This semester I think I have been successful in narrowing down my theses and focuses, as well as coming up with new ways of thinking about things (such as in the scoring system I developed in a group project this term). As noted in my reflection letter, I've heard a lot of different perspectives on how to eat responsibly and what that means in the first place,and this has both validated and questioned the choices I make now. I've tried not to run away from that this semester and discuss with my classmates some of the dilemmas I feel, and to share the background I have growing up in a poor nutrition household. I am thankful we started talking about social justice issues in America's food system, as I hadn't realized the way water privatization is ruining the earth or the way undocumented workers are controlled by my beloved grocery chain here in Portland. 

 

Below are examples of work I have done this semester that pertain to inquiry and critical thinking. In my Food System Quantitative Inquiry group project "Eating on Campus vs. Buying Groceries for sustainability, Convenience, and Thrift," (Evidence #1) Kai, Dara, Brett, and I went beyond just a couple of trips to the grocery store and interviewed the director of food services at PSU to learn about their sustainability practices. Because it was so hard to quantify some of the data we found, we came up with a sustainability scoring system that showed how the dining hall compared to three grocery stores. In my last reading response (Evidence #2), I talked about the fear culture water privatizers have exploited to keep unsustainable jobs prevalent but poorly paid, but have also controlled the market of environmental clean-up by acting as both environmental villains and heroes at the same time. In my description of my "food policy" (Evidence #3), I discuss the many things that factor into what I buy and the moral and diet dilemmas I have to balance, as well as the fact that I know too well how a childhood of poor nutrition can affect and adult's habits.