Connections Quarterly Spring 2016 - Environment | Page 9

T H I N K I N G A B O U T F O O D, R E L I G I O N , A N D S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

Omnivore’s Dilemma: A History of Four Meals
traces the origin of four meals, including
meals purchased at McDonalds and Whole
Foods, and illustrates the energy, labor,
and resources necessary to produce these
meals.2 In particular, Pollan demonstrates
that the US food supply revolves around corn
production, which is both water and energy
intensive; corn is an ingredient in food products, e.g., chips and corn-syrup sweetened
sodas, and non-food products, e.g., glues and
ethanol. Further, a significant portion of corn
production feeds livestock such as cattle, and
some environmentalists question the efficiency of feeding food to food animals.3 For
many students, especially those from urban
and suburban regions, tracing the source of
their foods is eye-opening because we—and
I include myself—have become accustomed
to fully stocked supermarkets and a regular
food supply.

html). Eating locally and buying foods from
local farmers teaches students about the
biological and cultural attributes of their own
geographies; for example, eating locally in
May in north central Florida means tomatoes,
peppers, and oranges, while most regions of
the US are just beginning their growing season in May.

Websites such as Foodmiles.com (http://
www.foodmiles.com/) allow students to
trace where their food has come from and
the environmental affects of their food. Faculty can embed food miles exercises into
discussions of bioregionalism, the idea that
social and environmental policies should
reflect the bioregion.4 Many students are
now familiar with the term locavore or the
local food movement which advocates eating foods from within one’s local area or
bioregion; Gainesville, Florida has held a
100-mile Diet Challenge which encourages
participants to eat at least one local meal
per day for one month (http://www.ecolife.
com/health-food/eating-local/100-mile-diet.

Food and gardens can also be tied to larger
discussions of place and social, historical,
and religious contexts. Understanding the
biological and agricultural constraints of a
particular region helps students understand
how food cultures develop. For example,
West Africans carried sophisticated agricultural skills with them, making possible foods
such as rice, okra, and yams—staples in the
Southeast. The DVD Renewal (http://renewalproject.net/) illustrates how members of different religious trad ][ۜ