Author Archives: brinnc

Moving Forward

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My action group this quarter was given the opportunity to work with Our Climate. Our Climate is a non-profit organization that is working with young people to help put together a Green New Deal. This opportunity combined three things that I am incredibly passionate about: the climate, politics, and food. My group was able to integrate what we learned in this class into our work with Our Climate. The reality is that we cannot address climate change without making changes to our food system which will require political action. We were able to bring up our food system in our discussions with fellow interns and make sure that it will be included in the Green New Deal.

I often find myself focused on the personal changes that I make in my day to day life in order to do what I can to help reverse climate change. I recently convinced my family to try out a vegan diet after learning about the staggering effect that animal agriculture has on the environment. My sister and I have been sharing our cooking projects on an Instagram that we made together in the hope of spurring others into giving veganism a try.

Infographic from Cowspiracy

However, in working with Our Climate it was amazing to see what a vast community of people there is fighting for systemic change. My personal actions do make some leeway to combat climate change, but I was able to make a much more significant difference by advocating for policy change. Personal changes are the first step, but systemic and political change is necessary for large scale change. 

Working with Our Climate and taking this class helped shift my perspective towards understanding systems theory and looking beyond my personal actions and experiences. I do what I can in my own life to alter the course of global warming, but I’m also continuing to push for change at a systemic level. Moving forward, this class has shown me how interconnected our world is and has given me the tools that I need to enact change. 

The Opportunity Presented by Covid-19

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While scrolling through this blog this past weekend the post “On the Behalf of All Americans, I Am Sorry” jumped out to me. I have always been focused on the environment. I am vegetarian, take public transportation whenever possible, and made my family switch to energy-saving light bulbs. Initially, I was excited when my social media was full of posts praising the changes to the environment that are coming out of this quarantine.

Pollution is decreasing in the canals of Venice as tourists clear out

However, I can’t but wonder if these changes will have any lasting effect. People have been applauding our food system for remaining resilient and there is a focus on our food system weathering coronavirus. I don’t think that we should aim to return to how our food system functioned “before”. The American food system, with its dependence on underpaid workers and animal agriculture, is an environmental nightmare. Our food system gives us a lot to say sorry for. Coronavirus presents an opportunity for us to create a better food system.

In order to achieve a food system that will not leave Americans saying “sorry” for their contributions to climate change, we must implement policy changes. We need to restructure our system to be centered around regional supply chains, support farmworkers, and focusing on making sure that everyone has access to food. I also hope that the meat shortages that we are starting to experience may push Americans to re-evaluate their meat consumption as animal agriculture is the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions. Policymakers are starting to push for these changes. Furthermore, my action group is working with Our Climate to draft a green new deal that will push for change. As long as we take this opportunity, we can come out of this crisis with a stronger and more sustainable food system. 

Am I Actually Hungry or Do I Just Want Food?

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I am someone who loves food. I spend mindless hours scrolling through my Instagram feed and take great joy in experimenting with recipes and trying new foods. In doing the contemplative practice on hunger, I began to consider my own consumption habits. I found myself realizing that I am not very familiar with the feeling of hunger. I eat my meals throughout the day out of habit, regardless of whether I am hungry. I often snack out of boredom, especially now that I am cooped up while under quarantine. 

After doing this contemplative practice, I became more mindful of when I am actually hungry. I then applied this to my younger brothers. Instead of making them lunch at the same time every day, I began to wait until they told me that they were hungry. My parents often struggle with getting the youngest one to eat and much to their surprise he cleaned his plate and asked for seconds. 

My brothers with some paella that they absolutely demolished.

I am also taking a class on early childhood development and this week we are learning about how environmental factors shape children’s development. This also applies to food. As a culture, we are taught that we must eat three meals a day at set times. This teaches kids to ignore their hunger cues and simply eat when they are told to. Surely, this must play a role in our food system. How many people consume much more than they are actually hungry for because they have been taught these cultural norms? Over the past few days, I have found myself toying with the question of what would happen if everyone simply ate what they were hungry for. I don’t have an answer yet, but would it help balance the gap between the people with plentiful food and the people going hungry?

Food Supply Chain Issues During Covid-19

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While sifting through headlines a few mornings ago I stumbled across an article entitled, “Wisconsin farmers forced to dump milk as coronavirus slams a fragile dairy economy” from USA Today. Prior to this, I had been hearing about food shortages and had failed to consider that there may be food going to waste. When discussing the effects of coronavirus, a farmer in Wisconsin said, “Everybody’s rushing to the grocery store to get food, and we have food that’s literally being dumped down the drain.” This is an issue that is seen across the board in our food industry as it struggles to adapt to changing demands. 

Consumer behavior has shifted and left our food system scrambling to meet demand in grocery stores while food meant for restaurants is going to waste. This is creating food shortages and driving up costs for consumers. I see many people focusing on short term fixes as we wait for things to go back to normal. In my opinion, now that we have witnessed this issue, we have no choice but to find the means to solve it. It is unclear how long this pandemic will last and we now know that our food system is not as resilient as we would like to think.

For now, I see solutions in restaurants that are offering produce boxes and selling their food deliveries in order to keep up demand for farms. Long term, it is my opinion that we need to see the government step in and help manage our food supply. If we want our system to come out of this intact, we should be donating food to low-income people, finding ways to distribute food that would otherwise go to waste and make sure that food remains affordable and accessible for all.