Lesson eight’s contemplative practice really made me think a lot about my relationship to water and my water foot print. How big is my water footprint and is my water consumption a responsible one? While I understand that my water consumption consists of everyday essentials such as showering, flushing the toilet and washing dishes, what I did not consider is… Read more »
One thing that will really struck me over the quarter was learning about Globalization, specifically in the chocolate industry. Chocolate is such a common product in many people’s day to day life. Learning of how much of a disconnect there was between the farmer harvesting the cocoa crops and the product he was making was shocking. As was learning about… 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 »
Fertilizer is a major component of fossil fuels—one that has completely transformed the number of crops produced, and in turn has transformed our way of life. Chemical fertilizers are responsible for spiking the production and growth of crops, which has increased the food supply worldwide, allowing for an increase in population. This change in agriculture began with the Green Revolution,… Read more »
In Peter Menzel and Faith D’Alusio’s Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, through the medium of photographs, rich stories of many cultures surface as well as contrasting themes of economic access to nutrition and/or lack of dietary variety is immediately apparent. The photos not only provide a glimpse into the food culture of different countries but also a… Read more »
As the parent of a small child, there is never a shortage of chocolate in my house, between Halloween, Christmas, Valentines, Easter and Birthdays. When I’m at work, chocolate always seems to find a way into the office to satisfy someone’s sweet tooth. Chocolate is all around me, and it wasn’t until our contemplative practice about chocolate, that I really… Read more »
When I consider how globalization and international trade inform one another, the food industry comes quickly to mind: affordability and access. While developed countries greatly benefit financially, some may argue that globalization has many more disadvantages when it comes to developing countries. For instance, globalization affects not only the environment via commodity chains, but culture on a mass global import-to-export… Read more »
This week’s lesson has been incredibly insightful regarding nutrition and the food industry. What really stands out for me is that as consumers, we are led by the food industry to believe that foods of convenience and longevity are also nutritious, as Michael Pollan describes it, food is being replaced by nutrition “…a great many of the traditional supermarket foods… Read more »