DONE!

I am finally finished with AWD! It feels good to have all the work completed (now time to focus on my microeconomics final which is in T-minus 3 hours). I really enjoyed this class. Our class got along well together and we had fun joking around and tweeting at each other. I learned how to think critically about different genres and how they can are used for specific purposes. I also further developed my skills as a writer. I think the best thing I got out of the class is the body of work I created focusing on environmental activism.  I loved the ability to write about my own field of interest and I am happy that I have so much to show for all the effort I put into each assignment. Overall the class was awesome!

Radical Action for Mountain People’s Survival

Radical Action for Mountain People’s Survival, also known as RAMPS, is an organization works in the southern coal fields of West Virginia in a non-violent direct action campaign to end destructive coal mining. They declare on their website that, “In solidarity, we offer our resources, our networks, our time, our bodies, and our personal freedom to this struggle.” This dedicated group of activists secretly and strategically plan radical actions against the coal industry that is destroying the communities and environment of Appalachia, often using their bodies to physically block mining activity. Recently 5 activists formed a human blockade on a public road to stop mining trucks from entering the fields and were arrested and sentenced to jail time. I also met a RAMPS activist at a presentation at Northeastern my freshman year who sat in a tree for over 30 days to stop the planned destruction of several mountains by blasting explosives to extract the coal underneath. Because the coal companies are not legally allowed to blast when humans are in the area, the action halted the destruction and put the companies at a standstill. This type of direct action in which activists place their physical bodies in the way to stop further degradation of the environment is an incredible way to get their message heard loud and clear. Most RAMPS activists are arrested when the protest is over, and the organization actively raises money to bail activists out of jail and pay any necessary court fees. I am so inspired by the brave people who are not afraid to put their bodies and freedom on the line to fight for the just world they envision.

Meat, Shmeat.

Ever wondered what the hell we’re going to do to satisfy Americans’ outrageous demand for beef while avoiding environmental catastrophe? Well, I certainly have (even though I’m a vegetarian). Scientists have been grappling with this question for decades, researching a method to “grow” meat in a laboratory setting. This new form of meat, often called “shmeat,” is many scientists’ answer to the staggering environmental costs of beef production. According to an article on Grist, last week two people taste-tested the most expensive hamburger in the world made of shmeat, costing $332,000. The lengthy and costly process begins with bovine skeletal muscle stem cells and involves a careful “feeding” procedure over time. The article states that “a  2011 study in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science and Technology found that lab-grown beef would use 45 percent less energy, produce 96 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and use 99 percent less land than conventionally produced meat.” Reading these figures alone would give one reason for optimism, right? Well, not so fast. Many professionals following the issue point to the sheer cost of lab-grown beef as its biggest downfall – and the reason it will likely not be on the shelves anytime soon. While some tout shmeat as the key to “feeding the world” in the midst of increasing environmental limitations, the Grist article argues that this “is probably overstating the case.” With environmental degradation and animal rights abuses at the forefront of concerns regarding cattle farming, the conversation about shmeat is probably not going away for a long time.

For me personally, this brings up the question of the role of technology in the world today. To some, lab-grown beef is a testament to the incredible nature of scientific innovation and the virtually limitless possibilities presented by technological advancements. To me, lab-grown beef is a step towards a scary, hyper-industrialized system. I don’t get particularly optimistic when I think about a world where our food is grown in test tubes. I also don’t get particularly optimistic, though, when I think about a world where billions of people starve while cows eat one third of US grain harvests, rivers get polluted with toxic chemicals, innocent animals are horrifyingly abused and commodified, and greenhouse gas emissions continue to climb. This issue speaks to the amazing complexity of current environmental challenges and their potential solutions.

Crisis of Misinformation

I saw this photo on Facebook today and it really got me thinking about the role of the media in our society. Unpacking this issue fully is a daunting task, but I have a few words to contribute to the subject. Frances Moore Lappe, food justice scholar and activist, tweeted recently that in 2011 90% of the US media is owned by 6 companies (look at me synthesizing and connecting info from social networks). With this statistic in mind, it is easy to see why the media is designed to distract us from the real issues. The constant onslaught of meaningless news is meant to keep Americans feeling “informed” while in reality we don’t see what is truly happening in our world. It is interesting to think about this crisis of misinformation within the context of such a connected planet. We could have access to news from all over the globe and yet we have no idea what the “real” issues are and why they exist. The US Corporatocracy has us exactly where they want us – uninformed and apathetic. I often feel frustrated that so many people are unaware of this agenda. Fortunately there are lots of professionals out there reporting on real problems and connecting them to broader systemic issues. We need more of this! We need to get out of the vortex of garbage broadcasted to us daily by mainstream media. We need to wake up to what is really happening to our planet as a result of the destructive and exploitative systems created by the few in power and perpetuated by us through our unconscious consumption and inaction in the face of oppression.

The Beehive Design Collective

The Beehive Design Collective is a group of radical artists whose mission is “to cross-pollinate the grassroots, by creating collaborative, anti-copyright images that can be used as educational and organizing tools.” They create massive, intricate sketches that they sell as posters, patches, etc. with a goal of social change. They spend years creating these pieces, each tiny detail of the image is symbolic. If they draw a bird, even the choice of species is precise and meaningful, somehow tying back to the theme of the work.  It is often hard to look at the images and understand all of the deep symbols woven into the art, but they do workshops around the country where they bring their art and walk you through the meaning-making process. In these workshops, pieces of the image are blown up so participants can see the details and further understand everything that is being said. I did a workshop series with them at the Mountain Justice activist training conference in Appalachia and was absolutely blown away by the intelligence of the art. I have nothing but respect and admiration for this group of artists who are able to so eloquently and beautifully convey such important messages to the world. In order to build transformative social movements, we need people like the Collective to inspire and educate activists fighting for a just system

The photo above is their piece entitled “The True Cost of Coal” and contains a narrative about the evolution of coal and fossil fuel use. If you click on the image you can see a larger version to view more of the details. I have a large poster of this image hanging up in my house and it’s always a conversation starter.

The Real Food Revolution Is On

This summer we won our Real Food Challenge campaign and Northeastern will sign onto the Real Food Campus Commitment in the fall of this year! But you probably already knew that. I’ve been blogging about the ongoing process of setting up the framework for this change, writing about the campaign in general, the class that will run the real food calculator from dining hall invoices, and the Food Systems Working Group. Even though we won a major victory this summer, we haven’t been around as a cohesive group in order to get all the necessary balls rolling with the implementation. But now the summer is coming to an end and the real work is beginning! I’m getting back into the grind of setting up meetings, sending out emails, drafting documents, making phonecalls, strategizing, and basically doing whatever else is needed to properly organize the revolution. After discussing all the next steps for the fall in various meetings and emails, I have come to the conclusion that I will not sleep for the next 4 months. Seriously though….there is so much work to be done! But I am so grateful to be doing it. We are going down in history as the first school in Boston to have signed onto the Real Food Challenge, as well as the largest private school! WOO! The work I will be doing with my fellow organizers in the fall is creating the framework for HUGE institutional change. The nitty-gritty details we’ll be working through is exactly what it takes to shift $8 million into a fair and sustainable food system. The task is not small or easy, but our vision isn’t either! We finally have the chance to put what we’ve hoped for into action next semester and I have three words for this upcoming year: Bring, It. On.

Identifying Audience

For Unit 4, one of the most important aspects of the assignment is writing for a specific, identifiable public. I’ve been struggling to figure out exactly who I want to target with my project and how to engage that particular audience most effectively. Getting up in front of the class with my draft on Thursday was helpful because I got to talk through the variety of potential audiences for my genre and get feedback from Ben and my classmates. Although I have a good start to my document for Unit 4, I need to decide who it is for so I can use the proper rhetoric and images to convey my information clearly and persuasively. I liked the idea that came up in class about writing for people in low-income communities who either need food sovereignty or are already experiencing the benefits. These are two publics I hadn’t thought of when I first came up with the idea of creating a brochure and I think communicating with those audiences about this topic would be meaningful and effective. 

Food Systems Working Group

This morning I had a meeting with three staff members from the Real Food Challenge, the director of dining at Northeastern, and the faculty member teaching the RFC class in the fall (I wrote about the Real Food Challenge here and the new class here) in order to discuss the logistics of implementing the Real Food Campus Commitment next semester! One of the main goals of the next few weeks is setting up the Food Systems Working Group (FSWG). This group is responsible for spearheading the process of creating and implementing a framework that will ultimately shift $8 million (or more) into real food. Needless to say, this is a big deal!

The body is comprised of NU faculty, staff, dining administrators, dining hall workers, and at least 50% students. The group will meet together once a month with smaller meetings in between held by sub-groups or “task forces.” Each sub-group will be responsible for bottom-lining a specific aspect of the Real Food Campus Commitment. The tasks for these groups include (but are not limited to): creating a document that outlines the governance structure of the group, creating a multi-year action plan with annual benchmarks, producing annual reports, and overseeing the implementation of the Real Food Calculator. Each task-force will be chaired by a student, with other FSWG members acting as supporting roles. 

Right now we are in the recruitment process and are thinking critically about the people (staff, faculty, students, dining hall workers) that will be most effective in this space. Student collaboration with various university stakeholders is essential with a project as big as this! Our first meeting next semester will be an exciting day. 

Potential Genres for Unit 4

1) E-newsletter

Activist organizations send e-newsletters to members of their listserv, which are often very large and mostly include non-professionals (ie a public audience – but a specific public – people get on these email lists because they gave their email to the organization at some point, which shows that this public has some familiarity of the organization and interest in environmental issues). E-newsletters often emphasize information about upcoming events and actions taking place. These are a good way for organizations to communicate with the people interested in their work. This genre might not fit well with my project because e-newsletters focus mainly on publicizing protests and events and my project is more informational/analytical.

2) Printed brochure or handout

Activist organizations often have tables at events such as conferences, music festivals, and farmer’s markets to promote their campaigns and hand out information about environmental issues. The ultimate goal is to spread awareness about the issues so that people will be inspired to take action. These printed materials need to be eye-catching and interesting in order to convince people to join the movement. I like the idea of creating something like this for my Unit 4 because the purpose of the genre can be related easily to my project. It could be fun put my material from previous units in a more creative format.

3) Blog post

Professionals within the field of environmental activism often write blogs on various websites that are meant for a public audience. These blog posts can be about a variety of different topics but are all aimed at spreading information about environmental issues and their solutions. The writing style varies from fun and informal to critical and analytical. The audience is anyone reading environmental sections of news websites, so the public for this genre is people interested in environmental issues. I could easily translate my information from previous units into a blog post because the goals are similar.

Co-designing a New NU Class for Fall 2013

This week I had a meeting with the dining hall director of Northeastern as well as Chris Bosso, a professor in public policy, about a new class we are  creating for the fall. Since Northeastern signed onto the Real Food Challenge (see my blog post here to learn what that is and hear how we won the campaign), the first step is determining what percentage of “real food” the dining hall currently purchases. In order to do this, the Real Food Challenge developed the Real Food Calculator, which is used to categorize each food as “real” or not. Running the calculator means analyzing the invoices of the countless products purchased by dining services, so it’s a big task! Part of the process is also to develop more sustainable, fair, humane, community-based purchasing alternatives that both satisfy our goals and fit within the budget.

The class will most likely be a 5000-level research-based directed study and will be mostly centered around running the calculator. To see this project as an actual for-credit class at Northeastern is so exciting! It will be a very interesting opportunity to learn the nitty-gritty details required to make big institutional changes in the food system. Northeastern signing onto the Real Food Challenge is a major development in the university-based food movement because we are the largest private school in the country to have signed on, the first school in Boston, and the largest contract with Chartwell’s (the subcontracted company that runs the dining hall). Our yearly operating budget is $40 million! By the time the calculator is completed and the commitment plan is implemented, we will have helped shift $8 million (20% of the budget) into a fair, sustainable food system. Such an exciting time to be involved in this movement!