Wholly Unreasonable

"This week I've challenged you to go a week without eating anything containing corn or corn derivatives. On your blogs this week I'd like you to write about the experience. How easy or hard has this been for you? Did you come across anything particularly challenging or surprising? What did the overall experience teach you about the contemporary US food system?"

So while I contemplated sticking to this corn-free diet for a week, I gave up rather quickly. I would have had to buy an entirely new stock of food for my apartment. Time was a big factor last week, I was very busy keeping up with assignments and this was just too much. Corn sweeteners or extracts are in nearly everything! I would have to become a raw vegan in order to maintain a corn-free diet! So for me, it would have been improbable because I would have to buy all new food, not eat nearly any food from a restaurant, and turn my entire eating habits on their head at a moment's notice.
The US food system has been redesigned over a long period to incentivize the production of commodity crops like corn. My home state, Iowa, has been a big contributor to the lunacy and now it is paying severe environmental costs. There's so much corn that in the 1970s, in order to keep corn prices up without just throwing the crop away, farmers started making ethanol from corn. Now the world's hungry are paying some of those costs. Food manufacturers have replaced sugar with corn syrup because it is cheaper, and they use corn extracts because corn is plentiful. Corn is cheap and plentiful because the food system is set up to make it so, regardless of human health.

Wait I can't put ketchup on my organic scrambled eggs?

After last week’s class I went straight to my room to sort through my food to see what I could eat for the next week. I found four items out of probably 20 or so. That’s when I began to realize the impact of corn. The four items were oatmeal, whole grain pasta, organic yogurt, and bananas.I love food so I was really excited to be forced to make good decisions and excited to cook meals. After finding few items in my room that I could eat, I decided to go to whole foods. I stocked up on organic, veggie fed, free range chicken eggs, organic yogurt, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, hummus, more oatmeal, organic pasta sauce, and quinoa.
The first few days went really well, I found myself being more energized and feeling better. I was enjoying the food that I was eating and I had to be conscious on how to prepare the food. However, I was constantly hungry. I found that 6 small meals were in order to keep my stomach from constantly yelling at me.
I managed to be diligent all week. Although I had one minor slip up. I had a piece of Starburst candy. At a meeting, a bowl of candy was going around and without even thinking twice about it I ate the Starburst. After eating it, I chastised myself for not thinking before I ate.
This week of no corn helped me grasp how dependent our society is on corn. Also, I learned to be more aware of what foods I consume. I find now that I’m constantly questioning what’s goes into the food I’m eating and where it came from.

A week without corn...almost

I was surprised that this week was not as difficult as I anticipated. I figured it would be nearly impossible because basically everything has corn in it, but if you take the time to prepare meals from natural ingredients, it’s completely possible. Cooking is a hobby for me, so having to prepare all of my meals was not too challenging, just slightly more time consuming.

I did cheat a couple of times, however. I refused to give up washing my hair, brushing my teeth, or taking my daily medication. I also was stuck on campus all day Monday necessitating the consumption of prepared foods available here which I am sure all contain some sort of corn product. Also, I had a breakdown on Thursday night in which I was desperate for some junk food, so I ate a cookie.

One surprising discovery, which is a little gross and personal, I’ll share anyway because maybe someone else experienced this as well. Although preparing meals was not too hard, finding viable snacks to eat between meals was challenging. My go-to option for the week was chopped raw vegetables with hummus or a piece of fruit. I started getting really bad indigestion, and after a little reading on the web, I learned that this was a really common problem for people switching for the fashionable raw foods diet. Basically, the way we eat now has depleted our intestinal enzymes and ability to digest these foods. I had to start blanching all of my veggies just to avoid the pain of healthy eating! Although I don't plan to cut corn completely out of my diet, I think I walk away from this experience much more aware of the difficulties in avoiding preservatives and how to avoid excessive quantities. I won't criticize the eating habits of others, but I, for one, do not want to be putting so many of these additives into my body

Food, Glorious Food

When I make choices about the food I consume, I think about health, price, and the environment. Since coming to college, I have made a pointed effort of trying to eat a balanced diet. When I shop for groceries, I go to Whole Foods or Safeway, and always look at the ingredient labels. Like Brittany said, sometimes a product is marketed as healthy, but really is not. In the dining hall, I always take home (steal) a few pieces of fruit for breakfast the next day or snack. When I have time and a little extra money, I go to farmer's markets for locally grown and organic food.

I have been trying to slowly cut meat out of my diet for the past month or so, but the hamburger I ate a few days ago probably had the highest environmental impact. Meat production is one of the biggest contributors to global warming in the United States. Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions generated from raising animals for food is more than all greenhouse gases produced by transportation in the world combined. I think it is quite feasible for many people concerned about the environment to become vegetarians, if not vegans. Cutting meat out of your diet has a greater impact than switching to a hybrid car.

Food Choices

When making food choices I first and foremost think about nutrition. I try to make balanced food choices, as a result I’m cognizant of how much of each food group I’ve consumed in one day. It is important to me to eat lots of vegetables and foods while at school. In addition to food group classification, I’m a stickler for reading ingredient labels. Many products claim to be healthy for you, but really they’re not. As a student, it’s hard to afford organic foods, so I don’t usually take environmental concerns into account. However, sometimes when shopping at Whole Foods I can find great deals on environmentally friendly foods. At home my family only eats organic free range meats, my parents are definitely have the environment in mind when purchasing food for the family. We’ve found that the environmentally friendly foods are also more times than not more healthy for you.
The food item that I consumed in the past few days that has had the most environmental impact would mostly likely be kielbasa. Made from processed turkey meat, the production of kielbasa releases a large amount of nitrogen into the air, never mind the fact that the turkeys are probably kept in small pens. The turkeys are probably also pumped with antibiotics and fed a wheat/corn diet while standing in their own feces. Plus the energy that goes into feeding the turkeys is probably greater than the energy that the turkey provides me after its consumption.

Brittany

1. What, exactly, do you think about when you make food choices? Do you have environmental considerations in mind? Or other stuff? 2. Take a few moments to consider everything you've eaten in the last day or two. Of the food or beverage items you've consumed, which, in your estimation, has had the greatest environmental impact? Why?

1. I usually pick food based upon some amount of reverance to the USDA's food pyramid but with a lot of personal taste thrown in for good measure. Cost is also a major factor because I don't have much money for food. I do consider the environment when buying food, especially when it comes to picking local options when available and organic when it is reasonably priced. I do not eat as much meat as I used to, mostly because I have seen first hand how most meat is farmed very unsustainably. I no longer eat seafood I have not caught myself because of environmental reasons. I try to buy at farmers' markets when I have the time to attend them. I wish there was a closer co-op grocery store to campus.

2. I think the can of vanilla coke I drank yesterday had the most environmental impact. The water is from a source hundreds of miles away in Atlanta. The high fructose corn syrup is probably derived from a GMO monocrop of maize from the midwest. The aluminum can takes considerable energy to produce, some of which can be made up for by recycling. Considering the purpose of the can of pop is mostly hydration, which can be met with simple tap water, from an environmental perspective it is a luxury item. I should probably just cut pop out of my diet altogether for nutritional and financial reasons. My environmental impact will also be lowered because of it.

Environmental Unconsciously

Grocery store choices:
I certainly do not think at all about the environmental impact of my grocery store choices when I am shopping, but after watching the video this afternoon, I think my choices are more environmentally conscious than most alternatives. I usually consider health impacts, ease of preparation, and the taste of things, but I prefer light Mediterranean or Asian cooking to more traditional American food. I don't like prepared, frozen foods, and I generally shop the perimeter of the store buying mostly nuts, fruits and vegetables. I also buy a lot of beans, lentils and soy products, not for environmental reasons but because they are tasty, cheep, and really quick and easy to prepare and store. I am not vegan, but I don't eat that much meat or dairy on a regular basis.

Beverages:
I mostly stick to water, tea, and coffee. I don't drink soda or sugary fruit juices, but on occasion, I do drink alcohol. For me, that's probably the most environmentally harmful. Wine is probably not too bad because there are relatively few additives and process that go into its production, but the distilled liquor like gin and vodka require more energy.

Will technology save us? Why, or why not? What does that even MEAN, in environmental terms?

Technology may help, but i do not think that it will save us. People have to chnage their habits in order for us to live a more environmentally stable life. People have to make sacrifices that they are not willing to make at this era in order to try to reverse some of the detrimental things we have done to mother earth. I am in the middle of this question because there are ways that technology has helped us, for example the Prius.... a more environmentally conscious car. Then there is also increase in population and the poverty around the world doesnt seem to be getting collectively better.

In environmental terms I think it means will technology minimize our ecological footprints therefore make less of an impact in the world so that it will last longer. I also thing that people that continue to waste willl do so because they feel that they will not be here anyway so why preseve the earth for more to come....

Will technology save us? Why, or why not? What does that even MEAN, in environmental terms?

To say that technological innovations alone will be able to save the Earth and humanity is a foolish prediction. Technology is not inherently beneficial or detrimental to the environment. Efficient energy use in everyday technology will be beneficial to the environment, while the technology associated with "clean coal" is really putting a band aid on a bullet wound.

I agree with Drew in that technology needs to advance to where it is helping humans understand ecosystems, the atmosphere and other environmental systems, as well as the detrimental effect humans have on the environment.

Technological innovations in the case of ozone depletion was the driving force behind the "saving" of the ozone layer. But this may not be the case with future problems. With the help of technology, a change in consumption habits, enforcement of international agreements, a change in humans' perception of the environment, and a strong political actions will ultimately "save us."

Will technology save us? Why, or why not? What does that even MEAN, in environmental terms?

Firstly, after a long weekend of working on environmental policy for Power Shift, I feel compelled to get my Devil's advocacy out of the way. Beyond a mere basic or intuitive sense of the environment, we need our technology to understand it better. Supercomputers are able to model everything from the climate to food webs. Collecting data and analyzing it with advanced technology can give us a better sense of the natural truth. Advanced technology allows us to launch satellites and study the Earth's systems from orbit. I realize that the use of technology for science is not the typical application of the T in I=PAT, but it is the part of T that must be preserved in any reformulation of society to be intelligently sustainable.

I'm afraid I have to give the trite answer that technology alone cannot save us. Such an immense dependence on technology alone to solve a problem would be unprecedented. I believe "save us" in environmental terms means conserving the ecological systems that make human life on Earth possible and fulfilling. Part of that are biodiversity and ecosystem services.

For Power Shift 2009, I spoke with the offices of each member of the Iowa congressional delegation. Dominant in the talks were the technological solutions to "save us" like renewable energy, transportation decoupled from fossil fuels, and greater efficiency. Maybe the question of "will it save us" is dependent upon humanity's "will" to make the hard technological choices, some of which have astronomical upfront monetary costs. One of the responses I kept using to monetary objections was that "Anything worthwhile is never free!"

Will technology save us? Why, or why not? What does that even MEAN, in environmental terms?

I admit that I am generally optimistic about the ability of technology to develop and make our lives more environmentally friendly. I don't think it "saves us" in the sense that we can allow technology to develop without looking at our lifestyle and population growth and making changes in those areas as well. This argument reaches back to our discussion about the I=PAT model and which of the factors is most important. I came to the somewhat unsatisfying conclusion that all of the factors must be affected at least a little bit in order to reduce impact.

However, I am also a bit more optimistic about technology than I am about consumption or affluence because better, cleaner technology is not an end adverse to market mechanisms. While arguments concerning the emptiness of GDP and market indicators are well-taken, I don't think arguments from a growth/development vs. environment prospective are in the long-term interests of environmental solutions. I hate the term sustainability because it has become a bit trite and meaningless in colloquial use, but there must be a way so serve man's comfort and acquisition interest without killing the natural resources. Tempering man's instinct is certainly important, but the readings for this week indicate that we are willing to trade only so much. We were able to reduce CFCs because we could find viable alternatives that did not destroy industry. Carbon emissions are a bit stickier because we are only starting to explore alternative options, and none have yet emerged as a clearly cheep and reasonable alternative. The unavoidable trend to me is if the question is development or environment, we choose development, but if we can create a development and environment solution, our outlook is much brighter. If there is a way to create the latter option, I think technology holds the key.

Alli Gerhart