Realizing as a society that global concerns currently being dealt with are truly connected will be key in fixing our eventual food and water crisis. Contemplative practices have enlightened me on issues such as world hunger and helped give an appreciation for the amount of energy it takes just to get food to the table. Nonetheless, I couldn’t fully integrate… Read more »
Most of the contemplative practices we’ve done in class have been insightful and useful to me. The most impactful one was the one where we had the raisins and were thinking about industrialized food. It helped to put food in perspective for me and think about how such a simple food could have so much processes and workers and miles… Read more »
Contemplation and self-reflection are not unusual for me. However, food is not something that I have dedicated a great deal of thought to. I tend to be very functional in my approach to what I eat, regarding it simply as fuel. Recently, during a guided contemplation regarding our industrialized food system that employed the particularly mindful enjoyment of a single… Read more »
The use of contemplative practices in a class that focuses on a subject so expansive and with so many interlocking parts that is the global food system at first seemed to me to be a waste of time. To some extent I’m still not convinced by it, but the exercise we did with the raisin was at least an interesting… Read more »
The world is a fast pace complex place where finding time for self-contemplation is often challenging. This contemplation time is an important part of understanding the world around us. For my first contemplative practice I was skeptical because I had never participated in this type of deeper reflection and engagement before, but it really opened my eyes to the way… Read more »
Working as a barista for four years has made coffee an integral part of my life. I drink up to three cups per day, am knowledgeable about different roasts, and smell like it consistently. However, I haven’t taken the time to explore where coffee beans originate from or how they are processed, even when the information is easily accessible. Instead,… Read more »
In our class, our professor has incorporated so-called “contemplative practices” into our lectures. These are short periods in class wherein we take a moment to slow down and really try to be mindful of ourselves, our surroundings, and the things we are learning. Although I was skeptical at first, I ended up being prove wrong. In particular, there is one… Read more »
Contemplative practices have been an interesting approach to understanding larger food systems. In particular, it has helped me understand food “culture” in America on a much deeper level. Food culture (and generally culture as well) in America is dominated by on the go, fast paced ideals. We want success, a beautiful body, and our good, healthy food and we want… Read more »
***Click HERE to take a listen — Hoodia Rap*** Here is a rap song I wrote from the contemplative practice about industrialized food process, hunger, and its aftermath. The Hoodia plant grows naturally in the southern region of Africa. The San people traditionally consume the bitter plant as an appetite suppressant, to help survive in desert conditions where food resources… Read more »
At the end of lecture one day, Professor Litfin gave a single raisin to each student to suck on as we learned about the lifetime of the seemingly simple food. From the time the grape was planted, to it being dried out and transported to stores, we thought about it all. For me, eating food is part of my daily… Read more »