young adults to steer away from using ecigarettes which may promote public health in the future. This solution will help the new
generation of Americans who are at risk of nicotine addiction.
References
90% of lung cancers can be avoided by eliminating tobacco use, new WHO report
reveals. (2019, May 29). World Health Organization. http://www.euro.who.int/en/healthtopics/disease-prevention/tobacco/news/news/2019/5/90-of-lung-cancers-can-be-avoidedby-eliminating-tobacco-use,-new-who-report-reveals
Baker, T. (2016). 2016 community health needs assessment & community service plan. Richmond
University Medical Center. https://rumcsi.org/Uploads/Public/Documents/ FinalCSP.pdf
Bascome , E. (2017, November 21). Staten Island high school students using e-cigs at
high rate, data shows. Silive. https://www.silive.com/news/2017/11/schumer_ calls_
on_fda_for_e-cig.html.
CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health (OSH). (2019, November 8). Smoking and tobacco
use; Electronic cigarettes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html
CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health (OSH). (2020, February 24). Smoking and tobacco use;
About electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/about-e-cigarettes.html
CDC Tobacco Free. (2019, December 10). Youth and tobacco use. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/
youth_data/tobacco_use/index.htm
Cheng, M. (2019, September 28). Keep calm and vape on: UK embraces e-cigarettes, US
cautious. AP NEWS. https://apnews.com/3ff4e419802144998ca31ae88029457b.
29
�Dalton, K. (2019, April 18). Staten Island was the only NYC borough to see a population
increase in 2018. Silive. https://www.silive.com/news/2019/04/staten-island-was-theonly-nyc-borough-to-see-a-population-increase-in-2018.html.
Department of Health. (2019a, January). Electronic cigarette use by youth increased
160% between 2014 and 2018. Bureau of Tobacco Control StatShot.
https://www.health.ny.gov/prevention/tobacco_control/reports/statshots/volume12/n1_ele
ctronic_sig_use_increase.pdf
Department of Health. (2019b, September 5). New york state department of health
announces update on investigation into vaping-associated pulmonary illnesses
https://www.health.ny.gov/press/releases/2019/2019-09-05_vaping.htm.
DiNapoli, T. P., & Bleiwas, K. B. (2019, September). An economic snapshot of staten
island. Office of New York State Comptroller. https://www.osc.state.ny.us/sites/
default/files/reports/documents/pdf/2018-11/report-7-2
Edwards, E. (2019, October 17). Juul has stopped selling all fruity flavors. NBC News.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/vaping/juul-has-stopped-selling-all-fruity-flavorsn1068211.
Eltorai, A. E. M., Choi, A. R., & Eltorai, A. S. (2019). Impact of electronic cigarettes on various
organ systems. Respiratory Care, 64(3), 328–336. https://doi.org/10.4187/ respcare.06300
Governor cuomo announces emergency executive action to ban the sale of flavored ecigarettes. (2019, September 15). Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.
https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-emergency-executiveaction-ban-sale-flavored-e-cigarettes
Hawkes, N. (2019, October 14). Vaping: UK experts defend safety in face of US lung
injury cases. BMJ, 367. https://www.bmj.com/content/367/bmj.l6027.
Italian Community - The Peopling of New York City. (n.d.). https://macaulay.cuny.edu/
seminars/lavender10/articles/i/t/a/Italian_Community_0875.htm.
Kattan, J. A., Tuazon, E., Paone, D., Dowell, D., Vo, L., Starrels, J. L., Jones, C. M., &
Kunins, H. V. (2016). Public health detailing—A successful strategy to promote
judicious opioid analgesic prescribing. American Journal of Public Health, 106(8), 1430–
1438. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303274
Knudson, A. (2019a, September 17). Monsignor Farrell high school takes measures to
prohibit vaping. https://www.silive.com/news/2019/09/monsignor-farrell-high-schooltakes-measures-to-prohibit-vaping.html.
30
�Knudson, A. (2019b, September 20). Vaping crisis on staten island: Students across
grade levels using e-cigarettes. https://www.silive.com/news/2019/09/vaping-crisis-onstaten-island-students-across-grade-levels-using-e-cigarettes.html.
Orr, G. (2003, March 18). Diffusion of Innovations, by Everett Rogers (1995).
https://web.stanford.edu/class/symbsys205/Diffusion%20of%20Innovations.htm
Pokhrel, P., Fagan, P., Herzog, T. A., Laestadius, L., Buente, W., Kawamoto, C. T., Unger,
J. B. (2018, March). Social media e-cigarette exposure and e-cigarette expectancies and
use among young adults. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29127784.
QuickFacts Richmond County (Staten Island Borough), New York. (n.d.). United States
Census. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/richmondcountystatenisland
boroughnewyork/PST045219
Sa1hin, I. (2006). Detailed review of rogers’ diffusion of innovations theory and
educational technology-related studies based on rogers’ theory. Turkish Online Journal of
Educational Technology - TOJET, 5(2), 14–23.
Shapiro, H. (2018). No fire, no smoke: The global state of tobacco harm reduction 2018.
(p. 41 & 51) https://gsthr.org/downloads/GSTHR Report/GSTHR.pdf
Staten island population 2020. (n.d.).
https://worldpopulationreview.com/boroughs/staten-island-population/
Home. (n.d.). Staten Island PPS Website. https://www.statenislandpps.org/
Staten island vape escape. (n.d.). Eventbrite.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/80145827327?aff=efbneb
Text message program to help staten island young adults quit e-cigarettes. (n.d.). Staten
Island USA.http://www.statenislandusa.com/1/post/2019/04/text-message-program-tohelp-staten-island-young-adults-quit-e-cigarettes.html
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2016) E-Cigarette use among youth
and young adults. A report of the surgeon general. U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for
Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health.
Walley, S. C., Wilson, K. M., Winickoff, J. P., & Groner, J. (2019). A public health
crisis: Electronic cigarettes, vape, and juul. Pediatrics, 143(6), 1–11.
https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-2741
31
�Satisfying the Growing Health-Conscious
Consumer Market
Lauren Duffy (Business Administration) 1
This research paper presents information regarding how changing consumer
demands are reshaping the food industry. Many consumers have become more healthconscious, desiring products that have higher nutritional content. Research shows that
large food corporations have become threatened by innovative, new companies that cater
to the healthy desires of consumers. Findings reflect that increased competition in the
health food industry has only benefitted shoppers, who are able to maintain unique diets,
care for their health, and obtain innovative product plant-based alternatives. Results show
that large firms are required to take action to adapt and stay afloat.
I. Introduction
Of late, a growing number of consumers have been motivated to diet more than in
the past and have shown increased interest in the nutritional value of the foods they
consume. Companies within the food industry are being forced to take notice and adapt
the way they conduct business. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration nutritional labels
are undergoing changes that aim to encourage consumers to make decisions that benefit
their health and clarify the ingredients within popular foods. New startups have quickly
developed innovative product offerings and brought them to market, while large
corporations consider how to stay relevant in a changing industry.
II. Literature Review
The Dieting Trend
Statistics and Motivation Behind Dieting
There has been a recent skyrocketing of the adoption and discussion of diets due to
the increase in the numbers of bloggers, celebrities, and companies creating buzz about
diets. The increased discussion about diets has reflected consumers’ desires to curb their
unhealthy eating habits and to refine their food choices to benefit their health. There is an
increased skepticism surrounding processed and artificial foods, and there is an increased
1
Written under the direction of Dr. Shani Carter in partial fulfillment of the Senior Program
requirements.
32
�variety of food available in typical grocery stores that in the past better accommodate
people with diet restrictions (Tait, 2019).
The annual Food and Health Survey of more than 1,000 people provides more
insight into the changes in eating habits and dieting in the United States and found that
between 2017 and 2018, “the percentage of American adults following a specific diet
protocol more than doubled, from 14 percent to 36 percent” (Egan, 2018, No page
numbers provided). Between 2018 and 2019, there was an increase in the number of
Americans dieting which reached 38% (International Food Information Council
Foundation [IFICF], 2019). The survey lists intermittent fasting as the most common diet
of 2018 with Paleo and gluten-free not far behind (Egan, 2018). Figure 1 below shows
that the low-carb, Mediterranean, vegetarian/vegan, and ketogenic diets were other types
of diets that rounded out the top dozen in both years (Egan, 2018; IFICF, 2019).
Figure 1. Percentage of people surveyed by IFICF who followed a specific diet in 2018
and 2019. Source: International Food Information Council Foundation 2019 Food and
Health Survey.
Sixteen percent of respondents that were surveyed reported that they intended to eat
a low-carbohydrate diet (Egan, 2018). Weight-related motivation was a top reason for
dieting, indicated in Figure 2, with a large portion of respondents indicating they would
33
�limit intake of sugar and carbohydrates for weight control (Egan, 2018; IFICF, 2019).
Having more energy and preventing future diseases and health conditions were other
popular reasons for adopting a diet among survey participants (IFICF, 2019).
Figure 2. Percentage of people surveyed by IFICF and their motivation for dieting in 2019.
Source: International Food Information Council Foundation 2019 Food and Health Survey.
Individuals are also motivated to start a diet because of their social conscience (Tait,
2019). Many people have concerns about harming animals and the planet through their
food choices (Tait, 2019). These concerns have caused many to become flexitarian, a
term which refers to people who seek to reduce their overall consumption of meat but
who do not want to be a vegetarian or vegan (Tait, 2019).
Forty percent of respondents reported that their diets looked “very different” from
what they were ten years ago (IFICF, 2019, p. 17). Major changes in diets from ten years
ago include the following: making efforts to decrease sugar and carbohydrate intake;
minimizing junk food; minimizing fast food; and being more attentive to what is eaten
(IFICF, 2019). A new category named “clean eating” ranked first in popularity among
respondents in 2019, indicating that ingredients and how products are made are impactful
elements that buyers are now likely to consider when making dietary decisions (IFICF,
2019). Overall, consumers are more conscious than they were ten years ago because they
have greater concern about their future health and nutrition intake.
Consumers are searching for more customized diet solutions that align with their
values and that give them the most personal benefit (Egan, 2018). Individuals have a
desire for a sense of community with other people who have similar thinking about their
diets (Egan, 2018).
34
�Social media is suspected to have played a role in changing consumers’ diets because
social media has increased the amount of information about dieting available and has
increased the ease of obtaining recipes online, while easily connecting people of similar
interests (Egan, 2018). Many people today rely more on information gathered from social
media than from expert recommendations. For example, one-third of respondents from
the Food and Health survey had never seen MyPlate, the federal government guideline
that shows which food groups and sizes of each should be consumed at each meal (IFICF,
2019). This lack of knowledge of government-produced information implies that a
significant number of consumers obtain their information from alternative, possibly less
formal, sources.
Veganism and Flexitarians
As more consumers shift their focus to eating fruits, plants and adopting a “cleaner”
diet, more people are adopting veganism (Tait, 2019). Vegans eat plant-based foods, and
they avoid meats and all ingredients derived from animals. Veganism is “the doctrine that
man should live without exploiting animals” (Tait, 2019, p. 38). Many consumers choose
veganism because of this ethical motivation, in addition to the issue of sustainability,
while research has provided more opportunity over time for consumers to make informed
choices about what they eat (Tait, 2019). Sustainability refers to issues on an
environmental level to ensure the long-term safety of the planet and its resources which
can be harmed by emissions from the meat and dairy industries (Tait, 2019).
This year, 2019, the annual month-long charity initiative named Veganuary was held
in January. Veganuary, which encourages people to eat vegan for the entirety of January,
saw a record-breaking 250,000 people participate (Tait, 2019). The food industry has
significantly increased the creation of vegan foods to capitalize on the vegan trend (Tait,
2019). “In 2018, the Vegan Society registered 9,590 new products as vegan – a 52 per
cent increase on products that carried the society’s official trademark in 2017” (Tait,
2019, p. 37). This increase in available products may make veganism more alluring and
easier to follow. Although vegans still make up just about 3% of the U.S. population and
7% of the U.K. population, one British study determined that 52% of people are
interested in becoming vegan, vegetarian, or flexitarian (Zampa, Tait, 2019). Flexitarians
prefer to minimize meat consumption without eliminating meat from their diet (Tait,
2019). With knowledge of these new consumer desires, companies can capitalize on
vegan consumers and on average consumers who value health and prefer to refrain from
eating meat occasionally (Tait, 2019). It has been suggested that “the vegan lifestyle has
started to significantly change consumer behavior in a very short time like with no other
35
�trend before” implying that the size of the veganism wave is large and has the potential to
last (Tait, 2019, p. 39).
Ketogenic Diet
Developed in the 1980s, the ketogenic diet proposed that diets should consist largely
of protein and fats and little to no carbohydrates (Brown, 2016). Dr. Robert Atkins’ idea
was to force the body into ketosis which occurs when fat is used as energy instead of
carbohydrates being used as energy (Brown, 2016). Carbohydrate consumption must
remain at approximately 20 to 30 grams per day for health reasons, making the keto diet
challenging to accomplish and proving the keto diet to be one of the more difficult eating
habits to adhere to long-term (Brown, 2016).
There are several positive and negative health effects of adopting the keto diet. When
adopting the keto diet, many people often face side effects such as headaches, lethargy
and difficulty sleeping (Brown, 2016). The keto diet aims to spur weight loss, decrease
cholesterol, decrease triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein while increasing highdensity lipoprotein (Brown, 2016). “Health professionals warn that not eating enough
carbohydrates can lower your muscle building hormone and T3 thyroid hormone levels,
increase cortisol levels (the stress hormone), contribute to muscle loss and prevent
muscle gain, and mess with a woman’s delicate hormone balance” (Brown, 2016, No
page numbers provided). Opponents of the ketogenic diet declare that positive effects of
the diet are only transient and may create a yo-yo effect in which dieters who have
successfully lost weight regain the weight later (Paoli, 2014).
Paleo Diet
The paleo movement promotes the idea that humans should adopt the eating habits of
our paleolithic ancestors (Brown, 2016). Though this thinking began in the 1970s, it has
experienced a recent resurgence. It suggests food eaten should be the same as the food
that was eaten during the time of hunting and gathering and pinpoints the switch to eating
products made from grains and milk as the beginning of the increase in diabetes,
cardiovascular disease and obesity (Brown, 2016).
While adopting the hunter-gatherer lifestyle is not entirely possible today, the paleo
diet encourages greater intake of what was available in paleolithic times like fruits,
vegetables and items filled with nutritious omega-3s, fiber, and minerals (Brown, 2016).
The paleo diet today includes consumption of protein from meat, seafood and eggs and
healthy fats, such as nuts and oils, alongside fruits and plants (Brown, 2016). Processed
foods, refined sugars, potatoes, dairy, saturated fats and grains are generally avoided by
followers of the paleo diet (Brown, 2016). The paleo diet habits appear slightly easier to
36
�maintain than habits associated with the keto diet (Brown, 2016). Research about the
effectiveness of the paleolithic way of eating is sparse and not necessarily reliable due to
the variety of ways individuals are following the paleo diet (Brown, 2016).
Nutrition Label Changes
Simplified Messaging and Greater Transparency
A significant change in the food industry that will affect businesses and
shoppers is the new nutrition facts labeling standards. The Food and Drug Administration
announced these mandatory changes to the way nutritional information appears on
product packaging in 2016, with the hopes of improving the way labels are read and
enhancing consumer awareness about the content of their products. Prior to enacting the
change in requirements, the federal agency “conducted consumer studies and received
300,000 comments on the proposals from consumers, academics, health professionals,
government agencies, industry, and foreign governments” (Grossman, 2017, p. 64). One
of the major reasons for the nutrition label modifications is to reflect updated scientific
information and show the link between diet, diseases and public health (U.S. Food and
Drug Administration, 2016). A new format, which can be seen in Figure 3, will be
introduced that will highlight calories and serving sizes, “two important elements in
making healthier food choices” (U.S. FDA, 2016, p. 2).
37
�Figure 3. Original nutritional label compared to the new nutritional label required by
2020. Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2016). Final Rules to Update the
Nutrition Facts Label.
On the new label, both calories and serving sizes will be featured in larger,
bolder type that stand out from the rest of the information, while serving size and daily
value information will be updated to become more realistic and account for “how much
people typically eat at one time” (U.S. FDA, 2016, p. 8). For example, a product that is
four servings at 200 calories per serving will eventually become labeled as three servings
at 270 calories per serving (U.S. FDA, 2016). Some packages will require dual columns
to clearly reflect the difference between consuming the entire container, which should be
done at multiple sittings, versus the recommended single serving (U.S. FDA, 2016). This
dual labeling will be required for packages that contain anywhere from 200% to 300% of
the standard serving size (U.S. FDA, 2016).
An “added sugars” section will be included underneath total sugars to clarify if
sugar is naturally present or added as a sweetener (U.S. FDA, 2016). These amounts must
be presented in both grams and percent of Daily Value (U.S. FDA, 2016). Emphasis has
been placed on sugars because research has shown that when diets consist of foods that
are high in sugar content, it is difficult to meet nutritional needs and presents an increased
risk of cardiovascular disease (U.S. FDA, 2016). Fiber reporting is also being updated to
include only fiber that is naturally occurring and fibers added to foods that show a
“physiological health benefit” on labels (U.S. FDA, 2016, p. 11). The term “calories from
fat” will no longer be acceptable as fats must be classified into trans-fat and saturated fat
categories, indicating that the type of fat has more importance than the overall amount
(U.S. FDA, 2016). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued its first label
regulations in 1993 and has gone through several amendments over time, including this
one (Grossman, 2017).
Compliance
Large businesses and corporations with over $10 million in sales have been
given a deadline of January 1, 2020, whereas smaller businesses have been given one
extra year to comply with the new FDA rules (Burns, 2019). Though the new guidelines
may create difficulties for food and beverage companies, the changes may not be so
dreadful after all. New forms of technology like blockchain can ease the burden from
farm to shelf and help these companies create a “more harmonious relationship between
consumer, brand and product” (Burns, 2019, No page numbers provided). “For the food
and beverage industry, this technology has the potential to trace all nutritional data and
origins, connect supply chains and track every step of production for targeted recalls”
38
�(Burns, 2019, No page numbers provided). Harnessing this technology would allow
producers to place scannable QR codes on their packaging, so shoppers can view how
and when the item was produced and each step in a product’s global journey (Burns,
2019). Blockchain can validate claims made regarding an item being labeled as organic,
grass-fed or natural (Burns, 2019). This knowledge and intricate tracking are beneficial
by saving both cost and disruptions to the business’s flow of operations (Burns, 2019). A
solution like blockchain, however, may be less feasible for smaller businesses that face
greater budgetary constraints and challenges making substantial process modifications.
Many companies have adapted to the label mandates earlier than required to
show their customers that their brand values transparency (Watson, 2015). The change
has presumably helped businesses that stand behind their products’ nutritional values to
differentiate from the competition with their willingness to comply. One brand made it a
top priority to outline the real ingredients in their products aside from solely focusing on
the nutrition panel. The energy bar company, RXBar, which has experienced massive
success, boldly displays its minimal and wholesome ingredients in large font on the front
of every wrapper along with the phrase “No B.S.” The company stands behind this
statement as the definition of transparency and says, “We’re not trying to hide anything.
We’re putting everything out there for the consumer and empowering the consumer to
make that decision” (By the Numbers, 2018, p. 5). Being consistently transparent is
considered to be a major differentiator and a key to sustaining brand loyalty and positive
feedback from consumers (Burns, 2019). Other companies have expressed strong
opposition against the regulations and have chosen to wait until the required 2020
deadline to implement them.
Support and Backlash
General Mills, Kellogg’s, and Unilever were some of the brands firmly
contesting the recent regulations enacted by the FDA (Watson, 2015). General Mills
specifically called out the FDA for improperly relying on the Dietary Guidelines
Advisory Committee instead of the Institute of Medicine, and General Mills made claims
that the new label confused consumers (Watson, 2015). In 2015, General Mills released a
statement saying, “We respectfully ask FDA to pause and take the time needed for a
deep, evidence-based review through the Institute of Medicine (IOM) DRI (Daily Review
Intake) process” (Watson, 2015, No page numbers provided). The company points out a
shift in the FDA’s approach and how the administration diverged from its usual
proceedings when performing label revisions (Watson, 2015). Research conducted by
General Mills, the International Food Information Council Foundation (IFICF) and the
FDA showed that just 66% of shoppers could correctly identify the sugar content of an
39
�item with the new ‘added sugar’ label, much lower than the 92% of shoppers who did so
using the current labels (Watson, 2015). General Mills called attention to this large
decrease, while the IFICF agreed that the change reduced consumers’ abilities to identify
a product’s sugar content (Watson, 2015). The National Confectioners Association stated
that “establishing a daily value for anything without the kind of scientific consensus FDA
has required in the past would be unusual and arbitrary” (Watson, 2015, No page
numbers provided).
Food and drink company, Nestle, strongly supports the proposal, while nut bar
company, Kind Snacks, also welcomed the label changes (Watson, 2015). These
manufacturers felt the changes made sense in helping the consumer identify and limit
foods with added sugars, as dietary guidelines encourage (Watson, 2015). Kind Snacks
suggested that the amount of added sugars be labeled in teaspoons and grams, instead of
just grams (Watson, 2015). The American Heart Association shared this viewpoint with
Kind Snacks and wanted the daily value for added sugars to be no more than 10% of
energy intake (Watson, 2015). POM Wonderful was a third company to announce its
support of the regulatory labeling changes (Watson, 2015).
Another response to the changes by manufacturers is reformulation of their
products (Shoup, 2019). “The mandatory addition of trans fat content on the Nutrition
Facts label led some food and beverage manufacturers to reformulate their ingredients”
(Shoup, 2019, No page numbers provided). Six studies discovered that food labeling
policies diminished sodium content by 64% and trans fats content by 8% in foods
(Shoup, 2019). Manufacturers may have a similar reaction when the new added sugar
labeling goes into effect in 2020.
Product Variety and Increased Availability
Vegan-Centric Products
Vegan products have made a transition into typical supermarkets after only
being available in niche health food stores in the past, making them more attainable for
consumers (Tait, 2019). Products considered vegan were once on the fringe but have
become more normalized in recent years (Tait, 2019). One reason may be that “the food
industry is ruthless and laserlike in keeping its attention on trends” (Tait, 2019, p. 37).
Large companies in the industry also have enough economic force to get vegan items
onto store shelves (Tait, 2019). Major brands have made efforts to profit from the vegan
trend, creating products like ice cream, chicken nuggets and the first “bleeding” vegan
burger from ingredients such as extracted pea protein, chickpeas, and mushrooms (Tait,
2019). Magnum Ice Cream has released two ice creams made from pea protein,
40
�Hellman’s Mayonnaise has begun producing vegan mayonnaise, and restaurant chain
PizzaExpress started offering vegan pizza (Tait, 2019). Other items like vegan cookies
and dairy-free chocolate have gained popularity in the dessert category (Tait, 2019). An
online petition that garnered 20,000 signatures stimulated the creation of a vegan sausage
roll by one U.K. bakery chain, showing consumer desires for plant-based alternatives
(Tait, 2019). Plant-based products have also made their way into the meat section of
grocery stores instead of meat-free, vegan aisles (Tait, 2019). This has increased the
customer reach for producers of plant-based meat because it has introduced their products
to customers who are not vegan but are open to making a switch to plant-based meals
(Tait, 2019). Industry experts have said “it is a fool who dismisses veganism as a fad”
(Tait, 2019, p. 41).
Plant-Based Meats
The plant-based burger is a wake-up call for the meat industry (von Drehle,
2019). “Plant protein categories are experiencing double-digit growth, and in some
categories high double-digit growth” (Peters, 2017, No page numbers provided).
Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have been the two biggest companies in the
conversation about innovative plant-based meats (von Drehle, 2019). The food products
produced by Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat are not aimed at the small market of
vegan and vegetarian eaters but at individuals who want to enjoy a flavorful, meaty
burger without feeling guilty about the negative environmental impacts from scaled meat
production (von Drehle, 2019). On average, the United States consumes approximately
50 billion burgers each year, while the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that
10% of emissions in the U.S. results from agriculture, especially cattle (von Drehle,
2019). Impossible Foods uses soy-based heme and a mixture of wheat, potato, and
coconut oil to give its burgers the essence of real meat (von Drehle, 2019). Beyond Meat
has a different approach and claims that Beyond burgers are free from genetically
modified ingredients, unlike the “heme” molecule that is present in Impossible Foods’
burger (von Drehle, 2019). Though plant-based meat alternatives are growing in
popularity, eaters must be wary of the health value of the burgers (von Drehle, 2019). The
innovative burgers have a similar number of calories to regular beef and are high in
sodium and saturated fat despite the healthy connotation associated with the term “plantbased” (von Drehle, 2019).
Investments from celebrities like Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, skier Lindsey
Vonn, and basketball star Shaquille O’Neal have helped propel Impossible Foods and
Beyond Meat forward and create positive publicity for each brand (von Drehle, 2019).
Beyond Meat announced its initial public offering this year which has been deemed one
41
�of the most prolific IPOs of 2019 (Vargas, 2019). The company’s stock, BYND, once
reached $239.71 per share, revealing Beyond Meat’s remarkable success, while its
competitor Impossible Foods remains privately held (Vargas, 2019). Beyond Meat’s early
success will be tested once the meat-alternative market gets increasingly crowded and
more competitors emerge as projected (Vargas, 2019).
Thriving Health-Conscious Brands
The frozen foods category has seen a significant disruption of late because of new
market entrants that have created innovative new products (Crawford, 2019). One
example is the company Caulipower, LLC which has introduced frozen chicken tenders
and pizzas that have undergone nutritional makeovers that separate the company from its
competition (Crawford, 2019). The company uses brown and white rice flour and
cauliflower to create the breading for the chicken tenders which are baked, never fried
(Crawford, 2019). Calories are almost halved compared to the competition, with
Caulipower’s product having less fat and carbs but more protein than the average chicken
tenders on the market (Crawford, 2019). Caulipower, LLC also accounts for 50% of the
growth in the frozen pizza category, where the company produces pizza crust made from
cauliflower (Crawford, 2019). Caulipower’s innovative products that provide a healthier
take on comfort foods continue to gain traction (Crawford, 2019).
The “Plant-Based” Marketing Craze
Targeting a Broader Market
Diet is increasingly correlated with identity issues, making it extremely marketable
(Tait, 2019). Plant-based eating has become a multi-billion-dollar movement, though it
was once considered faddish (Tate, 2019). Since the word “vegan” is quite off-putting for
meat-eaters, the term “plant-based” is something even meat-eaters can get on board with
(Tait, 2019). “Vegan” has some connotations around animal rights and other issues that
most people might not be on board with (Tait, 2019). The number of new U.S. food and
drink items that mentioned “plant-based” grew 268% from 2012 to 2018 (Crawford,
2019). Products featuring the words “plant-based” are appearing in every aisle and in
every form, such as plant-based yogurts, kale chips, pea-protein shakes, and oat milks
(Crawford, 2019). Experts have said that the term “plant-based” is smart use of
terminology to appeal to shoppers (Crawford, 2019). The widespread use of “plantbased” marketing has been called “plant-washing” and has been used incorrectly by some
companies, something consumers must be aware of when making buying decisions
(Crawford, 2019).
42
�III. Hypothesis
A growing segment of the American population has developed new standards for
what they eat and how their foods are processed or manufactured, and therefore, are
likely to continue making health-conscious choices, forcing large processed food
corporations to adapt to capture the changing demands of consumers.
IV. Method
The research presented in this paper was compiled over a three-and-a-half-month
period beginning in September of this year, 2019. Sources were evaluated for potential
bias, and the date of publishing was considered to ensure information was up-to-date and
relevant to reflect current trends. The sources used in the paper were found electronically,
primarily through keyword searches. Several articles were found through searches on the
Wagner College Horrmann Library databases called OneSearch and ProQuest. Other
useful information was found using Google Scholar and the Google search engine.
Some of the search terms used within OneSearch and ProQuest to find the articles
presented in the research above included “FDA nutrition labels,” “veganism,” “paleo
vegan keto,” “changing appetites” and “plant-based marketing.” Keywords used on
Google Scholar were “ketogenic diet effectiveness” and “plant-based diet.” Through
Google’s search engine, searches like ““vegans in the U.S.,” “Beyond Meat IPO,” “health
food startup acquisitions,” “food labeling and consumption,” “RXBar drives sales”
helped produce relevant results with articles related to the topic of the research paper. In
some cases, the “News” tab within Google was selected to yield improved results from
more reliable, well-known sources.
Much of the research presented within the paper was derived from periodicals and
articles discussing current consumer desires, trends, and happenings in the food industry.
Other information was gathered from official reports, for example information produced
by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding the updated nutrition labels and data
from the International Food Information Council Foundation’s annual surveys of
American consumers.
V. Results
Large Food Corporations Threatened
Adapting to Capture Consumers
Research has shown that American consumers’ eating habits have changed because
they exhibit an increased desire for healthier food options (IFICF, 2019; Tait, 2019).
43
�The success of large food corporations is impacted by the changing consumer mindset,
and corporations are tasked with innovating and staying relevant to maintain the attention
of consumers (Gasparro, 2019). Increased consumer desire to become flexitarian and
interest in being more conscious about what is eaten has led to food innovations like
plant-based meats, pizza crust made from cauliflower, and other healthier versions of
popular food items (Tait, 2019; IFICF, 2019; Crawford, 2019). Increased competition in
the food industry means companies are now becoming more innovative (Tait, 2019).
Large companies whose products no longer align with shoppers’ demands are challenged
and threatened (Gasparro, 2019).
Partnerships
Large food corporations have chosen to form partnerships with innovative brands to
bolster overall company performance (Gasparro, 2019). Two fast food burger chains,
Burger King and Red Robin, have introduced the Impossible Burger on each of their
menus (von Drehle, 2019). Beyond Meat recently announced that its products would
appear in select Costco Wholesale stores, indicating Costco Wholesale’s desire to present
its customers with more plant-based options and capitalize on the plant-based trend
(Vargas, 2019). Beyond Meat has developed partnerships with fast food chain
McDonald’s, Yum Brands’ Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Dunkin’ Donuts (Vargas,
2019). The plant-based meat products on the market like the Beyond Burger and
Impossible Burger are “threatening enough that such major players in the livestock
industry as Tyson and Cargill have bought stakes” in Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods
(von Drehle, 2019). Mars Inc., creator of M&M’s, also purchased stake in Kind Snacks
estimated at more than $1 billion (Gasparro, 2019). Mars Inc.’s investment in Kind
Snacks shows the corporation’s hopes of profiting from increased consumption of snack
bars within the popular health bar category (Gasparro, 2019).
Acquisitions
A growing trend is for large corporations to adapt to food trends by acquiring
promising start-ups (Booth, 2019). After its initial launch in 2013, the energy bar
company, RXBar, mentioned earlier for its transparent labeling of ingredients, reached $2
million in sales in just one year on the market (Booth, 2019). The company uses simple
and healthy ingredients including nuts, fruit, and egg whites and was acquired by
Kellogg’s for $600 million in 2017 (Booth, 2019). The purchased proved to revitalize
Kellogg’s “snacks and morning foods portfolio, a segment that has been struggling as
Americans turn away from sugary cereals and opt for more health-conscious alternatives”
(Booth, 2019, No page numbers provided).
44
�In 2014, Hillshire Brands Company purchased Van’s Natural Foods, a “leading
better-for-you brand that delivers great taste, nutrition, simple/clean ingredients” in the
frozen breakfast and snack food category (Hillshire Brands, 2014, No page numbers
provided). The company has become a complement to Hillshire Brands’ portfolio due to
its positioning in the growing consumer wellness lifestyle segment (Hillshire Brands,
2014). Like Hillshire Brands, The Hershey Company hoped to cater to health-conscious
shoppers when Hershey bought Pirate’s Booty in late 2018 (Wyshak, 2019). This
acquisition helps The Hershey Company target customers who prefer healthy snacks that
don’t compromise on taste which has been a specialty of the Pirate’s Booty brand
(Wyshak, 2019). Many similar acquisition deals have been made between food
corporations and innovative, small companies that offer health-conscious, non-genetically
modified, natural, organic, or gluten-free products (Wyshak, 2019). These acquisitions
are advantageous for big food corporations because “start-ups have the ability to quickly
adapt to trends, develop new products and bring them to market much faster than a large
company can” (Booth, 2019, No page numbers provided).
New Products Introduced
Another strategy that large food companies have used to stay relevant is to develop
their own products and brands that are more appealing to consumers who want innovative
and healthier food selections (Culliney, 2018). Food and beverage company, Nestle,
cereal manufacturer Kellogg’s, and producer of packaged meats, Hormel Foods, are all
planning to launch plant-based meat products in the future (Vargas, 2019). Meat
processor, Tyson Foods, an initial investor in Beyond Meats, has unveiled its own plantbased meat brand named Raised and Rooted which sells patties and nuggets (Vargas,
2019). This activity signals that the shift in the market is being embraced by the meat
industry (Peters, 2017).
Quaker Oats, which is owned by PepsiCo., has added a Simple and Wholesome
product line that features non-GMO and organic oats with a gluten-free option
(Culliney, 2018). Quaker Oats has created a Morning Go-Kit product also targeted at
nutrition-forward consumers with more nutrition-forward products to be on the market
soon (Culliney, 2018).
VI. Discussion
How Companies Stay Relevant
The examples above of the partnerships, acquisitions and new product introductions
reflect how big food corporations can stay relevant and continue success as customer
beliefs change. The research presented shows that it is both smart and necessary for
45
�companies to acquire or partner with fast-growing startups or use funds to expand
product offerings inside the company. Otherwise, large corporations risk a decline in
sales if they fail to reposition themselves in a manner that is favorable to American
consumers.
Changing Landscape of Food Production and Consumption
It has been interesting to see the significant percentage of Americans are dieting in
2019, however, the dieting trend is positive for the United States, a nation known for poor
nutrition, oversized portions, and high obesity rates. The greater interest in healthier
lifestyles exhibited by consumers in the literature that was reviewed does not suggest that
all Americans are adopting healthy habits and forgoing junk food. However, the findings
expose an interesting shift toward healthier eating for a segment of the population and
help to reveal that big food companies are taking notice. Since the results from the
International Food Information Council Foundation survey utilize data from roughly
1,000 participants, the data could be strengthened by including more survey participants
to better reflect the entire population.
Regarding the proposed FDA changes to the food nutritional panel, research
suggests that the new label is clearer and less misleading than before. It remains to be
seen whether consumers will benefit from the label changes once the new label takes
effect in 2020. Labels with dual servings show the differences between consuming the
entire container versus only one recommended serving which may limit deception from
corporations. However, articles revealed that the FDA irrationally strayed from precedent
when determining the nutrition label revisions and dietary guidelines.
The addition of plant-based meats to the market has been an incredibly successful
innovation according to industry research. Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods continue
to show sales growth through publicity and the formation of new partnerships with major
brands across the country. Startup brands that keep health in mind when creating products
continue to emerge and gain market share and consumer dollars. Though researchers are
still unsure of the effects of consuming plant-based meats that contain ingredients like
heme that have never been used before, research implies that plant-based meat
manufacturers are poised for success by capitalizing on the vegan, flexitarian, and
sustainability trends.
VII. Conclusion
New product offerings and food innovations are helping to revamp and reshape the
food industry. Consumers have more choice and a greater number of health foods are
becoming mainstream in grocery stores everywhere. Shoppers can only be more satisfied
46
�with the growing number of food options available to them, enabling consumers to stick
to their diet of choice and avoid industries that harm the natural environment. The food
industry is projected to undergo more changes as large companies look to capitalize on
the health food market.
Further research is suggested regarding the intake of plant-based meat alternatives.
Since items like Beyond Burgers are new to the market, only time and continued research
will tell if how similar or different plant-based meats are to regular beef products.
VIII. References
Booth, B. (2019, September 24). RXBar driving millions for Kellogg as its cereal
business falls out of vogue. Retrieved November 29, 2019, from https://www.cnbc.com
/2019/09/24/rxbar-drives-millions-for-kellogg-as-cereal-biz-falls-out-of-vogue.html.
Brown, J. (2016, July 10). Comparing three popular diet trends: paleo vs keto vs
Mediterranean. Retrieved October 16, 2019, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/
comparing-three-popular-diet-trends-paleo-vs keto_b_5781179ae4b03288ddc6849d
?guccounter=1.
Burns, K. (2019, February 1). How new labeling rules might impact the food and beverage
industry … in a good way. Retrieved from https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/
news/2019/02/01/how-new-labeling-rules-might-impact-the-food-and.html.
By the numbers: DePaul builds entrepreneur success. (2018). Business Exchange, 1(9), 5.
Retrieved from https://via.library.depaul.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1077&context=bx
Crawford, E. (2019, June 20). Caulipower's New Chick on The Block gives 'categorybusting nutritional makeover' to frozen chicken tenders. Retrieved from
https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2019/06/20/Caulipower-s-New-Chick-OnThe-Block-gives-category-busting-nutritional-makeover-to-frozen-chicken-tenders.
Culliney, K. (2018, September 26). Quaker make its first foray into the chiller with
Morning Go Kits: 'People are consuming oats throughout the day'. Retrieved from
https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2018/09/26/Quaker-make-its-first-foray-intothe-chiller-with-Morning-Go-Kits-People-are-consuming-oats-throughout-the-day.
Egan, S. (2018, May 16). Paleo, vegan, keto: Why food tribes are on the rise. The
Washington Post, Retrieved from http://ezproxy.wagner.edu:2118/login.aspx?direct=
true&db=bwh&AN=wapo.270b13525876-11e8-858f-12becb4d6067&site=eds-live
47
�Gasparro, A. (2019, Oct 06). Changing snack appetites leave granola bars behind; Nature
Valley, Special-K bars lose ground to brands with fewer ingredients, more protein. Wall
Street Journal (Online). Retrieved from https://ezproxy.wagner.edu/login?url=
https://ezproxy.wagner.edu:2056/docview/230106153?accountid=14865
Grossman, M. R. (2017). United States: US FDA updates rules for nutrition labels and
serving sizes. European Food and Feed Law Review, 12(1), 63. Retrieved October 8,
2019 from http://ezproxy.wagner.edu:2118/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=
edsjsr.2645146&site=eds-live
Hillshire Brands to acquire Van's Natural Foods from Catterton Partners. (2014, April
21). No page numbers provided. Retrieved from https://www.businesswire.com/news/
home/20140421005338/en/Hillshire-Brands Acquire-Van’s-Natural-Foods-Catterton.
International Food Information Council Foundation. (2019, May 20). 2019 food & health
survey. Washington, D.C. Retrieved November 15, 2019, from https://foodinsight.org/
wpcontent/uploads/2019/05/IFIC-Foundation-2019-Food-and-Health-Report-FINAL.pdf
Paoli, A. (2014). Ketogenic Diet for Obesity: Friend or Foe? International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health, 11(2), 2092–2107. doi:10.3390/
ijerph110202092
Peters, A. (2017, December 18). Get ready for a meatless meat explosion, as big food
gets on board. Fast Company (Online). No page numbers provided. Retrieved from
https://www.fastcompany.com/40508181/get-ready-for-a-meatless-meat-explosion-as
big-food-gets-on-board.
Shoup, E. (2019, January 14). Study: What kind of impact does food labeling have on
consumption? No page numbers provided. Retrieved October 29, 2019, from
https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2019/01/14/Study-What-kind-of-impact
does-food-labeling-have-on-consumption.
Tait, A. (2019). How the new veganism went global. New Statesman, 148 (5463), 36–41.
Retrieved from http://ezproxy.wagner.edu:2118/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=
135510064&site eds-live.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2016). Final rules to update the nutrition facts
label. Washington, D.C.: Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Retrieved
September 28, 2019, from https://www.fda.gov/media/97724/download.
48
�Vargas, C. (2019, December 5). Beyond Meat strikes Costco deal: Should investors buy
BYND stock? Retrieved from https://finance.yahoo.com/news/beyond-meat-strikescostco-deal-221210865.html.
Von Drehle, D. (2019, April 7). Opinion | The Impossible Burger is a wake-up call to the
meat industry. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/has-theimpossibleburger-pushed-america-to-peak-meat/2019/04/05/72235e52-57cc-11e99136f8e636f1f6df_story.html.
Watson, E. (2015, October 30). General Mills blasts 'unprecedented' FDA added sugars
proposal: 'We respectfully ask FDA to pause'. No page numbers provided. Retrieved
October 29, 2019, from https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2015/10/30/General
Mills-blasts-unprecedented-FDA-added-sugars-proposal#.
Wyshak, S. (2019, November 20). Money hungry? Check this list of recent natural foods
acquisitions. Retrieved December 1, 2019, from https://www.thebalancesmb.com/natural
food-company-acquisitions-1326031.
Zampa, M. (2019, May 21). How many vegans are there really in the U.S.? Retrieved
November 17, 2019, from https://sentientmedia.org/how-many-vegans-are-there-in-theus/.
49
�‘Kids against Asthma’ Educational Program
for Pediatric Asthma in San Joaquin Valley
Jessica Diemer (Nursing), Marlena Sokolska (Nursing), and Lindsay Volpe (Nursing) 1,2
Asthma is a chronic disease that affects individuals all over the nation. Triggers
include inhaled allergens or irritants that cause inflammation and narrowing of the
airways (Nuss et al., 2016). Although this disease affects people of all ages in various
regions, the nation’s highest asthma rates can be seen in the agricultural community of
San Joaquin Valley, California (Childers, 2017). Children of Mexican farmworkers are
the vulnerable population in this community. Due to the exposure of harmful pollutants,
or a toxic pesticide called chlorpyrifos, these children have become more susceptible to
developing asthma and overall health problems. This health decline has resulted in an
increase in emergency department (ED) visits and absences from school (“San Joaquin
County”, 2016). In order to decrease these rates, we propose an asthma education
program to aid in providing education to farmworkers, parents, and school personnel.
Community Assessment
The San Joaquin Valley has a current population of 745,424 residents. Over the
past 19 years, San Joaquin has experienced a change in population majority. The
Hispanic/Latino population went from 30.9% to 41.6% and the Caucasian population
went from 47.7% to 31.8% (“San Joaquin County”, 2019). Therefore, a visible change
can be noted in these two ethnic groups.
San Joaquin County has the highest poverty and unemployment rates compared
to other counties in California. 17.3% of the population have an income below 100%
federal poverty level, 11.7% of the population is unemployed, and 11.7% of the
population is uninsured (“San Joaquin County”, 2019). These statistics illustrate the
economic background of the residents living in San Joaquin. Economic security is an
important contributing factor to the overall health and wellness of these residents. It
affects their access to insurance, education, healthy food, and safe living conditions
including the avoidance of outdoor respiratory hazards (“San Joaquin County”, 2016).
1
2
Written under the direction of Dr. Lorrie Desena and Professor Marcantonio.
This research paper was presented at a Sigma Sponsored Poster event for NR 472.
50
�In 2001, 15.8% of children and adolescents were diagnosed with pediatric
asthma in San Joaquin Valley and 13.6% were diagnosed in California as a whole
(Hernandez, Sutton, Curtis, Carabez, 2004). Today, the rate has more than doubled to
34.3% in San Joaquin and has only slightly increased to 14.5% in the rest of California
(“San Joaquin County”, 2016).
Since 2001, San Joaquin has experienced a change regarding the use of a
specific pesticide known as chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos is a toxic, organophosphate (OP)
insecticide used in the production of fruits and vegetables throughout the United States
(Sellen, 2017). It has many toxic effects that can trigger asthma attacks, exacerbate
asthma, and increase the risk of developing asthma (Von Glascoe & Schwartz, 2019). For
this reason, chlorpyrifos was banned for residential and indoor use in 2001. Despite the
ban, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has continued to allow chlorpyrifos use
in agricultural fields, with more than a million pounds applied annually in California
(Sellen, 2017). Continued use of chlorpyrifos in San Joaquin could be a reason for the
increase in pediatric hospitalizations.
Problem
Pediatric asthma among Mexican-American children has become a major health
problem in the San Joaquin Valley. California’s San Joaquin Valley is one of the most
prosperous agricultural regions in the world, containing seven of the top ten agricultural
counties in the United States (Von Glascoe & Schwartz, 2019). A majority of San
Joaquin’s air pollution comes from agricultural operations. Due to the heavy agricultural
setting of the Valley, children are regularly exposed to aerial spraying of pesticides and
are at an elevated risk of developing respiratory problems (Von Glascoe & Schwartz,
2019). San Joaquin ranks the fourth highest in agricultural pesticide use among all the
counties in California. San Joaquin uses 7,726 pounds of pesticides per square mile,
whereas the rest of California uses 1,183 pounds per square mile. These statistics show
the major impact that pesticide use has on the respiratory health of the San Joaquin
community (“San Joaquin County”, 2016).
Children are considered to be the most vulnerable population in the San Joaquin
Valley. Compared to adults, children are believed to be more susceptible to pesticide
exposure. Children absorb environmental toxins at a higher rate than adults. This is due to
their small size and their differences in physiology (Von Glascoe & Schwartz, 2019).
According to the American Lung Association in California, 105,000 children are affected
by pediatric asthma and 1.2 million children under 18 are affected by the Valley’s air
pollution (“State of the Air”, 2016). Children also carry particularly high levels of
chlorpyrifos. According to a CDC study, chronic exposure levels were 4.6 times the
51
�“acceptable” level for children and 3.0 times the “acceptable” level for youth
(“Chlorpyrifos”, 2020).
The Valley houses the largest number of Mexican immigrant farmworkers in
California. Children of Mexican farmworkers in the San Joaquin Valley have
exceptionally high rates of asthma compared with children of Mexican descent in both
the United States and Mexico. Poverty and marginal living conditions increase their
vulnerability to environmental health hazards and non-communicable diseases. This
population resides in areas closer to the agricultural fields for economic and convenience
purposes. Living near these fields is beneficial for the population because it is more
affordable and allows them to be closer to their place of work. However, it has left a
health impact on many of the worker’s families. In 2014, a study found that Latino
children in California were 91% more likely than white children to attend schools near
fields that used the highest amount of hazardous pesticides, including chlorpyrifos
(“Chlorpyrifos Alternatives in California”, 2017). On non-school days, most children
accompany their parents to work in the fields and are exposed to the pollutants for a
grave amount of time. According to a qualitative study, while parents work, children
play hide and seek in the grape fields. Rogelio, a Mexican farm worker living in San
Joaquin, reported that children as young as five years old “just grab bunches of grapes
and eat them along with all the chemicals” (Von Glascoe & Schwartz, 2019). This
anecdotal observation, along with marginal living conditions, makes it clear that Mexican
children are exceptionally vulnerable to the air pollutants that contribute to pediatric
asthma (Von Glascoe & Schwartz, 2019).
The effects of pediatric asthma on this population becomes evident when
looking at the rates of ED visits in San Joaquin Valley. According to California
Healthline, the counties in the San Joaquin Valley consistently have some of the worst
rates in the state (Rowan, 2018). Fresno County topped the records in 2016, with 143 ED
visits per 10,000 kids (Rowan, 2018). Another resource showed similar evidence of this
worsening rate. The California Health Interview Survey found that 30.6% of children
visited the ED or urgent care for asthma compared to 12.6% for the rest of California
(Alcala, Capitman, & Cisneros, 2017). These statistics show that pediatric asthma in San
Joaquin has adverse effects on Mexican children and the community as a whole.
According to the American Lung Association, the San Joaquin Valley has the
highest pediatric asthma rates in all of the nation (Childers, 2017). It remains home to
some of the most polluted air in the United States, in terms of both ozone and particle
pollution (State of the Air, 2016). Compared with California as a whole, asthma
prevalence and hospitalization rates are greater in San Joaquin (“San Joaquin County”,
52
�2016). Recent studies demonstrated that residents of the eight counties experience worse
overall health and shorter life expectancies than other Californian regions (Lessard,
Alcala, & Capitman, 2016). San Joaquin residents breathe some of the nation’s dirtiest
air, and about 1 in 4 children have asthma. According to the California Health Interview
Survey, this ratio makes San Joaquin the region with the highest proportion in the state
(Rowan, 2018).
Solution
The proposed solution for pediatric asthma among Mexican children in the San
Joaquin Valley is to reduce asthma morbidity and mortality levels by providing
education. An education-based program, called “Kids against Asthma”, will be created in
each of the eight San Joaquin counties. The goal of this program is to decrease the rates
of asthma related ED visits, school absences, and the amounts of pesticides used by the
farm workers in the San Joaquin community. Dr. Nola Pender’s Health Promotion Model
(HPM) is used as a framework for this program. By following Pender’s HPM, “Kids
against Asthma” provides an educational program to increase knowledge about achieving
optimal health through interaction with San Joaquin’s surrounding environment and
community. The HPM guided the following learning objectives that will be covered by
this innovative program:
•
To help parents of affected children and school personnel to understand the
triggers of asthma and how they can be avoided.
•
To educate affected children about prescribed medication regimens to prevent
exacerbations of asthma.
•
To educate farmworkers on the use of alternative techniques to reduce pesticide
use without disrupting the agricultural production in the San Joaquin Valley.
“Kids against Asthma” was proposed on evidence-based practice. Evidence
based research was done to create a holistic educational program to help San Joaquin
residents understand how to decrease their community’s asthma rates. Pender’s HPM was
combined with evidence from two existing programs to create the proposed solution
named, “Kids against Asthma.” Fresno County’s Asthma Coalition Program and
Louisiana’s Asthma Friendly Schools were researched to blueprint the objectives and
strategies contributing to this program.
Fresno County developed an asthma education program that dramatically
improved asthma awareness. The Asthma Coalition contains members that contribute
their time to meet and strategize approaches to provide opportunities for asthma
53
�education throughout the community (“Fresno County Asthma Coalition”, 2017). Fresno
also founded the Asthma Impact Model which was created to decrease ED visits.
Through this model, affected families are given a care coordinator to help manage asthma
triggers and to personalize strategies to reduce exposure inside their home and outside in
the environment (Childers, 2017). Louisiana developed a statewide program known as
Asthma-Friendly Schools (AFS). Schools were provided with a Louisiana Asthma School
Management Plan, which included protocols for treating students with asthma when
school nurses were unavailable (Nuss et al., 2016). 60% of school nurses reported fewer
students checking out of school with asthma-related symptoms and perceived a reduction
in asthma-related absenteeism (Nuss et al., 2016).
According to the National Resources Defense Council, California is the
country’s top user of chlorpyrifos, using close to a million pounds per year (RotkinEllman, 2019). This pesticide must be banned in San Joaquin in order to successfully
decrease the asthma rates among Mexican - American children. Governor Newsom’s
administration has started the process to ban chlorpyrifos and announced a proposal of
$5.7 million to support the transition to safer and more sustainable farming in California
(Rotkin-Ellman, 2019).
To combat the pesticide and chlorpyrifos use in the San Joaquin Valley,
alternative methods were researched when creating “Kids against Asthma.” Integrated
and ecological pest management could be introduced to replace the usage of toxic
pesticides (“Chlorpyrifos Alternatives in California”, 2017). Integrated pest management
(IPM) focuses on long term prevention of economically significant pest damage. Leasttoxic products, like those used for organic production, are preferred and highly-toxic
insecticides are avoided. Ecological pest management (EPM) takes a holistic approach
and focuses on healthy crop growing with little to no ecosystem disruption. This strategy
focuses on maintaining healthy soil to meet the greatest resistance against pests and
disease. According to the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) farmers have been able to
adopt IPM or EPM practices successfully, without relying on the usage of chlorpyrifos.
Not only do these strategies devoid the use of chlorpyrifos, they also provide organic
certified crops with higher premium value. Furthermore, San Joaquin farmers can
economically benefit from the adoption of the IPM/EPM strategies (“Chlorpyrifos
Alternatives in California”, 2017). This crucial and vital information regarding
chlorpyrifos and pesticide use in California will be provided to the residents of San
Joaquin Valley. The people must be educated and “Kids against Asthma” will provide
that through mobilized education.
54
�Dr. Nola Pender’s Health Promotion Model encourages professionals to provide
resources to help motivate individuals to engage in behaviors directed towards enhancing
their health (Pender, Murdaugh, & Parsons, 2015). When applying this model to San
Joaquin, healthcare professionals will educate affected residents in the community. The
program will provide weekly educational seminars throughout the community, by means
of a mobile van. The purpose of this van is to ensure that accessible healthcare
opportunities are readily available to all San Joaquin residents.
On board the van will be 1-2 Spanish speaking nurses, and preferably of
Mexican descent, who will offer free asthma screenings, education, and asthma tools like
peak flow meters. They will also provide further education regarding ways to avoid
asthma triggers: the importance of removing pesticide-filled clothing and shoes before
entering homes, the significance of keeping doors and windows closed when possible to
avoid pollution coming indoors, and the avoidance of children playing in pesticide
infested fields. The most common asthma triggers include: environmental tobacco smoke,
outdoor air pollution, dust mites, mold, cockroach allergen, and pets (“Common Asthma
Triggers”, 2020). According to the American Lung Association, there is no singular or
specific asthma medication that is “best” for asthma. Asthma is an individualized disease
with patient specific symptoms and exacerbations. Bronchodilators relax the muscles
around the airways, making it easier for a patient to breathe. Short-acting
bronchodilators, like albuterol, should be only used for an acute attack where symptoms
need to be relieved quickly. Long-acting bronchodilators, like salmeterol, can be
combined with anti-inflammatories to manage asthma and prevent exacerbations
(“Understanding Your Asthma Medication”, 2020). “Kids against Asthma” will provide
San Joaquin residents with the necessary individualized verbal and written instructions on
how to self-administer the proper medications to decrease pediatric ED visits and asthma
exacerbations.
The education provided by the “Kids against Asthma” program would be
provided by means of the mobile van and distribution of educational pamphlets, in the
Spanish language and dialect, throughout the community. This educational program will
also strive to create a community center where all children can play. In this center,
children will be away from the pesticides and will be monitored by nurses and healthcare
workers. “Kids against Asthma” will be funded by San Joaquin County. It is our hope
that county representatives will see this program as a public health necessity that will
benefit the overall health and well-being of the community.
Pediatric asthma among Mexican - American children in San Joaquin Valley,
California has grown to become a major health problem over the years. Mexican -
55
�American children are the vulnerable population in this community due to their
physiological makeup and familial relations to San Joaquin’s farmworkers. Due to the
community’s agricultural lifestyle, these children are exposed to grave amounts of
pesticides on a daily basis. The parents and surrounding residents are also unaware of
other asthma triggers that could be harmful to the overall health and well-being of these
children. “Kids against Asthma” is an innovative program, based on evidence, that will
help San Joaquin residents gain better knowledge about pediatric asthma and strategies
on how to reduce exacerbations of this chronic disease. The program will be instituted in
all eight of the San Joaquin Valley counties and work to motivate all residents to gain
knowledge on “Niños contra el Asma!”
References
Alcala, E., Cisneros, R., & Capitman, J. A. (2017). Health care access, concentrated
poverty, and pediatric asthma hospital care use in California’s San Joaquin Valley: A
multilevel approach. The Journal of Asthma: Official Journal of the Association for the
Care of Asthma, 55(11), 1253–1261. https://doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2017.1409234
Bureau, U. S. C. (n.d.). American FactFinder—Results. Retrieved November 14, 2019,
from
https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF
Childers, L. (2017, March 23). Driven By High Asthma Rates, Central Valley Tries to
Improve Indoor Air Quality. Retrieved November 14, 2019, from California Health
Report website: https://www.calhealthreport.org/2017/03/23/driven-by-high-asthmarates-central-valley-tries-to-improve-indoor-air-quality/
Chlorpyrifos. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.panna.org/resources/chlorpyrifos-facts
Chlorpyrifos Alternatives in California. (2017). Retrieved from
http://www.pesticidereform.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CPF-alternatives-2017CA.pdf
Common Asthma Triggers. (2020, May 7). Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/triggers.html
Fresno County Asthma Coalition—RAMP. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2019, from
http://www.rampasthma.org/archives/6986
56
�Hernandez, R., Curtis, K., & Carabez, R. (2004). Struggling to Breathe the epidemic of
Asthma Among Children and adolescents in the San Joaquin Valley. 33.
Lessard, L. N., Alcala, E., & Capitman, J. A. (2016). Pollution, Poverty, and Potentially
Preventable Childhood Morbidity in Central California | Elsevier Enhanced Reader.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2015.08.007
Nuss, H. J., Hester, L. L., Perry, M. A., Stewart-Briley, C., Reagon, V. M., & Collins, P.
(2016). Applying the Social Ecological Model to Creating Asthma-Friendly Schools in
Louisiana. The Journal of School Health, 86(3), 225–232.
https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12369
Pender, N. J., Murdaugh, C. L., & Parsons, M. A. (2015). Health promotion in nursing
practice (Seventh edition). Boston: Pearson.
Petiprin, A. (2016). Pender’s Health Promotion Model. Retrieved November 14, 2019,
from Nursing Theory website: http://nursing-theory.org/theories-and-models/penderhealth-promotion-model.php
Rotkin-Ellman, M. (2019, May 9). California to Ban Pesticide Toxic to Kids. Retrieved
from https://www.nrdc.org/experts/miriam-rotkin-ellman/california-ban-pesticide-toxickids
Rowan, H. B. (2018, October 4). Dirty Air And Disasters Sending Kids To The ER For
Asthma. Retrieved November 14, 2019, from California Healthline website:
https://californiahealthline.org/news/dirty-air-and-disasters-sending-kids-to-the-er-forasthma/
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. (2016) Zotero [Computer software].
Retrieved from www.zotero.org/download
San Joaquin County 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://healthiersanjoaquin.org/pdfs/2016/2016_CHNA_full_documentnarrative_and_health_profiles.pdf
57
�San Joaquin County 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.dignityhealth.org/-/media/cm/media/documents/CHNA/CHNA-St-JosephsStockton.ashx?la=en&hash=CA343949D9F647E7FE0721ACADAD18C8D608D80D
Sellen, J. (2017). Alternatives to Chlorpyrifos. Retrieved from
http://www.pesticidereform.org/2017/08/03/alternatives-to-chlorpyrifos/
State of the Air 2016. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.lung.org/localcontent/california/documents/state-of-the-air/2016/sota-2016_ca_san-joaquin-fact.pdf
The “Ecophyto 2018” Plan. (2015, May 6). Retrieved from French Food in the U.S.
website: https://frenchfoodintheus.org/916
Understand Your Asthma Medication. (2020). Retrieved from
https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/asthma/living-withasthma/managing-asthma/understand-your-medication
Von Glascoe, C. A., & Schwartz, N. A. (2019). Bad Lungs/Bad Air: Childhood Asthma
and Ecosyndemics among Mexican Immigrant Farmworkers of California’s San Joaquin
Valley. Human Organization, 78(2), 110–121. https://doi.org/10.17730/00187259.78.2.110
58
���Emma Goldman: The True Pioneer Behind Birth Control
Jolie Lenox (Physician Assistant) 1
During the early 1900s, birth control had become a relevant, yet controversial,
topic in American politics. As recorded by most historians, Margaret Sanger had been the
pioneering woman who first brought the issue of birth control to New York City’s
Bohemian scene. Taking all things into consideration, this is nowhere near the entire
story. While she did play a key role, Sanger was not alone in the radical movement that
eventually brought birth control into social acceptance. While Sanger’s efforts may have
ended up being the most memorable, history has seemingly failed to recognize the path
that Greenwich Village’s Emma Goldman strenuously laid out for the movements’ later
achievements. In fact, it had been long before Sanger was even a public figure that
Goldman had combined her individual beliefs with the insight she gained working in
maternal medicine to create her own position. Through the essays she published in her
popular magazine, Mother Earth, and her public lectures alongside Ben Reitman, she
made an incredibly profound impact on society even before her eventual guidance of
Margaret Sanger. Goldman had uniquely mixed anarchism with feminism to build the
foundation for the birth control movement. With a more specific focus on feminism
alone, Sanger later used Goldman’s work and personal direction to jumpstart her own
career. In reality, birth control’s roots in the U.S. can be traced back to Goldman’s work
in Greenwich Village far more than what many remember.
When Goldman moved to Greenwich Village in 1903, women had extremely
little knowledge of birth control options. Consequently, this resulted in large families and
high infant mortality rates. This was especially an issue within the lower classes, which
struggled to support more mouths to feed 2. A vital lack of awareness of birth control had
been largely due to a negative societal attitude that built up over the years, but legal
obstacles existed as well. Passed in 1873, the Comstock Act had “prohibited both the
dissemination of information about birth control and the distribution of contraceptives” 3.
1
Written under the direction of Dr. Alison Smith. Final research project for Reflective
Tutorial LC 13 “Exploring the Global Roots of New York City”.
2
Ingrid Mundt, “Margaret Sanger, Taking a Stand for Birth Control,” History Teacher 1,
no. 51 (2017): 123.
3
Mundt, 123.
61
�While many challenges stood in their way, for the then self-proclaimed “modern
woman”, it was important to be conscious of the downfalls of unintentional pregnancy.
The radical thinking that took place in Greenwich Village encouraged women to be
enlightened on life’s purpose and overall value. As early as 1900, infant mortality rates
ranged from “23% for first-born children, to 60% for twelfth-born children” 4. In these
circumstances, bringing unwanted children into the world, if they survived, was unfair
considering the poor quality of life they would be doomed with. Yet, Bohemian New
York women were willing to break away from tradition, and many searched for ways of
accessing contraceptives that went unregulated.
Unfortunately, even if some women had the right connections to access such
obscure birth control methods, it was still inordinately expensive. Even if money wasn’t
an issue, the few options available, like “diaphragms, chemical contraceptives, condoms,
and menstrual cycle based family planning” 5, were extremely unreliable and often
dangerous. Nonetheless, having the means to attain birth control was far out of reach for
the majority of the female population, and without it, women were forced to put the
livelihood of both themselves and their families on the line.
Emma Goldman had seen these struggles first hand, and her work in medical
care allowed her to form an educated opinion on the issue. She had become “convinced
that birth control was essential to women’s sexual and economic freedom” while working
as a nurse and midwife in the Lower East Side during the 1890’s 6. She had years of eyeopening experience there, which “brought her into contact with the dire circumstances of
poor women’s homes” 7. Even after giving up her career to focus on touring as an activist,
she still “frequently visited the Nurse’s Settlement on Henry Street 35” 8, having kept the
image of the suffering modern-day woman fresh in her mind. Through experience, she
was able to apply her knowledge and beliefs in a time where there was an international
spirit of social reform. When given the opportunity, “she tested her ideas about
4
Mundt, 124.
Mundt, 124.
6
Candace Falk, “The Emma Goldman Papers: Birth Control Pioneer,” University of
California Library (June 2019): 1.
7
Kathy E. Ferguson, Emma Goldman: Political Thinking in the Streets (Lanham:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2011), 249.
8
Blanche Wiesen Cook, “Female Support Networks and Political Activism: Lillian
Wald, Crystal Eastman, Emma Goldman”, 36-53.
5
62
�reproductive rights while attending a Parisian “Neo-Malthusian” congress in 1900” 9. It
was there; having seen the fight for birth control in France, that she dreamed of a similar
movement in the United States. With high hopes, she immediately began “smuggling
contraceptive devices into the United States” 10. Goldman was one of the first American
women to be so progressive in her views of birth control, but Bohemian Greenwich
Village welcomed new ideas and accepted change. This served as the perfect setting for
her work as a writer and lecturer.
Being a woman herself, Goldman envisioned a brighter future for her female
peers and future generations to come. To her, fighting for birth control was part of a
“larger social revolution” 11 in the United States. She understood how powerful it would
be for women to be given the right to birth control options, and became an avid advocate
for the cause. Goldman was disgusted that in modern times, such primitive and sexist
ideas were still widely accepted. In light of her disapproval, Goldman wrote her 1916
essay, a later reflection of her work on the subject, “The Social Aspects of Birth Control”.
As featured in Peter Glassgold’s anthology Anarchy! An Anthology of Emma Goldman’s
Mother Earth, she stated that the fact it “should have taken so long a time for the human
race to realize the greatness of [birth control] is only one more proof of the sluggishness
of the human mind” 12. Goldman had viewed birth control’s groundbreaking significance
in a much broader social, political, and economic sense even before it had many public
supporters.
Although many did not see the movement’s greater potential at first, Ben
Reitman was convinced by Goldman’s pioneering work from the beginning. Reitman and
Goldman met in Chicago during 1908, when he reportedly “maintained a sporadic
medical practice but was more active in operating a shelter, information center, and
education formal” for the homeless 13. Learning more and more about her ideas after their
initial meeting, Reitman eagerly joined her in Greenwich Village “as both her lover and
manager”. There he began “doing advance work on her tours, [was] distributing and
selling anarchist literature”, and raised money for Mother Earth, in which Goldman wrote
her famously opinionated essays. Having supported Emma’s stance on birth control, not
9
Falk, 2.
Falk, 2.
11
Glassgold, 134.
12
Glassgold, 134.
13
Suzanne Poirier, “Emma Goldman, Ben Reitman, and Reitman’s wives: a study in
relationships,” Women’s Studies 3, no. 14 (1988): 280.
10
63
�only as her lover, but because of his own personal beliefs, he also gave lectures “on the
topics of birth control, venereal disease, and sexology” on his own 14. Within just months
of being romantically involved with her, Ben’s life had become motivated by preaching
his and Goldman’s beliefs, hoping that as a team, they could make a change.
While Goldman’s work as a nurse developed her eventual opinions of birth
control long before it even had a social platform, her beliefs were politically charged as
well. Notorious for being an anarchist, Goldman is also “credited with bringing feminism
to anarchism” 15. As stated by political theorist Kathy Ferguson, her “most original
contribution to anarchism lies in her weaving of sex and gender into the mix, a
conceptual innovation that may seem obvious now, but was largely unheard of at the
time” 16. Ferguson’s statement is exemplary of how Goldman took a stand on birth control
even when it went against the law and opposed basic social constructs.
In true anarchist fashion, Goldman theorized that capitalism was to blame for
the legal restrictions on birth control. She strongly believed that “political economists,
together with all sponsors of the capitalist regime, [who] are in favor of a large and
excessive race” controlled birth control in order to further their own agenda for the
country. In support of her conspiracy, she argued that limiting birth control would have
inevitably benefitted the nation militaristically and economically. With the power she
already had as a well-known controversial writer, she wrote essays that exposed such
corruptness. In her compelling essay, “The Social Aspects of Birth Control”, Goldman
observed that capitalism had “grown into a huge insatiable monster” 17. She reasoned that
“capitalism cannot do without militarism, and since the masses of people furnish the
material to be destroyed in the trenches and on the battlefield, capitalism must have a
large race” 18. She also targeted capitalist selfishness for craving an all-powerful
workforce, inferring that “they will have it that under no circumstances must the labor
margin diminish, else the sacred institution known as capitalistic civilization will be
undermined” 19. Goldman believed that birth control was made taboo with the intention of
giving capitalists control over the country’s supply of bodies for the armed forces and
14
Poirier, 280.
Ferguson, 249.
16
Ferguson, 249.
17
Peter Glassgold, Anarchy! An Anthology of Emma Goldman’s Mother Earth (Berkeley:
Counterpoint, 2012), 135.
18
Glassgold, 136.
19
Glassgold, 135.
15
64
�workforce. With that being said, Goldman’s work was undoubtedly powerful and radical
enough to set a much larger movement in motion.
While her anarchist tendencies may make it seem as though Goldman was
against how birth control was handled just to oppose the government, she consistently
acknowledged how the lack of birth control diminished the quality of life for families.
Setting aside her political activism, Goldman never failed to help people remember the
more simplistic meaning of her fight. There was a pure biological advantage and moral
righteousness to women having access to birth control that could not be ignored. By
raising too many children, many were left economically crippled and utterly unhappy.
She explained in the “Social Aspects of Birth Control” that “overworked and underfed
vitality cannot reproduce healthy progeny” and this has in turn resulted in an “increase of
defective, crippled, and unfortunate children” 20. She also acknowledged how “mothers
are compelled to work many hard hours in order to help support the creatures which they
unwillingly brought into the world” 21, and as “a woman wastes her substance in eternal
pregnancies, confinements, and diaper washing, she has little time left for anything
else” 22. Losing any enthusiasm for life, she argued, forced women to act on desperation.
In her own words, Goldman explained that “in their drab and monotonous existence the
only color left is probably a sexual attraction”, yet “without methods of prevention
invariably leads to abortions” which “thousands of women are sacrificed 23”.
Under ideal circumstances, and with the optimal concern for women’s
health, Goldman hoped that for women, access to birth control would “enable her to
recuperate during a period of from three to five years between each pregnancy, which
alone would give her physical and mental well-being and the opportunity to take better
care of the children already in existence” 24. In light of why modern women deserve these
rights, Goldman elaborated upon the idea that society had advanced to the point where
“never in the history of the world has woman been so race conscious as she is today” 25.
Race consciousness, a broad term for the newly human race concerned mindset of the
time, was especially common in Bohemian Greenwich Village. Women had begun to
share a general concern for the human race’s dependence on the availability of resources
20
Glassgold, 135.
Glassgold, 137.
22
Glassgold, 137.
23
Glassgold, 138.
24
Glassgold, 136.
25
Glassgold, 138.
21
65
�as well as the quality of life for their children. In effect, Goldman believed that such
practical thinking should at least be rewarded with the mere option of birth control
methods.
While Reitman had always considered himself an anarchist, incorporating birth
control into anarchism was something new that Goldman had introduced him to. Yet, he
immediately recognized the topic’s importance in society in the broader sense that she
did. Having appreciated Reitman’s loyalty, Goldman is said to have worked hard “to
accommodate Reitman’s unreliability into her own life so she could continue her
relationship with him without crippling her own personal and public existence” 26.
Nonetheless, Reitman was firm in Goldman’s beliefs, and was especially supportive of
her stance on birth control by being an advocate himself. Such devotion was evident
when he went to jail for the cause in 1916 – his “six-month sentence for public advocacy
of birth control was the longest jail sentence served by any birth control activist in the
United States before 1920” 27. On top of making his own sacrifices, Reitman had created
opportunities for Goldman to speak publically and publish her writings – giving her the
platform in the birth control movement that eventually inspired Sanger.
However, despite Goldman’s remarkable history and deeply emotional
connection to the birth control fight, she continues to get little recognition for her work.
Margaret Sanger seems to be the only name that’s associated with initiating the fight for
birth control. Rarely do people acknowledge that “Goldman was in fact Margaret
Sanger’s mentor” and “brought the young Sanger into the campaign against the
Comstock Law” 28. Just like Goldman, Sanger “began her career as a nurse in New York
City in 1900”, and “predominantly cared for women from the lower classes who lacked
contraceptive education” 29. Sanger’s experience also became a major turning point in her
life. Working in clinics, “birth control’s value became apparent as she treated women
who were relieved if there was a stillbirth, because they could not afford to raise any
more children” 30. While Sanger had a strong foundation for her later work, she hadn’t
taken the first steps on her own. It wasn’t until 1910, when she moved to Greenwich
Village and met Goldman, that she truly inhabited her famous role.
26
Poirier, 285.
Falk, 3.
28
Falk, 1.
29
Mundt, 124.
30
Mundt, 124.
27
66
�According to NYU professor and researcher Esther Katz, when they moved,
“the Sangers became immersed in the pre-war radical bohemian culture flourishing in
Greenwich Village. They joined a circle of intellectuals, activists, and artists that
included Max Eastman, John Reed, Upton Sinclair, Mabel Dodge, and Emma
Goldman” 31. Like Goldman, the couple considered themselves anarchists, and even
financially supported “the anarchist-run Ferrer Center and Modern School” 32 in New
York City. Having already a similar position on political issues, Sanger became instantly
“influenced by the ideas of anarchist Emma Goldman”. She argued that there was a need
for “family limitation as a tool by which working-class women would liberate themselves
from the economic burden of unwanted pregnancy” 33. By 1915, the two women had
united to work together on the issue, but as Sanger became a prominent figure on her
own, “she disassociated herself from anarchists like Emma Goldman” 34. She learned that
associating herself with anarchists would deter supporters, which she needed to fuel her
already radical campaign. This strategy proved useful in furthering her success, and she
“broke the friendship and the relationship of close mutual support” 35 shared with
Goldman. Despite Sanger’s choice to distance herself, a whole-hearted Goldman
continued to support her good friend up until Sanger was arrested later that year. In a
letter she wrote to Sanger while she was in prison in December of 1915, Goldman writes,
“hold out until I come back the 23rd of this month. Then go away with me for 2 weeks to
Lakewood or some place. I am terribly tired and need a rest. We’d both gain much and I
would help you find yourself” 36. In the end, a fresh-faced Sanger used every bit of
Goldman’s wisdom to get her where she needed to be, but shut her out of her life once
she had gained enough influence to fly solo in her career.
Ultimately, Emma Goldman deserves to be recognized as the true pioneering
woman responsible for the success of the birth control movement. She was the first, using
her voice as a radical public figure, to start the conversation in bohemian Greenwich
Village. The campaign eventually took off nation-wide, but Sanger was given all of the
credit as Goldman faded to the background. Yet, given Goldman’s long history, there
couldn’t have been the Margaret Sanger we all know if it weren’t for her. Not only did
31
Katz, 2.
Katz, 2.
33
Katz, 3.
34
Falk, 3.
35
Falk, 3.
36
Falk, 2.
32
67
�Goldman believe in Sanger as her mentor and later partner, but supported her as a close
friend as well. With all of the evidence that exists in Goldman’s defense, she should be
made a larger part of history as we know it.
Works Cited
Cook, Blanche Wiesen. “Female Support Networks and Political Activism: Lillian Wald,
Crystal Eastman, Emma Goldman”, 36-53.
Falk, Candace. “The Emma Goldman Papers: Birth Control Pioneer”. University of
California Library. June 2019: 1-3.
Ferguson, Kathy E., Emma Goldman: Political Thinking in the Streets. Lanham:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2011: 249-272.
Glassgold, Peter, Anarchy! An Anthology of Emma Goldman’s Mother Earth. Berkeley:
Counterpoint, 2012: 134-139.
Katz, Esther. Sanger’s Papers. New York University: University of Illinois Press, 2003,
1-4.
Mundt, Ingrid. “Margaret Sanger, Taking a Stand for Birth Control.” History Teacher 1,
no. 51 (2017): 123-129.
Poirier, Suzanne. “Emma Goldman, Ben Reitman, and Reitman’s wives: a study in
relationships,” Women’s Studies 3, no. 14 (1988): 277-295.
68
�For Their Own Safety, Oil and Water
Remain Separate: How Antony Navigates
Western and Eastern Values in Antony and Cleopatra
Holly Alexander (English and Government & Politics) 1
The issue with balance is that it is extremely hard to accomplish. William
Shakespeare’s Mark Antony dances between his duty and his desires throughout the play
Antony and Cleopatra where he indulges in one extreme or the other. Cleopatra, the
Egyptian queen and exotic feminine figure, and Egypt lie in the East which is ruled by
passion, pleasure and love. Antony, one of the triumvirs, and Rome are in the West which
is ruled by reason, discipline, and prudence. William Blissett writes that the play gives an
“impression of two incompatible worlds,” that he describes as a “cult of pleasure and
fertility,” in the East and the “combination of stoic apathy and assent to the political
juggernaut,” in the West (156). In other words, one is what the other is not and Antony is
tied to the West while he desires Cleopatra in the East. When he finally tries to hybridize
enjoying his pleasures in the East and satisfying his responsibilities in the West, he is not
successful. Cleopatra says to Antony, as he readies himself to depart for Rome, “Or thou,
the greatest soldier of the world, / Art turn’d the greatest liar,” (I, iii, 38-39) directly
juxtaposing Antony’s two worlds. These two lines suggest the paradox that to be the
greatest soldier, Antony must be a liar but also that he is no longer the greatest soldier
because he is a liar. In this sense, liar acts as a representation for the emotional side of
Antony, while being a soldier acts as the rational side of him. The conflict of who Antony
is, whether he is to be defined by his duty or by his love, arises throughout the play as he
seemingly tries harder to incorporate both parts of his world. Ironically, the more he tries
to do this, the less he remains the great man he once was.
Antony is referred to as a man who no longer is himself, by others and by
himself. How he handles his struggle to satisfy his public responsibilities and his private
desires is what this paper will focus on. Specifically, this analysis will look at the stages
Antony goes through; from the kind of general that Antony was, the ways he continues to
resemble that man, the ways he has changed since going to Egypt, and the effects of
trying to satisfy both ways of life he is leading.
1
Written under the direction of Dr. Anne Hurley for EN330: Shakespeare Survey.
69
�The play initially refers to the valiant general Antony to contrast it with what has
become of him since meeting Cleopatra. This stage is where the play allows for
reminiscing on the Antony of Rome. In these instances, it is clear that the man that
Antony is, or was, is seen as more than mere mortal. However, in each description, the
purpose of relishing Antony’s attributes is to then dismiss them as no longer present. In
the opening, Philo compares him to “plated Mars” suggesting that dressed in his armor
when he goes to war he is indestructible for Mars is the god of war (I, i, 4). This
characteristic once made him the greatest soldier but it is used now to emphasize how he
no longer is indestructible because he is flexible to the will of a woman. In the same
speech, Philo continues “… and you shall see in him / The triple pillar of the world
“transform’d” (I, i, 11-12). This reference creates the image of Antony’s grandeur by
placing him as, literally one of the three most impressive men in the world – not just in
Rome. However, it is completely invalidated by the word “transform’d” because a man
who is one of the pinnacles of the world should not need to transform as he has reached
his peak. Although Antony may still have the title as one of the triumvirs, this line
indicates that he is less untouchable and less perfect because he is no longer solely
focused on his responsibilities but now tainted by his persona desires for pleasure and
love.
“Sometimes when he is not Antony, / He comes too short of that great property /
Which still should go with Antony,” Philo says this meaning that Antony is a different
person and he cannot measure up to the respectable, former Antony (I, i, 56 -58). Each of
these references aims to present the greatness of Antony in the past tense. It is clear that,
in the eyes of those who knew Antony before he knew Cleopatra, the better man existed
prior to his trip to Egypt.
In the first half of the play especially, there are glimpses that Antony still
remains reasonable and honorable. This stage of Antony’s evolution is where he still is
able to be the responsible man of Rome he once was when snapped back to reality. Upon
news of all that has occurred in Rome, Antony knows that it is his responsibility to return.
He exclaims to Enobarbus that he should have never seen Cleopatra, for if he hadn’t, he
would have not become distracted by her and maybe Fulvia would not be dead.
Enobarbus implores Antony to remain in Egypt and not abandon Cleopatra. To this,
however, Antony responds “No more light answers. … but the letters too / Of many our
contriving friends in Rome / Petition us home” (I, ii, 176-183). These lines are indicative
that Antony realizes that his lust and Cleopatra’s need for him do not outweigh his
responsibilities. In this way he is displaying the qualities of the general he was before
Egypt.
70
�In another instance, while in Rome with Caesar, Lepidus, and Pompey going
over the truce, Antony is respectful and reasonable the way a leader of his kind ought to
be. When Pompey reminds him that Antony’s mother was welcomed in Sicily and that he
has made no acknowledgement of that, Antony agrees with him that he should have said
thank you. “I have heard it, Pompey, / And am well studied for a liberal thanks, Which I
do owe you” (II, v, 47-49). This is a time, similar to how he addresses the messenger who
tells him of the bad news in Rome, where Antony is self-reflective about his demeanor.
“In his honest and self-critical reception of the messenger’s news, Antony shows another
reason why it is not absurd that the play should seek to establish him, in Cleopatra’s eyes,
as the greatest man in the world,” (Marsh, 4). This is in reference to Antony saying to the
messenger “When our quick winds lie still, and our ills told us / Is our earing,” by this he
means that criticism helps us to see our faults and correct them (I, ii, 110-111). This
highlights that there are still very Roman parts to Antony and he may be able to remain
this great man if he holds on to those parts.
Another example of this is when Antony reassures the messenger that he will
not be blamed for being the bearer of bad news. “When it concerns the fool or the
coward. On: / Things that are past are done with me. ‘Tis thus: / Who tells me true,
though in his tale lie death, I hear him as he flatter’d,” (I, ii, 96-99). The deliberate use of
the words “fool” and “coward” illustrate how reason is still a value of Antony’s because
they are words he would not want to be used to describe himself. The fact that Antony
not only says that he will not blame a messenger for the bad news, but also that he will
treat the news as if it is flattery, is indicative of his reasonable and honorable nature.
Ironically, however, it is in a similar situation later on that proves Antony’s
reason has dwindled. Antony, in moments like these, comes across as permanently
changed. In the third act, he orders an innocent messenger to be whipped for bringing
word from Caesar to Cleopatra. The line “Whip him, fellows, / Till like a boy you see
him cringe his face, / And whine aloud for mercy,” (III, xiii, 99-101) reveals the stark
difference between the man that Antony was and the man he has become. The descriptive
pain evoked from the words “cringe his face,” and “whine aloud for mercy,” are
illustrative of how Antony is being ruled by his emotions and his anger and not by
reason. In other words, he has succumb to the temptations of the East to not be rational in
thinking and in acting. Furthermore, the need to employ physical force indicates that
Antony is losing his power and control. It is a sign of weakness for a man of his stature to
need to abuse an innocent messenger. Another analysis of this is that Antony still has his
physical courage and that “It is only in his judgement that he is not the man he was,”
(Marsh, 6). Interestingly, for him to be a man of Rome, his judgement needs to be intact.
71
�Another indicator that Antony is no longer the same man is that he makes
military decisions that are clearly not in his best interest. When Enobarbus advises him
not to go to war against Caesar at sea because Antony’s army is stronger on land, he
insists on going by sea. In this dialogue, Antony seems almost childish because he is
being so irrational. Enobarbus gives him lists of reasons why they will lose at sea: “Your
mariners are [muleters], reapers, people / Ingross’d by swift impress,” while Caesar’s are
“ … those that often have ‘gainst Pompey fought” (III, vii, 35-37). And even though he
emphasizes the obvious difference in strength, Antony’s response is “By sea, by sea,” and
when his advisor again asks him to be more cautious, all the great general replies is “I’ll
fight at sea” (III, vii). This dialogue is important because it portrays the discord that lies
between a man who puts his reason and intelligence first – Enobarbus – and a man who
puts his passion first – Antony. His responses to his most trusted advisor show that
Antony is not persuaded by his duty so much as his ego and need to match and defeat
Caesar. Because he is focused on the wrong things and is stubborn, Antony loses the
battle at sea because he thinks as a man in love and not as the world’s greatest soldier. In
other words, he thinks as a man of the East and not of the West when he allows
Cleopatra’s fleet to join the battle.
In another case, John Rees Moore critiques that “It never occurs to Antony that
he might abdicate his Roman office for the sake of the woman he loves. … [that he and
Cleopatra] can throw public affairs of state into confusion by putting their private
interests first” (652). Here, Moore highlights the selfishness that consumes the couple.
Instead of being responsible and relinquishing his role as one of the triumvirs, Antony is
determined to be Cleopatra’s lover as well as the greatest man alive. Furthermore, if
Antony were to abdicate, his lover would likely not find him as valiant or as worthy a
match for herself. This further displays the lack of Roman qualities in Antony as he
sacrifices remaining honorable and begins to sully his own name.
Antony enters periods in the play, more-so toward the middle and end of the
play, where he is in a state of trying to combine both his public duty and private desires.
Antony agrees to marry Caesar’s sister Octavia to reaffirm their alliance, but he is warned
by a soothsayer that he will not keep his vow. “I see it in my motion, have it not in my
tongue; / But yet hie you to Egypt again” (II, iii, 14-15). Antony affirms this when he
then says “I make this marriage for my peace, / I’ th’ East my pleasure lies” (II, iii, 40141). Both the fortune teller and Antony acknowledge that he is trying to satisfy his
responsibility as a triumvir and satisfy his desires. It is more than obvious that Antony’s
approach will not be successful because he is unable to realize that either his desires will
ruin his peace, or his peace will come from the sacrifice of his pleasures. Impractically,
72
�Antony instead tries to equate his duties and his pleasures when he says his marriage is
for peace, but, regardless, his pleasures remain in the East. Because he cannot relinquish
his pleasures or accept that they will have to be found elsewhere, he has already failed.
Antony then tries to literally lace together both his interests in Rome and Egypt
when he goes to war against Caesar. As an experienced and many times victorious
military leader, Antony would not have gone to war on the seas when he knew his
chances were better on land. Further, he would have never confused his desires for a
woman with strategy. However, a man who believed that he could successfully achieve
the best of both worlds would do these things. Antony allows Cleopatra to command her
fleet of ships in the battle and when her ships leave the fight and Antony’s follow, the
battle is lost. Antony asks “O, whither hast thou led me, Egypt?” to which Cleopatra
replies asking for forgiveness and defends herself saying that she did not think that
Antony’s fleet would follow. In the line “Egypt, thou knew’st too well / My heart was to
thy rudder by th’ strings, / And thou shouldst [tow] me after,” it is perfectly illustrated
how Antony combined his two worlds as he tells Cleopatra that he followed her fleet as if
he were literally tied to her boats because his heart is tied to hers (III, xi, 51-58). “Egypt”
the name Antony uses in this dialogue acts as both the land so different from Rome, that
has figuratively lead Antony away from his Roman life, and as another name for
Cleopatra who literally led him into a lost battle. This is pivotal in displaying how
Antony completely confuses his duty and his desire because Egypt is where his desires
are, but in trying to take Egypt (Cleopatra) to his world of battle, he fails. The two can
only exist parallel to each other but they cannot meet and work together.
When Antony forgives Cleopatra and allows her again to command a ship, when
going into battle with Caesar, it becomes evident that he cannot accept that his desires
and his reason cannot co-exist; one overwhelms the other. When Cleopatra abandons him
and leads him to defeat again, Antony wants to take her life, which is absurd because he
loves her. This goes to show that he is, more than ever, ruled by his emotions. Antony has
become so passionate, like an Egyptian, that now, he even flip flops about his feelings
when it comes to Cleopatra. William D. Wolf writes about Antony that “He cannot
contain both love and valor within himself, and he therefore fluctuates wildly between
them” (330). He trusted her, was angered by her betrayal, forgave her quickly, trusted her
to join him in the battle again, and when she deserted him again, he decided that she was
a “foul Egyptian,” and “Triple-turn’d whore!” (IV, xii, 10-13). This illustrates how in
combining his two worlds, what he did was make each individually unstable for him live
in. Antony would have been smarter to choose and have one that lacked some parts rather
than trying to have both and have his world crumble.
73
�“Antony violates his manhood … because he fails to keep his desire under the
yoke of reason” (James, 134). His inability to know that his duty comes first and so his
pleasures have to be done away with makes him a ruined man. If he truly wanted both his
rank in Rome and his desires in Egypt, he would have realized he could only have one
and chosen. Therefore, the fact that he thought he could have a hybrid of both, that he
thought he could intertwine them, means that he truly did not want his honorable life as
the greatest soldier in the world.
In not choosing, Antony – by default – chooses the East because the East
represents passion, and passion often comes with instability. As Antony’s efforts to
hybridize the two worlds crumble, he loses parts of himself. He says “now thy captain is
/ Even such a body, … / I made theses wars for Egypt, and the Queen, / Whose heart I
thought I had, for she had mine,” (IV, xii, 12-16) which suggests that now that he does
not have his honor nor his love, the captain is not himself and so he is lost. Another
indication that Antony is left to the East is the scene in act four where the soldier hear
strange music and make the claim that “ ’Tis the god Hercules, whom Antony lov’d, /
Now leaves him” (IV, ii, 16-17). If Hercules is abandoning Antony, this acts as a sign
that Antony’s hope to have both honor and pleasures is not met as, even if he has his
pleasures, he no longer has honor. By default, Antony has been left with the lifestyle of
the East.
Additionally, Enobarbus, his closest companion and advisor sees that Antony’s
mind is slipping and he is no longer suitable to be the general he once was. “A diminution
in our captain’s brain / Restores his heart. Where valor [preys on] reason, / It eats the
sword it fights with” (IV, ii, 197-199). These lines from Enobarbus indicate true sorrow
for Antony’s inability to choose and also highlight that by not being wise enough to
choose, he chose the East. Had he chosen Rome, that choice would have indicated the
choice of reason. Enobarbus’ realization that he must leave his general is paramount to
confirming that Antony has failed because Enobarbus had stayed with him through all his
irrational motives. Enobarbus loves Antony but he can no longer condone his
irrationality.
The stages Antony goes through are overwhelming and possibly exhausting. He
is unable to return to the man he was before Egypt, because he has been too submerged in
the pleasures by the time he realizes that. However, he is not satisfied by only the East, so
Antony returns to his duties for a short period of time. Then, the great military leader
seeks to enjoy both, but ultimately, Antony is already so influenced by the indulgent
behavior of the East that he isn’t able to see where he shouldn’t intertwine the two.
Antony is ruined by his knowledge of two kinds of worlds and his need to have them
74
�both. “The price of the folly he has committed himself to is the loss of all ties with
“reality” – the life based on a more or less enlightened calculation of self-interest”
(Moore, 655).
Works Cited
Blissett, William. “Dramatic Irony in Antony and Cleopatra.” Shakespeare Quarterly,
Vol. 18, No. 2, Spring 1967, pp. 151-166
James, Max H. “‘The Noble Ruin’: ‘Antony and Cleopatra.’” College Literature, Vol. 8,
No. 2, Spring, 1981, pp. 127-143
Marsh, D. R. C. “The Conflict of Love and Responsibility in ‘Antony and Cleopatra.’”
Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory, No. 15, 1960, pp. 1 – 27
Moore, John Rees. “The Enemies of Love: The Example of Antony and Cleopatra.” The
Kenyon Review, Vol. 31, No. 5, 1969, pp. 646 – 674
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra.” The Wadsworth
Shakespeare, Second Edition, Boston, Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 1997, pp. 1395 1434
Wolf, William D. “’New Heaven, New Earth’ The Escape from Mutability in Antony and
Cleopatra.” Shakespeare Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 3, Autumn 1982, pp. 328-335
75
�French Turn of the Century Puppetry
Dana Rudnansky (Theatre/Speech) 1
Throughout childhood and adolescence, many little children are exposed to the
art of puppetry through media such as Sesame Street and the Muppets. Although this is
the common representation of this art form, it actually started as entertainment for adults
in cabaret clubs by using shadow puppetry and marionettes. The art was not created to
inform children on how to behave or to define the difference between right and wrong.
Rather, it was created as an expression against political decisions, changing societal
habits, and an outlet for artists to bring joy to those taken over by depression and anxiety.
The most well-known French puppet theater, Le Chat Noir, was the main source of
ingenuity and creativity in its art form. Not only did the Le Chat Noir transform the
intention behind the artistry of puppetry, but it also gave rise to a new way of selfexpression through its development of shadow theater and hand puppets.
On November 18, 1884, Le Chat Noir was opened by Rodople Salis, who was
an unsuccessful painter. Looking to work his creative mind, he wanted to create a cabaret
where artists of different disciplines could “state, write, and draw” and feel as if they
were a part of a larger community (“Le Chat Noir”). Even though the central focus was
not puppetry, the conglomeration of art forms inspired the exploration of different
mediums for puppets. Because these artists were exposing each other to different
aesthetics, values, and viewpoints, there was a great mix of new work being created. It
gave rise to an expanded art field. The interest that artists had in this theater was so large
that it required the entire cabaret to be moved to a larger location. This new and improved
site gave artists an upstairs area to create, and a theater downstairs where this new form
of French puppetry was truly born (“Le Chat Noir”).
The creation of this new art form was influenced by three men who all had
different aesthetic and personal backgrounds, which birthed these new forms of
entertainment. George Auriol, Henry Somm, and Henry Rivière have been seen as the
three main leaders for the popularization of Le Chat Noir. Auriol was an artist who was
one of the main editors and leaders of this famous French theater. His major contribution
is found through the creation of the “shadow theatre” which is based in the use of shadow
1
Written under the direction of Drs. Morowitz and Urbanc for AH326/EN310/FR310
Cities and Perversities: Art in Turn of Century Paris, Vienna, Berlin, and Barcelona.
76
�puppets. Much of the art that he created inspired many fin-de-siècle printmakers who
then created decorative covers for magazines and flyers for the theater and the outside
sleeves for the musicians of the cabaret’s sheet music (“Auriol, George”). An interesting
aspect of Auriol’s work is its connection to the “Belle Epoque”, The Age of Beauty. His
art, according to a review by John Anzalone, was combined with the genius of Rivière to
create “le look” that drove the age of beauty and its aesthetic (277). His art may not be
widely known or recognized, but it seen as an establishing artifact for a new artistic
movement in France.
Auriol’s aesthetic combined a likeness of the Art Nouveau style to that of the
decorative arts, causing there to be a great connection between all art forms at once. His
connection was so effortless that he had the ability to draw people of every background
into the cabaret and create a new look that was replicated by his peers (Anzalone 278).
His intense understanding of French art allowed him to envision this up and coming style.
In turn, this inspired him to install the puppet stage, also known in French as “le castelet”
in Le Chat Noir (“Le Chat Noir”). Undoubtedly, he is the reason that puppetry began to
blossom in this cabaret. Without his innovation, there would not have been such a focus
on creating these new stories through puppets. These dolls were already a part of French
culture but Auriol used them in a new way to capture the imagination of audience
members. Although many families could be seen in public gardens seeing the classic
shows of Punch and Judy, there was never a real puppet show or story geared specifically
for adults (Ink, Social). Through his collaboration with other artists like Somm, he
created beautiful pieces of art while tapping into adult humor.
To further understand Auriol’s contributions, it is important to investigate his
main inspiration for his aesthetic. Many puppet traditions stem from Asian culture,
specifically Japanese tradition. When looking at Auriol’s print-making that was presented
and featured in his cabaret, there is a great deal of reference to what is referred to as
japonisme (Anzalone 277). This term was coined by the French culture in an attempt to
encapsulate the newfound obsession for Japanese and Western art, as well as making it a
central part of French artistic endeavors. As stated before, Auriol worked to create a
cohesive mesh between various art forms by utilizing the inspirations of the popular
aesthetics surrounded him. Not only did this japonisme encapsulate the ideas of
impressionism and modernity, but it also attached itself to the Art Nouveau culture that
he helped establish (Anzalone 277). With the work of Henry Rivière, Auriol was able to
create a new form of art that gave rise to not only entertainment but also an innovation in
expression.
77
�Henry Rivière was an artist, associated with Le Chat Noir. Known for his
paintings, he utilized his knowledge in color and design to work with other like-minded
intellectuals to create a new kind of puppet. Similar to Auriol, his works evoked the
japonisme and Art Nouveau styles while still creating an avant-garde look at shadow
theater (Anzalone 277). In addition to these styles, Rivière’s works utilized the idea of
fumisme, which was a main component of all art created in the cabaret theater. This style
was self-described by the artists as “practical jokers”; there was the underlying senses of
skepticism and other political blows (Wright 46). Although these innovations are seen as
impacts on future puppetry styles and riots, at the time these artists were seen as being on
the fringe. Rivière was even more involved in this culture because he had created such a
new style of puppetry.
Before Rivière came into the picture for this art form, most puppetry was based
in crude hand puppets, who were created merely for slapstick comedy and outlandish
acts. Many times, these puppets would be seen with large mallets and other assorted
weapons and engage in ridiculous arguments that would leave the character in danger,
and in turn, then becoming injured. It was comedy that was mindless and created to allow
families to leave theaters laughing over something absolutely ridiculous and silly. Rivière
changed this idea of puppetry. To him, these dolls were more artistic than playful.
Drawing from the classical Japanese traditions, he utilized the concept of silhouettes to
dive into the world of shadow theater in the modern world (Ink, Social).
As stated in The Spirit of Montmarte found on the Alamut website, “The climate
was certainly right for investigations into the artistic effects of silhouettes. Thanks to the
newly developed photomechanical relief- printing processes, which easily and
inexpensively reproduced high-contrast black-and-white drawings (...) artists and writers
of the Chat Noir group were collaborating on publications related to Rivière's aesthetic
interests.” Because he had decided to take a step back from the bright colored puppets of
Auriol and Somm, Rivière was able to revert to the natural state of being through a
neutral color palette (Sterling). He created an entire landscape by cutting out animals,
plants, humans and other piece needed to create a new two-dimensional style of theater.
He could utilize smaller versus larger silhouettes by playing with not only size of the cut
outs, but also how close the figures were to the screen onto which the shadow was
projected (Ink, Social). He was able to create pictures without letting the audience see the
mechanism of the actual puppeteer. This started a new revolution of mystery in puppetry.
Rivière’s puppets were not made of the classic fabric, foam, and wood found in
the current popular form. Not only did his shadow genre change how puppets were
utilized, but it changed the materials and methods of construction. In the beginning, he
78
�started with cardboard (Ink, Social). When many young Americans today create shadow
puppets, the first medium used is generally cardboard, because of its accessibility and
ease of being molded. However, Rivière moved away from this texture to utilize a very
different material: zinc. His first full show utilizing this component was performed in
1887 and was a full-scale production of L’Epopée, or The Epic (Ink, Social). This show
has been seen as the start of Le Chat Noir’s success, as a result of its innovative aesthetic
(“Le Chat Noir”). A main inspiration for these bright colors used in the zinc puppets was
his expertise in color lithography, woodblock prints, and japonisme (Anzalone 277). He
added colored transparent silk paper and tulle to further enhance the new style that he had
started to create (“Le Chat Noir”). His understanding of color patterns as well as art as a
medium to reinspect everyday life inspired much of his new style.
Even though the zinc helped to create a new aesthetic, it was also incorporated
for practicality. Because the material could be cut to create more expressive edges and
shapes, puppeteers could manipulate their puppets with much more ease (“Le Chat
Noir”). Rivière’s melding of function and form created a desire in audience members to
see his modernization of this theater genre. Another new element added was glass panels
with transparent colors to create different kinds of backdrops. The light source was an
oxyhydrogen flame, that created the shapes of the silhouettes. Not only was this style
unique to Rivière, but it also inspired Toulouse-Lautrec’s work in 1891 (Ink, Social). The
color, texture, and composition gave him a new perspective for the Moulin Rouge posters
and promoted this new medium of shadow theater. Additionally, Rivière’s works fostered
the idea of a creating a team to put on a show. Many puppet shows before had only
needed the puppeteer itself, who was in charge of using different voices and dolls at the
same time. However, shadow theater required backstage assistance to change backdrops,
intensity of the flame, and provide music (Sterling).
Before this point, music was not integrated into puppet shows, unless one was to
travel to an Asian culture and see the classical puppetry of the area. These shows usually
were based in the sole puppeteer making sound effects with their own body, causing the
entire show to be placed upon that one person’s shoulders. However, Rivière
incorporated the music as he progressed in his career. Later in 1887 after his success with
his first shadow puppet show, he premiered La Tentation de saint Antoine also known as
The Temptation of Saint Anthony which was considered a “fantasy extravaganza in two
acts and forty tableaux” (Ink, Social). His piece included music by Albert Tinchant. This
was one of the most popular productions at Le Chat Noir and has stood as an influence
for many different modern puppet shows today (Sterling).
79
�La Tentation was made up of forty scenes that followed the hermit life of Saint
Anthony through his struggles of temptation produced by the Devil. Instead of making it
authentic to when the story really took place, Rivière included modern-day Paris, through
the creation of Les Halles, the meat market, and La Bourse, the stock market (Sterling).
Not only was this a modern way of looking at this piece, but it also helped give rise to the
fumiste idea. These plays were created in order to be a form of political satire. Many
modern puppet companies such as Bread and Puppet in the United States have been
inspired by this French movement. Rivière was not the main artist behind this genre,
however. His subtle utilization of France in his plays inspired other artists to look beyond
the fantastical elements found in the fairytales that they normally were producing and
inspired a new way of thinking. A main creator in this field was Henry Somm (Sterling).
Henry Somm was a painter who worked in intense collaboration with George
Auriol. When he began at Le Chat Noir, he morphed his passion for painting into a
movement in the puppetry field by combining his understanding of japonisme, fumisme,
and humor to create art that inspired many artists, including Toulouse-Lautrec (Menon
“Henry Somm” 3). His style showcases directly the influence of Japanese art in France.
He was excited by this new outburst of interest but at the same felt as if Parisian artists
were exploiting the authenticity of the real art in Japan. The style born out of the melding
of these contrasting viewpoints “juxtaposed Japanese motifs with those of Paris and then
overlaid them with his personal views about modern society, often resulting in startling
images that belong to the Symbolist aesthetic” (Menon “Henry Somm” 4). It was not to
be seen as a sort of absurd cry against certain political decisions, but more an observation
of the current societal patterns. (Wright 46).
Somm started working at Le Chat Noir by having an exhibition where he was
trying to deal with the issue of whether he should be considered Impressionist, Symbolist,
or even Japoniste (Menon “Henry Somm” 8). His career took a shift in 1886, around the
time that it was decided to move to a building where the artists could have a larger
theater. Somm was the first person to present a show, which was entitled L’Éléphant or
The Elephant. Following this production, three other shadow plays along with a normal
traditional stage play were produced (Menon “Henry Somm” 17). Not only did he serve
as a catalyst for these shadow productions, but it became one of his main focuses when
he worked at this cabaret. Because so many of the audience members enjoyed this
“imitation of Chinese shadow plays” and had started to exoticize these Eastern cultures,
Somm had filled the gap (Menon “Henry Somm” 17). He incorporated the cut-out
figures, light source, and story-telling to evoke a similarity to the entertainment found in
the Asian countries.
80
�An important play that Somm created was named Jamais trop tard pour bien,
translated to Never Too Late to Make Good. This was first presented at the old building
of Le Chat Noir in 1885, in the time leading up to the big move. There is a debate that
this play was not intended to be a shadow play, but Somm’s love for Japanese culture and
shadow theater inspired him to change the style (Menon “Potty-Talk” 59). The story was
quite unconventional, because it takes place in a public toilet, that those who need it pay
to use. This is a common structure in European culture, and its use showcased Somm’s
connection to the real world. In the play, it is kept by a widow, Mme Gardetout, and her
eighteen-year-old daughter, Léocadie. The owner tells users which stall to go to and,
interestingly enough, the stage directions state that there were sound cues and effects in
the form of “intestinal noises” (Menon “Potty-Talk” 59). Crude as this was, it showcases
Somm’s fearlessness to poke fun at every-day society.
The story established that the two women are of a lower class early on, but they
hold a great deal of power over those who come to use the bathroom. Not only do they
tell where the next person can defecate, but Mme Gardetout even makes comments
demanding the newspaper from her clients. It is a direct contrast to what is expected from
her actual class in society. Instead of creating extremely submissive lower-class women,
the play explored having dominant, powerful females who do not focus upon their
societal position (Menon “Potty-Talk” 59).
The story moves on to a young man named Cantoisel falling in love with the
young Lèocadie and preceding to ask for her hand in marriage. Mme Gardetout denies
the marriage, because she suffers from constipation, the largest irony Somm could create.
The only way that the couple could be married is if the man her daughter takes, suffers
from the same illness. She even says “Léocadie will only marry a constipated man, with
whom no unwanted noises will trouble the intimacies of our house” (Menon “Potty-Talk”
60). Although this story seemed disturbing and comical from first glance, Somm was
creating a deeper political meaning within the text.
Menon states that Somm used the characters to say that “the family prefers life
in a pay toilet to the increasingly industrialized and bourgeois-ridden world outside”
(“Potty Talk” 60). Not only did Somm create characters who were in the lower working
class, but he wanted to portray that not everyone was focused on social-climbing.
Because of such a distinct class divide in fin-de-siècle France, there seemed to be a great
deal of disdain stemming from the upper class towards to lower classes. The story in this
puppet theater celebrates the lives of the workers, giving hope to those actually living the
plot in the real world. Additionally, there was a deeper meaning attached to intestinal
noises and constipation. Because Mme Gardetout requires her daughter to marry a man
81
�who is afflicted with constipation, she is essentially advocating for her daughter to marry
within the same class. The intestinal noises were attached to the “rich and fattening foods
of the upper and upper middle classes” meaning that the two women never experience a
full bowel movement (Menon “Potty Talk” 60). The constipation represents their struggle
as lower-class members of society, and keeps them tied to their business.
In conjunction with this idea, Mme Gardetout does mention that she will pass
the business down to Léocadie. Her insistence of keeping a familial line of work attaches
an important meaning of significance to the idea of defecation (Menon “Potty Talk” 60).
Only those with money will be able to feel a sense of release, because they have the
means to make it happen. Those in the lower classes must take what they can get, so to
speak, creating a lack of perfect health and overall happiness. Interestingly enough, the
entire play ends with Lèocadie marrying Cantoisel and Mme Gardetout being presented a
powder by a patron that relieves her constipation (Menon “Potty Talk” 60). Not only does
the marriage showcase the change of class, but the relief of the bowel disease drives the
point home. Because she has received the remedy for her illness from a person of higher
status, she can finally feel the relief that those in the upper classes experiences
consistently. The play itself commented on this definitive divide between societal rank
and how it can easily merge.
To coincide with the “reviews” of the other plays from Le Chat Noir, the
reviews were more advertisements in different journals. There have not been any true
reactions to this play being produced, but it does obviously veer in style from the typical
shows of puppetry during this era (Menon “Potty-Talk” 60). Instead of having a comedy
without any subtext and driven on physical jokes, this play was written in order to take a
closer look at the structures of society. It shed light on what the class divide in France
actually meant, and how it affected accessibility for any necessity between classes. It
additionally had a sense of pride when it came to the lower classes, which was something
not regularly seen. Although the majority of artists during this period were penniless,
there was not always a sense of pride in their own societal status. This play utilized
classical marriage courting with class shifts to examine the differences in status.
Much of Somm’s creations have been seen as influences on modern puppetry.
Although Le Chat Noir closed its doors in 1897, the pieces created there impacted the
future generations of artists through the ideas of political rebellion and avant-garde looks
at the issues of society (Ink, Social). It has been debated whether the club could be
successful today, as there is still a great deal of critique about class structure and then in
turn, the great divide between each class. However, the attack on celebrity culture would
backfire and there would be a great deal of feuding between the establishment and the
82
�famous figure (Wright 46). Even though this could be made similar to a comedy club, it
would easily be seen as a place that assaulted many people’s reputations as well as their
lifestyles.
Although the cabaret would probably not survive in the modern day, specifically
the United States, it did inspire the French student rebellion in May of 1968. In the
United States at this point in history, citizens were experiencing the Civil Rights
Movement as well as the womens’ movement, the rise of hippie culture, student
rebellion, and peace movements (Schoemaker 366). In France, similar movements were
forming, but it restructured the entire society, almost destroying the Fifth Republic.
Schools and factories were forced to close, life was halted and as the government tried to
pick up the pieces, students began to rebel (Schoemaker 366). On March 22, a group of
radical students who called themselves “les enrages” or “the wild ones” protested against
regulations that the Nanterre campus of the University of Paris began enforcing. Run by a
German radical named Daniel Cohn-Bendit, the group wanted to destroy the uniformity
of French education (Schoemaker 367).
During this upheaval, the shadow theater emerged and was one of the most
popular forms of entertainment. Jean-Pierre Lescot was the most popular performer of the
time, and has been called one the most influential and strongest voices that was produced
by the shadow theater. Lescot viewed himself as a dreamer, so his plays were then “a
language of images” that translated his dreams (Schoemaker 372). Schoemaker quotes
him saying in an interview,
“I believe that shadow theater found itself a little like these traditional images
that one rediscovers, and at the same time that one rediscovers but from which
one ascertains all the force, all the emotional force, and one realizes that with
only a little lamp, one can retrieve emotions as intense as if one were at a huge,
costly production” (374).
Not only does he emphasize the main points that are seen in Somm’s works, but he also
translates the integral points of shadow theater that Le Chat Noir preserved through its
plays. Because this avant-garde form of art was being seen as new, it opened the door for
emotional exploration.
Lescot found that the art form allowed him to create nontraditional pictures, that
could encapsulate the feelings of the nation. Not only did he use puppets to translate the
feelings of the students rioting, but he also created stories to appeal to the general
public’s feeling of chaos and despair (Schoemaker 375). Additionally, he utilized the idea
of incorporating the past, and the viewpoints from ancestors. With this added component,
he allowed these predecessors to have their voices heard once again, but still deal with
83
�modern issues. Although the style moved away from Somm’s drastically, it still had the
political and social mockery involved (Schoemaker 375). It grew from something larger
from the past that changed the viewpoints of many Parisians. He gave life to an ancient
form of theater while still keeping true to aspects of its traditions in France.
Although puppetry has been portrayed as “childish” and mainly for educational
purposes, fin-de-siècle France utilized the art form for political rebellion, commentary on
society, and an out for artists suffering from depression or anxiety. Instead of being filled
with joy all of the time, it was a means to bring light to the issues of society as well as
incorporating techniques from the cultures of the East. Le Chat Noir brought together
artists of diverse backgrounds to create life-altering theater that later impacted student
groups and other modern puppet theaters, in order to find a new way to express
frustration and doubt. Le Chat Noir opened the door for artists not versed in the art of
puppetry to try their hand at playwriting as well as puppet construction in order to find a
new sense of artistic catharsis.
Bibliography
Anzalone, John. “Henri Rivière and George Auriol. Henri Rivière, Graveur et
Photographe ARMOND FIELDS F. FOSSIER F. HEILBRUN P. NEAGU.” NineteenthCentury French Studies, vol. 18, no. 1/2, 1989, p. 277-79.
Brand, Jennifer Ellen. “Le Chat Noir and the Musical Mainstream in Late NineteenthCentury Paris.” University of Calgary, 2003.
Ink, Social. “THE CHAT NOIR PUPPET AND SHADOW THEATER.” Grey Art
Gallery, greyartgallery.nyu.edu/exhibition/counter-culture-111798-011699/devil/.
Jeanne, Paul. Les Théâtres d’ombres de Montmartre de 1887 à 1923 [The Shadow
Theatres of Montmartre from 1887 to 1923]. Paris: Presses modernes, 1937.
“Le Chat Noir.” World Encyclopedia of Puppetry Arts, 17 May 2016,
wepa.unima.org/en/le-chat-noir/.
Menon, Elizabeth K. “Henry Somm: Impressionist, Japoniste or Symbolist?” Master
Drawings, vol. 33, no. 1, 1995, pp. 3–29.
Menon, Elizabeth K. “Potty-Talk in Parisian Plays: Henry Somm’s La Berline de
l’émigré and Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi.” Art Journal, vol. 52, no. 3, 1993, p. 59-64.
84
�Schoemaker, George H. “Mai ’68 and the Traditionalization of French Shadow
Theater.” Journal of American Folklore, vol. 107, no. 425, Summer 1994, p. 364-377.
Sterling, Bruce. “RIVIERE'S THEATRE D'OMBRES.” Alamut,
www.alamut.com/subj/artiface/deadMedia/shadowTheatre.html.
Wright, Bruce N. “Le Chat Noir and the Spectacle of Public Art.” Public Art Review,
no. 39, Fall/Winter2008 2008, p. 44-46.
85
�Psychological Factors that Motivate
Bystander, Perpetrator, and Rescuer Behaviors
Megan Chiu (Nursing) 1,2
Pockets of defiance across Europe were populated by networks of resisters and
rescuers, distinguished from bystanders and perpetrators of genocide. These ethics
involve grappling with where the line is drawn between safety and moral consciousness,
and often involve freedom to listen to one's sense of self. When faced with atrocity such
as genocide, some stand beside and watch, confused on the appropriate reaction, while
others risk their lives and families to save neighbors or even strangers. In the following
essay, three questions will be explored extensively through psychological analysis of
several works of research and personal accounts that draw on different aspects of
psychology: (1) what causes ordinary people to engage in and support genocide; (2) how
do bystanders, rescuers, supporters and perpetrators of genocide differ from one another;
and (3) why do resisters rescue? Personal accounts of Nazi guards in Auschwitz, Jewish
survivors of concentration camps, and Muslim rescuers of Jews among others will be
evaluated throughout this essay.
Ordinary People Engaging in Genocide?
At a group level, social psychological explanations, in particular, social identity
theory’s emphasis on the ingroup/outgroup dynamic, are central to understanding how
ordinary people have either some shared, direct, or indirect responsibility for the
Holocaust. To understand how social identity is important to the development of such
responsibility and engagement, it is critical to discuss the theory itself. Social identity is a
person’s sense of who they are based on their group membership(s). Henri Tajfel
proposed that the groups which people belong to are an important source of pride and
self-esteem. 3 Groups give us a sense of social identity, a sense of belonging to the social
world. In order to increase our self-image, we enhance the status of the group to which
1
Written under the direction Dr. Lori Weintrob for HI280-HO: Holocaust in Film,
Theater, Video, and Arts.
2
The author thanks Dr. Weintrob for her guidance in writing this paper. She also wishes
to express her appreciation for suggestions for revision made by Dr. Amy Eshleman.
3
Henri Tajfel, Human Groups and Social Categories: Studies in Social Psychology (New
York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press 1981), 10.
86
�we belong. We can also increase our self-image by discriminating and holding prejudiced
views against the outgroup (the group we do not belong to). Therefore, we divide the
world into “them” and “us” through a process of social and cognitive categorization (i.e.
we arrange individuals into groups). This is known as the ingroup (us) and outgroup
(them) dynamic. Prejudiced views between these groups may result in cultures of racism;
in its extreme form, racism can result in genocide, such as that which occurred in
Germany with the Nazis and the Jews. Henri Tajfel proposed that stereotyping (i.e.
placing people into groups and categories) is based on a normal cognitive process: the
tendency to group things together (cognitive categorization). 4 In doing so we tend to
exaggerate the differences between the groups and the similarities within an outgroup.
This exaggeration can lead to dehumanization and thus give rise to a justification for
racism/genocide.
Social categorization gives society the ability to set the moral tone for
individuals; for example, a child might justify “joking around” and name calling another
child with disrespectful undertones because other children are doing the same, and then
progress to stealing lunch money or physical harassment; they begin to accept unethical
behavior as the norm. This concept of cognitive stretching is a process in which the
previously unimaginable becomes gradually accepted as the norm. In the case of Nazi
Germany, many Jews were targets of derogatory signs, violence on the streets that
included hitting and graphically shaming, and general extreme hostility, blamed for
Germany’s defeat in the First World War and the financial hardships that ensued
following the defeat. They became the routine targets of stigmatization and persecution,
from public burnings of books written by Jews at the beginning of the Holocaust to the
testing of mass killing methods on Jews in the concentration camps. Luckily, the violent
behavior set off a trigger in some because “the horror [was] so unimaginable that the
imagination refused to accept its reality. Something fails to click and some conclusions
are simply not drawn.” 5 Individuals who cannot accept the new moral tone either resist
(as rescuers did) or retreat into psychic numbing, as unresponsive bystanders did during
the doubling phenomenon noted among Nazis, experienced as “a form of desensitization .
. . an incapacity to feel or to confront certain kinds of experience, due to the blocking or
absence of inner forms or imagery that can connect with such experience.” 6 The
“psychological cutting off of one’s sense of reality” properly follows the concept of
4
Tajfel, Human G, 1981, 10.
Kristen Monroe, “Cracking the Code of Genocide: The Moral Psychology of Rescuers,
Bystanders, and Nazis during the Holocaust,” 705.
6
Robert Jay Lifton, “The Life of the Self: Toward a New Psychology,” 1976, 27.
5
87
�cognitive stretching; in Nazi Germany, the process whereby an individual is confronted
with some political act so far outside the ordinary frame of reference that there literally
has to be a widening of the cognitive boundaries before the individual can grasp what is
occurring. This stretching thus includes the “doubling” (perpetrators who behave as a
dual self, with one part of the self-disavowing the other) and the denial from both
bystanders and perpetrators who insist they “were innocent cogs in a giant machine
whose purpose was unknown to them.” 7
Ironically, bystander and perpetrator testimony reveal “victims” rationalizing
doubling phenomenon and cognitive stretching. Wives of Nazi supporters describe
happily remaining “officially” in the dark despite suspicions about what their husbands
were doing. Basically, then, bystanders and - to a certain extent perpetrators - live in a
“self-willed, protective twilight between knowing and not knowing, refusing full
realization of facts because they are unable to face the implications of these facts.” 8 As
Primo Levi wrote in The Reawakening, “those who knew did not talk; those who did not
know did not ask questions; those who did not ask questions received no answers; and so,
in this way, the average German citizen won and defended his ignorance.” 9 Both
survivors and scholars note that bystanders frequently pretend to be ignorant to dodge
responsibility. Both bystanders and perpetrators resort to denial, rationalization, and
righteous anger at the victims for causing the mess in the first place. 10 Gradually, the
stages of reasoning discussed help explain why ordinary people can engage in and
support genocide.
An intriguing personal eyewitness account that is important to include is the
testimony of former Auschwitz guard, Oskar Groening. In 1942, when he was twenty-one
years old, Groening was posted to Auschwitz. He “couldn’t understand that an SS man
would take a child and throw its head against the side of a lorry … or kill them by
shooting them and then throw them on a lorry like a sack of wheat.” 11 Groening,
according to his story, was so filled by “doubt and outrage” that he went to his superior
officer and told him: “It’s impossible, I can’t work here any more. If it is necessary to
7
Kristen Monroe, Ethics in an Age of Terror and Genocide: Identity and Moral Choice
(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2012), 24.
8
Leni Yahil, The Holocaust: The Fate of European Jewry (New York, N.Y.: Oxford
University Press, 1990) 545.
9
Primo Levi, The Reawakening (New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, 1965), 381.
10
Lifton, “The Life of Self: Towards a New Psychology,” 90-100
11
Laurence Rees, "The Life of an Auschwitz Guard." Politico, 1.
88
�exterminate the Jews, then at least it should be done within a certain framework.” 12 His
superior officer, listening to Groening’s complaints, reminded him of the SS oath of
allegiance he had sworn and said that he should “forget any idea of leaving Auschwitz.”
He also offered some assurance; he told Groening that the “excesses” he saw that night
were an “exception,” and that he himself agreed that members of the SS should not
participate in such “sadistic” events. But this was not enough to fully convince Groening;
documents confirm that Groening subsequently put in a request for transfer to the front,
which was refused, so he carried on working at Auschwitz.
It is significant to note that Groening did not complain to his superior about the
principle of murdering the Jews, merely its practical implementation. When he saw
people in front of him, he knew were going to die within hours in the gas chambers, he
said his feelings were “very ambiguous.” He said:
How do you feel when you’re in Russia, there’s a machine gun in front of you,
and there’s a battalion of Russians coming running towards you and you have to
pull the trigger and shoot as many as possible? I’m saying it on purpose like this
because there’s always behind you the fact that the Jews are enemies who come
from the inside of Germany. The propaganda had for us such an effect that you
assumed that to exterminate them was basically something that happened in war.
And to that extent a feeling of sympathy or empathy didn’t come up. 13
Hints as to how it was possible that Oskar Groening felt helpless women and children
were “enemies” who had to face “extermination” can be found in his life before he was
posted to Auschwitz. He was born in 1921 in Lower Saxony, son of a skilled textile
worker. Groening’s father was a traditional conservative, “proud of what Germany had
achieved.” After Germany’s defeat in World War I, Groening’s father joined the rightwing Stahlhelm (Steel Helmet), one of the many ultra-nationalist organizations that
flourished in the wake of what they proclaimed was the humiliating peace of Versailles.
His father’s anger at the way Germany had been treated grew more intense as his
personal circumstances became more strained — lacking capital, his textile business went
bankrupt in 1929. In the early 1930s young Oskar joined the Stahlhelm’s youth
organization, the Scharnhorst.
Nothing felt more natural for Oskar Groening, who was only 11 years old when
the Nazis came to power in 1933, than to ease from the Stahlhelm’s Scharnhorst into the
Hitler Youth. He adopted the values of his parents and judged that the Nazis “were the
12
13
Laurence Rees, "The Life of an Auschwitz Guard." 2.
Rees, "The Life of an Auschwitz Guard," 2.
89
�people who wanted the best for Germany and who did something about it.” As a member
of the Hitler Youth, he took part in burning books written by “Jews or others who were
degenerate.” And he believed that, by doing so, he was helping rid Germany of an
inappropriate, alien culture.
Oskar Groening’s personal experience from Auschwitz was that it was a
“normal” concentration camp for the detaining of political prisoners or other “enemies of
the state,” despite the fact that it was one where the rations for SS members were
particularly good. But, as he began his task of registering the prisoners’ money, he
learned for the first time about the additional, “unusual” function of Auschwitz. “The
people there [working in the barracks] let us know that this money didn’t all go back to
the prisoners —Jews were taken to the camp who were treated differently. The money
was taken off them without them getting it back.” Groening asked, “Is this to do with the
‘transport’ that arrived during the night?” His colleagues replied, “Well, don’t you know?
That’s the way it is here. Jewish transports arrive, and as far as they’re not able to work
they’re got rid of.” Groening pressed them on what “got rid of” actually meant, and,
having been told, says that his reaction was one of astonishment.
It was a shock, that you cannot take in at the first moment. But you mustn’t
forget that not only from 1933 [Hitler’s acquisition of power], but even from
before that, the propaganda I got as a boy in the press, the media, the general
society I lived in made us aware that the Jews were the cause of the First World
War, and had also ‘stabbed Germany in the back’ at the end. And that the Jews
were actually the cause of the misery in which Germany found herself. We were
convinced by our worldview that there was a great conspiracy of Jewishness
against us, and that thought was expressed in Auschwitz… The enemies who are
within Germany are being killed — exterminated if necessary. And between
these two fights, openly at the front line and then on the home front, there’s
absolutely no difference — so we exterminated nothing but enemies. 14
As indicated in his story, Groening shields himself from taking full responsibility for
playing a part in the extermination process by constantly referring to the power of the
propaganda to which he was exposed, and the effect of his ultra-nationalistic family
atmosphere in which he grew up had on him. It is hard not to be cynical about such a
coping mechanism. Evidently, he could have chosen differently — he could have rejected
the values of his community and resisted. He could have deserted from Auschwitz
(although there is no record of any member of the SS doing so as a result of refusing on
14
Rees, "The Life of an Auschwitz Guard," 4.
90
�moral grounds to work in the camp). It would have taken an exceptional human being to
act in such a way, however, and the essential — almost frightening — point about Oskar
Groening is that he is probably one of the least exceptional human beings one is ever
likely to meet. A study of the historical-sociological profile of the SS in Auschwitz, based
on statistical records, found that “the SS camp force was not exceptional in its occupation
structure or in its levels of education. The camp staff was very much like the society from
which it was drawn.” Inferably, the Nazis enlisted the most ordinary of people to engage
in genocide because they do not have the exceptional characteristics to resist propaganda
and their societal norms. Oskar Groening clearly illustrates how and why ordinary people
become engaged in genocide.
Difference between Bystanders, Perpetrators, and Rescuers
After studying in-depth the potential for ordinary people to become perpetrators
of genocide, it is now necessary to distinguish the difference between bystanders,
perpetrators, and rescuers. An interpretive analysis of interviews conducted by Kristen
Monroe with bystanders, former Nazis, and rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust
revealed the importance of psychological factors in explaining behavior during
genocides. 15 Her findings underline the importance of cognitive categorization and the
way participants see themselves in relation to others and their identity. They show
contrasts in their self-concept, worldviews, and cognitive classifications, exploring
different values held, the power of moral salience and trauma, and divergent social
categorizations. For the purposes of this topic exploration, the aforementioned are
defined as follows: values are what each group considers important in terms of principles
or standards of behavior; moral salience is the theory that the fear of death motivates a
wide range of judgments and behaviors to support each group’s faiths in their worldviews
and self-worths; trauma is defined as the response to a deeply disturbing event that causes
severe psychological and emotional distress; and categorization is defined as the process
of classifying people into groups based on similar characteristics, such as nationality, age,
and ethnicity. These concepts are associated with both lack of choice and their divergent
responses to the suffering of others. When describing bystanders, they see themselves as
passive people, lacking in control and low in efficacy. 16 At several points during one
narrative, Beatrix (a pseudonym, bystander) states she is not a nice person, is alone, and
would not know what to do if her children did not now take care of her. It is significant to
15
Kristen Monroe, “The Moral Psychology of Rescuers, Bystanders, and Nazis during
the Holocaust,” 700.
16
Monroe, “The Moral Psychology of Rescuers, Bystanders and Nazis,” 711.
91
�note that this self-image described is in response to solely the request to “tell me about
yourself.”
BEATRIX: I don't like so much to say it, but I am always doing the wrong
things.
Q : Always doing the wrong things. What do you mean by that?
BEATRIX: Just what I say.... I don't think I am a very easy woman.... I am not
aggressive. I am-shy is not the right word but I am not very sure. I don't know
how to say ... I think to do the right things, and then always do them the worst
things. 17
Throughout her narrative, Beatrix describes herself as someone adrift, without direction
or purpose. In contrast to the passive bystander self-image, ironically, the Nazi self-image
is that of a victim who needs to protect themselves and their community of threats to their
wellbeing. They frequently used the metaphor of disease, with Nazi perpetrators making
genocide a sort of immunology, designed as a “preemptive action to rid the body politic
of unclean elements.” 18 In one interview from two unrepentant Nazis, they reveal the
Nazi self-image as victims threatened by Jews:
FLORENTINE: Read the Talmud and you read what the Jews think about us.
They say we are nothing!
Q : We are nothing?
FLORENTINE: Oh no, we are animals.
YOUNG NAZI: We are animals in human form. We are nothing. They can
crook us; they can steal from us, anything. They can never lend us money without getting
a credit interest. To a Jew, they are not allowed to do this, but to the Christian goyim, no
problem. We are animals. When you understand what the Jewish think of us, then you
can understand why they treat us like this.
Q : So you think the Christians have treated the Jews too, uh, too well
throughout history? Is that what you are saying?
YOUNG NAZI: We are too nice. We are defenseless against them. If you see all
the people hanged at Nuremberg, I think then you know it! So I believe Hitler. I believe
in Hitler. We are so open! We have worked with people who haven't been lying, with
people who did not spread hate. Oh, it was terrible. They (Jews) want to hang the
Germans at Nuremberg on Purim as proof of their own people's power. They are
17
18
Monroe, “Moral Psychology during the Holocaust,” 712.
Monroe, “Moral Psychology during the Holocaust,” 712.
92
�powerful. They made up the Holocaust! But this is a religion nowadays. Ya. Nobody
thinks anymore about other people. Only Jews died in the war, it looks like. (He turned to
lecture me.) You be careful you don't tell the world these truths or it will be hard! It will
be too much for you. 19
On the other hand, rescuers consider themselves connected to all human beings through
bonds of a common humanity. 20 The rescuers' idealized cognitive model of what it means
to be a human being is far more expansive and inclusive than the model employed by
bystanders and Nazis. 21 In Monroe’s interview with Tony (a rescuer), when asked “tell
me about yourself,” it is clear in his answer that he had a strong sense of self as a person
who has a connection to others:
TONY: I was to understand that you're part of a whole; just like cells in your
own body altogether make up your body, in our society and community, we all are like
cells of a community that is very important. Not America. I mean the human race. You
should always be aware that every other person is basically you. Always treat people as
though it is you. That goes for evil Nazis as well as for Jewish friends in trouble. Always
see yourself in those people, for good or for evil both. 22
As a whole, through psychological analysis, we become cognizant that these groups
integrated different values into their basic sense of self. Bystanders and Nazis placed
higher value on personal community and utilized ingroup/outgroup distinctions. Rescuers
employ broader categories and are inclusive, not exclusive in their classification system.
Beyond this, the personal losses and trauma experienced by rescuers made them more
sensitive to the unfortunate situation of others; similar losses led bystanders and Nazis to
retreat into themselves and adopt a defensive position.
The worldviews of the different groups created similar distinctions. Both
bystanders and Nazis exhibited worldviews shadowed by a sense that human beings are
controlled by the winds of history (external locus of agency). 23 This shadow is related to
their perceived lack of choice in terms of helping others. Passive self-images and an
external locus for agency resulted in individuals accepting whatever life brought them
and the impression that the suffering of others was something over which they had no
control. Although rescuers expressed a similar lack of choice, their sense of agency and
19
Monroe, “Moral Psychology during the Holocaust,” 713.
Monroe, “Moral Psychology during the Holocaust,” 720.
21
Monroe, “Moral Psychology during the Holocaust,” 712.
22
Monroe, “Moral Psychology during the Holocaust,” 711-712.
23
Monroe, “Moral Psychology during the Holocaust,” 713.
20
93
�the psychological mechanism driving their choice differed dramatically. The rescuers’
choices and options were determined but limited by their strong sense of human
connection and a cognitive classification process in which all human beings are placed in
the same category, and thus equal and worthy of the same treatment. 24 Because of their
strong sense of human connection, rescuers deemed others’ suffering directly relevant to
them; this perception left them no option but to try to help strangers, even when doing so
threatened the rescuers’ own safety or wellbeing. This lack of choice is a key element of
Monroe’s research, showing that the identity of each individual constrained their choices,
in that, for example, rescuers felt they had no choice but to save people:
Q : You used the phrase, "You had to do it." Most people didn't do it though.
How did you feel you had to do it, when other people did not?
JOHN: I had to do what everyone should do. (John shrugged.) I do it.
Q : But why did you have to do it?
JOHN: Because I have to help those in need, and when people need help, then
you have to do it.
Q : When you say you had to do it, that implies to me that there wasn't a choice
for you. Did you ... (John interrupted)
JOHN: No. There is no choice. When you have to do right, you do right. (John,
Dutch rescuer) 25
For John and other rescuers, their lack of choice came from their view of themselves as
connected to all humankind. Later on, John tells Monroe in their interview that their
actions embodied a “natural reaction from the inside.” 26 Much of the rescuers’ narratives
suggest that it was not a lack of choice, but rather a refusal to compromise their identity,
which is perfectly described in another interview: “When [the rescue] happened, then I
had absolutely a compulsion to do it. The hand of compassion was faster than the
calculus of reason.” 27 This universal boundary of entitlement (the moral perspective that
assumes all people are entitled to certain humane treatment simply because they are born
human 28) and fellow feeling (the belief of a shared humanity that motivates moral
24
Monroe, “Moral Psychology during the Holocaust,” 713.
25
Monroe, “Moral Psychology during the Holocaust,” 713.
26
Kristen Monroe, The Hand of Compassion: Portraits of Moral Choice During the
Holocaust, 2006, 112.
27
Monroe, Portraits of Moral Choice During the Holocaust, 90-91.
28
Monroe, Portraits of Moral Choice During the Holocaust, 243.
94
�action 29) is further developed and examined in another study of moral psychology done
by Monroe in 2006.
What Causes Ordinary People to Rescue Others?
Much of the research found highlights the importance of identity or self-image.
To clarify, identity is the distinguishing character or personality of an individual; there
are many factors that contribute to one’s identity, and hereinafter will discuss how those
factors make particular individuals different rather than similar. At the individual level, a
key personality factor that survivor Nechama Tec identified in 1986 was the importance
of a sense of self. Tec argued that rescuers had a strong sense of individuality or
separateness and were motivated by moral values that did not depend on the support or
approval of other people so much as on their own self-approval. 30 The first important
systematic analysis of rescuers established personality as the critical force driving rescue
behavior. The Altruistic Personality was the largest survey of rescuers ever conducted,
including 406 rescuers, 126 non-rescuers, and 150 rescued survivors throughout the Third
Reich. Samuel Oliner, a professor of sociology, and his wife, Pearl Oliner, a professor of
education, both at Humboldt State University, isolated the importance of identity,
particularly the kind of broad, inclusive identity that connects to a shared humanity. 31
This particular conceptualization of identity was essential for encouraging cooperation
and strong communal connections. An altruistic personality, in which habitual behavior,
encouraged by parents or other significant role models, led to habits of caring that
effectively became structured as an altruistic personality. 32 Kristen Monroe’s (20042006) work on rescuers also emphasized the self-concept, but highlighted the importance
of the rescuers’ perceptions of themselves in relation to others, suggesting it was not
simply character but also the rescuer’s perceptual relationship toward the person in need
that was critical. 33 She found identity perceptions created a sense of moral salience, the
feeling that another’s suffering was relevant for the individual, and hence demanded
action to help alleviate that suffering. She located the power of this psychological
phenomenon in the mind’s need to categorize and classify information, with people thus
29
Monroe, Portraits of Moral Choice During the Holocaust, 244.
Monroe, “Moral Psychology during the Holocaust,” 702-703.
31
Samuel Oliner and Pearl Oliner, The Altruistic Personality: Rescuers of Jews in Nazi
Europe, (New York: Free Press and London: Collier Macmillan: 1988), 415.
32
Oliner and Oliner, The Altruistic Personality: Rescuers of Jews in Nazi Europe, 420.
33
Kristen Monroe, “Moral Psychology during the Holocaust,” 703-704.
30
95
�being classified into friend or foe, member of an ingroup or an outgroup. For rescuers, the
boundaries of this classification system were broad and inclusive, including all humanity.
In one particular study conducted and later compiled into a book by Kristen
Monroe, she interviewed five rescuers from Germany, The Netherlands, Czechoslovakia,
Denmark, and Poland, analyzing their interviews and forming an intriguing theory about
rescuers’ psychology. She presents an outline of her moral theory through an analysis of
how identity and constrained choice form a complex interrelationship with character,
universal boundaries of entitlement, fellow feeling, and perspective and moral salience.
With each element of her theory, she presents excerpts and examples from the individuals
she interviewed. For character, Monroe states that our moral actions emerge from our
sense of who we are; certain actions will be eliminated immediately and others will be
already imposed based on the kind of person we believe ourselves to be. 34 Everyone has
some sense of core self, and this was a critical influence on the behavior of rescuers. For
universal boundaries of entitlement and fellow feeling (which combine in a cooperative
manner), Monroe states that the rescuers’ moral perspective seems to correspond to all
individual basic human rights, allowing for variation in individual differences and for
human failures. “It draws moral boundaries universally, rejecting the claims of groups as
the foundation for moral salience,” 35 a phenomenon previously discussed about how
ordinary people engage in genocidal behavior in relation to social identity theory of
ingroups and outgroups. For example, several of the rescuers Monroe interviewed could
have easily claimed special treatment because they were German, thus members of a
privileged group. However, they refused to do so. Other rescuers explicitly rejected the
kind of entitlements behind a “veil of ignorance,” arguing that even if they knew they
would benefit from special treatment, they would not be part of such a society because it
was morally wrong. 36 Monroe continues this examination through its connection to
perspective and moral salience. She writes:
The psychological process of helping another involves the recognition of
another’s need. It entails the [individual’s] belief that she can take action that
will alleviate another’s suffering. And it requires the acknowledgement of moral
salience, the recognition that another’s need is a concern to the
individual/rescuer. Making the connection between one’s self and the other,
identifying the relevance of another’s plight to one’s self, is a critical part of the
moral perspective… Moral salience probably explains why so many of
34
Monroe, Portraits of Moral Choice, 242-243.
Monroe, Portraits of Moral Choice, 244.
36
Monroe, Portraits of Moral Choice, 244.
35
96
�us - people who are reasonably ethical human beings in our everyday lives - do
so little to alleviate problems like the genocide in Bosnia or Rwanda-Burundi, or
even human suffering in our own country. Like [unresponsive bystanders], we
do not recognize the situation as something directly relevant for us. We then
conclude that it is not a situation that we can affect very much. 37
Rescuers during the Holocaust were able to identify the relevance of the needs of others
to themselves, and thus this acknowledgement of moral salience as an arena where one
can make a difference impels action.
Similarly, another important story that encompasses the idea of identity in
playing a vital role in rescuing is the story of the Muslims in Albania, the only country in
Nazi-occupied Europe that had more Jews in their country after World War II than
before. Owing partly to what locals call Besa, a local code of honor and neighborly
conduct, the rescue and survival of approximately 2,000 Jews by Albanians for decades
had remained largely unknown. In the 2012 documentary film “Besa: The Promise,” it
tells the story of Rifat Hoxha, who ran a pastry shop to which the Jewish Aladjem family
was taken by an Albanian police officer and arranged their shelter. The film follows the
unlikely story of how, a decade ago, Rifat Hoxha’s son, Rexhep, returned three Jewish
prayer books to members of the Aladjem family living in Israel. During the war, his
Jewish guests had given the prayer books to Hoxha for safekeeping after hiding at his
house for half a year. As with many other Jews who survived in Albania — most of them
refugees from neighboring Greece, Italy, Bulgaria and Serbia — the rescue of the
Aladjems was “an open secret,” Rexhep Hoxha, a father of two who was born in 1950,
told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA). 38 “Not only the police knew, but all the
neighbors knew as well. There was a circle of silence. It’s something connected to our
culture. You don’t betray your guest, and you certainly don’t betray your neighbor.” 39
According to Petrit Zorba, a meteorologist and director of the Albania-Israel
Friendship Society, the rescue of Jews in Albania was “a matter of tradition, and had very
little to do with religion.” Even Baba Mondi, the leader of the secretive Bektashi Shiite
sect, which is headquartered in Albania, says that religion’s role in the rescue was both
central and indirect. “In Albania there is a tradition of religious tolerance… I wouldn’t
mind my children marrying a Jew, a Christian, whoever. So while the rescue maybe
37
Monroe, Portraits of Moral Choice, 247-248.
Cnaan Liphshiz, “What made Muslim Albanians risk their lives to save Jews from the
Holocaust?” Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 2018, 1.
39
Liphshiz, “What made Muslim Albanians risk their lives to save Jews from the
Holocaust?” 3.
38
97
�didn’t come from a religious commandment, it grew out of a religious environment where
all fellow human beings are our brethren.” 40 The Muslim Albanians meet almost every
element of Monroe’s theory of moral perspective about rescuers’ motivation to save
Jews. Their identity was defined not by religion, but by tradition. Because of this
rejection of specific group categorization, they carried a universal worldview that
includes a broad and inclusive share of humanity, as noted when Baba Mondi added that
“all fellow human beings are our brethren.”
Using theories and aspects of social and moral psychology to analyze several
works of research and personal accounts/interviews, I was able to fully understand the
extent to which bystanders’, perpetrators’, and rescuers’ behaviors are explained through
psychological factors. These findings speak more generally to the underlying psychology
of how individuals respond to the suffering of others. They suggest what motivates us to
act beyond generalized feelings of sympathy, sorrow, or even outrage to a sense of
morality, a feeling that another's distress is directly relevant for us to require intervention
and assistance. They suggest why some people take positive action to help, when most of
us ignore others' misery, providing indirect or direct support for the conditions that
caused misfortune. In a broader context of research on moral choice, it can bring into
focus how we treat others. The evidence found in the rescuers’ narratives highly support
the fact that human beings who want to be treated well must recognize and honor the
humanity of others.
Bibliography
Levi, Primo. 1965. The Reawakening. New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster.
Lifton, Robert Jay. 1976. The Life of the Self: Toward a New Psychology. New York,
N.Y.: Simon and Schuster.
Liphshiz, Cnaan. "What made Muslim Albanians risk their lives to save Jews from the
Holocaust?" Jewish Telegraphic Agency, January 16, 2018.
Mastroianni, George R. 2015. “Obedience in Perspective: Psychology and the
Holocaust.” Theory & Psychology, 25 (5).
Monroe, Kristen Renwick. 2008. “Cracking the Code of Genocide: The Moral
Psychology of Rescuers, Bystanders, and Nazis during the Holocaust.” Political
Psychology, 29 (5).
40
Liphshiz, “What made Muslim Albanians risk their lives,” 5.
98
�Monroe, Kristen R. Ethics in an Age of Terror and Genocide: Identity and Moral Choice.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012.
Monroe, Kristen Renwick. 2006. The Hand of Compassion: Portraits of Moral Choice
During the Holocaust. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
Oliner, Pearl M., & Oliner, Samuel P. 1988. The Altruistic Personality: Rescuers of Jews
in Nazi Europe. New York: Free Press and London: Collier Macmillan.
Rees, Laurence. "The Life of an Auschwitz Guard." Politico, July 15, 2015.
Tajfel, Henri. 1981. Human Groups and Social Categories: Studies in Social Psychology.
New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press
Yahil, Leni. 1990. The Holocaust: The Fate of European Jewry. New York: Oxford
University Press.
99
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wagner College Forum for Undergraduate Research
Description
An account of the resource
The <em>Wagner College Forum for Undergraduate Research</em> provides an arena where students can publish their research and have a wider audience that can see what types of areas of academic intellect and expertise are being explored at Wagner College. The journal is devoted to publishing empirical and theoretical papers by undergraduate students in all disciplines. Papers are reviewed with respect to their scholarly merit. Length and type of articles have been determined by the paper’s objectives and scope of contribution to its respective field. This collection houses all issues of the <em>Forum</em> from 2002 to the present.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Wagner College, Staten Island, N.Y.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2002 to present
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Forum for Undergraduate Research
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Wagner College, Staten Island, NY
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Fall 2020
Description
An account of the resource
Volume 19, Number 1
Table Of Contents
A list of subunits of the resource.
Section I: The Natural Sciences & Quantitative Analysis -- Full Length Papers -- 3 Income Inequality in the United States and Its Effect on Consumers and Corporations / Adam Rotenberg Section II: The Social Sciences -- Full Length Papers -- 21 E-cigarette Use Among Adolescents in Staten Island / Lauren Dina Arslani, Kristi Simonetti, Jessica Verga -- 32 Satisfying the Growing Health-Conscious Consumer Market / Lauren Duffy -- 50 ‘Kids Against Asthma’ Educational Program for Pediatric Asthma in San Joaquin Valley / Jessica Diemer, Marlena Sokolska, and Lindsay Volpe -- Section III: Critical Essays -- Full Length Papers -- 61 Emma Goldman: The True Pioneer Behind Birth Control / Jolie Lenox -- 69 For Their Own Safety, Oil and Water Remain Separate: How Antony Navigates Western and Eastern Values in Antony and Cleopatra / Holly Alexander -- 76 French Turn of the Century Puppetry / Dana Rudnansky -- 86 Psychological Factors that Motivate Bystander, Perpetrator, and Rescuer Behaviors / Megan Chiu
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
U.S. and international copyright laws may protect this work. It is provided by Wagner College for scholarly or research purposes only. Commercial use or distribution is not permitted without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Wagner College Digital Collections
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
105 pages
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text