Food Inc.

This was the second time that I'd seen Food Inc. and I believe that I got more out of it this time than last. I saw it when it was in theaters but just in the short time I've been in Colloquium, I feel like I can understand much more of the information in the movie. Watching Food Inc. really made me think about where my food comes from. Honestly, most of the time I have no idea where my food comes from. From eating out, buying groceries, or picking up a cheeseburger, I'm pretty oblivious when it comes to my food's background. Seeing the reality of where food comes from really puts things in perspective for me. This movie definitely affected me as I'm sure it did to many people. I think that is why some people have no interest in seeing a film like Food Inc. They don't want to know where there food comes from. It is better to just be ignorant and oblivious than face reality of where our food comes from. If I knew where my food came from, how animals were treated, or the sanitary conditions of the entire process, I probably wouldn't eat it. I'm sure it is the same for many Americans. I am an animal lover, I get upset to even see an animal on the side of the road. If I saw what these animals go through, the conditions, and the abuse, I'm sure I would stop eating meat. I'm sure that this is the same for most people. It is no surprise that the big corporations don't want to show "behind-the-scenes" footage or even comment about the conditions that the animals are put through. If people were aware of everything that goes on, they would make a change. The film stated that we have discovered how to engineer our food these days. Chickens could be raised out in the open with plenty of room and sunlight and grow at a normal pace but we've engineered the chicken so that it can grow at almost double the speed, not to mention we can keep them enclosed without sunlight to make the process even more efficient.

 It surprises me that large corporations are able to get away with all of this. I would think that the more that people knew about this, the more they would do to stop it or change it. I think that the problem is that people don't know. This isn't something that large meat corporations advertise or talk about. The less that the public knows, the better for them. 

Food is something that is essential to human life and always will be. It is sad to see what has happened to our eating habits. Unhealthy, processed foods has become cheaper, faster, and easier for the general public. With obesity and diabetes on the rise, eating habits are going to have to change. The only way that things are going to change is when the general public takes a stand. 

ECHO

On Monday, September 20, our class took a trip to ECHO. I’d passed signs for Echo before but I was never clear on what it was. ECHO stands for Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization. We began with a short introduction from our tour guide Vic and proceeded to watch a movie on the history of ECHO. A quote from the movie that really stood out to me was, “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.” This is the basic purpose of ECHO. “ECHO's primary functions are providing agricultural information to overseas workers, distributing seeds for promising food plants, and offering training opportunities at the Florida farm.” Instead of just shipping off bulk amount of foods to other countries, ECHO educates the people in need on just how to make their own food. ECHO helps over 180 different countries. They send out educators to teach people how to farm for themselves so that they will always have a source of food for their families. 

Another thing the video pointed out was that ECHO doesn’t send out bulk amount of seeds either. They send free, trial packets to the countries in need. After the introduction and video, we began our tour of the facility. ECHO is set up so that they can practice farming in different types of environments, whether it be the rainforest or dry land. I was able to see many different plants and produce that I’d never seen up close before. We saw sugar cane, avocados, plantains, and even miracle fruit. I’ve never had much experience around farming so seeing all the plants was pretty interesting. Something that really caught my eye was a shelter for goats. Two small goats lived in what looked like a little wooden house. It was raised off the ground, which I thought was very unusual, since most animals live on the ground in the dirt. After I read the sign next to the pin, I realized they had meant for their pin to be a two or three feet off the ground. This made is much easier to collect the manure that the goats were producing daily. 

I’d never realized how much working farming took. I was naïve to think that all it took was some seeds and water but it amazes me that there are programs like ECHO around. Although shipping out food to other countries would help with the hunger, ECHO actually offers a solution to the problem that these people can use for the rest of their lives. 

Corkscrew Sanctuary

On Monday, August 30, our Colloquium class took a field trip to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. We took about a half an hour bus ride over to the sanctuary. The Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is maintained by the National Audubon Society and was established in 1954. It is 11,000 acres and its main goal is wilderness preserve. After a quick introduction at the entrance of the sanctuary, we broke off into two smaller groups going opposite directions on the boardwalk. The boardwalk at the sanctuary is 2.25 miles long and goes through different and distinct environments. Although there have been wildlife sightings including mammals, reptiles, and birds, I was only able to see insects except for one alligator sighting while we were pulling up to the sanctuary. 

The boardwalk goes from open pinelands to the largest forest of bald cypress in North America. While we were in the pine forest area of the boardwalk we came across some scat that was left by a wildcat. We were told that not only people, but animals use the boardwalk as an easy way to get around. Moving from the pine forest to the cypress forest was a big change. Even the temperature dropped a couple degrees. There were a lot more insects in the swamp area especially mosquitos since they obviously love the standing water. I got to see many new plants and flowers that I’d never been introduced to before. I saw many spider webs and hornets nests. Working at Calusa Nature Center, like I mentioned before gave me the opportunity to experience similar boardwalks and habitat but it was fun and interesting getting to explore somewhere I’d never been before! I loved taking photographs of the trees and insects.

The Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary also has a very interesting water restoration process called the living machine. Instead of using an artificial water treatment plant, it restores waste-water to almost drinkable water. This system costs a lot less than conventional technology. Construction and completion occurred in 1994. 

My Environmental Philosophy

I only became environmental aware in the past few years. Of course, growing up, I was taught to reduce and recycle, but I never really knew how it affect our planet. Even throughout my teenage years, I wouldn't go out of my way to through a plastic bottle into the recycling bin, I would just throw it in the first garbage bin I came across. In my naive mind, it was only one bottle, so how much harm could it do?

This past summer, I began working at Calusa Nature Center as a camp counselor. Although my job was to teach and inform the children, I ended up learning just as much as they did. Each week was based on a different theme and my favorite week of the summer was based on "Eco-Art.” We did several projects that week that included making bowls out of old magazines, making binoculars out of toilet tissue rolls, and creating sculptures out of trash. Not only did we make eco-friendly crafts, we also learned about the effects of humans on the planet. We learned about recycling, reducing, and reusing and discussed everyday ways on how to be a little more eco-friendly. Not only did I learn about how to protect our planet, but I got to see first-hand the effects. The oil-spill occurred during my time at Calusa and the staff at Calusa immediately began planning and considering the animals that may be brought to the Nature Center that were affected from the oil-spill. We already had a number of brown pelicans living at Calusa and the staff knew there was going to be a large number of pelicans that were harmed during the oil-spill. Unfortunetly, Calusa did not have the housing or funding for the new animals that may need help. I have always been an animal lover but working at the Calusa only made me more passionate. It broke my heart to think about all the animals that were harmed because of our mistake. Not only did this huge accident affect the ocean and the animals, it affected people and businesses too. Working at Calusa opened my eyes to our precious environment around us and it made me realize how important it is that we take care of it before it is too late. Doing simple things like turning off the water while brushing our teeth or riding our bike to school might seem minute but if everyone puts in a little bit of effort, we will earn a big reward in the end.

Calusa Nature Center: http://www.calusanature.com/