This essay is set out to answer the question, “how has New Orleans changed in its relationship to the environment since hurricane Katrina?” I decided to answer this question by examining the new construction in the lower Ninth Ward of “green” homes by non-profit groups; Global Green and Make It Right in particular. The houses are symbols for a cultural shift that is being brought into the neighborhood which is being used as an example by these non-profit groups to show the capacity of this type of low income urban community to accept green concepts into their ways of life. I describe both non-profits and their methods to not only rebuild to Ninth Ward with sustainable architecture, but imbue the community with the ability to live sustainable lifestyles autonomously. The houses are in a way so radical in comparison to the classic style of New Orleans lower income housing that they blur they allow for residents to forget what they may have initially found foreign, like the use of solar energy which looks a lot more mundane when it is on top of a house that can float on water. The aforementioned floating water house also provides as an example of another theme running through the architecture of the houses which is living with the land instead of simply on top of it. The houses promote a concept of the land as something that is a part of the community, a part of the house itself. The addition of such surreal functionality to these houses makes them look quite bizarre and radical but in a similar situation in Kansas where a city was being rebuilt green without any radical architecture, the effort to create a sustainable culture was hindered because the architecture failed to match the radicalism of the ideas it was built with. The houses in the lower 9 are indicative of a cultural shift taking place by creating a consciousness for sustainability and land ethic.

Louisiana Coastal Erosion

For my final project I studied the wetlands and the effect their disappearance has on the locals of Plaquemines Parish. I collected personal information from different members of the community such as interviews, stories, and pictures and used it to build a website. If anyone is interested in checking it out go to http://lacoastalwetlands.weebly.com/index.html.

Music and Environmental Studies

For my final project, I looked at the connection between music and Environmental Studies, asked if music /the music industry can contribute to a raising awareness of environmental issues. I analyzed the lyrics and music of two songs, and researched the Live Earth concerts 2007. I finally created a website with my results:

www.musicandenvironment.weebly.com


Good Luck with your other papers, projects, and exams, and have a beautiful summer.

Thank you all for a great class!

Food.

For my food practicum, I visited Winn Dixie, Rouses, and Captain Sids, which are all located around my house. I found the set up of each to be very different. Winn Dixie had the most current theme presented by the door, "Fresh strawberries" and "Saints Football cakes." The "fresh" food located to the right did not look that appealing and there didn't seem to be much of a selection. The service was a disappointment, as none of the workers could provide me with any information about the food. Rouses, a local grocery store, had stickers on their windows from different children that supported the store? The cashiers were right in the front, which causes the customers to walk all the way around through the flower section right by the fruits and vegetables. Although their section was still not big, it looked more appealing than Winn Dixie. My final stop, Captain Sids is a local seafood market located by the lakefront. Right when i walked in I noticed the smell of boiled crawfish. The presentation of all the items made it obviously they had been made there or somewhere near by. Most of the labels included "boiled" or "spicy." The few workers all seem to know about the seafood they were selling. Since it is crawfish season, most of the crawfish was caught by local fisherman around the Pearl River area. If I were to base my food knowledge off of these three markets, I would have to say local is definitely better. I prefer the people that are selling me food to know a little about it. The overall "feel" of Rouses and Captain Sids was just better in general. Although the food did not look great at any of the places, I would rather it be less appealing from some place that I know it will at least taste fresh.

A changing ethic of compromise

When growing up, the shopping ethic I learned from my mother (for both groceries and everything else) was: buy the cheapest available. This was rooted in financial reasonability and responsibility, but came to be a way of life for me. What budget we did have for food, we spent practically; boxed macaroni and cheese and frozen foods were certainly on the menu occasionally, but for the most part, my mother prepared foods. Junk foods simply didn’t exist in our house. As I grew older and my mother graduated from college, we gained the potential for some flexibility in our grocery habits, typically resulting in better quality goods. This meant sometimes buying a more expensive brand if we had a coupon for it, even if the coupon did not bring the end price below that of the brand we’d normally purchase. The next major turning point in our eating habits occurred when my mom’s boyfriend was diagnosed with diabetes. At this point, our groceries were chosen for not only their price, but their nutritional value; for example, the whole family made the permanent shift to whole wheat pasta and bread. Since then (beginning even prior to taking this class), I have developed a goal of my own. While being wealthy for the sake of it does not appeal to me, I want to make enough money to be able to comfortably feed myself (and family, if applicable) sustainably; these are the conditions by which I measure my success. I have learned both in my experience living at home and now, on my own, that the least processed the food is, the cheaper it is; eating at home is obviously cheaper than going to restaurants every day, but it is also cheaper to make salad, bread, baked goods, etc. than to purchase them pre-made. This does not pose a problem to me. What is problematic is the price sacrifice required when trying to buy organic and/or local products with which to prepare meals. As a college student in New Orleans, I wish to take advantage of living within easy walking distance of farmers’ markets, and I can afford to buy some of their products. However, there is no way I would be able to make all of my purchases there. Seventy-five cents for a single local plum might not sound excessive if weighing one’s options for lunch, but when compared to the per-pound rate of the chain stores’ fruit, it is rather shocking. The prices at stores like Whole Foods are even more disturbing. I try to compromise my budget with my morals; for example, when faced with a decision between two varieties of traditionally-grown and similarly priced apples, I will take into account from where they’ve traveled and choose those originating closest to my current location. While I value sustainability, I also have to keep both my budget and my health in mind; until I reach such a point in my life where I can afford otherwise, I will continue to buy the majority of my diet from Winn-Dixie, Langenstein’s, Hannaford, or Shaw’s, and supplement it with splurges on more responsibly grown items.

Food Culture

Food is the fundamental way the earth nurtures all species. Since the beginning of time, people have been dependent on the natural cycles of plant growth and animal migration in order to sustain their culture.
Today in the U.S., we see the opposite taking place more prevalently. We have established our people throughout the U.S. and have relied on both farming technology and food imports to provide us with copious amounts of food throughout the year. We can yield tons of corn each season and have access to bananas in December. While it is great to be able to have whatever food you may want at any time, a detrimental mindlessness is a consequent of this modern food system. People do not realize how agribusiness rapes the land, the chemicals required to make it possible, the carbon footprint of shipping foods around the world, and the workers that are exploited in the process in order to cheaply provide this food to us. We are no longer in touch with the earth natural cycle and thus its bounties are not as appreciated by most.
Different ways of preparing food, recipes, staple ingredients, etc. are elements that define culture. What nurtures a people is worth celebrating and honoring, and thus a food culture emerges. Appreciating food is a way for people to come together with their community and with their land. In New Orleans, there is a very strong food culture. The food and the recipes are unique to the area and people seem to be more shaped by their food regimen. Fro example, red beans and rice Mondays, Spring crawfish boils, and fish on Fridays. In this way, the food maintains an essence in the culture.
Eating locally, organically, and appreciatively is a way to preserve food culture that so importantly brings people together. Eating locally helps to identify with the roots of your area while reducing your carbon footprint. Eating organically helps to treat yourself, the insects, and the birds with a standard of health. And most importantly, appreciating your food; understanding where it comes from, how the dish has evolved to come to your plate, and how it identifies you with a culture.

Food Practicum

For my food practicum I observed my eating habits when traveling. The first place I visited was a 5 guys restaurant. The way the restaurant was set up made for fast efficient service. But I found it interesting that the still cooked the food in front of the customer instead of using precooked hamburger patties. Also they had a sign posted stating where they got the potatoes to make the French fries for that day. I found it interesting that although it was a national chain fast food restaurant; this location still got their potatoes locally and made the food to order. The second place that I visited was a subway inside of a shell station. Much of the decision to eat here had to do with the circumstances. We were on the way to the beach and needed to stop for gas and ice, so we decided to eat at the subway while we were there. The last place we stopped was a produce market to get snacks for the beach. I immediately noticed the differences between the fruit they offered from mostly local farms and fruit from grocery stores. The fruit at the market were smaller and not as pretty but they had more flavor and tasted fresher. Also the prices were pretty good at this farmers market. I got 6 tangerines and 1 apple for around $1.60.

Food Narrative

After having gone to Walgreen's, the C-store and Winn Dixie
I have come to realize that finding out where your fresh
vegetables and fruits come from is quite a challenge.
Everything now - a-days is transported from one place to
another that its origin is often lost, forgotten or
purposefully not displayed.  During our class discussion I
came to realize that it was not just me who had trouble
finding the original location of my food growth.  When I
went to Winn Dixie they were no help whatsoever.  I shop
there all the time but never thought to ask where the fruits
actually came from. So, this time I decided to ask and their
response, look at the sign.  Most of the fruit I looked at
had labels that said things like juicy and delicious, but I
want more.  I want fresh, juicy, delicious fruit, is that so
much to ask?  I would like to known for sure that my fruit
has not been sitting in the local grocery chain for a month
and half pumped with preservatives to sustain its color. 

what i learned

From what I learned from my food practicum is that I am very lucky to live near a farmers market like Hollygrove. This is how I am allowed to follow my land ethic of buying locally, living with in season and eating health. I want to have farmers markets available to more people in this country and to have more people thinking in this direction of locally buying. I am tired of seeing us support China and India when we should be supporting ourselves. I think we are letting too much money follow out of our country. I want to keep the money in America. On another note, I am not pushing for having every thing being organic. I am concerned with people getting raped up in the idea that every thing has to be organic for it to be healthy. With more of the demand for organic things I hope the farms do not deforest areas so they can have an organic from. I rather see existing farms start farming organically. One other thing that I observed with the food practicum was it is pretty evident that when buying food you get what you are paying.

Where does my food come from?

My first visit was to whole foods on Magazine St. where I noticed that everything was presented very neatly. Every item seemed extremely fresh. In comparison to the other grocery I visited, Roberts, the food looked new and ready to eat. It did not look like it had been sitting there since Monday morning’s shipment. Another thing I noticed was how much meat is presented everywhere, not only at the groceries but all over television as well. Being a vegetarian it makes me stomach turn to see isles of raw meat when I’m at the grocery, but meat is all over television too. Almost every commercial is advertizing fast food chains and their new and improved whole pound burgers. It makes me wonder how it’s economically possible for a burger to cost 99 cents. My assumptions are that a lot of the budget cuts to make this possible lie in the poor treatment of the farm animals and the cheap production methods of achieving product. When I think about where my food comes from I don’t feel the guilt that I did when I used to eat meat but I still feel guilty about having to support companies that gain most of their profit from selling 99 cent burgers. There is no absolute way around this so I will continue to live a vegetarian lifestyle and worry about the tactics used by the meat industry to pinch every penny.

Food Narrative

Based on my observations during my food practicum, and the week that followed, I have noticed a trend in my eating habits. Since becoming a pescatarian, I have learned more and more about how much meat our society sneaks into food. Now when I go to a restaurant I have to specifically ask if anything I order (even salad) secretly has meat. This has gotten a wide range of responses that constantly reminds me how carnivorous our society really is (KFC Double Down anyone?). This is particularly true in the O.R. where I have been forced to utilize my shameful Spanish (Tiene carne?). This aspect of my diet I have learned to cope with, but the more I learn the more complicated my food life gets. Unfortunately, my food sources have not evolved with my education. Thus I realized just how little control I have over what goes in my own mouth. Lately I have been on a health kick, not eating meat just isn’t enough (after all I am about to go stuff my face at Catfish Fryday). I’ve also been trying to think more about the environmental impact of my food since learning so much about it in the past couple of years. Unfortunately, when I walk into the O.R., my new lease on life is forced out the window. Sometimes Vegan Steve is able to provide something that doesn’t make me instantly lethargic, but even then the ingredients are usually from Mexico or farther. My friends and I always bring up the topic of being able to cook for ourselves next year as we’re chowing down on our sixth piece of pizza of the week. But will it really be any different? We will always be limited by finances and convenience. Will we really have time to peruse the farmer’s market? Or the time to properly sauté our seasonal veggies into deliciously healthy meals? Or will we end up with a bargain priced 8 pack of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and a beer belly the size of our carbon footprint? I learned that for as much as I blame my bad food habits on the Loyola dining services, I am a culprit as well.

Food Evaluation Extravaganza on Magazine St.

The first location I visited was Wow Wingery, a campus dining option, as well as a local chain. The red tablecloths and fluorescent beer signs located throughout the locale were direct indications of the restaurant's sports bar/grill theme. Fatty food covered the laminated menu, and was described in a way that made it seem more than simply fried dough and chicken. The terms "homemade," "hand-battered," and "hand-breaded," accompanied almost every item, in an effort to make the dish seem fresher, perhaps? Nevertheless, when I asked the waitress where the ingredients came from (whether from local granaries or national chains) she replied, "I have no idea. I just serve drinks and go home." Based on this response, as well as the fairly modest prices of the dishes, I am guessing Wow is more concerned with feeding hungry students and sports fans what they want: instant gratification -- in other words, greasy finger food. The second location I went to was Reginelli's Pizzeria on Magazine St. With only 7 other locations, it is considered a local chain. The interior of the restaurant was very fresh, decorated with neutral, earthly tones. Known for their specialty pizzas, Reginelli's aims to provide customers with the freshest options possible. The employees were very welcoming and were able to answer my questions. They explained that the vegetables and fruit they use comes from AJ's Produce, a local provider. City Herbs Inc. is also a local provider that is located right in New Orleans. In addition, the pizza dough is brought from local bakeries. Essentially, what I liked most about Reginelli's was their simplicity. The menu was brief, and straight to the point, prices were reasonable (average pizza is 11.95). Best of all, however, is that they support local businesses. The last restaurant I went to was Martinique Bistro, also located on Magazine St. In comparison to the places I usually eat at, this restaurant is certainly more upscale. White tablecloths, cloth napkins, stainless silverware, and one single flower, decorated each table. This elegance was also brought outside to the terrace, allowing clients to choose between sitting outside or inside. This elegance was also reflected on the menu. Although the dishes were somewhat pricey (some as much as $28), they were very elaborate and safe to say: gourmet. Surprisingly, however, the waiters were quite unsure of where the ingredients came from. Nevertheless, they did assure me that the seafood was brought from local fisheries. After evaluating these restaurants, I began to realize how many restaurants prefer to import their goods from far-off locations, usually because it is the cheaper option. Indeed, profitability is important when administering a business, but it is also important to keep in mind other factors, such as quality of the food, the health of the clients, and how the business can contribute to the well-being of the local economy. For this reason, I believe that, in the long run, it is more beneficial - for everyone, including the environment - to support local farmers, and businesses, even if it costs a little extra.

food narrative

In working towards a personal food narrative there are three main aspects to my food eating habits, all basically working towards reducing the size of one’s impact, either through lessened use of fossil fuels in the production, transportation, refrigeration of the food: lessening its energy consumption, through lessening its environmental impact through sounder farming practices, and lessening its adverse economic impact through supporting ones local community “voting as a consumer”. Not to mention the physical and mental health benefits that comes with stepping back from the industrial food chain. I attempt to get my food within the tighter confines of its traditional reality: buying from who grows it, having it grown nearby, eating it in season. By reducing the level of abstraction in my food and its delivery, I make it a real thing, I demystify just about every ramification of its growth and consumption, and for the most part I find it is a better picture than the industrial landscape of food production. The second place I would eat it as a local restaurant, because we live in the city that we do it really sets us apart from the choices many others might have, but we have the option of actually supporting small local businesses, helping struggling entrepreneurs, and keeping the fabric of capitalism healthy while investing money in ones community. To all but the large national chains, it is a win win scenario. Third, I would express the inevitability that is shopping at a large chain, gas station, convenience store. The traditional paradigm of consumption is still one firmly based in a linear economic model that is unsustainable, this is no reason not to try, or to complicate life in trying to avoid such places, I simply try when shopping at such places to use my best judgement to do the least harm, as that is the best one could hope for given the current food realities of our day

My Food Experience

Unfortunately I was unable to make it to class Monday due to a family emergency. Over the weekend, however, I had the luxury of attending a local crawfish festival in my hometown (Buras, LA). The festival is made up of approximately 30 booths that have a boil off competition, in which the best tasting crawfish win. The cost to enter the festival was $10 all you can eat, although I found out from one boiler that the true cost of the crawfish was around $2.50 per lb. I was also told that the crawfish were either bought from local fishermen (from Plaquemines Parish to around Baton Rouge) or from local seafood distributors 20-60 miles from the area. Here in Plaquemines Parish, it is part of a culture to eat the array of local seafood, crawfish, crabs, shrimp, and oysters. The people at the festival, especially the cooks, took pride in the fact that the food they cooked all day for the visitors to eat was part of a long time tradition, and wasn’t just some “junk” food from somewhere far away. Here I was able to sense a value and connection to the food we ate. The connection was evident; the entire animal is in front of you and you practically have to dismember it to get to the meat (maybe a little graphic, but true). A lot of people are revolted by crawfish because they “look creepy,” but don’t think twice about eating crawfish tails in a restaurant where they have no idea where they came from.

That weekend I also ate at a locally owned restaurant called Delta Marina Grill. This restaurant is very small, and has quite a homey feel to it, sort of like a mom and pop diner. The menu mostly has hamburger shop or diner food like hamburgers, fries, fried or grilled seafood, sandwiches, and oysters. I was told by the restaurant manager that the hamburgers are made with 100% real beef and are not pre-frozen. The ground meat for hamburgers was bought from Doerle Food Services, a food distributor from Broussard, LA, while the steak and bread were bought from Fremin’s Grocery, a local grocery store 20 miles north. The oysters and seafood were also bought from local fishermen or local seafood distributors. The price of a hamburger meal with fries was $7.75. Although there seemed to be an effort to buy locally and keep business within the community, I still wondered about things like where did Doerle get their meat from, where did Fremin’s buy their steaks from, was it from organic or non-organic farmers? Here there still seamed to be a separation from the food that was being eaten and the person eating it, unlike the experience at the crawfish festival.

The last place I visited was Whole Foods on Magazine Street. Whole Foods has a very green, organic, and relaxed feel to it. This environment sucks you in and gives you the impression that everything sold here is local and sustainable, but I quickly found out that wasn’t true. While there I bought a brand of goat cheese named Cypress Grove, assuming it was from somewhere in southern Louisiana. When I made it home and checked the label, I found that this cheese was actually made in California, which made me realize that you cannot believe everything you see. I don’t mean that Whole Foods is a bad thing; it is much better than buying food that supports industrial farming. What I do mean is that even reputable brands like Whole Foods can give off a façade of local products. Here again, I realized that there was a large separation between the goat cheese I was eating and myself. Unfortunately, by completing this small assignment, the separation between food and consumer seems to be the normal for the American food culture.

Food Choice: "What's good" or "What's good for me"

When it comes to choosing what restaurant or food I wish to eat things get complicated. My stomach craves pretty much all foods all the time. How about Hispanic food? Imagine a medium-well cooked Churrasco with white rice on the side with your name on it. My mouth begins to salivate. How about Japanese? Imagine a Godzilla roll made up of crab mix with pink sauce on top. Yumm… How about American? Image the huge delicious cheeseburger with a loaded baked potato on from Port Of Call. By the time I examined all options my stomach is craving pretty much everything. Unfortunately, what is healthiest for me never crossed my mind—only when I’m in a diet, which has never happened. Why not choose a simple salad or fruit. But in the end, the salad becomes a Caesar salad and fruits usually end up cover with salt.

We have focused on our health once it was made clear we had issues due to some drivers in our society. But how far have we succeeded to control these issues? Since 1955, McDonald’s has made a profit of providing the public fast food at cheap prices but to what cost. With more than 32,000 local restaurants serving more than 60 million people in 117 countries each day, McDonald’s and its competitors have contributed to the obesity that’s 30% of the population in six Southern states. Also the opening of foreign restaurants opened doors for the people to enjoy foreign foods without going out of the country. However, many of the providers such as restaurants and supermarkets are unaware of their food source and background. These are very important question, because not only do they tell you the kind of food they’re serving but also how much good it will do to your body. So what is safe for your body to consume and does it taste as good as the regular food?

The Food Standard Agency provides several suggestions that allow you to enjoy healthy diet without loosing its great taste. Simple modification such as focusing on starchy foods can help you keep a healthy lifestyle. “Starchy foods should make up about a third of the food we eat. They are a good source of energy and the main source of nutrients.” They also recommend to eat fruits and vegetables, more fish, cut down saturated fat and sugar, eat less than 6g of salt a day, drink water, and most important never miss breakfast. Recognition about the foods you eat is necessary to sustain a healthy lifestyle. This requires a shift of focus from your ordinary thoughts like shopping for me. Because if I am able to question something insignificant like a piece of clothing, why should food which enters my body should be taken as granted and never question if its good for me. It all comes down to how much you value your life and body, because the decisions to decide to take today are what shape your future.


Sources:

"Healthy Diet- 8 tips for eating well."Eatwell.gov.uk. Food Standard Agency. APR 21 2010.

Arnst, Catherine. "America's Greatest Health Threat: Obesity." Business Week. NOV 19 2009. . APR 21 2010.

"Getting to Know us." AboutMcDonalds.com. McDonalds. APR 21 2010.

Food Practicum

My conclusion from the food practicum wasn’t so surprising: we are, for the most part, distanced from our food. While reading Kingsolver, one thing that always stuck out to me was from the beginning chapters. The word “dirt” implies negative connotations in our minds—“dirty,” “soiled,” and “muddy.” I personally don’t relate the food I eat to the growing process I have only learned about second-hand, and the degree of distance I feel towards my food doesn’t really change much depending on how “organic” or “natural” the food seems. The grocery stores I visited specifically for this practicum (Whole Foods and Rouses) added to the distance I feel for my food. The produce is set up in rows, clean and well-lit by warm light. I can imagine the vegetables from the frozen Amy’s Kitchen burrito in my freezer growing in soil as little as I can imagine the corn growing in massive rows of crops that becomes the high-fructose corn syrup in almost all my meals. I cannot imagine the milking process involved to produce the yogurt I bought for sixty cents at Rouses. Furthermore, I feel removed from the food at restaurants, and specifically, I feel removed from the food that I work with at my job. The food is presented to look “appetizing;” the meat is sliced or cut up and sautéed out of recognition to anything it originally resembled. The rice is cooked in large pots, each sticky grain clumped to the next. Most of the food has been frozen and reheated. Nothing visual relates the food back to its source, and enough sauce is used that nothing taste or smells the way it “naturally” would. I felt almost helpless to alleviate the distance from my food; even after reading Kingsolver, I still don’t stop and think before I eat red licorice or macaroni and cheese—things that don’t even resemble a natural food. It seems too difficult to get away from these types of food though, when the only means of acquiring meals on my budget are from grocery stores that emphasize these types of food.

My Food Ethic

Living in, arguably, the culinary capital of America, I feel obligated as a writer and as a New Orleans resident to explore deep into the often-derided realm of the normative and applied ethics of food. With the ideas of Plato and John Stuart Mill deeply seated in my ethical conscience, I quickly sat at my cherry wood-finished desk to jot down a working list of tips for my food ethic. The list read, in my somewhat legible handwriting, "buy local," "eat seasonally," "cook at home," "pay attention to food label rhetoric" "avoid food from industrial farms," "eat healthy," "eat less meat," "think about the origins of your food." The list was short, sweet and to the point. Those short, hard-hitting phrases covered a lot of territory from the billion dollars in medical costs from American unhealthy eating habits to limiting carbon emissions by buying locally, instead of relying on food internationally transported. But, for some reason, my ethical conscience was not satisfied; it craved and begged for me to search for certain actions that have destructive consequences hidden to the general, unexamining human eye. I feverishly searched peer-reviewed sites for an answer, but to no avail. However, soon thereafter I began considering the connections between hunger, poverty, and the economics and politics of agriculture, specifically on the global level. And voila, I discovered the missing link to my food ethic: striving to end food practices that contribute to world hunger.

(1)Diversion of land use to non-productive use e.g., tobacco industry, tea and coffee plantations, floriculture, beef and fast food industries, and sugarcane growing for sugar exports.
a. Tobacco production: The tobacco industry diverts huge amounts of rich farmland from producing food to producing tobacco. According to Dr. Judith Mackay, Director of the Asian consultancy on Tobacco control in Hong Kong, tobacco's "minor" use of land denies 10 to 20 million people food. Tobacco uses up more water, and has more pesticides applied to it, further affecting water supplies. These water supplies are further depleted by the tobacco industry recommending the planting of quick-growing, but water-thirsty eucalyptus trees. Also, child labor is often needed for tobacco farms. The net economic costs of tobacco are profoundly negative--the cost of treatment, disability and death exceeds the economic benefits to producers by at least U.S. $200 billion annually "with one third of this loss being incurred by developing countries." The indebted, small farmers are the ones most affected by the impacts of the tobacco companies. The hard cash earned from this "foreign investment" is offset by the costs in social and public health.
b. Coffee production: "25 million coffee growers worldwide are paid a mere pittance in the corporate marketplace while bearing the full brunt of global price fluctuations. When prices crash, farmers go hungry and their children are forced to drop out of school. Families are separated, communities disintegrate, and the land is cleared for other crops or other means of livelihood. That clearing of the land disrupts the ecosystem in ways that have deadly consequences for migratory birds in particular and for global ecological balance in general." Coffee production provides a livelihood for 25 million people in developing countries and globally, 10.6 million hectares of land are used for growing coffee beans. Coffee is one of the most legally-traded agricultural commodities in the world and one of the most important income crops for small farmers in developing countries. However, growing coffee is not always a relaible source of income. While coffee production incresed 61% between 1960 and 2000, prices fell by 57 % during the same period. Growing coffee has significant environmental impacts: establishing coffee plantations results in the clearance of natural forest areas. This trend is made worse by the increasing demand for high-grade speciality coffee, which requires more land. Chemical use contributes to soil degradation. A shift to new production methods has increased pesticide use enormously, resulting in lower insect populations and reduced nutrient recycling by soil. As coffee production has moved away from the farms and fields, waste pulp is dumped in rivers, thus reducing levels of oxygen in the water and degrading freshwater ecosystems. It could instead be used as a soil amendment for coffee crops.
c. Floriculture: It diverts land use away from growing needed food. Very low wages, child labor, and pesticide poisoning. Haryana, traditionally a fertile agricultural state, is today one of the world leaders in growing tulips for export. Increasingly, countries like India are pollutiong their air, earth, and water to grow products for the Western market instead of growing food to feed their own people. Prime agricultural lands are being poisoned to meet the needs of the consumers in the West, and the money consumers spend does not reach the majority of the working poor in the Third World.
d. Beef: More than one third of the world's grain harvest is used to feed livestock. While corn is a staple food in many Latin American and Sub-Saharan countries, "worldwide, it is used as feed." Some 70 to 80% of grain produced in the U.S. is fed to livestock. Half the water consumer in the U.S. is used to grow grain for cattle feed. Hundreds of thousands of acres of tropical forests in Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Honduras, to name just a few countries, have been leveled to create pasture for cattle. Further aggravating the problem is the pervasive use of prime agricultural lands for pasture and portion of idle land among among the country's largest land holdings (of 1,000 hectares or more) 88.7 percent of arable land is left permanently idle. Beef is terribly insufficient as a source of food. By the time a feedlot steer in the U.S. is ready for slaughter, it has consumed 2,700 pounds pounds of grain and weights approximately 1,050 pounds; 157 metric tons of cereal and vegetable protein is used to produce 28 metic tons of animal protein.
e. Sugar: Forests must be cleared to plant sugar, wood or fossil fuels are needed in processing steps, waste products from processing affect the environment, parallel consumptions of other items related to sugar, including coffee, tea, chocolate, etc all collectively put additional resource requirements on the environment. Hidden or external costs: to create, maintain, and support the office buildings and factories where people work in these industries, to support effots in creating demands as well as meeting real and resulting demands, to deal with waste disposal, to deal with resulting health problems and the resources to deal with them, to pay and support lobbyists to help governments and regulation agencies see their perspectives. Dire health effects from children drinking soda.
(2) Increasing emphasis on liberalized, export-oriented and industrial agriculture.
(3)Food treated as a commodity.
(4) Structural adjustment policies. (One should advocate better policies from the IMF and World Bank). If one is in favor of globalization, one should support better global agricultural business methods that do not harm poorer countries.
(5) Inefficient agricultural practices.
(6) Wasted wealth, by wasted capital, wasted labor and resources.


Source: http://www.globalissues.org/article/7/causes-of-hunger-are-related-to-poverty#Sugarcanegrowingforsugarexports

New Orleans Eating Habits: Culinary Masochism

It is late July in Jackson Square. Within the historic park, the lively Preservation Hall Jazz band feverishly plays quintessential New Orleans Jazz, that beautiful mixture of brass band marches, French Quadrilles, ragtime, blues, bebop, and improvisation. Forceful human breath moves through the trumpet’s brass skeleton, eventually escaping from the circular bell, creating rapid and fluid sound—harmonic and complex. The drums are militant, resounding palpitations. And the trombone produces awkward and gregarious melodies. Across from which, a crowd of New Orleanians fervently dance, a dance very liberal in movement, West African in its origins. It seems as though they have just been released from harsh, human bondage. This is freedom, liberty, and pleasure in its purest form.

Over the decades, New Orleanians have been seen as hedonists and pleasure-seekers, aggressive in their pursuit of human happiness—whether it is through music, art, dance, sex, or food. But are pleasures simply subjective mental states involving happiness, entertainment, enjoyment, ecstasy, and euphoria? Not surprising, it can be more complex than this. For an act to be pleasurable, it must not only be pleasurable for a short period time, in the fleeting moment, but also in the long run. The act’s outcome cannot, under any circumstance, be suffering. Such a definition is utilitarian and consequentialist at heart. The Ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus defined the highest pleasure as the “absence of suffering” and pleasure itself as “freedom from pain in the body and freedom from turmoil in the soul” (STA). Such a tradition as New Orleans dancing, if done regularly, is not only pleasurable in the moment but also in the long-run for human health, for it reduces stress, increases muscle tone and coordination, lowers risk of coronary heart disease, decreases blood pressure, increases blood flow to the brain, minimizes weight, and lowers risk of dementia. Unfortunately, New Orleans has a certain tradition, which seems pleasurable at first glance but unpleasant when studied closely; that is—New Orleans’ eating and drinking habits.

Whenever one considers New Orleans cuisine, the mind automatically thinks pleasure. New Orleans’ food has developed from a mixture of Creole, French, Spanish, Italian, African, Native American, Cajun, and a hint of Cuban culinary traditions, which has, undoubtedly, produced a truly unique flavor. However, most of the food is highly unhealthy, causing dire health problems for people. Café du Monde is home to the beignet, a square-shaped fried pastry high in saturated, trans, and hydrogenated fat, which can clog arteries and lead to high cholesterol. New Orleans’ desserts contain a high amount of sugar, which increases blood sugar levels rapidly, thus forcing the pancreas to secrete more insulin to reduce the sugar; this rise and fall causes stress on one’s body, and with the passage of time, diabetes can develop. From fat-ridden gumbos, carbohydrate-heavy crab cakes, acrylamide-carrying Cajun, Popeye’s French fries, unhealthy condiments on unnecessarily large po-boys, high-sodium seasonings, to fried everything, New Orleans is a cesspool for decadent, unhealthy eating. And given its party culture, the average New Orleanian drinker probably consumes enough alcohol to deaden a mule. Alcohol can be unhealthy for the functioning of the liver, brain, and nervous system, also raising one’s blood sugar level in the process. Why does the culture associate these enticing foods with pleasure when they can ruin one’s health? Are New Orleanians culinary masochists? When considering New Orleans cuisine, the mind should not automatically jump to pleasure. Rather, it should jump to the potential negative health effects such food can cause.

In health, New Orleans is not an anomaly in Louisiana. It actually fits perfectly in the state. For in 2008, Louisiana was ranked 49th, Mississippi being the 50^th, as the unhealthiest state in America. The state suffers from high obesity, smoking and premature death rates, high child poverty, infant mortality, and cancer deaths. But health in Louisiana is a larger, more depressing conversation for another day. As the national healthcare debate rages on in the U.S., the debate mainly focuses on health insurance and the economics of private and public options. In the U.S. as in New Orleans, poor health can be caused by economic status, poor health insurance coverage, unorganized and out-of-date healthcare systems, and lack of education on proper nutrition. Of course, for New Orleans, Katrina made matters worse for its healthcare system. But this debate is missing a key argument, and that is the argument for preventive medicine and healthier eating habits. Our ancestors knew the healing power of natural foods, using them to combat all sorts of maladies. It is only now, centuries later, that the therapeutic benefits of certain vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds, herbs and spices can be scientifically proven. New Orleanians consistently make themselves sick by eating unhealthy food. Statistics from the Kaiser Family Foundation clearly illustrate New Orleans’ health challenges. Chronic conditions are widespread: “41% of adults have hypertension, diabetes, asthma or other breathing problems, as well as other chronic health conditions. The most prevalent chronic conditions are hypertension or high blood pressure (24%), diabetes or high blood sugar (11%), and asthma or other breathing problems (9%)” (Kaiser 4). The low reported rate of obesity may reflect the lack of discussion of obesity by physicians with their patients. Next, mental health challenges are also evident for adults, with about one in twelve adults (8%) ranking their mental health as fair or poor. “About one in twenty adults report symptoms of depression (6%) or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (5%)” (Kaiser 6). The health of elderly citizens is even direr. “The elderly in the area have high rates of health problems, as is the case nationally—two thirds (66%) of those over 65 in the area are living with a chronic condition or disability” (Kaiser 9). Prior to Katrina, Louisiana had some of the poorest health statistics in the country, with high rates of infant mortality, chronic diseases such as asthma and diabetes, and AIDS cases. Today, there are large disparities in health status for minorities; the African American population had higher mortality rates from heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes than whites. Lastly, “one in five households with children (19%) reported that a child in the home had a chronic disease or disability, which equates to 6% of all households in the Greater New Orleans area” (Kaiser 13). Respondents most commonly identified asthma and other breathing problems as a chronic condition affecting a child in the household (10% of households with children reported at least one child with this type of problem).

According to a BRFSS study done in 2006, 5% of adults currently have asthma; 10% have been told they had asthma at some point in their lives. Moreover, “as classified by the Body Mass Index (BMI), 29.8% of adults in the New Orleans area are overweight and 31.5% are obese” (BRFSS 1). Herein lies the main culprits: “Only 21% of New Orleans adults consume five or more servings of fruits and vegetables, and 32.7% did not participate in any physical activity in the past month” (BRFSS 2). Only 24.2% of adults surveyed report achieving the currently recommended levels of physical activity. And among adults in the New Orleans area, 20.2% are current smokers.

In referencing an YRBS study in 2005, New Orleans students are slightly more overweight than other students in the United States, but much less likely to perceive themselves as overweight. Also, they were less likely to engage in healthy weight loss activities, such as exercising or eating fewer calories, but more likely to try unhealthy methods, such as fasting for more than 24 hours, vomiting, or using pills, powders, liquids or laxatives. In fact, New Orleans students tried unhealthy weight loss methods more than students in any other city completing the YRBS. New Orleans ranked 9th of 17 cities completing the YRBS for daily fruit and vegetable consumption. Not surprising, “only 73.1% had eaten any fruit during the previous week, and 19.2% of those surveyed report achieving the currently recommended levels of physical activity, compared to 35.8% of students surveyed nationally” (YRBS 1).

Unhealthy eating in New Orleans is not simply caused by a lack of will power or lack of education. Most of the population knows how unhealthy their eating habits are. So why do they continue to behave in this manner, then? Many New Orleanians are bombarded by a variety of food cues and stimuli around them. Their behavior is being conditioned, and they are driven to eat unhealthily. A cue could be the smell or sight of food, or the elegant and enticing beauty of a well-lit, architectured French Quarter restaurant. Undoubtedly, it stimulates the brain. Every time one eats this food, one strengthens his or her neural circuitry. A part of the brain activates, and arousal takes place unconsciously. When one becomes conscious that the food is unhealthy, one begins to have an inner-debate, combating the neural circuitry that has already been laid down, which knows how tasteful certain unhealthy foods are. Sadly, this inner-debate increases the reward value in the food. Dopamine, a brain chemical, helps focus the mind on the most salient stimuli in the environment. It could be alcohol, tobacco, or sex, but for most of the population, the most salient, readily-available and socially acceptable stimuli is food. At the core of this food are fat, sugar, and salt, which stimulate one to eat more and more. Our taste buds are hardwired to the brain and fat, sugar, and salt stimulate the receptors in our mouth. It keeps us going back for more. Sugar and fat make the food more multi-sensory, more potent. New Orleans has made sugar, fat, and salt available 24/7 in large portions. Why is this socially acceptable? Cigarettes were successful in the 50’s, for they were seen as glamorous and sexy, as a social norm. Recently, society has changed the social norm of cigarettes, making them a negative salient image. Society can do the same thing for unhealthy eating, which can be just as dangerous as tobacco. But even more dangerous, parents have instilled this dangerous neural-circuitry in their children. Now, children as young as 10 years of age are acquiring Type II diabetes. Fortunately, one can add new learning and neural circuitry on top of that old neural circuitry to change eating habits.

Nourishing our bodies should not simply be about pleasure but respect for nature and our existence. New Orleans’ music, art, and dance have always been about freedom of expression and pleasure. They are beautiful and healthy cultural activities, highly celebratory in their appearance. I have always seen New Orleans’ free and improvised dancing as a way of purging the troubles in the world, by letting loose and celebrating the beautiful elements in life. Recently, I am beginning to interpret this dancing not as a cathartic technique but as a masking and repressing technique, hiding the true reality of the extreme challenges New Orleans faces, especially in health. The New Orleans dancer will be free when he or she articulates the oppression and dire consequences of New Orleans’ unhealthy, suicidal eating habits.

Works Cited

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Steps to a Healthier New Orleans.

1 Jan. 2006 < http://www.stepsla.org/home2/section/2-148/evaluation>.

Kaiser Family Foundation. 12 Aug. 2007

< http://www.kff.org/kaiserpolls/upload/7659.pdf>.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 12 May. 2009

< http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicurus/>.

Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Steps to a Healthier New Orleans. 1 Jan. 2006

<http://www.stepsla.org/home2/section/2-148/evaluation>