Green Eggs and Tofu

This is inspired from Nick and my dinner at Cypress where we split the Cypress Vegetarian. While the cheese was splendid, I was determined to make a vegan option. This was the prefect southern summer salad with caramelized onions, corn, and a mustard balsamic over mixed greens.

To make vegan breading: dip tomato slices in flour and then quickly in almond milk, dip into bread crumbs, fry in vegetable oil at medium heat. 

Dressing is simple” balsamic vinegar, oil, pepper, and mustard! Just wing it!

Yum yum :)

After reviewing our interviews from Farm to Fork, we’ve come to several conclusion, but more importantly, areas for future research on this vitally important topic. On the Florida State campus we hardly ever come across locally produced food, that is food that didn’t travel half way across the world to end up on our plate. We more likely come across something like an entire wall dedicated to selling not just coke, but the idea of coke.

But given the environmental and economic impacts, that is the heavy use of fossil fuels and crowding out of small farmers, that our industrial food system yields, many are choosing a ‘local’ option when deciding what to eat.

However, on campus, we see virtually no local options or even information about local food from the growing food movement in Tallahassee. While we cannot say there is a direct link, we found that this lack of access contributes to a lack of knowledge among the students that we interviewed about local food. And the few that did know about local food, had very divergent definitions. 

It becomes difficult for local vendors and producers to compete with the national corporations who influence what we eat and what we think because of their vast advertising power, political pull, and market share. We found currently that sustainable groups are attempting to promote the local information, but without much success at changing the discourse among the majority of the student population. Tabling with coupons and fliers does not challenge the national corporations nor do sparsely scheduled awareness events confront the mainstream eating discourse in this country. 

Local is not only difficult to define, but could could be co-opted by corporations as a marketing strategy despite their continuation of environmental consumptive and destructive practices. 

To change our food system, we must challenge the commonly held belief of FSU students and the population at large. This means writing to campus administration of politicians to bring more local food into public institutions. This means having events, lots of them. This means supporting local producers and retailers. Through these means we will can create new sustainable mainstream knowledge and practices.  

So here are some things YOU can do:

1) Follow this guide to local eating. 

2) Learn who is profiting off of the green movement. http://naturalsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/corporationchart.png 

3) Sign this petition to congress to support more sustainable farming. http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/fair-farm/actions/

In our quest to determine the awareness of ‘local’ food on the FSU campus, we decided to focus our efforts on one of the dining halls ‘Farm to Fork’ events. A bi-annual initiative that promotes the idea of ‘local’ by labeling ingredients grown locally in the food descriptions. 

Here is an example of one of the labeling schemes. 

This was one of the few vegetarian options, and thus my lunch decision. I very much did enjoy the stuffed pepper, despite only the green peppers being from Florida, or labeled as such. But then again, it would be impossible to source everything locally. 

We also talked to 34 diners inquiring as to whether ‘local’ affected their eating habits. Only one of our diners intentionally came to the dining hall because it was Farm to Form and that was the Director of Campus Sustainability. None of the twenty that I personally talked to said that ‘local’ would effect their food choice. 

This affirms at least part of our hypothesis that students DO NOT know about the the local food movement. Although, this is not the only initiative made throughout the year, I imagine that so little advertising space made to ‘local’ references on the FSU campus limits the knowledge base of students regarding local food.

There is, however, one constant reference to ‘local’ in the dining hall that diners see every day.

However, given that this local discourse must compete with the dominant Coke discourse right next to it, it makes sense that students have yet to incorporate ‘local’ into their eating identities. 

:) More to come!

Dear Family and Friends,

This year I took on the position as Co-Director of Global Peace Exchange (GPE), a student non-profit on the campus of Florida State University in which we collaborate on international grassroots development projects through student exchanges and in-country community relationships. This experience has been an excellent complement to my degrees in International Affairs and Geography. After travelling to Rwanda two summers ago to build an English-training library at Bukomero Primary School, I can recognize my growth personally, culturally, academically, and professionally. I took this position to empower other students to see this development at such critical times in their lives.

This year I am returning to Rwanda for two months with a team of six other students to complete the establishment of Kigali Express Cleaning Service, an income generating initiative for a cooperative of child-led households. We will also be donating books and monitoring our project at Bukomero Primary School that aims to improve the quality of English education, given the recent switch in the national language from French to English.

I am also coordinating environmental education internships in Nepal with Earth Child Institute. We will be sending students to teach English, an educational and economic demand, using environmental education as the medium given the vulnerability the country faces.

GPE is an organization I am extremely passionate about and because it is all student-run and grassroots-funded, we need YOUR support to help us continue the work we do! I can absolutely guarantee you your donation will make a difference. We do not have program fees and thus all the money we raise goes DIRECTLY towards the development of the communities that we are working with. I, and the rest of the team, thank you for taking the time to read this and if you are able to give any type of donation it would be much appreciated. 

Hand-Made Crafts from Rwanda in Exchange for your Donation:

$5 =  Banana Leaf Card

$15 = Hand-made Earrings

$25 = Necklace                                                                         

$25 = Bottle Opener

Donate here: http://globalpeaceexchange.org/support.html

And then email me at agiest1@gmail.com your craft, color preference and address.

Read updates from me summer here and you’ll receive your craft in August!

For my Media, Culture, and Environment class, I am embarking on one simple investigation: Why won’t students eat local? A very important question in Tallahassee considering the local movement continues to thrive with new markets, community gardens, and locally-sourced grocery stores continually developing. With a large portion of the city’s population being students, I began to wonder why this local food movement has yet to enter the Florida State campus mainstream. 

My partner, Darrah, and I hypothesize that this disconnect is due to the lack of communication between the local food movement and the Florida State campus. Do students know what ‘local’ is? Do local producers target student? If there is interaction, why is the presence so minimal?

Our first day of investigation will take place this Wednesday at the Sustainable Campus Initiative’s “Farm to Fork” once-a-semester lunch. 

Continue to follow us as we find out if students know about the lunch and why food is only labelled as ‘local’ once a semester. 

As a diehard environmentalist, becoming a a vegetarian seemed obligatory like walking instead of driving, using cloth bags instead of plastic and turning off lights when not in use. How can I possibly eat meat when methane released from cows is a just as much a threat to climate changed (if not more) than CO2 (Methane from Cows). Over the course of my first year as a vegetarian, not eating meat started to resonate with me in more ways than one. It became about the unethical nature of factory farms and animal rights. It became about associations between cancer rates and animal byproducts and other health related issues (Cancer and Eating Animals). Over time I cringed at the thought of putting another former living being into my mouth. It became unnatural for me. I became a devout vegetarian. 

I knew that coming to Brazil would typically be problematic for vegetarians, but I was coming to a sanctuary for environmentalists and not eating meat was commonplace. Despite the fact that I vowed not to press my vegetarian ideals on others while in Brazil (nor have I), I’ve still had several several ongoing internal vegetarian dilemmas.

Chicken Broth  Unless you’re friends with a lot of vegetarians, you might not realize the consuming chicken broth and stock (because it is made from chicken carcasses) is a no no. But in rural Brazil you cannot even purchase vegetable stock, not that I would have asked our cook to switch. Vegetarians are not foreign to Brazilians, but the ideals and norms of an American vegetarian diet vary here. Every time I sip a new soup or bite into a plate of beans, I think in the back of my mind, “You can’t call yourself a vegetarian, Alison.” But the truth is, I still can. I am merely adapting to the lifestyle of a Brazilian vegetarian. Conversely, I know my first meal in the U.S. will not include chicken stock. 

The Rodeo The day of the rodeo in Rosario da Limeira was a special one for any naive vegetarian. I saw a goose slaughtered behind the nearby restaurant. Despite the blood and squealing, I can admire anyone who is that in touch with the history and life of the food they eat. But as if that wasn’t enough for one day, I attended the annual rodeo that night and ignorantly thought the bulls were naturally aggressive. Apparently, the bulls are antagonized to the point that they throw their rider off in a matter of seconds. While I wasn’t a huge fan of either event, both are habit to not just Brazilians, but Americans as well. I just need to relax, and pick my battles.  

Climate Change In the face of the effects of agriculture and livestock on climate change, the former two battles are quite trivial. I am at a loss in how to deal with the the amount of cattle raised, even just in this area of Minas Gerais. Farmers raise cattle to sustain a livelihood and meet the demand for global meat consumption. Their is no villain here, but a complex issue that is feeding the demise of many, as more an more people are effected by climate change. You cannot blame the little American boy for enjoying his burger on the 4th of July, nor can you blame the farmer for raising the cows that made the burger. But what do you do when when you know that someone else will see a dry spell this year and maybe not have enough water. Or when sea levels rise a few inches forcing someone to uproot their life? This isn’t just a dilemma for a vegetarian. It is all of our problem and we must find the empathy for those as risk and seek solutions for a the root of the problem(s). I am not saying that I am perfect or the being a vegetarian is the answer, but hopefully my strike against meat will inspire someone else to consider the complexity of their seemingly easy bite into dinner. 

Among a host of service projects that constantly need my and other volunteers’ time, volunteering in the nursery surprisingly provides some of the most instant gratification, or alternately feelings of failure. I feel like a resident doctor, to some degree, who wakes up early to scrub in for a day of plant transplanting.

Unlike most hospitals, sterility is not the ideal environment for transplanting. Dr. Tony goes to the soil beds barehanded, while all resident assistants put on their gloves. It will be a laborious day for the surgeons with many transplants to prepare for. The first step in preparing the transplant is mixing the soils: a combination of sand, compost, and silt. We then prepare the future homes for the plants by cutting the top off old yogurt cartons, poking holes in the sides, and filling them with the soil mixture. Not official medical protocol, but it works for us.

The removal of the plants from their original beds is the most difficult. The roots of the seedlings have become extended deep into the ground. We observe Dr. Tony first plunge his scalpel sharp shovel into the ground around the seedling. He breaks up the material around the incisions before reaching in blind to collect the seedling. The ease with which he accomplishes the task impresses us; so much so, that we really believe the task will come to us with ease as well. Not a single root has been severed as he gently places the seedling into the carton covering the innards completely with bodily soils.

Now it is our turn. We dig the shovel into the ground without the same accuracy and precision. We dig deep into the soil still not releasing the organ from the ground, thus we dig harder. Under the watch-full eye of the Doctor, “It could take all morning to do one seed, but this is not mass production.” Thus we slow down. Every once in awhile, one of the roots is cut off, bringing resounding disappointment and Tony’s cry, “You have cut off my finger” as he imitates loosing a limb.

We are finally able to remove a few seedlings form the soil. We run to the beds in order to return the seedlings to soil as soon a possible. Dr. Tony is grumbling over my shoulder that they might die if we don’t rush.

And thus, the process begins again.

It is a tedious affair, but rewarding on many levels. The seedlings continue to provide necessary life to the planet and my heart continues to circulate blood through my body. While there is disappointment at a few lost seedlings, the gratification of all the successful transplants is bliss.

I really do live in the middle of the forest. I knew that from the beginning, but this fact still hadn’t really set in until the past several days. Every day brings new experience and knowledge of the forest and community around me, reaffirming the importance of conservation and livelihood development in the Atlantic Forest and the state of Minas Gerais.

I spent my first weekend here in information overload on the research projects and on how life here basically works. On break from this crash course, some of the researchers that have been here about a month took me out onto some of the nature trails through the forest. This entailed a good amount of ‘bushwhacking’ or clearing the trails of vines and old branches to get through. The NGO has hopes of establishing an eco-tourism business as income generation for the community, which would require well-kept trails throughout the forest.

Later in the weekend, the researchers and volunteers decided to go in search of one of the many nearby bat caves. Identification of bat species is under-researched, but most vital to maintaining diverse bat populations and a diverse ecosystem. One of the many species of bats harbors rabies, but without clarity on which bats have rabies, farmers often kill any bat they find. With the GPS, machete, and strong boots we traversed off the nature trails to try to identify some of these. Problematically, because of the noise we brought, the bats were hidden in crevices of the cave, leaving us in the company of the wandering spiders. These lovely creatures are some of the most poisonous in the forest with warning signs posted throughout the research center. Needless to say, bat citings will be forgone until a later date.

Despite the bugs, yesterday finally concreted in my mind the isolation of the research center from civilization. After celebrating a holiday honoring Saint Peter at the nearby town of Pedro Alto with churros, square dancing, mimes, meat on sticks, and cachaca based drinks, not all of which did I partake in (take a guess), we were driven halfway home by the center’s director. Nothing rings bells of forest isolation like an additional forty-five minutes of walking through bamboo jungle, eucalyptus trees, among a plethora of other species. Home sweet home.

I think it worth mentioning that the forest is not uninterrupted. Unlike the much more publicized sister forest, the Amazon, the Atlantic Forest is only at 7% of its original extent (Iracambi, 2000) The forest is broken up by large pastures of mostly cow pasture and coffee farms that provide the local farmers with sources of income that the forest often cannot. These devastating truths are what have brought me this far into the forest. Because despite the spiders, this forest and the people that depend on its ecosystem services deserve all that is left of it.