There is always more you can do.

I chose to respond to Aaron Baker’s post “Is your Hunger Natural or Affluent?” (link: https://sites.uw.edu/pols385/2020/05/04/is-your-hunger-natural-or-affluent/). The question posed in his title is something I have been grappling with since I shifted to a plant-based diet due to unethical practices in the meat and dairy industry. I thought his response was very insightful, and I especially appreciated his statement “Just as hunger may be ubiquitous in the state of nature, it is equally possible for it to be absent entirely in a relatively affluent state in which the parameters of self-preservation have been redefined.” His thoughts made me consider how I drastically redefined my diet by only considering plant-based options as permissible for my self-preservation, despite there being ample other food options surrounding me. Thus, it seems as if I have redefined my “self” that I wish to preserve. My goal is not to simply keep myself alive, rather it is to maintain optimal nutrition, ethical consumption, and great taste.

Veganism News and Political Cartoons

From this, I drew a connection to “The Color of Food” (https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1372505/files/63044076/download?wrap=1) article we read in class, which described the “good food movement” amongst privileged middle-class individuals who prefer to consume organic food. The article goes on to describe those economically excluded from this movement, who rely on food supplied through the enormous food production chain that exploits people of color and “often forces workers to live in conditions that are close to poverty.” So, when I search for vegan meals, my hunger isn’t natural, it is affluent. Recognizing how much of the world struggles with food sovereignty allows me to stave off complacency as in my fight for change in the food system. I recognize a vegan diet isn’t enough, and that holistic change that provides everyone equal access to good food as I do today is my ultimate goal.

Food Sovereignty - SourceWatch

Post-Contemplation Considerations of the Food System

This post is a response to “What Contemplative Practices Have Taught Me about Problem Solving” by, Sydney

In “What Contemplative Practices Have Taught Me about Problem Solving,” Sydney reflects on feelings of restlessness, not knowing how to make a meaningful difference as a consumer in a food system that simultaneously benefits some (in particular, us) and negatively impacts others. I agree with Sydney, we must examine our own relationship to the existing system prior to effective systems analysis. We know, at this point in the course that a system is an interconnected set of aspects that is organized in a way that achieves a function or purpose. We are evidently a part of the world food system. However, I want to extend past this and begin to incorporate and deliberate options for  next steps following effective contemplation.

I offer a consideration of another article “How Consumers and Farmers Can Transform Food Systems” by Tania Strauss and Maria Elena Varas. This article discusses both a farmer in Vietnam who has little access to beneficial food systems information as well as a consumer, Meaghan, in the United States who navigates the food system with consistent flows of contrasting information from social media and mainstream news. Meaghan is an individual that resonates with most of us, when shopping we consider all of the information that has arrived with us through our education, our social media usage, and our familial teachings. Strauss and Varas argue that consumers should be at the heart of any solution that is considered to make the world food system more effective for everyone. We, as consumers, hold the power and ability to change demand and ensure that food systems operate in a more sustainable manner for producers and consumers. This would suggest that you and I are at the center of this “food systems crisis,” that it is up to us to reconfigure this system to work for us, as well as the people that produce our food.

This graphic places consumers at the center of the image, much like Authors Strauss and Varas do. (https://www.foodshedinvestors.com/faq/what-is-a-foodshed-ecosystem)

When we turn to the World Economic Forum’s Food Systems Initiative Report on the role of incentives to enable food systems to transform, there is only one suggestion for the general population to engage in, simply changing consumer behavior. The other three pathways for developing incentives to transform food systems are repurposing public investment and policies, business model innovation, and institutional investments. Therefore, I posit a question; to what extent is individual responsibility integral to the alteration of the food system to become more conducive to all actors involved? Furthermore, is the concept of individualism infiltrating the discussion on the improvement of the world food system in a prohibitive manner?

This is a graphic that captures the WEF’s food systems initiative on the role of incentives to enable food systems to transform recommendations of how to achieve food system aspirations. (https://weforum.ent.box.com/s/35vs54zp4mqfnlg17lb6yli5rsc9bg2x)

I do not mean to end this discussion with further questions, however, it feels inevitable to continue to prod at the questions at the hear of these issues, we must converse and engage with one another to develop the most effective practices and responses.

Finally, with consideration of the concept of individualism, I suggest the following articles in an effort to further contemplate our roles in this world food system.

Best,

Sophie Stein

 

 

Like a Tree

Before taking this course, the idea of a structured time to practice meditation ‘in’ the classroom was not something that I had experienced before. As I learned more about the history and uses of contemplative practices, the image of a tree was common in describing its structure. This image had a profound effect on me as it illustrated and enhanced the benefit of these practices and just how multi-faceted it is. Like a tree, we are ever growing and are grounded in our core ideals and beliefs. The role of the contemplative practices allows us to further grow our tree and trim it in places or take it in a different direction – one that is built out of a changed and fuller frame of mind.

Image Source: http://www.artchangeseverything.org/2016/09/the-tree-of-contemplative-practices_3.html

The contemplative practice that has stood out the most to me is the one on feeling hunger. This practice further illuminated the privilege that I hold in my relationship with food and the ability to consume and benefit from food on my own terms. As we have learned, the current food system is made up with the goal of making money, not food. And even though we have the food necessary to feed the population of the world, this is not happening in part due to aesthetic standards and amount of food required to feed livestock. An article from the Guardian illustrates the relationship between changing our diets and the ability to be able to more greatly feed and serve the whole population of the planet. When addressing your own hunger, it is becoming pivotal to understand how you are filling it and the impact that it has on the environment and fellow inhabitants of the world. While a massive structured change is necessary, knowing your role in the food system will help change it.

Today’s Special: Grilled Salmon Laced with Plastic

A lot of plastic garbage inevitably ends up in our waterways and oceans. Bottle caps, toys, plastic bags, and jugs are just some of the things that get washed into our oceans. But these aren’t the only source of oceanic plastic trash. Consumer products like toothpaste and facewash contain plastic microbeads that are used to provide scrubbing power, but they are too tiny to be filtered out by water treatment plants after they’re washed down the drain. Salmon and other creatures than feed on these microplastics by mistaking it for food or by feeding on zooplankton that have eaten the plastic.

Researchers once thought that microplastics ingested by fish remained in their guts. Removing their entrails before serving appeared to eliminate the risk of eating plastic. But new research is beginning to suggest that these tiny bits of plastic might actually move into fish flesh.

Plastic is now part of our food system and seafood is the third largest contributor of chemical-laden microplastics. What consuming all this plastic means for human health is hard to say, but it’s probably not good. Persistent chemicals like PCB’s and other contaminants in our waterways glom onto particle surfaces and carry endocrine-disrupting bisphenols, phthalates, and other toxic additives.

So, who is responsible and what can we do about it? These are not easy questions to answer but some of the things we can do is stop using products that contain plastic microbeads. Encourage governments to ban the sale of products that contain microbeads. Promote plastic take-back programs for plastics that are currently not recyclable. Use reusable bags and containers, not throwaways.

It remains to be seen whether or not we will successful wean ourselves off of disposable plastics but it’s a problem we should make every effort to combat.

Sources:

Article: https://thefern.org/2019/09/todays-special-grilled-salmon-laced-with-plastic/

Image: https://www.multipure.com/purely-social/science/dangers-microplastics-drinking-water/

A HARDIER RICE FOR A WARMING WORLD

Rice is a very common food source for the world’s population, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations stated that more than 16% of the worlds consumed calories comes from rice. As populations continue to increase the rice yields also need to increase to offset the rapid urbanization and growth. Unfortunately, rice needs specific temperatures to grow, as the world temperatures continue to rise, it is an immediate threat to the rice industry.

Distribution of rice production in the world

Though there is potential for a solution. Jane Langdale, a professor of plant development at Oxford University has taken on the role as coordinator for a project called “C4 Rice Project.” This project has received funding from the Bill Gates Foundation; he gave them an initial grant in 2008 and then another $15 million for Phase 4 of the research. The goal of this project is to transform rice from a C3 mechanism to a C4 mechanism. What does this mean? C3 is the process that many plants follow to extract carbon from the carbon dioxide molecules it absorbs. Though there are a few plants that use a process called C4, this process allows plants to be more resistant to extreme heat and drought, they would be much easier to grow in different climates.

This is an interesting topic to think about. Initially I was thinking, “Wow, this sounds amazing, a new rice that is easier to grow and could potentially help support the growing population, sound perfect!” Though as I continued to think about this topic, I felt like there were a lot of uncertainties too. Could there be negative impacts in introducing this new type of rice? After all, it is a genetically modified organism. I think that the potential negative impacts need to be further explored so that I can understand the whole story, because this is a very promising solution to the problem rice is facing with climate change.

What are your thoughts on this issue?

Original Article Link: https://www.ozy.com/around-the-world/a-hardier-rice-for-a-warming-world/300425/

Image from: http://chartsbin.com/view/1009 

The Hoarders, The Hungry, and the Problem with Individualism

Above: Shoppers Stockpile Supplies in response to Covid-19 Pandemic                                                 Below: People Wait in Line at a San Antonio Food Bank

With the recent lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic and news stories dominated by pictures of empty grocery store shelves it is easy to feel like we will soon run out of food. Beans, medicine, and toilet paper are flying off the shelves and not just paranoid citizens are starting to stockpile, nations have also begun to hold on tighter to their resources.

Meanwhile, now more than ever the world’s hungry are in need. In the United States, food banks are being overwhelmed, and globally the World Food Programme estimates that 5.5 million people in central Sahel alone will be facing severe food insecurity in the coming months. The hoarders and the hungry; an epitome of a global food system that never seems to have enough to go around.

Yet, when you look closer into how that food is being used, there is an even more insidious note. Every year the United States wastes 40% of its food; 63 million tons a year. When 63 million tons of food a year is left to rot in one country alone, it is clear that the global food system doesn’t have a shortage issue, it has a distribution issue; a distribution issue exacerbated by rampant western individualism. People are, and have for a long time, purchased only with their own perceived needs in mind, without thinking about the larger scale implications that these actions have on others around the world. We live on a finite planet, with finite resources. Every meal you throw away is food that could have eased the hunger of someone else. It is time we wake up to the manufactured food crisis we have created, and in compassion, work toward a more equitable food distribution system, that decreases waste by calming the hoarders and feeding the hungry.