In the past four weeks I have learned a lot about the food we consume. In class we have watched a couple videos and I have continued to read my book. I have gotten used to the idea of blogging now. I check it a lot and am comfortable with posting and linking on my blog now.
In class we have talked a lot about food these past couple weeks. We watched two videos. One was about patenting seeds and genetically modified seeds,I believe it was called "Future of Food". This video really opened my eyes to the farming industries and I felt very sad for regular family farms that were having trouble with these big companies. It is scary to think that we use all these pesticides on our food and genetically modify them without really knowing the health risks. We also watched a video called "Fresh." This video was also about food. We did a couple of eye opener activities about the food industries that really made me rethink everything I eat. After learning so much about how this affects not only the environment but also the people, such as farmers, I am definitely going to try to buy more fresh products locally.
I finished reading my book by Dan Imhoff called "Paper or Plastic:Solutions to an Overpackaged World." I learned so much about how much plastic we waste in packaging. Companies package their items in too much. When items are in a box, is it really necessary to put plastic wrap over it too? The main thing I learned from this book was that the only right answer to the question "paper or plastic" is neither. Paper has just as much waste as plastic. We might not be able to stop the companies waste but we can help the environment by using usable bags,water bottles, coffee mugs,and by buying locally.
This last week in class we watched a movie called "Tapped." It was about the bottled water industry. After watching that video, I do not want to ever buy bottled water again. I knew it did not make sense to buy water when you could get it for free, but after seeing the affects it has on communities, people's health and the environment I definitely will stick to reusable water bottles.We just started learning about junking in class. I personally love looking through antique shops and resale shops for things. I always feel twice as accomplished when I find something good at a thrift shop vs. if I get it at any old store. I'm very excited to see what people come up with when we do the junk project. We are getting new blog groups, so I'm ready to read from some new people!
I like that you remind us that paper causes just as much waste as plastic. We really need to buckle down on ALL of our waste and not focus on just one material.
ReplyDeleteI have also been trying to purchase more locally produced goods, it is somewhat disturbing how difficult it is from time to time.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa I too am very excited to see what we come up with our Junk projects. I think that it will be very fun. Also I think that switching up groups will be good too, because it will offer a lot of new perspectives.
ReplyDeleteI was also shocked about the harmful effects of the bottled water industry. I mean, I knew it was silly to drink bottled water but I didn't know it was that detrimental to small communities and peoples health and wellbeing. Also, I know what you mean about feeling WAY more accomplished shopping and finding things at thrift stores. I really like thrift store shopping too, it's much less mindless than just shopping at any old store.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about never wanting to buy bottled water anymore... or anything bottled for that matter! I never really realized how hard trying not to buy bottled things could be until I was consciously trying not to. Tapped was a great eye-opener and I'm glad it had an affect on you too :)
ReplyDeleteI agreed with all of what you said in relation to the Tapped film. It is actually quite disturbing to realize all the negative effects on communities and the world that one industry can have.
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