Hungry for Change: a motivational documentary to help you become more conscious of what you eat.

As I have become more conscious about eating, what is going into my body and why it is important, I have found several documentaries to be extremely useful in teaching me and reiterating what I have learned both in my studies and through experience.

I would like to take a moment to promote a documentary called Hungry for Change. Not only is it an eye-opener into the food industry, but there are so many simple changes we can make that will affect us on a daily basis. Please take a moment to watch this trailer for hungry for change at the link below, you will be motivated.

Hungry for Change

Whole Foods Market has it all!

  I recently moved to Hillsboro, Oregon-- just outside of Portland, and low and behold I live right next to one of my favorite grocery stores, Whole Foods Market. I was excited to see what they offered and whether this particular store was as big as the one in Duluth, MN where I used to go. I was excited to find that this particular Whole Foods was about three times the size and had it all!
  For anyone that has never been to a Whole Foods Market, it is definitely worth checking out. I would suggest visiting their website before heading to the store for several reasons.
For starters, the website offers a basic guide to help you choose healthy foods, plan meals and making healthy lifestyle choices when it comes to your diet.
Additionally, different headings along the top of the site tell you about their products, values, and why to choose whole foods. Healthy recipes are offered as well as a scoring system that shows healthy choices store-wide. There is even an "under $3" section :)
One portion that catches my eye is the fact that Whole Foods is dedicated to buying local when they can. The picture to the right shows one of the Colorado stores selling locally grown melons while they are in season.
Check it out!

looking for books!

I plan to begin a new chapter of "Read n' Seed:"


I am looking for some new environmental health books to check out. My past Read n' Seed posts were all about one book called "Newman's Own Guide to a Good Life" which was an interesting and informational guide to living more environmentally friendly. 


Some of the books i have been checking out include "Diet for a New America," "Is Our Food Safe," "Harvest for Hope," "The Gorgeously Green Diet" and "In pursuit of the Common Good." 


As I read them, summaries will be posted under this section of Read 'n Seed.

A new beginning: update

Update:
I have finally finished my bachelor's degree in Community Health and am pursuing a job in a health related field. I continue to be a huge advocate of environmental health topics. Anything I come across in my personal research, interests or future career that involves health related/environmental topics I will post to this blog!

(photo taken by myself, my view of the front yard on a winter afternoon)

Share & Voice: real or fake christmas tree?

Well, I may have some personal bias with this issue, but I wanted to look into whats more eco-friendly. A real or fake Christmas tree? My parents own a tree business and we sell REAL Christmas trees this time of year. I believe families getting together and picking out a tree is a great way to spend time before Christmas, we see tons of happy families come in and sometimes spend hours outside deciding what tree is perfect for them. I see a lot of my classmates from high school even come in when I work there which is cool because this is something families of all ages enjoy doing!


This video takes a look at why many believe cutting down real trees is actually more eco friendly than getting fake trees, EVEN after the fact that fake trees can be re-used. 







I love the fact that many towns re-use the trees in many different ways, I didn't even know that was happening.
I personally agree with this video; I love having a real Christmas tree in the house, they smell so good and they're refreshing. And looking at sales this year, it seems as if the Christmas tree business is still prosperous in rural Minnesota :)


Have a wonderful holiday season everyone!

Reflection: Weeks 13 & 14 combined withReflection: Overall Course

The last two weeks of this class went by way too fast, and I am sad that its almost done :(


Week 13 started with a tour of Goodwill, which was insane!! I had no idea that place was so big, nor did I know how much they recycle used items. Our tour guide was very informative, he knew the business in and out and gave us a great tour. He talked about jobs they give to people with disabilities and how much their company saves our landfills. Our letters to a public official were due as well, and I got an response from Al Franken, I believe it was a pre-written response but still cool, inviting me to a breakfast at the white house with his committee. 

Week 14 began with our junk project show, it was cool seeing what everyone came up with! I took the motherboards from a couple computers that my friend had and decided to used them as end table-tops. They look really intricate up close. We had a discussion about the overall things we learned in class and it was really nice, even though I've spent all semester with these people, I felt like I got to know them in a different way and like we were more unified after this discussion, it just seemed more personal and we all were comfortable saying whatever as we sat in a circle. 


Overall Reflection: As I stated in class, this class has hugely impacted my life. Not only do I feel healthier, but I've nearly turned into a vegetarian due to this class. I see life differently. I think that every freshman coming into college should take this class! We need to see these issues that we learn about first hand, and this class shows us and puts us right there! The eye opener about skin products was probably the 2nd most important activity to me personally because I learned about how dangerous my skin products were, so I'm slowing incorporating safer, more environmentally friendly products into my life and I feel much better. 

Advocacy Project: Sanitation, online learning activity

Sanitation Overview Lesson:

I chose the topic of sanitation for my project because it is something I will be working with in my future.

The issue of sanitation is both an issue we face in our day to day lives as well as a global crisis.

For this lesson, I would like to focus a little bit on both of these spectrums.

The purpose of my first part of this lesson is to show how much of a global problem poor sanitation is STILL causing.

My main purpose is that I would like this lesson to show students how necessary it is to have public health inspectors, and that even in our society we need more of them! There is so much that goes on behind closed doors that so many people are unaware of. We need cleaner, safer food for the average consumer.

I have chosen three videos as part of my activity, and I have asked response questions for each.

Everyone is affected by poor sanitation, many of us just don't realize it and take clean air, clean water and clean food for granted. Somewhere, at some point, someone checks these things to ensure our safety. The question that I have is when did this come about? Think about the different decisions that had to be made.

What happens if there is no policy, no regulation, and those who do have the power aren't doing anything?

Think about these questions as you watch the following video.

In the video below which is brought to you by WECF (Women in Europe for a Common Future), we see women uniting to try and find solutions for poor sanitation problems. I chose this video because it features several countries across Europe. Usually when I think of Europe, it seems more developed, more on the ball! There are so many European countries that need help!

After seeing this video, how do you feel about the fact that this whole European program, creating better sanitation for all, is developed and carried out by women?

Poor sanitation in the U.S. still exists as well. We may have more policies, regulations and enforcers, but that does not mean all is well at the home front. Has anyone noticed the high amount of serious foodborne diseases in the recent years? Some of these foods still make me cringe a little bit when I buy them!

On September 14th, 2006 the FDA warns consumers to "not eat bagged spinach due to serious E.Coli breakout." The FDA keeps updating more and more cases of people getting sick up until March 23, 2007! Thats a long period of time to not eat a product that I eat religiously.

THEN, in June 2007 the FDA gives a nationwide recall on certain tomatoes and jalepeno peppers due to a Salmonella outbreak...this one lasted until the end of July before we could start buying tomatoes and feeling *better* about eating the tomatoes that weren't even on the list. We continue to be skeptical about certain types of peanut butter and pistachios both recalled within the last year, but why is this happening so often?

Don't we have policies, food inspectors? How do these recalls affect those selling these products? Think about these questions as you watch the following two videos.

There are gaps in the system.This is a serious problem, and that is why the bill I am supporting (S.1269) is to get more regional food safety centers and put our consumer safety first. These recalls don't only hurt the people, but they greatly affect those marketing these recalled products that are actually safe (i.e. the tomato growers from the video!)

If you are concerned about foodborne outbreaks check out FoodHaacp which is updated daily and has an extensive database of past outbreaks.

Read 'n' Seed 6: Final Review of "Newman's Own: Guide to a Good Life"

Newman's Own: Guide to a Good Life was a great general guide for beginning a healthier and more eco-friendly lifestyle. 



This book had many eye-opening chapters; I'd say it was a perfect way for me to get started on a healthier life, just as the title insinuates. I liked that it wasn't particularly too in depth on any specific topic. Of course, each topic got plenty of attention, but it mostly touched base with everyday issues to inform readers of things to look out for in daily living and what you can do to ensure healthier living. Nell, the author, kept with need-to-know facts on a topic that would be just enough to keep you interested and inform you enough to lead you in a direction so you could further research on your own if anything caught your eye. I enjoyed how personable she was with each subject. She always mentioned her own experiences, such as with her own gardening tips and pet tips in each of those sections, as well as her opinions on consumerism that were both interesting and informative. I especially enjoyed some of her analogies that made many of her topics much more understandable for the general reader. Each chapter began with a personal story involving her, or someone she knew, and it always brought the subject into perspective for me. She then would give a section of statistics on the subject, followed by tips for the reader. I really like that she laid it out this way because I could always count on tips at the end of the chapter if I had any questions in the beginning. She never brought up problems that she didn't have any tips on changing which was nice. 


I think one of the most significant things I found was that this book is definitely something that nearly anyone, in any socio-economic stance could read and take tips from. Another significant thing, as I mentioned above, would have to be the personal tips she left at the end of each chapter, I have already started using the pet tips that she gave because I did not realize that my dog can eat many things that I eat safely, and its better for my dog to eat to eat some of my food because a lot of pet food isn't safe!! The third most significant thing I found would have to be her chapter on consumerism and how we need to stop feeding the powerhouse mega stores! Many of them don't care about the community, and take business away from the little guys. I enjoyed a quote she stated about how we should be more willing to pay that 50 cents extra for a safer product from a local place, isn't our health and our community worth it? 


This whole book had priceless information. She puts high value on both personal and environmental health, and her small tips could be followed in small easy steps! It is too bad that we have to be reminded of these things, it means a lot to me that she took the time to write a guide that anyone can use. It is something than that anyone can follow! I would definitely recommend this book, not only because it has valuable information and is an eye opener, it can be followed by anyone! It touches on elements that effect everyone! She shows that you do not have to be rich to go green! Anyone can do it. But we all need reminders, so read this book! 

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 10: Overall Project Reflection

It is already the last week of my eco-chic lifestyle change! BUT this does not mean may change will stop at a dead hault. Everything I have taken from this experience will stick with me and so will many of the habits I have picked up due to it, as well as the class.


My original SMART goal was to not eat any red meat and eat less than 2 servings of other meats per week.
Of course this was a difficult step for me in the beginning, but i very quickly realized that the hardest part was just making that decision. As I got used to it, I decided to incorporate a hault on dairy into my goal as well. This non dairy step was not as precise so it was harder to measure, but I was able to say that I completely stopped buying both cheese and milk, so I know that was a definite change. Eventually I incorporated smaller everyday changes into my goal as well, such as using a metal refillable water bottle instead of buying disposable plastic water bottles. I also bought cloth grocery bags so I don't have to make the tough decision of paper or plastic when I go to the grocery store (and of course don't have to get disposable bags that are bad for the environment). 


There were many variables that added to my success in this goal. Feeling better about my impact on the environment as well as my health was the number one variable. I also impacted others behaviors with my changes which was awesome! There were a few things that did get in the way such as family meals when I went home that usually involved red meat, so there were probably 2-3 times during this change that I have had red meat, but that is much better than I expected. In the future I hope to take part in more of the cooking when I go back home, and maybe try converting my parents to ground turkey over ground beef!


This project benefited me much more than I expected. I thought this decision to stop eating red meat may result in a failure. Not that I don't have faith in myself, but I just never expected it to happen. Education in good nutrition is something I possess, so I know that eating red meat is really not a good choice for me, so having that extra push to TRY going without it for awhile was great!! I realized I could do it. I even impacted those around me. My boyfriend actually took part in the project with me almost 100%, and now he is also trying to cut out red meat and dairy completely even after I'm done with the project. I also impacted my parents and my brother a little bit; they have been forced to try a few meatless dishes. I cooked wild rice burgers for them one time and they loved it, so I gave them the recipe and they now have one item they can make that is meat free! 


I plan to continue this behavior. I cooked plenty of meat free meals this semester so now cooking them on a weekly basis is more of a habit than a limit. 


I think anyone who is even considering making a lifestyle change, even if it is extremely minimal should know that it's easiest taking it one small step at a time. And, just deciding to make that change is the hardest part, once it is a mind set it becomes a habit just like brushing your teeth! For me, just having it down in writing that I am not going to eat meat was one of the biggest parts. Also the process of incorporating meals into my diet that didn't have meat got easier as I began learning new recipes and tried cooking with substitutes.


blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 10 hosted by Amy@Eco-Chic with Amy.
 Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 10