Foodies

Locavore- someone interested in eating local food that is not shipped long distances to the market. Slowies- those who are part of the Slow Food Movement interested in the culture of food and eating seasonal. Foodshed - the local sphere of land, people and businesses that provides your community with food. It is easy to walk through a grocery store unconsciously making food choices with little thought of where that food comes from. If there is truth in that we are what we eat perhaps we need to wake-up and pay more attention to what we are putting in our shopping carts. Several us in the discussion group this week were taken back and maybe a bit shocked by Michael’s Pollan’s article What’s Eating America http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/presence-jul06.html . It is hard to grasp that our military system pushed the industrialization of our food. Read Pollan’s article and let us know what you think. And, the next time you head to the grocery store and are aimlessly walking the isles think like a locavore, slowie or about your foodshead.

The Politics of Food

Check out Michael Pollan's recently piece Farmer In Chief http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all.

Ecological Footprint

I enjoyed talking about our ecological footprints this past week http://www.myfootprint.org/. Examining ecological footprints can bring up feelings of guilt. That acknowledged, it was a great tool for discussing our consumer and lifestyle habits. Several participants are already composting, recycling, and pretty aware of where their food comes from. Lifestyle changes aren't always easy. It felt good to acknowledge each others commitment to having a lesser impact on the Earth. We encourage others to look at their ecological footprint and think about how we can collectively reduce Lesley's impact. The next discussion October 29th is going to focus on food. Check out Mark Bittman's lecture What's Wrong With What We Eat. It is a good addition to the food discussion. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/mark_bittman_on_what_s_wrong_with_what_we_eat.html.

What Is Education For?

Check out this piece by David Orr http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC27/Orr.htm.

Optimistic or Pessimistic

Five of us gathered together this week to begin the sustainability discussion group. The first articles from the Choices For Sustainability Living reader ignited good conversation. (The reader is available at the reserve desk of Ludke library.) James Howard Kunstler’s Making Other Arrangements impacted the group the most. The piece is relevant to what is happening in American presently with the economic recession and urgency to decrease our dependence on foreign oil. We encourage others at Lesley to ready Kunstler’s piece. Let us know what you think. http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/7/
Paige Manning

Websites

Here are a few interesting websites to check out:

• The Sustainability Report Card- rates colleges and universities on a variety of factors relating to environmental issues http://www.greenreportcard.org/
• National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology- supplies a variety of resources for student activists www.nwf.org/campusecology
• American College and University President's Climate Commitment http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/

Hope to see you on Oct 15th for Lesley's first in a series of sustainability discussions.