Food Footprint

After reading David Suzuki's urgings on how and what we should try to eat on a day to day basis I have been trying to become more aware of my food choices. In the three weeks leading up to Thanksgiving break I almost entirely eliminated meat from my diet. This was a huge change for me considering I normally eat some meat four or five times a week. When I read that "raising 1 kg of beef generated the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 150 miles" I decided to try to lay off of meat for a while.

With no money going towards meat I was able to spend the little bit extra on organically and locally grown produce. Additionally the only meat I did eat over those weeks was some non corn fed, eco raised salmon and a locally raised, grass fed beef meatball. I also cut back on the amount of eggs I used but kept the amount of milk and cheese the same. I felt healthy eating predominantly vegetables and fruits and I felt good knowing I was at least trying to reduce my "ecological footprint from eating by up to 90%."

While this was an interesting experiment for myself, it was also frustrating. I wanted to buy only local organic produce but with the difference in price coupled with my rent and electric bills I couldn't always do that. Had i been buying more meat and stuck to only humanely and organically raised products the price increase would have been even steeper. It is deflating to someone trying to become a more thoughtful eater, as well as urge others to do the same, when finances come into play as a limiting factor. I found the best prices on organic produce to be at farmer's markets and feel that in order for there to be a larger movement in reducing our food footprint there has to be a push to continue the expansion of supporting more and more local agriculture through markets and CSA's to eventually lower the price of good food so that it is obtainable by the masses.

-Christian-

Diversity is Key

When reading part 5 of Cradle to Cradle one thing really came to mind was diversity in food.  Not just the food itself, but its genetics.  Its easy to get many different food items at any of our local food markets, but with all the genetically engineered food out there i fear that diversity of food plant life is being manipulated too much.  When we watched the Film in class about food, one thing that struck me as very interesting is that Monsanto has patented genetics, and seed stock, and that their seed stock that is being legitimately grown by farmers and is also pollinating other farmers crops that do not buy these genetics.  I feel as though our food crop is getting "dumbed" down by such practices of patenting.  I sincerely hope that all of our food stock isn't leaning toward this trend.  We need different genetics in out food stocks to keep the plant species healthy and nutritious.  Mixing genetics is what helps plants evolve to be strong and viable.  If we are kept eating one type of corn with one type of genetic make up, I fear not only for us but for the plant itself.  With any type of breeding  project, whether plant of animal there is always the possibility of working yourself into a corner, and that corner usually comes with inbreeding.  If we keep inbreeding these specimens without out-crossing them, there runs a high risk for sterility.  And if farmers are getting forced to grow one type of seed, where is the diversity in that.  I understand that breeding and some inbreeding needs to happen to stabilize certain genetics, but if out crossing never happens i feel like we are heading towards a heap of trouble.  I am grateful though for the seed bank tucked away in the arctic that holds many of the worlds viable seeds in case we as humans get our selves in trouble, atleast we have that to fall back on.

side-note: my spell check has Monsanto in its word bank.........creepy

The Truth of Thanksgiving

In the spirit of thanks giving I think it’s important to explore its history. In 1492 Christopher Columbus first landed in the Bahamas and encountered Native Americans. He immediately referred to them as an inferior race and wrote "They all go around as naked as their mothers bore them; and also the women.” He also said that "they could easily be commanded and made to work, to sow and to do whatever might be needed, to build towns and be taught to wear clothes and adopt our ways." He imprisoned thousands of Native Americans, he raped their women murdered their children and enslaved their men. The Pilgrims didn’t invent Thanksgiving.

When the Mayflower arrived on Plymouth Rock, they had only one slave left that had survived small pox and his name was Squanto. Squanto taught the pilgrims to grow corn and fish, he also helped them create a peace treaty with the Wampanoag tribe that resided on the land. The Native Americans in that part of the country already had a rich tradition of marking the fall harvest with a major fiesta. After the puritans first harvest they stole the Native Americans tradition and held a feast of their own to celebrate. At which the Puritans gave the Indians gift baskets, infected with small pox beginning the plague. After seeing the thousands of dead natives that the plague killed. The newly appointed Governor of Massachusetts John Winthrop, declared a day of thanks giving. Thus thanking god for killing over 700 savage, Native American, Men, Women and children.

King James of England, decades later called the deaths of millions of Native Americans "this wonderful plague." He thanked God for sending it. The puritans came by the thousands to claim land that the Natives weren’t even claiming as theirs. They said the land belonged to the earth and the pilgrims felt they were doing the natives a favor by killing them and abolishing this idea.

Major revisions to our history books, make heroes out of murderers. Our nation thinks of turkey As a Hallmark façade, in the same category as Santa and the Easter Bunny. The Native Americans invented holistic medicine, crop burning for fertilization and lived a life without pollution. This scared us, they didn’t believe in our God, they had rituals we couldn’t understand and so we killed them or colonized them and made them conform to our ways. Now most Indian reservations, are fueled by casinos and revenue from drugs.

We began as caveman living as nomads off nothing, developed technology and with it came power and greed. Now we have almost made extinct the people that know how to utilize best, our earth resources, with out damage to the Mother Earth. We don’t think about throwing trash on the ground or the truth behind thanksgiving anymore because it’s easy. We leave lights on and drive cars out of convenience because we cant see the bigger picture anymore. We have let the fascist puritan’s beliefs multiply and divide into the existence that is our reality today. I for one am going to give thanks on this thanks giving for those who have been forgotten but genuinely believed the earth was a sanctuary to be worshiped and protected and died because of those beliefs.

Tara Beach

Eating Local

I think eating local is the first step to ending the industrial food market. Eating local would help the farmers in your area and by buying local you help stop funding major corporations which are putting pressure on local Farmers to lower their prices to conform to the cheap price larger companies offer. Also I would make a bet that Local produce taste much better than then food shipped from a ways away. From 1994 to 2004 Farmers markets have doubled because of people’s dissatisfaction with industrial food corporations. These corporations are shipping food thousands of miles away to be sold covered in pesticides and preservatives to keep the food fresh on the truck or plane ride to the destination. Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon, two writes from Vancouver, B.C., lived for a full year on a”100-Mile diet” eating nothing grown, raised, or processed beyond that self-imposed geographic limit. Although they encountered some vexing challenges along the way (e.g., no wheat, no sugar, no salt), they eat an imaginative and healthy diet. Over the course of the year Alisa and J.B. befriended local farmers and fisherman. Also the two became intimately connected to the geography, climate, and environmental challenges of the North West. I think that everyone should give a go at the “100-Mile diet” you’re not only keeping yourself healthier by not ingesting so many preservatives, but also your keeping your money local and not fueling major food corporations. If you make an exception of wheat, sugar, and salt I think the “100-mile diet” would be much easier. There are farmers markets popping up everywhere. Find out when and where one is and go check it out.

Austin Wright

The UK and India Working Together

The United Kingdom and India have been collaborating together on a path towards a low carbon future. The two countries want to work together to create a plan for India, with heavy investments from the UK, to be on the forefront of a clean energy based economy.

The discussion is led by the UK-India Business Leaders Climate Group (BLCG). Companies from both countries have been contributing in the conversation and the creation of a report. The wind energy mogul, Suzlon, has been a contributor, as well as, HSBC Bank. David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the UK, believes that this low-carbon path for India could create jobs, growth and environmental protection for the ever expanding country.

The BLCG advocates for the beginning of joint projects that demonstrate low-carbon technology. They also want to work together on joint research and development projects. The BLCG is also working to remove barriers of investments on clean energy and finding innovative financing mechanisms.

This idea is not a solution for India by any means. India is the fastest growing nation in the world, expanding at approximately 9% population per year. They are also in the front of the industry and business world. This makes it necessary for India to lead the way to finding a solution for clean energy. With the financial aid from the UK, and cooperation of the businesses in both countries, perhaps a balanced solution can be found.

Conservation International Conference

A Convention of Biological Diversity was recently held in Japan. Many representatives from different countries attended the conversation, though the United States did not attend. The purpose of the conference was to set up a global conservation plan for the next ten years. The collaboration of representatives concerned by this issue are looking for remedies to the increasing problem of the loss of biodiversity in ecosystems.

Biodiversity is the foundation to life on this planet. A healthy and balanced ecosystem provides humans with the resources needed for survival on this planet. It provides clean water and air, prosperous insects for the pollination of crops, healthy soil, and many sources of pharmaceuticals that are so important in sustaining healthy populations around the world. Biodiversity is currently in crisis, with the current rate of species extinction at more than 1000X the rate expected. This is in turn causing problems within the ecosystem and effecting the human population. Currently, more than 1 billion people do not have access to clean water and approximately 2.6 billion people are living without proper sanitation. This problem is only going to escalate as the human population increases. Within 30 years there is expected to be 3 billion more people relying on the earth's resources. This will mean that the food output and the fresh water availability will need to double, only further pressing the natural resources.

The conference in Japan stimulated a lot of conversation on the topic of the sustainable use of the earth's resources and how to conserve what there is. The main solution from the conference is to conserve and protect certain areas and habitats from being destroyed. This idea will curve the rate of biodiversity loss and create a safe, protected area for ecosystems to prosper. It was decided that Governments around the world would need to pass laws to protect 25% of land area and 15% of ocean area.

Though the United States claims to be the super power of the world, the focus of the American Government has not been on how to protect and conserve the natural resources of the world. An initiative was started during the Bill Clinton Presidency called the Convention of Biodiversity. This initiative has not been funded or pursued by the current administrations and continues unused.

The Japanese Government has begun an initiative called "Life in Harmony". The Government has budgeted 2 billions dollars and will assist other nations who need aid for the research of conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. This issue is seen as one of the most important to the Japanese Government, thus them holding the conference, and they are willing to help others financially to help with this important issue.

This conference brought together many nations of the world that are concerned by the issue of the sustainability of the earth's natural resources and the biodiversity within ecosystems. With nations working together for the benefit of the earth, solutions are more likely to be found to slow the extinctions of crucial species and conserve the resources that are so important to us as humans.

"Think of the concept of biodiversity as the very fabric of life on earth and each species as a thread. How many threads can we lose before the fabric is in tatters?"