|
We were never given all the details for a reason...
|
|
|
I wonder and delight in so many things; color, design, photography, culinary arts, living sustainably, culture and all things aesthetic. I am passionate about building relationships, connecting with people, and cultivating what has already been created. I have a vision to impact society through the arts and culture. |
|
|
Design and Craft
|
 Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Labels: Film Monday, February 15, 2010 Wonderful Food Question
From my perspective the problems related to corn syrup are embedded in a much larger, complex (what isn't?) and bureaucratic framework of which fuels systematic injustice (and therefore poverty) within the worlds of agriculture and diet in America. The government is subsidizing the overproduction of a corn crop, that is converted into a mere byproduct, sugar (there's nothing wholesome or fresh about it), which in turn is one of the leading causes of obesity in the US. Corn syrup, as a sugar byproduct, is the kind of sugar that is the least nutrient, and it's in EVERYTHING; to be hyperbolic, I'd say that it's practically seeping into young woman's bones and destroying our ability to absorb the calcium we so desperately need to live. I'm not a science buff, so do check in with the experts, but I've heard that it's been predicted that statistically, our generation will NOT outlive our parents' generation and specifically b/c of the food we eat, isn't that nuts?!!! Another problem is seed patenting and the growing popularity and production of GMO's, these two things are leading to the destruction of agriculture-in the US and globally-as we know it. Once you've watched, or read up on this topic (read food labels for starters), you'll see quite quickly that consuming food is an act and experience that requires some powerful stewardship and responsible interpretation (e.g. run your food consumption habits/postures through the modal scale and see what you come up with, is eating McD's or growing your own veges a political act?). As a food patron and consumer you just might discover that what you choose to eat has consequences, and political ones at that, which impact the lives of many people, those who exist in the past, those not yet born, around the globe, and even in your local community. I always always always, and highly:), recommend Jamie Oliver, aka, The Naked Chef, he's fully clothed- don't worry! He has a number of amazing TV series that I highly recommend, and was also recently featured on TED, watch this! http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html Think about what it means to eat locally, to work the soil and grow your own food (would you be able to survive on what you know? and are we passing this age old knowledge down through traditions or are we forgetting?), to know where your food comes from and from who-who are the people feeding us? Where does your food come from? Where is there coherence in all of this??? Then I recommend thinking about Alice Waters and the Slow food movement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1hU2w0a0HQ A simple challenge for you is to try walking through a convenience store and find a drink or snack product that does NOT contain corn syrup, it's virtually impossible. Can you say monopoly? It's kind of up to you to decide what to do, there are some cool ways to be more active and bring about change in your food consumption and choices as a college student. Personally I am finding that sugars are masked in labeling, so I am trying my hardest to learn more about food everyday, and especially sugar, there is even sugar in milk, it's called lactose. I am trying my hardest to buy locally and ask many many questions. We make a big effort to eat in and make our own food, eat less, incorporate diversity and variety in our diet as much as possible (I have 6 different kinds of flour in the cupboard, and I'm sure there are more), and stay away from processed foods. Greg and I patronize a local coffee bean roaster, a local butcher, we drive to a local farm every week to buy our dairy-cheeses, cream, and milk (in glass bottles), and we don't buy bread anymore-I make a tiny loaf every morning. All this takes a lot of work, but it seems far more human to me than the alternatives, like grocery shopping under the florescents in Walmart, at 11pm, for Little Debbie's and enriched/bleached white bread and paying via self-checkout, elkch! Ask more questions!!!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Labels: Film Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 04, 2010 Homemade Shaving Cream
Wednesday, February 03, 2010 Refitting the Planet
Tuesday, February 02, 2010 The Geography of Nowhere Although there are many amazing reflections embedded in this book, authored by James Howard Kunstler, I am particularly moved to ponder the following section today, pg. 118: The costs of all this driving in terms of pollution, which includes everything form increased lung disease all the way up to global warming, are beyond calculation. The cost to society in terms of money spent on building and maintaining roads and paying for traffic police, courts, accidents, insurance, is also titanic. The least understood cost-although probably the most keenly felt-has been the sacrifice of a sense of place: the idea that people and things exist in some sort of continuity, that we belong to the world physically and chronologically, and that we know where we are. |
