Yummy Yummy Food!

As a vegetarian, I love this weeks post!  While I do believe in the ethical treatment of animals, my main reason for going Veg over two years ago now was for my health. 

I also very much believe in sustainable farming practices. Major elements that go into the practice are:

• fully exploit natural processes such as recycling nutrients, using plants that fix their own nitrogen and achieving a balance between pests and predators;
• reduce the reliance on inputs such as mineral fertilizers and chemical pesticides;
• diversify farming systems, making greater use of the biological and genetic potential of plant and animal species;
• improve the management of natural resources;
• rotate crops or develop agroforestry systems that help maintain soil fertility. 

http://www.fao.org/docrep/u8480e/U8480E0l.htm

Much of my diet is whole organic produce. Outside of produce, my sources of protein (nuts, soy, grains, etc...) are non GMO. I do not purchase things labeled "Natural" as almost everything in our world is "Natural". Cow dung is natural, but you sure as shit are not going to see me consuming that! I think it is a word that is so haphazardly thrown around now that it just needs to be ignored.

I feel completely connected to my food system. As a CSA member of Worden Farm, a small USDA Certified Organic farm in Punta Gorda, I know exactly where my food is coming from and I can even harvest it myself should I choose to. Each week, one box is delivered to our home. In it is a plethora of yummy produce including many things you can not find in a conventional grocery store.

In fact, here are some of the meals that I have been able to make from my weekly box of Noms!

Spinach, Fig and Goat cheese salad. Garlic and cilantro Tempeh with onions. Plums and kiwi.

Vegan Pho

The most amazing salad in existence! Yes, those are edible flowers and they are spicy!

 

Environmental Issues Facing us Today!

What do I believe to be the top environmental issue today?

Overall waste: Especially here in Florida, the amount of garbage bags is disproportionate to the size of the recycle bins. Perfectly good things are put out with the trash on a constant basis, just to go take up room in the landfill. Options exist to re purpose those usable items like donating to charity or utilizing Freecycle in your area. To date, Freecycle has prevented the waste of over 400 million pounds of materials. http://www.environmentpoint.com/freecycle-recycle-used/.

Our population alone is so large that we are unable to sustain our land at our current waste rates. Even some places are outsourcing waste to third world countries, where children can be seen rummaging through old computer parts and industrial waste. 

 http://trendsupdates.com/the-truth-about-third-world/

This scenario was provided to me:

"If a wealthy benefactor like the Rockefeller Foundation gave you $100 billion to address a global problem, how would you allocate the funds? Would you dedicate 100% to the most pressing issue, or partition the money among many different issues?"
My answer: I would allocate the funds. While general waste is my top concern, there are many others that have the potential of becoming catastrophic issues. Loss of biodiversity and climate change are just among the few. Being a forensics and not a finance major, I am unsure of the specific division that should take place for funds, but I do know that not all of our eggs should be in one basket. 

Corkscrew Sanctuary

Sorry for the delay in postings. Life,  massive amounts of assignments, and one amazing 10 day trip to Peru got in the way over the past couple of weeks. But, I'm back! 


On January 24th, my class ventured out to Corkscrew Sanctuary in Naples. I had heard of the place many times but had never ventured out to visit it. Let me just say that this is somewhere I will be going again. Some of the "girly girl's" were out in full force again this day. I'm sorry, but who wears heels to a place like this?

First off...this really awesome image! Along the path I found this cut log. As a Forensic student and someone who LOVES Human Osteology, this made my day! This log is a perfect representation of a cross section of a human fibula! Crazyness! Check this out for comparison...look specifically at the mid to distal shaft image.
 

In the sanctuary are 3 ecosystems. High pine, grass prairie, and the cypress swamp (by far the coolest of the three). 

 High pine provides habitat for birds and other flighted creatures as well as areas of thick vegetation which are enjoyed by snakes as well as large cat species. One of the great things about high pine is that it will burn periodically in order to resupply the system with important nutrients. It also "cleans out" the dead brush that has built up on the ground to allow for seedlings to take hold. 

 The grass prairie is exactly as its name states. It is a large open space completely covered by saw grass. This is a wonderful location for underbrush highways for critters and essential food for deer and other larger species found in the sanctuary. 

 The cypress swamp, just like the prairie, is exactly that, a swamp. It is a much cooler environment than the other two and serves as a home to a multitude of species of animals who would be unable to survive in the hotter and dryer locations. Thousands of cypress trees grow in this location.

Something very interesting was located at the sanctuary as well. Something called a living machine. According to the sanctuary "The Living Machine mimics nature because it is a natural water restoration system instead of an artificial water treatment plant. Its innovative aquatic treatment system restores waste water to near-drinkable quality using native, nutrient-absorbing wetland plants and animals. The water that passes through the system is typically more pure than water that comes from municipal water treatment plants." (http://www.corkscrewsanctuary.org/Information/LivingMachine.html).

This amazing piece of land needs to be protected. It it home to thousands of creatures and provides a safe environment for them. It also is a space for humans to come to enjoy, learn, and appreciate what wild Florida looks like since much of our area is developed. This area should NEVER be developed as far as I am concerned. 

With that, I leave you with some images from the trip.