#farmersmatter

[thereluctantactivistedst107-blog]

Week 10 - 6th May, 2015 

We have successfully decreased our ecological footprint by 1.5 planets!! We’re now down to 2.7. By decreasing our meat by approximately half, we have significantly reduced our global hectare use from 7.6 to 4.9.

Through informed recycling and composting, we have reduced our waste production by over half (as was seen in the eco footprint calculation process). An added aspect of thoughtful, sustainable consumerism is my purchasing of 100% recycled products to support the recycling initiatives. 

There is a long way to go, and energy production is another viable option to reducing our ecological footprint. When we buy property, we will be looking into solar panels to sustain energy needs for our home. 

When it comes to meat consumption, that’s another perspective, although we have reduced our intake considerably, it doesn’t seem to have reduced our footprint enough.  As we do enjoy our animal products, I think the next step would be to source grass fed rather than grain fed produce. As grain fed livestock proves to have more negative impacts on not only the environment, but also human health (Ryan, 2008).

Ryan, R. (2008). Grass fed vs. grain. Hospitality. 00(00) 3. Cengage Learning, Inc. 

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Week 9 - 31st April,2015

We’re doing pretty well with our meat consumption! As winter progresses, we’re having more and more soup and we’re prepping our meals weekly so that we’re not purchasing excess foods or going out too much.

We've successfully cut our meat consumption down to 4 days last week and in the past 11 weeks, we've only done a “meat shop” 3 times! Hopefully it shows us that we’re successfully decreasing our ecological footprint.

It’s been difficult, because although there has been a large amount of support for the challenge, overall values of others have not changed and trying to explain why such changes are necessary is falling on deaf ears and annoyed looks. I’ve been wondering about the impacts of agriculture on the reproducibility of the earth. Excess water waste runoff on damaged soil creates soil erosion and soil salting as the water table rises. It is important that we are aware of and try to reverse the alterations human agriculture has had on the environment, it is also important that we are aware of the impact transportation of food produce can also have on the environment. 

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Week 7 - 13th April, 2015

Easter. This has had a huge impact on our ability to reduce our ecological footprint we visited family over the weekend and as such were not able to go to our market. Another side was, we were consuming produce from a chain supermarket, therefore contributing to the mass transport of those products.

A couple of downsides of going to markets as the main mode of grocery shopping are:

Lack of consistency and do you have a contingency plan if you     cannot make the market that week?

When you spend time with people who do not align with the same     values, how do you uphold those values?

However, there are many upsides:

Getting to know your local farmers, therefore building the     connectivity of community,

Buying local ensures decreased transportation costs and     environmental impacts.

Buying from local farmers is more sustainable as farmers provide     seasonal produce. This means they rotate their crops to cater for the     various fruits and vegetables they grow.

My mum has given me a compost container to begin my own compost!! I am so excited, to start this next step!

[thereluctantactivistedst107-blog]

Week 6 - 3rd April, 2015

Continuing with our market challenge, we have noticed, that the price of the local butcher is out of our range, as such, we have branched out to buy our meat from Tasman Meats in a fortnightly shop.

In saying this, we are trying to cut down our meat intake to around 5days a week. The impact of meat consumption on the environment is drastic. At present, if American citizens reduced their meat intake by a mere 10%, the amount of land used to feed livestock could be utilised to feed the many who are starving (Bittman, 2008). As a result of this figure, our fortnightly purchase is stretching out to be monthly and our consumption is decreasing.

There are benefits to going to markets weekly and the butcher fortnightly. Through effective food/ menu planning, not only can you save money by only making one trip, but you also impact the environment less. It’s important to reduce trips to the shops to reduce the greenhouse gasses you produce in the travel and also by supporting companies that are local to reduce the impact they have on the environment.

Something I have noticed; however, is my purchases are the same every week: broccoli, carrots, beans, lettuce, capsicum and mushrooms. There isn't a lot of diversity in those pickings and it got me thinking about this weeks lecture. The impact decreasing biodiversity is having on the various ecosystems; from the reduction of food sources for various animals to the loss of vegetation and habitat for those animals to live in.  I think it is important to branch out with the ingredients you choose to help the diversity of ecosystems develop.

Bittman, M. (2008). Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler. The New York Times. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/weekinreview/27bittman.html?_r=0

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Week 5 - 25th March, 2015

This week was Mulgrave farmers market. Fantastic variety of vegetables and seasonal fruits which ensures locality of food and non-genetically modified crops.

The locality of my food and the impact my purchases have on the environment has become very important to me in such a short time. As my units are collectively discussing Education for Sustainability, I have found myself thinking more about my actions and how I can change them be more thoughtful.

Discussing non-organic waste in tutorials was eye opening in the discussion of the length of time to break down various items and the recycling process itself. It is important to understand the energy and matter required to break down non-organic waste when it is not disposed of properly. For example, it takes 74% more energy to create class from raw materials than it does to break down (Clean Up Australia, 2009).

My practices will now incorporate the washing of glass jars and the removal of non-recyclable aspects of products.

Clean Up Australia Ltd. (2009). Recycle Glass – Preserve the environment. Glass Recycling Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www.cleanup.org.au/PDF/au/cua_glass_recycling_factsheet_final.pdf

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Week 4 - 17th March, 2015 –

Began to visit the Farmers Markets last week. Started at the Eltham market and found there was variety and an excitement in supporting my local farmers. The prices were a little pricier than expected which could prove to be a problem in keeping up this aspect of the challenge. My partner and I purchased some veggies and some of the meat from a local butcher. We liked the aspect of community we felt and how proud of the product farmers were and welcoming they were. A problem with the Eltham market though, is it only runs every 2nd Sunday of the month, I’ll have to look around for more markets.

A downside to some farmers markets is their changeability. Because some locations only host markets once a month it is hard to find consistency in purchases. Based on this, I have investigated various markets that will provide consistency. Using a website that provides information regarding local producers, wholesalers and community gardens, I have found a market that runs every Sunday in the same location (Local Harvest Australia, n.d).

This will allow my action plan more consistency and give me a better idea of my progress.

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Week 3 - 9th March, 2015

The action plan I am enacting follows principles laid down by The Earth Charter, which outlines an interconnectedness between the human race and the natural environment (2012). 

Some of the principles relevant to this action plan include; I. Resepct and Care for the Community of Life. “2. Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion, and love. a. Accept that with the right to own, manage, and use natural resources comes the duty to prevent environmental harm and to protect the rights of people”. AND

“3. Build democratic societies that are just, participatory, sustainable, and peaceful. b. Promote social and economic justice, enabling all to achieve a secure and meaningful livelihood that is ecologically responsible.”   

- Through shopping locally at farmers markets, we are supporting the farmers in our district and therefore providing monetary support that in turn, helps them to manage their crops in a manner that prevents environmental harm. 

2. Ecological Integrity

“ 7. Adopt patterns of production, consumption, and reproduction that safeguard Earth's regenerative capacities, human rights, and community well-being. f. Adopt lifestyles that emphasize the quality of life and material sufficiency in a finite world. “ - By shopping only Once a week, we are restricting our over-purchasing and are required to only buy what we need. By doing this, we avoid food wastage and buying overly processed foods.  All these changes are important to becoming a more informed member of the community that takes an ecocentric approach with their actions.  

Earth Charter International. (2012). Values and Principles to Foster a Sustainable Future. Retrieved from http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/content/pages/Read-the-Charter.html

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Week 2 - 4th March , 2015 Eco-Footprint

As was mentioned in the initial post, my footprint would require 4.2planets to sustain it if everyone lived the same way (WWF, 2015). According to this breakdown here, my main area; equating for almost half of my footprint is my food consumption (47%). While my shelter accounts for approximately 23%.

Suggestions provided by WWF include, reducing meat consumption by half which would take my resource requirements to 3.5 planets, which is HUGE!

It also suggests only purchasing products that are highly energy efficient or made out of recycled material which would reduce my requirements by .2 planets.

If we installed solar panels on our home, we could reduce it to 3.4

If I did all these things, I could reduce my impact by just under 2 planets! Making the final footprint 2.4 planets – not ideal, but significantly better than the original measure.

As my food consumption has the second greatest impact to energy use, my action plan will focus on reducing that. For an immediate course of action, I will cut out supermarkets from my supply network. Farmers markets will be my main source of produce.  This will have an immediate effect and is an aspect of my life that is changeable. According to the footprint data, meat consumption is a main contributor to this impact, as such we will try to reduce our weekly animal product consumption. 

Our plan will include weekly farmers market shops and to eventually cut our meat consumption from 7days a week to 4-5days. The difficult aspect of this plan will be the meat consumption. As my family is in the meat exporting business, the values in our household require meat daily. A meal simply isn’t a meal without meat. This will be a barrier that will be difficult to break down and will require many different angles.