Tag Archives: environment

Seeds are People Too!

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Regarding the seed and meat industry and our contemplative practice for module 9.  I thought a lot about how I feel about the choices I make when I eat and why I chose to make them.  Do I even care, or do I choose what to eat because I like it?  Thinking about this module and then doing the contemplative… Read more »

A Bitter Sweet Reality

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The far reaching impacts of climate change on our food security, economic stability, and social inequality is nothing less than overwhelming. Food industries across the globe will have to grapple with the multifaceted impacts of climate change. From the decreased yields seen in commercial fishing due to ocean acidification, to the increasing widespread draughts, there is a shift towards scarcity…. Read more »

Peak Food

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As we proceed further into the Anthropocene, we are entering the unknown as a planet. Many aspects of our world are behaving less predictably than ever as a result of human impact. Shocks to the complex global food system can come in many forms, from natural disasters to world trade disputes to pest outbreaks. How resilient is our food system,… Read more »

Food, Society, and the Built Environment

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Our relationship with our food has changed, as has the perception of our impact. These two elements of our introspective analysis have come together in our search for a better way address hunger, be less wasteful, be more healthy, and become more sustainable. In my own exploration of food and the relationships it has to politics, economics, health, social justice,… Read more »

GMOs in a Global Context

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Much of the conversation over GMOs within the US natural food industry has focused on issues of labeling and the dangers that multinational corporations like Monsanto pose to organic farmers. For many, the 2008 documentary Food Inc. was their first exposure to the dark side of these high-tech advances, detailing how intellectual property lawsuits from agrochemical firms have put some… Read more »

The Right to Water

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Several years ago, my brother was traveling regularly to Israel, Palestine, and the surrounding areas as part of a team working to research and advocate for the water rights of the Bedouin tribes. He was in law school, working with the Muslim Student Association on a project that I took very little interest in. Now I have an entirely different… Read more »

I Want to Help Reduce Human Food Waste!

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Whenever I would think about things I could do for environmental change it seemed overwhelming. Reading articles about individualization and realizing that one person changing their eating habits isn’t really making that big of a difference helped me think about the bigger picture. With collective action if someone is changing their eating, recycling, or farming practices then yes that can… Read more »

Water Contamination Naples, Italy

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Let’s talk about the water where I live in Naples, Italy. I am an American military spouse and living in Italy because my husband is stationed in Naples. Every year the US Navy does a test on the quality of tap water on the US military base. The report is called, U.S. NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY NAPLES SUPPORT SITE – GRICIGNANO… Read more »

Live by the Food, Die by the Food

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  In recent times there has been an increase in awareness of the downsides associated with industrial agriculture. The loss of soil, inefficient water and resource usage, toxic chemicals, poorly regulated GMO’s, and the inhumane environments for animals. With such a long list of skeletons, it’s no wonder that a range of movements to shift away from this system have… Read more »

Approaching Environmental Issues: Individualization vs. Systems Theory.

  There are two contrasting approaches to understanding human being’s responsibility and capacity to change difficult social or environmental problems. One perspective places accountability on the shoulders of the individual; this is the idea that a single person has the power to make changes in their personal conduct that could alter the course of complex issues. In his essay on… Read more »