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Link to my Food Waste Project: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AeIlufmqCR9DM_g5yn-HLByxUGvFl2rWvi-Sziy61XQ/edit?usp=sharing

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I start to record myself for what I am wasting and also asked four of my friends to record theirs. I realize that the food waste by individual is very limited, so i start to wonder where all there food waste come from. One of my friend remind me that it may comes from the local restaurants or fresh markets. As we know for those bakery and fresh markets, they are not allowed to sell foods that is out of date, so ther have to throw away those food. What I should do next is that i can do user test for local markets and restaurants, give a 5-10 mins interview to those store manager and get to know the every day food waste.

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This is a website that I design for those lower age kids to get to know how to recycle. It may be apply to the education for elementary or middle school student.

Every year, there are 72 BILLION POUNDS OF FOOD WASTE in the US

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OMG!!! The tomatoes are growing so fast and looks really strong! No doubt that the nutrition foods has supported them :)))

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Entangled Life Reflection

While reading Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake (2020), I found it a captivating adventure into the world of fungi. The author explores the hidden world in a manner that can change the way humans see the world. When we think about fungi, we see mushrooms, yeast, and other simple forms of fungi. In the text, Sheldrake (2020) provides an adventure into the fungi kingdom that ranges from yeast to the largest organisms in the world, sprawling miles underground. More than ninety percent of the fungi species are still undocumented. We understand that most fungi are out of sight, but they make up a diverse range of organisms that sustain and support almost all living organisms. The author demonstrates how they can manipulate the human mind and solve problems in the world. Fungi have provided us with life-saving medicines, bread, and alcohol. They are an essential part of human history. They have psychedelic properties, and their ability to digest explosives, crude oil, plastic, and pesticides is applied in breakthrough technologies (Sheldrake, 2020). Understanding the wood-wide web is mind-bending on how we understand the ecosystem and how life works.

[hl3352]

I’ve add nutrients into my hydroponic system and the plats seems very strong now! There were some molds on the surface.  I mix the white vinegar with water (1:6) and sprayed a bit on the sponge, and you can see that most of the molds have gone. I also tried to clean the surface of the sponge.

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The seed bank that's inadvertently storing fungi

The reading has been well done to show some of the ways fungi exist and areas in which they can be found. Fungi are a group of species when looked from a profound aspect. The reading insists on the fact that not all fungi cause diseases as this is the notion that many people have developed (Hill, 2021). There are fungi that help in the growth and developed of other species that belong to the plant and animal kingdoms. The fungi are in most cases found in seeds but not many have discovered the same. The number of researches carried out on fungi is small and this is an implication that a lot still needs to be done. Indeed, there is a growing body of fungi that people do not know and this is because they have not placed any interests in it. The reading is an eye opener to anyone who has not been keen on fungi and some of the benefits that they have to the ecosystem.

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The Sixth Extinction:

Wow! Author Elizabeth Kolbert certainly knows how to get your attention. The excerpt from her book The Sixth Extinction dives right into the rapidly disappearing world of amphibians throughout the world and one thing that I find most disturbing is, we never hear anything about it from the mainstream media or other sources except academics and off the trail authors like Kolbert. Her visit to El Valle de Antón, Panama to research the plight of the Atelopus zeteki, the golden frog really brings it home as the enormity and rapidity at which the morbidity swept across the country from the west coast, killing nearly every species of frog in its path! If this is indicative of the beginning of a mass extinctive period, it certainly is moving quickly. Besides the amphibians that have been ravaged by this chytrid/ Bd fungus, apparently great percentages of the world’s flora and fauna have been made extinct from sharks to corals, the new to me term of “background extinction” measuring the declines in species. All of this is really overwhelming if one looks at the big picture as something not discussed in this chapter of Kolbert’s book is the trickle-down effect that occurs when species die off. The disruptions in the natural hierarchy, the food chain, the death of predators that relied on a particular species, the explosion of others that were the primary prey, all ripple effects that can rip through all phylum and kingdoms of species, including Homo sapiens. It is not a big stretch to wonder about mankind’s role in all of this. Most certainly the destruction of habitats such as has been the case for centuries now has driven many species to extinction plus overfishing, hunting, poaching and general ignorance have contributed as well. Then there is the pollution, pesticide, herbicides, meddling and irresponsible behavior that humans are so famous for. I wonder who will write about the plight of humankind when the day comes that Mother Earth shakes us off her back like so many fleas off a dog?

[hl3352]

Maybe it is time to set up the complete hydroponic system. There are some molds in the sponge, I have to change water more often and by setting up the hydroponic system can have a better water circulation. Hope they will be fine.

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Very first sprout after two weeks of planting seeds in the hydroponic system 🙌 

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Ted Talk: How Urban Agriculture is Transforming Detroit

Devita Davison is a powerful, passionate speaker, you can tell she loves Detroit and its people. The statistics regarding the city are startling however, with over 500,000 having fled the Detroit’s downtown since its pinnacle, and of the 700,000 left, 84% are African America and of those people, 70% are obese! This is egregious, criminal, where are the markets and the proper food? Humans cannot live long on gas station junk food and orange soda, people need nourishment, fresh fruits, and vegetables regularly. This seems to be Devita’s war cry, she and her group non-profit Foodlab Detroit are helping entire neighborhoods learn to farm and then implement those skills in growing urban gardens, from tiny to quite sizable. The local farmers coop of 70 individuals working together to plant and harvest fresh herbs, spices, vegetables, and hope. That’s a big part of her plan, hope. If she can continue on her program of sowing seeds across the city, she will not only bring hope to Detroiters but also health and prosperity, I commend her for her vision and insight; she is doing a grand thing for her community and neighbors. Building social fabric, cohesive and distinct, the city is in many ways, coming together and eradicating the memories of decay and abandonment, replacing them with squash, tomatoes, and kale!

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Ron Finley: A Guerilla Gardener in South Central Los Angeles

While watching Finley’s speech, I got insights into an average American’s struggle with obesity, ignorance, political restrictions, and media influences. I could see the flaws in our judicial system, which is not flexible enough to accommodate citizens with good intentions. The rules and regulations impose restrictions on individuals who are willing to do good and mislead the public on what is right and wrong. It reminded me of the importance of being in touch with the community and environment, especially in politics and overall wellbeing. I was able to see the need for a change in our composition, that is, our thoughts, attitudes, feelings, and actions to guarantee our survival. All in all, I resonated with Finley’s speech because not only did he speak on issues about the judicial loopholes, but he touched on obesity which has been an issue.

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The future of food: inside the world’s largest urban farm built on a rooftop…

Honestly, I like this model a lot more than the autonomous vertical farms that are being touted as the next great agricultural revolution. The key factors I see in the different models, the vertical farm concept is energy intensive, they are completely environmentally controlled and employ LEDs for the plant’s growth cycles whereas here; the system uses natural sunlight, air, and the environment in which to produce fresh to the table veggies. I didn’t realize that the average farm produce traveled 2000 kilometers before I get it or that the farmer is only getting a small fraction of the end user price, 20% seems pretty slim. Granted, this Agripolis concept is limited by types of vegetables, Hardy mentions that they still cannot produce root veggies like carrots, potatoes and others and, beans are not space efficient. Unfortunately, these are staple parts of a diet, especially for the lower income demographic thus limiting the availability of these important food items. That brings me to pricing structures, just as in the vertical farming model, the price of the produce from these rooftop farms falls above the price point of dirt farm grown produce yet, below the cost of organically grown dirt farm produce. Perhaps cheaper for some but for the masses who live check to check, the added expense may not overcome the freshness factor, unfortunately.

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Epiphanies and Insights from the Article on Food Waste

A lot of information about food waste has remained off the public domain. The article “Food Waste: Amount thrown away totals 900 million tones” is an astonishing revelation and epiphany of the unknown about our homes and food wastage. Food security is not a challenge precipitated by climate change alone. Human behavior at our homes is a hidden concern that is escalating the food waste dilemma. The household figures around food waste are staggering. Courtesy of food waste, each household is losing over £700 annually on food wastage. The world needs to see behavioral change more than ever before. Collective household responsibility and discipline towards food management practices are the tools to turn around the disgusting statistics fueling food shortage and insecurity in the entire world. For the past 12 months, a lot has happened. I never knew the lockdowns and stay-home regulations in the wake of the novel COVID-19 were positive phenomena in mitigating food waste. As we approach the post-COVID era, the world should learn from the lockdowns and effective food management is a special takeaway. For me it is outrageously abhorrent to learn that over 17% of the food on our stores, household tables and restaurants go to waste (Gill, 2021). The war against food wastage starts at our homes and the responsibility of food waste mitigation is as important as the daily energies to bring something to eat at our homes. Management of food waste is a turning point for the fight against perennial food shortages and hunger.

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Vertical Farming Reflection

I find a few things particularly interesting in this article, but I always return to the same questions too. Infarm’s claims of a miniscule carbon footprint and the reduction of greenhouse gas production from their vertical farms and off-site self-contained hydroponic gardens (which is essentially what they are providing), saving 95% of the water, 99% footprint and 75% less fertilizer all sounds great until you look at the carbon footprint of their energy consumption. They claim that the power they use is 90% renewable and I believe this as Germany has huge initiatives for solar and wind generation however, the solar panels and giant windmills don’t grow or build themselves, there is trickledown carbon foot printing that must not be ignored. Then, the use of space, concrete and steel, the hardware to control their robotic grow operations etc. etc. Environmental scientist Jonathan Foley really hits the bullseye with his statement that the world’s hunger problems aren’t going to be solved with $10 per ounce arugula, the world’s diet is based on rice, wheat, and corn production and lots of potatoes, all these crops require massive footprints and the scalability and economic feasibility that vertical farming provides is not modelled on these staple crops. Infarm and its venture capital sugar daddies are banking of farm to table leafy vegetables and fresh herbs, but to scale for these aforementioned crops is outside of the realm of feasibility in my opinion. I love a good salad, but I like a steak and potato as my second course, you can’t grow either of these in a vertical farm yet!

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Where’s the Waste? A ‘Circular’ Food Economy Could Combat Climate Change

The whole concept of a circular economy be it in business or in this case, a food economy appeals to me, think trickle-down economics but with veggies. They are however greatly dependent on change both culturally and structurally as seen here. Some pretty impressive and startling numbers such as the amount of greenhouse gasses produced by the established linear production and distribution model for food worldwide, 21-37%, that’s a real wow factor and a great argument to support the development of this model. While this closed loop system looks appealing and may answer many of the climate change issues we face in an ever-growing demand population, a couple questions come to mind regarding the back end such as electrical consumption at Bubbly Dynamics, where are the excess methane and other gasses going from their digestor and, how about the gasses produced in the fermentation processes at the Whiner brewery, beer production makes a lot of gas and the article claims “some” are being used to produce plants and algae. The Lufa Farms in Canada are making impressive gains and their model, as stated, could provide all of Toronto with fresh veg by expanding to only 19 average shopping center rooftops. That makes a lot of sense!

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The future of food: Why farming is moving indoors

I really enjoy fresh high-quality produce but often times what you find in the supermarket is beat up, old or wilted, so the “grow where you sell” model appeals to me. The move to indoor vertical farming has become cost effective with the advent of full spectrum LED lights and other tech that has brought down the operating costs and increased yields although I think more humans should be involved simply from the standpoint of job growth and community building as opposed to a robotic food factory! Conventional dirt farm wastage and losses as well as the huge carbon footprint required to bring crops to market is higher than I thought, so the price differential has been closing the gap and making this vertical farming model economically feasible. Square Roots, Bowery and other urban farming facilities have an excellent model in which they produce harvest and distribute all within their major metropolitan area thus lowering transportation costs, loss and logistics as well as offering super fresh produce that may not withstand the rigors of regular harvesting and shipping to market. I wonder how practical it is to expect things like heirloom tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and other veg from these facilities, or would that be economically impractical? One of the most appealing things is the fact that they can produce with little to no herbicide and pesticide use, grow consistent product year-round and offer the freshest farm to table produce I would definitely be interested, especially if the price point were only marginally more than typical grocery store prices.