The American food system has been restructured by trade liberalization, which threatens our food culture and our health. If we are to wait for the market forces to respond to customer purchase power, I fear we will miss our opportunity to change national diets for another generation. The best form of health care is preventative action, and that is what… Read more »
I wish I spent more time in the dirt. I had spring-time dreams of generating enough greens to supplement my diet and quickly realized the many lessons of the soil I had yet to learn. The earth I put in my little garden is still new to me and I know it as living system which requires nurturing and nutrients…. Read more »
To function effectively, landscape governance ought to consider the whole system, which would account for the ecological impact and food sustenance needs. There is much profit to be found in land. Cash crops offer huge profits that are motivating a change in land investment and moving large corporations into the field where small farmers once predominated. The farms then tend… Read more »
The earth is a living system with incredible power to self-correct. Through our collective extraction and consumption of oil, we are accelerating the demise of our culture, at the cost to our survival. The warming of the planet caused by greenhouse gasses are enough that we are beginning to witness the effects now. The earth is responding to the altered… Read more »
The families in the photographs shared by Menzel demonstrated not only the cultural differences between the Norwegian and Guatemalan families, but most especially the disparity in the environment around them. The political and ecological differences between Norway and Guatemala are stark. Norway experiences regular seasons, but Guatemala is prone to tropical storms and hurricanes. These… Read more »
For the love of coffee, I thought I would never compromise my daily habits. I sheltered myself away from the knowledge of clear-cut forests for its sake. Then I tried not to consider the workers who processed the bean for my morning ritual. Ultimately, I found a sustainable and affordable alternative, which assuaged my guilt of privilege. I would not… Read more »
The power of food is such that it can shape the surface of earth and reroute human history. The industrialization of the food system introduced the idea that food could be engineered, as well as grown. Through the addition of supplements and rapid genetic manipulation, what Carolan[i] calls the Green Revolution, we are beginning to see malnutrition brought about by… Read more »
Like many Americans, I too spend a lot of time considering my food intake, and our collective food systems. I look forward to focusing my pondering, and hearing from peers, on the topics of nutrition education and food politics.
What was my grandmother eating? This is the question posed by Michael Pollan’s book, and is a query I found myself investigating. For me, I transposed the question onto my grandfather, who grew up on a farm. This farm, on which the family subsisted throughout the Great Depression, allotted him a status as a young man that few in South… Read more »