As part of a contemplative practice, I was offered cacao to taste as I watched a video on the way cacao was retrieved for the use of large western companies. The video exposed the exploitation of child labor in the Ivory coast and the harsh labor conditions of workers surrounding cacao production. As the video came to a close for… Read more »
Professor Litfin was correct when she pointed out the high level of general anxiety in the generations of students she has taught most recently. Questions about how our political, social and economic systems impact a range of people with different levels of access are nothing new. However, there is more access to a wealth of information from channels that circulate… Read more »
Contemplative Practices that we did in class really do makes me wonder and think in depth about the little things that we don’t often see bigger connections to. The reflective aspect of contextualizing course materials with systems thinking can help students like me to explore the bigger picture of how the food we ate today are more than what they… Read more »
Walking into class with an empty stomach was an interesting practice for me because I try to regularly fast and meditate on my relationship with food and how this affects my relationship with myself and with others. However, contemplating in class, in a mass group of individuals, struck me as a unique experience in that l did not even know… Read more »
Bring back Grace? Could saying grace an OG form of mindful eating? Over the course of the class we have been doing intermittent mindful eating practices. During our last one, I was reminded of my childhood when we traditionally said Grace before meals (though we were a secular family). This was a time when we came together, holding hands, smiling at… Read more »
In this course of contemplative practices, the it has opened up my eyes to different kind of learning, and how effective or ineffective they can be, for example I was able to connect to most of the practices on a full scale and about one of them not so much. The best contemplative practices were the ones with the tangible… Read more »
As seen in our first contemplative practice, Sun-Maid raisins hardly need any maids to be harvested anymore. Compared to the raisin industry a few decades ago, the industry today is largely mechanical and technical. We utilize huge harvesting tractors that do all the work of picking and sorting the grapes, and are stored in huge quantities to undergo the dehydration… Read more »
The contemplative practice on international trade, global inequities and chocolate stands out to me. I am a fan of chocolate. Less so of the fact that having the privilege to eat chocolate on a relatively frequent basis is one of the signs of the inequality in wealth that pervades the international system of trade, and the world in general. Readily… Read more »
I had previously seen raw cocoa nibs used in vegan recipes and in the bulk section of Whole Foods, but I had never inquired enough to taste one myself. I therefore went into this practice with a preconceived notion that cocoa nibs were for snobs. However, I was enlightened of my misjudgment as the contemplation continued. I was interested… Read more »
I never would have guessed that holding a raisin in my mouth for about five minutes would change the way I can think about how and what I eat. Or, how contemplating what I ate for breakfast- a simple task could really open the door to seeing all the underlying systems and layers of politics within food. What I… Read more »