“A ‘biological universe’ exists in a gram of soil.” (Fortuna.) I’ve often looked to the stars or the sea to picture a magic-like expanse that holds so many secrets and marvels of life. I’ve never given much thought to what is under my feet. After the contemplative practice from week 8, I started to search for words I have never… Read more »
The contemplative practice from lesson seven really stuck with me because it helped me overcome my decidedly negative preconceptions about the role international law plays in combatting climate change. As previously I had concluded that although it was capable of facilitating minor progress in this regard, international law was largely incapable of creating significant positive impacts. My primary evidence for… Read more »
My biggest conclusions from the course this quarter primarily concern the nature of the systemic importance that food and water systems possess for human societies and how this will be impacted by climate change. Such is the case as data regarding these aforementioned impacts is far more severe than previously imagined. However, simple recognition of the multitude of ways climate… Read more »
Ignorance is bliss. Believing that I am doing the most good by eating a plant based diet was a form of ignorance that can’t be undone now that I’ve taken this course. Even food decisions made in good faith have consequences that are hidden along the journey to our plates. From the child labor we witnessed in week 3 to… Read more »
Our apathy, our lack of passion, is what might do us in in the end. We’ve become so acclimatized to what we are exposed to in our lives. Growing up in the Midwest, we become apathetic to farm animals. After all, do they not exist for anything but our needs? Spending a decade in California gets one very used… 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 »
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 »
Land and water are not merely biophysical phenomena but valuable commodities for global financial markets that play a large role effecting the dynamics of political power. Traditionally, whenever I gave this phenomenon thought it always seemed that state actors were the ones with the most to gain politically through policy shifts in regards to land and water usage. However, the… Read more »
My primary takeaway from these lessons has been the massive role that political power plays in how food and water systems are managed throughout the globe. The way these systems are managed often correlates to the distribution of political power, especially so in developing nations. Throughout history, it is clear that hunger has been consistently used as a weapon by… Read more »