I’ve never liked milk chocolate; it’s too sweet, too rich, and I often find myself wishing that it was more bitter, a little saltier, mixed with caramel, or a different food entirely. Preferences differ widely; everyone has foods that if possible, they’d steer clear of without exception. Until recently, I hadn’t thought twice about my preference for dark chocolate, it… Read more »
Our contemplative practice with chocolate in Lecture 7 left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. This may be because we were ingesting raw cocoa nibs, but it was mostly due to the new information I received from this lecture that was difficult to digest. Prior to this contemplative practice, I loved eating, or baking/cooking with chocolate. I’ve always… Read more »
We don’t just stop and think anymore. Society today keeps people feeling too busy, and apart of a culture that is constantly bombarded by advertisements, and one that, frankly, does not care much for the environment or details of food systems. These factors combine for why contemplative exercises, like those practiced by Professor Litfin, are uncommon and may be thought… Read more »
One of the contemplative practices that stuck out to me the most in our class is the contemplative practice on chocolate. One of the reasons I loved this exercise is because not only did I learn something new, but I had time to connect and think about what I was learning to something I was simultaneously tasting in my mouth…. Read more »
Never before have I taken a class in my academic career that has had something like the contemplative practice activities we’ve done in class. The whole concept of contemplative practices, and literally sitting in silence for minutes at a time in a lecture setting definitely had me feeling a little uneasy at first (and still does). However, after participating in… Read more »
Hunger is an issue that unites the world from highly developed to vastly underdeveloped countries. The universal need for food integrated with poverty problems and environmental barriers calls for worldwide communication. The struggle lies within the techniques that powerful countries are using in food production that leave an impact on not only their own citizens, but the citizens of the… Read more »
Given humanity’s innate ties to food, as a cultural centerpiece, a custom or family tradition, and as the energy that sustains us, it has been helpful to me to explore an emotional approach to understanding the material covered in this course as a means of supplementing my logical and analytic understanding. Several of the contemplative practices we have conducted throughout… Read more »
Contemplation and deep imaginative thinking are important tools that are often times skipped over in daily life. Especially when it comes to things more complex than just asking yourself, do I want to go out tonight or do study for my exam? Or, do I eat a salad or a cheese burger? Contemplation over deeper topics can be very resourceful… Read more »
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 »