Trash Talk

We have to reduce our carbon footprint.

 (http://csrperspective.com/tag/carbon-footprint/)

This trash examination made me realize that I am not doing everything in my power to reduce my rash production. There is still so much that we can do to lower the amount of trash that we produce. If we change a couple of our daily tasks, we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint.

One thing I noticed in my trash bag was that we use a lot of plastic utensils and paper plates. My family and I can easily switch to only glass dishes and metal utensils. This act alone could save a lot of money for my family. It could also save a lot of trees and reduce the amount of trash we produce significantly. It does not require much commitment. All we have to do is wash a few more dishes a day to make a big difference in our world.

Another thing that I noticed was that my family and I throw away a lot of food. A lot of the food is just everyday scraps. We could easily make a compost pile o make organic soil. We can use the organic compost soil for the fruits and vegetables in our backyard. Our fruits and vegetables would benefit because it would make the soil richer. The earth would also benefit because composting would reduce incineration and emissions.

This is a compost pile.
(http://home.howstuffworks.com/gardening/garden-design/preparing-garden-soil4.htm)

I always recycle but I didn't realize that my family and I throw out so many recyclable items because they just do not it into our recycling bin. I found many aluminum cans and cardboard that could have easily been recycled. The city gave everyone a big bin to recycle plastics, aluminum cans and glass. We fill up that big bin once a week to the point where it overflows because we use so many recyclable items.

We should all recycle.
(http://www.stratasys.com/customer-support/customer-resource-center/recycling-center)

I also noticed that we consumed many plastic bags from grocery shopping and shopping in general. We can buy and use reusable mesh/canvas bags for groceries because they are inexpensive and will stop the use of plastic bags in our household. This small act will fill up less space in landfills and encourages younger generations such as my siblings to take care of the earth. 

My recycling habits began while I was very young in the fifth grade. My counselor promoted recycling a lot so she started the "Green Team". I quickly joined and began collecting recycling from classrooms. My habits stuck from then on out. I joined the "Go Green Club" in high school. We collected and recycled ink cartridges, plastic bottles, paper, and cardboard boxes. We reused copy paper boxes to use as collection boxes for our plastic bottles. 

I will be passing these habits on to make children in the future to better the world. It is important that they understand the importance of taking care of our earth. In a month or so, my family and I will create a compost pile and hopefully using reusable bags.

Puzzle Pieces

When we go out to eat, we never think about how our meal got to us in the first place. In a way, it fits together like puzzle pieces. Our meals go through a series of events to end up on a plate in front of us. The average American eats out about four to five times a week. We ingest these meals without thinking of all the additives and harmful chemicals added to the meat to sell for more money.

High fructose corn syrup is a manmade sweetener used in processed foods.

(http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/high-fructose-corn-syrup.htm)

This past week in class, I watched "King Corn" in class and I learned that many calves are born grass fed then given to feedlots to be held in a small caged lot. In the feedlots, they are fed grains covered in high fructose corn syrup. They have nowhere to go and gain a lot of weight and aren't allowed to roam around like grass fed cattle. The cattle are forced to trudge around in their own feces for about on average one hundred and twenty days on a grain diet. Cows are known to get stomach ulcers if they are not slaughtered and taken off of the diet. It is more convenient for everyone because they gain weight in less time but they are sold with 9 grams of saturated fat on steak whereas grass fed cattle steak contain 1.3 grams of saturated fat.

King Corn (2007)

(http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/king-corn-you-are-what-you-eat/)

From my food journal, I noticed that I eat out a lot. I do not have a very close relationship with the food I consume. I get all of my food from Kroger, a Mexican meat market in town, my backyard, my grandparent's yard and local restaurants here in town. The only immediate everyday connection with my food at home is fruits and vegetables from my backyard and my grandparents' garden. In my backyard, we grow: oranges, plums, limes, tomatoes and jalapeños. In my grandparents' yard, they grow a very vast variety of fruits and vegetables. The main crops we get from them are: cacti, grapefruits, mangoes, pears, peaches, cilantro, mint, limes and my personal favorite loquats. I love almost all fruits and vegetables, I have never been very picky. I would love to visit a local farmer's market for crops that are not in season and we do not grow.

Loquats grow in bunches. My family and I call them "nisperos" in Spanish.

(http://www.lsuagcenter.com/topics/lawn_garden/home_gardening/trees_shrubs/growing-loquats-in-louisiana)

Another close connection I share with my food is when my dad or uncle go hunting. They process their meat and share it with my family members and at barbecues. They make burgers filled with jalapeños and sausage links with their deer meats. I look forward to this time of year because it is hunting season and we can have more fresh lean meat throughout the end of the year.

This resembles the packaging.

(http://ronkulas.proboards.com/thread/50/venison-summer-sausage)

My connection with my meals is a bit half and half but I hope to strengthen it in the near future. I want to make my connection more immediate with my food. I love gardening and producing my own fruits and vegetables. Hopefully, I will get to plant for fruits and vegetables this upcoming spring or summer.

I want to make gardening a part-time hobby in the near future.

(http://www.blisstree.com/2014/09/25/food/vegan-diet-pros-cons/)

Some Food for Thought

I have never really given a second thought to what I eat. This assignment really opened my eyes to what I ingest on a daily basis. People, including myself, live very poor lifestyles because we are all so busy and want everything immediately. Fast food is very convenient but it is killing us and making us very unhealthy.

This is similar to the food journal I created for myself.

(https://www.vitalsignswellness.com/07/lessons-learned-by-a-recovering-foodaholic-part-2/food-journal/

For my assignment, I kept a food journal over the course of six days. One of my observations was that I skipped at least one meal everyday. This isn't for "dieting" purposes or anything, I just never have time to eat because I am always on the go. Skipping meals can be very unhealthy because it deprives the body of essential nutrients. It can lead to serious health issues like type two diabetes and gastro-esophageal disease, also known as GERD, just to name a few of many possibly life threatening diseases. Type two diabetes is common to get when skipping meals because their insulin levels are high and they can't lower their blood sugar levels. GERD is also common to get because skipping meals decreases formation rate in digestive enzymes. Many people just do not have the time to prepare a healthy meal and actually sit down to enjoy it.

These are a few effects of skipping meals.

(http://www.buzzle.com/articles/why-skipping-meals-make-you-gain-weight.html)

Another observation from my food journal was that I tend to eat more fast food than usual with school and my busy everyday life because it is fast, cheap and convenient. Little to no effort is needed to grab a bite from fast food chain restaurants. It may be more convenient, but it is extremely unhealthy. We knowingly feed ourselves chemicals, make ourselves sick and give ourselves chronic diseases. Another observation that ties into the last is that, I tend to eat a lot of processed foods. The only fresh foods I mainly consume are fruits and vegetables because even meats and everyday foods are processed. Even though these fruits and veggies are fresh, they still contain GMO's, genetically modified foods.

Fast food is the main cause of obesity.

(https://www.theodysseyonline.com/fast-food-secrets)

To sum it all up, I don't consider myself a healthy eater but I would love to change that about myself.
Some days will be harder than others but it will all be worth it in the long run. At, home I mostly eat Mexican food and fast food. Being Mexican doesn't really make eating healthy easier because many things are fried and/or greasy. I find myself mostly eating processed foods because many healthy, organic alternatives are more on the pricey side. Products with GMO's and preservatives are cheaper to produce than natural products because natural products take more time and energy to grow than genetically modified crops. My mom mainly prepares our meals but I cook thirty percent of the time by myself and for myself. Cooking is somewhat challenging for me but I like the outcome of it and providing for others. Grocery shopping is okay to me but the challenging part is sticking to a meal plan and not buying a lot of junk that you are more tempted to buy because they look more appetizing. Our meals are not very planned the only planning that takes place is in the stores when deciding what to prepare on what day and the in-betweens. My eating habits are motivated and determined by what is cheap and what is fast to prepare. I would love to change what I eat and my proportions because I think that would make me feel more energized throughout my day and in the long run, my life.