"It's important to begin a search on a full stomach." - Henry Bromel
I hope everyone has had a chance to research a little more about Monsanto and other Food Inc. prompts. I'm sure the movie "rocked your world" in a sense and made you really think about your role in the food industry. Julie sent me this link to a rather interesting article. Read it and be prepared to contribute to discussion. Post what you think you will do to change the food system. Maybe it's your favorite suggestion from this article or maybe you'll be inspired to create your own idea. I'm excited to see what you have to say.
http://www.grist.org/article/food-do-you-have-the-balls-to-really-change-the-food-system/
I sent out an email about details for Thursday's trip to the co-op, but I'll summarize here as well. We will meet at the school bus-stop (between Tower and 3rd floor entrance to Science) at 11:20am on Thursday. We will return on a bus scheduled to arrive at CSS by 1:50pm. If you have class conflicts, let me know! Maybe someone could drive if there are problems with scheduling. See you at Community Day tomorrow! Remember, this is required if you aren't already participating at another location!!!!
The suggestion that stuck out to me was to know some farmers by first name. I guess since I live on a farm, I feel that I can get to know more farmers besides my dad and cousin. I also think I will start to take better care of our family garden instead of letting the weeds and wildlife get to it like they have been in the last few years. By doing these two things, I believe I can change the food system, because I will not rely so heavily on them for fresh vegetables or meat. I will make those purchases outside of the industry.
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was very helpful. I'm going to change the food system by buying meat from local farmers and buying food when it is in season. My family buys our meat from my uncle's friend who is a farmer. I'm going to convince my family to keep buying from him. The hardest thing for me is trying to convince myself to pay more money for my food. The more money I pay the healthier it is and it will have better qaulity.
ReplyDeleteThis article contained a lot of infomation, but it was very useful. It helped me to realize that there are many things I can do to help change the food industry. I am going to continue to help with the family garden, try to go to farmers market more often then just a few times a summer and spend more money on food to get a better quality.
ReplyDeleteThis point stuck out the most to me. *Know the names of more farmers and ranchers than celebrity chefs, including at least one you can call by first name -- and ask how their kids are doing. As of right now, I don't know of any local food markets or meat farmers that I could buy my food from. This summer, I want to find local farmer's markets around my home town and start purchasing all of my family's groceries from there. I have already started to encourage my family to buy food that is organic and in season, and I think it starting to make a difference how I look at food in general already.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really helpful article. It was very blunt about the statements made which really made their tips stand out to me and make me want to actually use them. I always hear people talking about seasonal fruits and vegetables, I knew that there were seasons to these I just didn't know when they were so it was nice to see the times to eat certain foods at. It included more than fruits and vegetables saying that even meats have seasons. I like that this article is more of the style of yes you know things are wrong so here is really what you need to do to actually change and not pat yourself on the back for doing nothing.
ReplyDeleteI liked this article, I also thought it was helpful. What I want to try this summer is to plant a garden in the back yard with some veggies. It could be a fun project! Also, I've been telling my parents all about the importance of buying meat that came from grass fed cows and we're going to look into buying it!
ReplyDeleteOver the weekend, I went to a farm called Green Pastures Dairy. It's about ten minutes away from my house; it's in Carlton, Minnesota. (probably about a 40-45 minute drive from Duluth). I tried a burger for the first time that was from cows that were grass fed. You can really tell the difference! They also make their own cheese and all that good stuff. Everything is organic. It's a really nice, small place and I like it! My family is interested in purchasing meat from there now.
If you're bored and feel like getting away from Duluth, I think it'd be a fun little road trip. :)
This is their link:
http://www.greenpasturesdairy.com/
This article had alot of information to take in at once. I really like the suggestions of: going to more farmer's markets, knowing more farmers by names than celebrty chefs, not being afraid to spend a bit more on food and learning what foods are in season. I have already talked to my parents about not buying meat from comercial stores. My mom and I, being the gorcery shoppers in our household, already do purchase alot or organic products but we can always add more! We do attend a local farmer's market but should more faithfully. I am also going to do research on foods of the diffrent seasons.
ReplyDeleteOne suggestion that I noticed right away was that even animal products are seasonal because animals have biological cycles. For example, chickens lay less eggs in the winter and may have to pay more for one egg. Also, the information about making a low-interest loan, grant, or pre-payment to a farmer to help her cover her operating expenses and stick with the farmer as they grow into a bigger company. I learned a lot about the different kinds of things we can do to make a difference.
ReplyDeleteA lot of these suggestions don't apply to me because I don't eat meat (I am more thankful of this every day we talk about food inc.) But a few of them stand out like paying more for our food and getting fresher foods. I do like organic foods and I like the vegetables we get out of our own garden, I am actually considering trying to grow more of my own veggies to make sure I know what they are and where they have been. I also will go to farmers markets and maybe even get to know a farmer well enough to ask abbout their kids. Also I will raise my children with knowledge about the food they eat and try to influence them to make local organic choices instead.
ReplyDeleteI must agree with the final statement...that was a lot to digest! But it was all great information! I know I am definitely trying to change habits when it comes to the eating process, from the shopping trip to the enjoyment of a home-cooked meal.
ReplyDeleteI am from a small farming community (and region of the state) and it certainly does help to have some farmers as close friends...I know when my dad had a 15 month deployment a few years ago, a family blessed us with 99lbs. of lean ground beef from their farm...it tasted great to begin with, but knowing the thought and kindness behind it, nothing could compare!
I am trying to encourage my family to do a little more work to get dinner to the table. We try to patronize our small local supermarket often, but it can be difficult when the products they carry are more limited.
I am definitely excited to try new things: shopping else where, "setting up an account" with a farmer, focusing on what products are in season, and enjoying my food knowing I made a difference in the food industry!
Although this article is long the information was truly helpful. I never realized how many ways as an individual I can make a change the food industry. I am going to change the food industry by buying local as much as possible, encourage my family to start planting more in our garden, and spend more money on certain foods to get the better quality. I believe local farmers should be recognized for the hard work they do and for their trust worthiness.
ReplyDeleteI thought that this article was really interesting. It had a lot of useful information to help farmers out. I guess I never really thought about some of the things mentioned in the article. I also never realized that my family does some of theses suggestions already. My mom almost always buys local she does not like to buy from big food corporations and she never really buys things that are out of season.We have a farmer that we get our meat from, my dad is actually good friends with him and has gotten my relatives to buy their meat from him. I also realized that there is so much more that I could personally be doing in order to help out local farmers more.
ReplyDeleteThis article really showed me a lot of information; I can see how this could help me in the future. It helped me to realize that I should help my mother with the garden and try to find a local beef farmer where I should buy meat. Overall, buying healthy food is expensive but worth it to make one healthy.
ReplyDeleteThis was a good article. The tone seemed a bit condescending at times but I guess the author has every right to be. This is a broken food system. The part I thought incredibly true and humorous was the bit about patting yourself on the back for buying organic foods. I am so guilty. What I plan to do in the future is support the local grown food system whenever I can in college and when I am out in the real world I would like to really commit to supporting a change. Every little bit counts.
ReplyDeleteMy family follows a lot of these suggestions already...but one thing we could work on more is knowing where our meat comes from. It is so easy to just grab a package, the cheapest one, and eat it. We all need to be more conscientious about this, even the other foods we eat such as fruits and veggies. It may take hunting to find them...even going to a farm to pick them yourself, but it can be done!
ReplyDeleteI found this article to be very interesting and it took my full attention. The idea behind the article of how to change the food industry is something that I think about fairly often. When I am about to eat something and I know how it was made and the cruelty behind the process, I catch myself making excuses in my head that it is okay to eat because that is just the way things are and I have no other options. The article helped me to realize that their are a lot more options out there. My family buys meat from a farmer we know and we grow a lot of veggies but we still buy food out of season and buy meat from the store. The suggestions made in this article are worth looking into and trying!
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting article it just shows all the different alternatives to making the food business better and healthier. I really like all the ideas about the farmers. By getting your hands dirty go help them sometime, that way you really know what you are eating. And then you know you can trust that food. And also cook your own food you don't have to go out to eat all the time, make a nice home cooked meal. These were the ideas I could relate to the most just because were we get our meat at home we also know the farmer. But I hope when I start to buy my own meat I will also do that and continue to make the food industry better by buying foods locally and knowing what I'm eating.
ReplyDeleteWow! this article makes me feel bad/guilty about the way I have been eating and how I thought I have been helping. I think its good though; it places a lot of responsibility on us, the consumers. Something that I think I took out of this article that I think is very do-able is buying things that are in season! This way your food won't be shipped from across the world.
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly in the "get your hands dirty" section I have done all of those activities. We always have frozen meat that we packaged ourselves from a local farmer and/or from meat auctions. One tip I'm going to keep in mind is buying fuits and vegetables that are in season and not just available anytime. I loved this article it was so easy to read and very helpful!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insightful comments. I agree with Cullen, it gets harsh and condescending in places, but I think we have as much to unlearn as to learn when it comes to food and food systems.
ReplyDeleteSee you soon!
I just have to say that the quality of your writing has DRASTICALLY IMPROVED!! BRAVO! I'm so pleased!
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late post, busy week! This article was so helpful! I am going to try and buy more foods that are in season and make sure my room mate does too! Since my room mate is a vegetarian she has shown me a lot of options and I haven learned a lot this article as well! I want to inform my family about trying to buy our own meat from someone we actually know, so at least we know where the meat is coming from! I am going to try to buy even more healthier food too!
ReplyDeleteI appologize for not replying earlier. It's hard for me to remember that I have online assignments.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree, this was a very interesting site to read about. I liked it because, I live on a farm and we just recently got rid of all our cows, grandparents are having some health issues. We get our meat either by hunting, for deer, or my dad would drive up to Bowden, North Dakota and go buffalo hunting on this guy's land. I will say that buffalo is so much better than home grown beef, and healthier too. I also liked the getting hands dirty by helping a farmer.
One way I am going to try to be consciencious about is, not worry about how much I spend on food. If I want to eat healthier, I should spend more money on the foods I eat. Also, pay more attention aas to where my food is coming from, by trying to buy more locally grown and raised foods. I've been trying to buy the Arrowhead milk every time I need milk, because it is locally produced, right here from Duluth.
My family already does a lot of these things at home. We have a few gardens, we buy our meet locally (they're good family friends) and we get some of our eggs locally too. However it's been my parents doing all these things. Now that I'm on my own and doing my own grocery shopping, being in this class has really made me more observant to what I buy and put in my body. I've been reading labels and stuff more. It's still pretty hard just because I don't really have a lot of money right now so that definitely still plays a big part in it. However, I'm going to try to still pay attention to where my food is coming from and buying food that's in season.
ReplyDelete