As I went to get breakfast the other morning from the hot bar at Whole Foods I noticed something that I never took notice too before. The scrambled eggs have citric acid listed in the ingredients. I had just read Amanda Littles essay, “Cooking Oil: How Fossil Fuels Feed the World (and Energy Shortages Starve it).” I was still trying… Read more »
I know plenty of people who I consider to be smart and reasonable who believe that any critique of genetic engineering of seeds is unfounded conspiratorial thinking. I have long found this notion unfair. I don’t think that genetic engineering is wrong on principle. However, I think it is too soon to know the effects on our health and the… Read more »
In the poem On Work, Khalil Gibran’s prophet Almustafa counsels, You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth. For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life’s procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite. Over the past ten weeks… Read more »
I was shocked to learn about the intricate systems of rainwater harvesting in India. Not only that, but how long they have been place, some of the for hundreds of years. Anupam Mishra mentions in his TED talk titled The Ancient Ingenuity of Water Harvesting that the reasons these systems have been in place for so long, in a place… Read more »
The contemplative practices from week 8 and 9 were both wonderful exercises in meditation. I have enjoyed imagining my “roots” extending into the earth, and the nurturing of earth and water on my body as it joins with the ecology underground. This kind of meditation is not new to me, as one summer I happened upon a huge tree stump… Read more »
Much of the conversation over GMOs within the US natural food industry has focused on issues of labeling and the dangers that multinational corporations like Monsanto pose to organic farmers. For many, the 2008 documentary Food Inc. was their first exposure to the dark side of these high-tech advances, detailing how intellectual property lawsuits from agrochemical firms have put some… Read more »
This quarter has changed my appreciation of food forever. There are some things that I will never take for granted again, like the virtual water content of my produce, or the suffering endured to bring chocolate to my home, or the relationship of soil and water to my earthly being. As I prepare my meals I try to be considerate… Read more »
China is the world’s largest agricultural producer and they are dependent on nitrogen based fertilizer. Reducing the use of fertilizer to minimize the ecological impact, while reducing costs to the farmer, and still producing the greatest yield, seems like common sense. Studies have shown that China uses 30 percent of the world’s fertilizer production, over half of what other countries… Read more »
I continually find myself in a personal struggle as to whether I should maintain a vegetarian lifestyle or consume meat. I switched to vegetarianism for many years after first learning about the practices that the industrial meat industry participates in. Michael Carolan touches on many of these points, which ignites my internal debate about returning to a diet void of… Read more »
Vertical farming is an innovative way to garden and conserve water. By stacking multiple “shelves” of vegetation, one can reuse water as it drains from one raised bed to another. This format of farming is an effective way to produce lettuce, kale, and other greens. It is also an effective way to contribute to water conservation because as each “shelf”… Read more »