What would it be like if you never ate another piece of chocolate? Would your life be any less meaningful? Would you still be able to find happiness? Or would you not be able to continue living if you couldn’t stop at the convenience store to pick up your favorite chocolate snack while filling your car with gas? I don’t… Read more »
In contemplating living systems, it’s difficult to imagine that so many “dead” systems form relationships with human bodies that can bring such differences in how lives unfold. Humanity brings to life systems that are otherwise inert. It is easier for me to imagine how living systems theory works in an interactive way between organisms and the environment when I imagine… Read more »
Chocolate has gotten somewhat of a bad rap recently and deservedly so. But if chocolate demands and/or prices shifted and children were no longer forced to harvest cocoa, would the majority of them return to school or continue working doing something else? I think it is a fair question to ask when trying to determine just how much blame the… Read more »
When you are hungry how you do feel. (Shoe) Usually tired? Foggy? Often angry? After taking the time to contemplate hunger in our contemplative practice this week I came to see hunger in a more multifaceted way. In addition to the terrible condition of being hungry, people who are going hungry are also adversely effected by the condition that huger… Read more »
The contemplative practice that I found to be the most interesting was the lesson on the production of chocolate. Chocolate is one of the most well known commodities in our culture. It’s heavily sought after by consumers during significant holidays, it’s the perfect gift for a loved one, and we add it to various foods such as cakes and ice… Read more »
The Western diet is an extension of our capitalist culture. We are told what to drive, where to live, what to buy, who to vote for and what/how much to eat. We have allowed the Western diet to take root because of our desire for cheap, fast, processed foods that are easy to ingest. Over-consumption is not just encouraged, it is… Read more »
The interconnectedness of the topics discussed in the course thus far offer a thought provoking global view on the future of the human species on Earth. The issues of populations growth, the recognition of the impact that we have on our ecosystem, the global food system, and the water and ecological footprint we are leaving on our planet, are huge… Read more »
In Michael Pollan’s book In the Defense of Food, his observation that people have become more sickly, more overweight, and less healthy since the inception of the social craze of nutritionism (81) is incredibly interesting. The opposite is suggested by the concept of nutrition, so how could this have happened? With a heavier focus on nutrition in society, or at… Read more »
Having taken previous nutrition courses, and being someone who has spent the better part of my adult life as a vegetarian, I am cautious about what I consume, though admittedly, not as strict as I could be given what I know about the food I eat and its effects on the body. That being said, much of what was discussed… Read more »