Environmental Injustice

Food deserts have been a huge epidemic in many urban cities including Chicago. A food desert can be defined as a neighborhood or cluster of neighborhoods that do not have access to a major grocery store such as a Jewel, Aldi, or Trader Joes. Three main areas, covering 44 square miles, in Chicago have been labeled as food deserts which include "an elongated ring connecting the Near North Side with Lawndale and Austin; an upside-down Y stretching from the Near South Side to Ashburn and Greater Grand Crossing; and a meandering mass swallowing most of the Far South Side". Additionally, a majority of these residents living in these neighborhoods are African American (478,000) compared to whites (78,000) and Latinos (57,000).

This brings a load of social issues to light: 


A large number of Chicagoans are at a high risk for serious health problems. “Diet has a direct link to obesity, diabetes, and other diseases, and you can’t choose a healthy diet if you don’t have access to it. Many in the food desert who suffer are children who already have diabetes but who have yet to be diagnosed and treated.” Nearly 1/3 of residents living in food deserts are children. 


Food Deserts also equal business deserts. These areas are high in crime so it's harder to attract businesses to open locations. Higher crime neighborhoods also require high tax rates, which also discourages businesses from opening there. Alderman Anthony Beale (9th Ward), which includes most of the Roseland area, commented saying, "Going on ten years now, I’ve been working aggressively to bring a store—a full-fledged national chain—to my community. I’ve done everything so far as to mark land down to one dollar, and for some reason, the big chains are redlining the African American community."

Education is also a main factor. Even if stores did come into these neighborhoods, people need to learn what is best for their health. People need to change their eating and cooking habits. A lot of people in society today find it easier to pick up a pre-prepared or pre-packaged meal, not just because of access, but time management as well. But, what people don't understand is even if the box is luring you with "Low Fat" or "0 Calorie" content, it doesn't mean that it's necessarily good for you. People need to come back to the basics of whole, natural foods. They need to learn how to cook sometime tasty without loading salt and oil on it. 


On the brighter side, food deserts in Chicago have taken a dramatic 40% decline within the past 5 years. Additionally, Michelle Obama, who has taken the health, diet, and exercise dilemma (Let's Move Campaign) under her wing as the First Lady, also made a recent appearance in Chicago urging other cities to follow Chicago's lead. 

Check out these articles for more information on food deserts in Chicago:
Chicago Magazine
Huffington Post
Bloomberg Businessweek
Chicago Stories

Also check out my post on Rethinking Soup with Fresh Moves

My first EC Ad

Making My Own Environmental Communication

In honor of Earth day coming up this month, I will be creating and posting my own EC each week. I've decided to create several advertisements of my own that will encourage healthy eating. I've posted some that I think are useful and creative

Green Advertising

It's become a stylish trend in America to go green. In order to appeal to the green consumer, many companies have used advertising techniques to persuade people that they've also jumped on the green bandwagon.They use ambiguous words and images in order to uphold a certain image. Mass media scholar, Dennis Hayes identified four techniques that marketers use to appeal to the green consumer:

1. Ecopornography - A big fat lie

2. Narrow truth - Used to mislead

3. Donations to a specific environmental cause for every purchase made

4. Honesty

I've incorporated products that use each technique. If you see these items on shelves at the store, BEWARE!


Ecopornography

F

Fiji water was actually sued for greenwashing their product and claiming it was carbon negative. What's even worse is that most Fiji citizens don't have access to clean drinking water and typhoid outbreaks occur often there.







Narrow Truth

Yoplait Yogurt has a 99% Fat Free Light yogurt, but it also has 26 grams of sugar!! Not to mention it contains aspartame, which is an ARTIFICIAL sugar and it says "other sweetener" on the label, what exactly is the name of this other sweetener and what is it made of? Yoplait tries to market their yogurt as a healthy snack or meal replacement. When choosing yogurts, go for products that are sweetened with just fruit or try greek yogurt.

Donating to a Cause


Although Newman's does use organic ingredients in some of its products, you have to be hesitant before buying into this advertising penumbra. You can never really know exactly how much of what is going to these charities.

Honesty

Because kombucha is natural, organic, and raw, it's easy to see why companies who sell the drink use words like "honest" and "wonder drink" on their labels. Kombucha is an amazing drink that makes you feel revitalized. You can actually make your own! All it's made of is tea that is fermented with a mushroom culture called SCOBY, which stands for symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. To learn more on how to make your own Kombucha check out this website: Kombucha

Food Inc.

Now, I've always loved my BLT sandwiches and Al's Italian beef, but after watching the film, Food Inc., I've been seriously thinking about going vegeterian. This film is on a whole other level than Super Size Me and gives an even deeper look into the meat industry as well as the agriculture indsutry in the U.S. Some of the images of the meat packing farms seriously reminded me of scenes I've seen in the t.v. show, Hoarders. Animals are crammed into dark sheds, often left to sit in their own feces!

Food Inc. gives an in depth look into the food industry and attempts to show the public what we are really putting into our bodies. Today, people are fighting a slew of serious health problems, which are in part due to the food industry and the food they are selling to consumers. Is it even really food when it's being genetically modified and patented? These are elusive hazards that rarely make the news, unless there is a sudden salmonella outbreak. Otherwise, the fabricated Kraft fat-free cheese and Diet Pepsi are constantly being restocked in our local grocery markets.....and we are consuming these products on a daily basis, with no real idea of what they are really made of.

Food Inc. also uses a selective set of sources in the film. There is an array of villans, heroes, and victims. Although they do not do any real interviews with the huge corporations that they spotlight in the film it is clear that Purdue, Tyson, and Mansanto are the villans. We, as consumers are the victims and food experts and social entrepreneurs such as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Gary Hirschberg (Stonyfield), and Joel Salatin (Polyface Farms) are our hereos, leading the way to a more pure and wholesome way of producing food.

To really understand what you put in your body, watch this movie! This is an eye opening, MUST SEE film!

Watch the trailer to Food Inc. here: http://youtu.be/6bz3GBC8NQo

Just Eat Organic

Gary Hirshberg, founder and CE -Yo of Stonyfield Farms, has become a well known spokesperson for organic foods. He has made numerous efforts in informing the public about what goes on in the food market and how consumers can rise above the industry. It's important to know how powerful we are as consumers! We have the power to readjust the genetically enhanced, fabricated food that we consume every day!!! All other food brands are racing to the organic foods industry because it's what the consumers want!

He also started a year long organic education campaign with YouTube, which involves a video contest open to the public where people can share their stories about organic food.

Check out the funny rap video Hirshberg made himself!!! Just Eat Organic

The #1 thing you can do as a consumer is EDUCATE yourself!

Here are some more tips to eating your way to a new and better you!

-Read your food labels

-Buy organic products (most chain supermarkets have organic food sections)

-Buy locally from farmer's markets

-Check out Dill Pickle, a local food co-op located in Logan Square

-Buy foods that are in season

-Plant your own garden or grow your own herbs

-Bring your lunch to school/work, rather than eating out

-Look up restaurants that are sustainable, all organic or carry organic items

Bleeding Heart Bakery & Cafe is a deliscious restaurant that I frequently visit serving two locations on the north side of Chicago
Check out their menu: The Bleeding Heart Cafe

Here is a list of organic restaurants in the Chicagoland area that I found on Yelp: Organic Restaurants

Re-Thinking Soup

Re-Thinking Soup with Fresh Moves

Re-Thinking Soup takes place every Tuesday at the UIC Hull House and is a modern day soup kitchen where people can come share some deliciously, healthy soup and discuss current cultural, economic, social, and environmental food issues in our society today. Recently, I was able to check out a discussion  on Fresh Moves, a mobile produce market, and enjoy a great organic lunch.

Walking into the Hull House dining hall, I was among a crowd just arriving, as others were already waiting in line for their soup. I claimed a spot at one of the front dining tables as everyone else settled into their seats and relished in their warm soup. On today's menu was a mixture of collard greens, black eyed peas, and mushrooms with a solid hint of something spicy that really hit the spot for me. They also gave out mini corn bread rolls that perfectly complimented the soup. The topic of the day was on a grass roots effort called, Fresh Moves. Activist, Dara Cooper, informed us about the Fresh Moves mission. Fresh Moves is a grass roots effort to get fresh food to dozens of Chicago neighborhoods lacking healthy sources of food.

Fresh moves uses both technical and cultural rationality to help their cause. They started out by pleading their case to the CTA and managed to get them to sell an old CTA bus for $1! They constructed a risk assessment on nutrition and health of people living in poor areas where they lack basic grocery stores and sources to a variety of foods, not just processed junk! This causes a serious risk for these people such as obesity, diabetes, stress and heart disease, to just name a few. Additionally, they used cultural rationality to really get their message out to people and spread social justice to the low income neighborhoods of Chicago. Fresh Moves is aware that these health problems arent just due to poor geographical mapping of grocery stores. Chicago is notorious for being a racially divided city and although red lining has become illegal, businesses still don't want to be in bad neighborhoods. Fresh Moves is taking an initiative to not only bring resources to these areas, but also really educate their consumers. It's not about the money to them. "I'll trade a kid a bag of grapes for a bag of hot cheetos, if it means he's making an independent choice to eat healthy.", Cooper explained in her discussion. "It's not that these kids don't want fruit, it's that they don't have access to buy it".

To find out more about Fresh Moves visit their website: Fresh Moves

To find out more about ReThinking Soup visit the Hull House website: ReThinking Soup

Urban Farms - Utopian Principles

Urban Farms - Utopian Principles

Communal societies were all the rage in the 1960's as the hippie movement reached new heights. Many people set off to live away from society and form their own communities not defined by conventional norms. These communes often grew their own food, enforced laws and rules, established schools, and often shared tasks and responsibilities. Although they are not widely known nowadays, some still exist today. The farm, as it nonchalantly named, resides in Summertown, Tennessee and is based on an ecological Utopia or Utopia of Sufficiency, where sustainability is more important than abundance in consumption. The Farm can notably be known as the pioneers of Urban Farming today.

Who is the Farm?

Stephen Gaskin, a creative writing teacher from San Francisco, started the movement by holding open meetings about psychedelic experiences and their relation to world religions. Some of the classes were titled,"Experiments in Unified Theory", "Einstein Magic and God", and "Metaphysical Education" (Meta PE). The meetings attracted a lot of attention and Gaskin went on a 60 bus tour across the U.S. visiting schools and churches. After their traveling was over, the group decided to put their money together and buy some land. The farm began as a 1,000 acre farm and it is located in Summertown, TN. It is powered through solar panels and bio fuels. Recently, when I checked out their website, they had a proud badge posted on their homepage that read, "100% Powered by Wind Energy".

The Farm Communicates

After looking through their website it is no wonder why the Farm is still in existence. They are very active when it comes to hosting events and gatherings in their community. Looking at their calendar they had all types of affairs including, "Vegan Cooking Retreat", "Stream Clean Up", "Organic Gardening", and "Experience the Land", which is a weekend retreat that includes going on a waterfall hike. They have other weekend events too like "The Spiritual Path", which focuses on personal rejuvenation and meditation. They also hold midwifery workshops throughout the month consistently.

The website has other interactive features as well. Not only can you look at the history and foundation of the Farm, but you can click on videos on cooking and gardening tips. They even have a link to all YouTube videos about the Farm. Additionally, the website includes links to an interactive map of the farm, the Farm's own blog page, and links to all their associated businesses and non-profit contributions. It's eye opening to see how a small idea can grow so big!

What Can You Do?

Realistically, we don't live in a Utopia and we certainly don't have farms growing in our backyards. So how do we contribute or take part in Utopian principles?

• Buy produce and other goods from farmer's markets. (Check out my link to Farmer's Markets in Chicago).
• Try to buy goods at smaller stores and independent vendors.
• Support markets who define themselves as "green" rather than large chains.
• Check out Dill Pickle a food co-op based here in Chicago in the Logan Square neighborhood. 
• Dill Pickle 

To learn more about the farm visit the following websites:

http://www.thefarmcommunity.com/index.html
http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-experimental-towns-and-communes.php

The Fox

The Fox - Environmentalist & Activist

Could you believe the roots of eco-radicalism started right here in Chicago? In the early 1970's an anonymous man, who called himself "The Fox" went around the Chicagoland area, plugging sewer pipes, leaving skunks at the front doors of executives, and posting signs around the city in attack against United States Steel saying, ''Making steel is my business, murdering your environment is my sideline.'' He even once collected 50 lbs of sewage  that a company had sunk into Lake Michigan and dumped it into the company's reception room.

"He was featured in the pages of Time, Newsweek and Life magazines, and a television special, "Profit the Earth" — all anonymously. He spoke via telephone to the U.S. secretary of state’s Committee on Human Environment, a group preparing for the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment."

Much of the Fox's discourse was against the law and the police were never able to catch him or make charges against him. He later went on to work as a field inspector for the Kane County Environmental Department and started the Fox River Conservation Foundation. He was finally able to use his passion for the environment in a positive light.

The Fox was later identified as James Phillips. He died in 2001, at the age of 70.

Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/22/us/james-phillips-70-environmentalist-who-was-called-the-fox.html

http://www.policyarchive.org/handle/10207/bitstreams/9471.pdf

http://www.chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/spring2002/fox.html

SWANCC

SWANCC - Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County

My mom works for the Village of Glenview and was telling me about this recycling program they offer to Cook County Residents. They offer all kinds of services such as confidential paper shredding, holiday light recycling, commercial waste disposal sights, composting information, and residential chemical disposal, where they come to your house to safely remove hazardous chemicals and dispose of them correctly. They also recycle pharmaceuticals and needles. Even when you flush an old perscription down the toliet, it can still cause harm to other species and contaminate water. The SWANCC allows you to safely recycle items that we don't always know what to do with. In addition, they offer educational programs and resources to Cook County residents. Check out their website, which is full of useful information on how to live green!

http://www.swancc.org/

Growing Home - Urban Farm

Chicago's Urban Agriculture

Home-Grown Training in Chicago In a once-empty lot in Chicago's stockyard district (the setting for Upton Sinclair's classic novel The Jungle,) an urban farm called Growing Home has transformed the land into a lush garden of fruits and vegetables and, more importantly, transformed the formerly homeless people who now manage it. Heifer International is helping many major urban centers across the country repurpose land like this one in Chicago - areas that once were thriving downtowns but through ensuing years became unused parking lots, abandoned industrial complexes and old building sites reclaimed by weeds. Because many of these sites are paved or contaminated by years of industrial use, the farming is done in raised beds - therefore avoiding the expense of cleaning. Growing Home sells its produce to local restaurants and at two farmers markets, providing fresh food in urban areas that usually offer only fast-food restaurants and convenience stores for its residents. The farm also has a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program - members pay a fee at the beginning of the season and plant and harvest their own produce. Perhaps most importantly, Growing Home has helped create a sense of ownership for people who have not had much to call their own.  "People [at the market] want to know where things are grown," said Courtney, one of the project participants, "then they want to know how I know. I tell them, because I'm the one that put the seed in the ground, watered it, cut it and brought it to the market." Over in the center of Chicago, a 19,000-square-foot community garden is producing food that goes directly to shelters and soup kitchens. This garden is part of Growing Power, a large training program and agricultural complex based in Milwaukee that was created by Will Allen, a former professional basketball player. Heifer and Growing Power joined forces almost 10 years ago, and Growing Home's gardeners receive training through the Growing Power project. This training, along with gardening duties, is preparing both young people and the unemployed for greater responsibilities in future jobs. "Growing Home is trying to give people basics of what an employer expects of you since most have been out of work for years," said Avram Golden-Trist, the site coordinator. "With this program we hope to alert them to avenues where they can move on as a positive person." And Allen believes the project will continue to be 'Growing' for years to come. "There are 70,000 acres of vacant lots in the Chicago area," Allen said, "All I need to set it up is a handful of worms." Article and photos provided by http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.1526569/ Communication Rhetoric What kind of rhetoric does this article use to appeal to their audience?  Ethos - This article was posted on heifer.org, an international charity working to provide sustainable solutions to hunger. Heifer works with other organizations all over the world to help those in need. Pathos - Heifer and Growing Home have collaborated to provide food and jobs for homeless people and those in need. Food grown at Growing Home goes directly to shelters and soup kitchens, as well as local restaurants and two farmers markets in the Chicagoland area. They've also established Growing Power, a training program and agricultural complex located in Milwaukee, WI. Not only are they providing food, but they are also providing jobs and training to those who need it.  Logos - "There are 70,000 acres of vacant lots in the Chicago area."Using empty lots in Chicago as an agricultural space instead of using it as commercial space is a unique and productive way to make an abandon area seem full of life....Green Life.

List of Farmer's Markets

Natural Home & Garden ranked the top 10 Urban Farms in America.

Numbers 1 & 2 are located here in Chicago!

http://cityfarmchicago.wordpress.com/market-stan - City Farm

http://www.chicagobotanic.org/greenyouthfarm/ - Green Youth Farm


Here is also a comprehensive list of Farmer's Markets to check out! Maybe one is in your neighborhood!

 http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/food/5274248-423/2011-farmers-market-guide.html



image from http://www.explorechicago.org/etc/medialib/explore_chicago/mose/farmers_markets.Par.19511.Image.-1.-1.1.gif