I’m the type of person who could eat chocolate every day for every meal and probably still not get tired of it. But despite my almost concerning adoration for chocolate, it wasn’t until recently that I actually began to think about the many economic, social, and political systems that go into the creation of one of my favorite foods. My… Read more »
The cacao contemplative practice, much like the raisin contemplative practice, made me realize that my perspective on food is rather self-centered; I had not really thought about the immense amount of inputs that go into producing food. I think this may be due to two main reasons, that are possibly interrelated. One reason may be due to the fast-paced lives… Read more »
Source: Giulian Frisoni Chocolate, luxurious and decadent, is enjoyed by individuals over global. Our class had the opportunity to taste what makes chocolate into chocolate: the raw cacao. By eating both chocolate and cacao we were able to contemplate global inequities in the world’s food system. While chocolate is rich, cacao is bitter. I savored the cacao, I could taste… Read more »
I have written a few contemplated reflections before, but this class’s focus on fossil fuel contemplation has really caught my attention. There are many talks right now about substituting fossil fuel with electricity as vehicles’ main source of energy. The rise of electric cars, especially the Tesla models, is an example. Although electric energy is usually viewed as a clean… Read more »
Contemplation is seldom prioritized in our world today. It’s not something that I regularly practice in any of my other classes, nor is it something I specifically set aside time for at home. The industrialized food contemplation using raisins was truly a surreal experience. Perhaps it was so bizarre because it was the first one of the class and the… Read more »
Before this class, I had never had a professor engage students in contemplative practices. In fact, I had never heard of such a thing, so when Professor Litfin handed us raisins, turned off the lights, and read us a poem I was initially confused. Although, while sitting with the raisin in my mouth, I began to think “what goes into… Read more »
One of the contemplative practices we conducted was with chocolate. We were given both a piece of chocolate as it would be bought in western world, rich, creamy, and very sweet. Then we were given a piece of raw cocoa, it was bitter, earthy, and coarse. When I ate the piece of cocoa although I enjoyed this new unique flavor,… Read more »
Contemplation is a form of deep, reflective thought which allows one to look at something for a long time, and sometimes in a new light. Everyday we might make choices regarding what we will eat for breakfast or whether to go to a restaurant or cook at home, but rarely do we engage in contemplation with our food. As a… Read more »
How do you feel when you are hungry? Do you get quiet, impatient, how well can you focus? Sitting in class with my trivial hunger sitting deep in my stomach, I had a hard time relaxing, focusing. I found my thoughts wandering to what I was going to eat for lunch. Contemplating hunger in class was very powerful because I… Read more »
Up until this quarter, I’ve never experienced anything like a contemplative practice. I have never had a professor turn the lights off and ask the students to think about a particular subject. I’d never even heard of it, so when Professor Litfin handed out raisins and turned off the lights, I was as confused as I could be. Personally, I… Read more »