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 »
I’ve often considered my role in the process of climate change, both as an individual and in my work in the food industry over the years. I recently learned more about my ecological footprint using the Global Footprint Network’s footprint calculator (http://www.footprintcalculator.org/). The largest contributor to my footprint by far is air travel; my family lives on the East Coast… 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 »
In Amanda Little’s essay, Power Trip, she examines the ways in which fertilizers, coupled with the seed engineering breakthroughs of the Green Revolution have brought us agricultural abundance. And yet, being able to feed an expanding population has also produced many practices that have put strain on the environment and come at a cost to other living systems. Little explores… Read more »
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 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Hunger is in effect a systemic issue. Our media over simplifies it to a lack of food or resources when we must in-fact look at a broader system that changes how and why there is hunger in a world where we have enough food to feed everyone. There are an assortment of complex variables at play. First we see… Read more »