Regarding the seed and meat industry and our contemplative practice for module 9. I thought a lot about how I feel about the choices I make when I eat and why I chose to make them. Do I even care, or do I choose what to eat because I like it? Thinking about this module and then doing the contemplative… Read more »
As we proceed further into the Anthropocene, we are entering the unknown as a planet. Many aspects of our world are behaving less predictably than ever as a result of human impact. Shocks to the complex global food system can come in many forms, from natural disasters to world trade disputes to pest outbreaks. How resilient is our food system,… Read more »
Our relationship with our food has changed, as has the perception of our impact. These two elements of our introspective analysis have come together in our search for a better way address hunger, be less wasteful, be more healthy, and become more sustainable. In my own exploration of food and the relationships it has to politics, economics, health, social justice,… 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 »
Several years ago, my brother was traveling regularly to Israel, Palestine, and the surrounding areas as part of a team working to research and advocate for the water rights of the Bedouin tribes. He was in law school, working with the Muslim Student Association on a project that I took very little interest in. Now I have an entirely different… Read more »
In recent times there has been an increase in awareness of the downsides associated with industrial agriculture. The loss of soil, inefficient water and resource usage, toxic chemicals, poorly regulated GMO’s, and the inhumane environments for animals. With such a long list of skeletons, it’s no wonder that a range of movements to shift away from this system have… Read more »
On February 6th, Elon Musk’s SpaceX successfully launched and landed the Falcon Heavy rocket. One of the purported goals of SpaceX is to “make life multiplanetary,” locating and extracting resources in space. What happens when we apply the lessons of the biofuel boom and the 2008 world food crisis to SpaceX? This massive investment of earthly resources may not yield… Read more »
Week nine’s information about meat and seeds caused me to reflect upon my own beliefs, practices, and ideas. I became very interested in food and its effect on my health in December 2016, when my sister-in-law’s father-in-law was diagnosed with stage III cancer. Before that, both of my grandfathers had been diagnosed with cancer and one had passed away while… Read more »
The access to food greatly differs between families in Great Britain and Guatemala. Affluent countries like Great Britain have access to a variety of food that is not native to the area. For instance, in the photo of the Bainton family, there was processed food, chocolate, avocado, and bananas. Since these foods aren’t produced in Great Britain, I was informed… Read more »
The virtual water footprint of agriculture products is outstanding. What is virtual water? It is the total amount of water used to produce that product. Agricultural uses about 70% of the global water consumption and it takes 125 liters of water to produce just one apple. But did you know that water on crop farms is not just used for… Read more »