I had a day off so I decided to join Palms on a road-trip to Grand Rapids for a GFS food convention. We left about 7am, and got there around 10ish... Although it wasn't my first time in Grand Rapids, it's been a while since I've been there in the daytime. I went to the BOB club a few years ago with my cousins, yet that was at night time. I'd say it's about the size of Fort Wayne, maybe a little smaller, and has a lot of scenic appeal to it. There's a river that cuts through the city, and the architecture is all fairly modern. 
Yet there is this one large building, the Amway Grand Plaza, that really captured my eye. It was a vintage hotel of brick, with an enormous American flag waving at it's front.
When we got to the Convention center, we got a little lost, and cut through the warehouse to get to the front lobby. Inside the convention center, were tons of food booths, companies representing GFS trying to sell their latest food products. I have to say I gained a new understanding of the food industry, and saw it more from a business perspective. Salesmen would stuff food down our throats, trying to get us to buy their new product. Then a marketing specialist walked us around, suggesting good tastes and new ideas. After a while it was all kind of phony, and I couldn't help but see through it all. These conventions are nothing but a sales-gimmick, people who want to be your best-friends just so they can sell you their product. I suppose the one good thing about it though is the free food-tasting. I had a wide variety of greasy food; soup, chicken, pizza, cheese, stir-fry, and almost every form of fried-food... As I walked around the convention I further came to understand why Americans are so obese... It's not the lack of exercise or dieting.. It's the greasy foods we eat... I did have lots of good Coffee though and concluded that Colombian was my favorite. Overall it was an interesting experience and I am very happy that I don't work in sales.
Yet there is this one large building, the Amway Grand Plaza, that really captured my eye. It was a vintage hotel of brick, with an enormous American flag waving at it's front.When we got to the Convention center, we got a little lost, and cut through the warehouse to get to the front lobby. Inside the convention center, were tons of food booths, companies representing GFS trying to sell their latest food products. I have to say I gained a new understanding of the food industry, and saw it more from a business perspective. Salesmen would stuff food down our throats, trying to get us to buy their new product. Then a marketing specialist walked us around, suggesting good tastes and new ideas. After a while it was all kind of phony, and I couldn't help but see through it all. These conventions are nothing but a sales-gimmick, people who want to be your best-friends just so they can sell you their product. I suppose the one good thing about it though is the free food-tasting. I had a wide variety of greasy food; soup, chicken, pizza, cheese, stir-fry, and almost every form of fried-food... As I walked around the convention I further came to understand why Americans are so obese... It's not the lack of exercise or dieting.. It's the greasy foods we eat... I did have lots of good Coffee though and concluded that Colombian was my favorite. Overall it was an interesting experience and I am very happy that I don't work in sales.
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