Something in our world is unseen by the eye but is in every human alive. It is a toxin slowly killing and damaging all of us, the name of this something is PFAS chemicals. PFAS are chemicals produced by industry that are extremely harmful in various ways, from their widespread use in transportation to their bioaccumulative nature in many systems. They are one of the biggest issues affecting countries with developed industries because they have been unregulated and over-generated since the 1940s (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2024) (ref). So many populations of people are suffering from health incidences that could […]

Abstract: What is Generative AI? The concept of generative artificial intelligence and terms like “AI” have gained an unprecedented level of hype as well as misunderstanding in the past few years; “AI” has become an all-encompassing buzzword to describe complex concepts varying from lengthy analysis of medical data to the generation of memes. But what is it? In a sentence, generative artificial intelligence is the output achieved from complex webs of probability-reliant algorithms called neural networks, designed on the basis of the human brain. When trained with massive amounts of data, these neural networks have the capability to produce human-like […]

Abstract The “Standard American Diet” has been a growing health hazard to human health over the years. Each year, more and more unhealthy ingredients are being added to our everyday foods, while less and less healthy ingredients are present. These added ingredients are putting all Americans’ lives at risk for chronic diseases and decreasing our lifespans (6). Critics of food and diet claim that the SAD is only a small contributing factor to diseases later on in life. I believe that what you put into your body is far more important than genetics or lifestyle, due to the amount of […]

About Me Before I went to college, I had never heard the term “regenerative agriculture” before, and it wasn’t until I came to Bucknell University that my eyes were opened to the potential that regenerative agriculture could have. In my freshman seminar class, we took a tour of the Bucknell Farm. At first I wasn’t very excited about it because I had to walk all the way across campus at eight in the morning, but as the tour concluded, I felt the complete opposite. I felt as if I wanted it to go on forever. While on the tour, Jen, […]

About Me I was in middle school when I first did a project on food coloring. At that age, I adored foods with coloring, as every kid does, even after learning the health risks you take when you ingest them. Every kid dreams of sitting in a room full of bright sugary candy or popular chips. It wasn’t until now, doing similar, but now more advanced research that I realized how prevalent food coloring is in your everyday life. It is sad what our world has come to. The inefficiency in our industries, combined with product scarcity, creates a vicious […]

Introduction Many things are normalized in the United States such as access to clean water, easily accessible food, and unfortunately wasting food. Food waste affects everyone even if they don’t know it. Whether they are causing the problem or being affected by it. Huge amounts of food are also lost simply because we throw it away. Supermarkets, shops, and households simply throw out 35% of the wasted food.[1] This means that around 1.3 million tons of food can be used to help starving people. This number doesn’t just represent the amount of food lost but also the energy, resources, labor, […]

Imagine transforming your health, protecting biodiversity, and preserving the environment—all with a single dietary choice. This is possible by following a plant-based diet. It is evident that a plant-based diet is the ideal diet for positive individual health. They contribute benefits to one’s overall well-being while promoting a healthier planet for all living beings. Although it is clear and certain that plant-based diets have the best effect on the body, it can be argued that a fully non-processed diet has a better effect on the environment. This diet can be plant-based, but it could also be possible to find non-processed animal […]

Imagine something so small that it has attached itself to almost everything around you yet, you can never see it with the naked eye. Imagine blindly consuming toxins that circulate throughout almost every part of your body day in and day out, never conscious of the significant bodily damage taking place inside of you. What I am describing is the unfortunate reality for humans in today’s plastic-obsessed world. Microplastics exist in almost all corners of the environment, and their potential harm to human health and the environment has received increasing attention from the public and the scientific community. Through explaining […]

What is Cover Cropping? Cover cropping is a technique where farmers plant one or a mix of extra crops in their field as ground cover around their primary crop. Cover crops can have a wide array of positive benefits on both the soil in the field and the primary crop that they’re planted around, from suppressing weeds and pests to increasing the health of the soil microbiome. It’s a practice that has been known and used for thousands of years, however the majority of farmers are reluctant to adopt this practice because of perceived negative economic impacts and little to […]

Throughout time, farming has been pretty straightforward. You plant seeds, watch them grow, and tend to them accordingly. By “tending” here I mean watering them, keeping pests out, or tilling the soil, you name it. There are many different ways in which people farm, many techniques and technologies farmers incorporate in the growth of their crops, such as: a) The use of fertilizers and pest controls (a method of organic farming) b) Irrigation support, the use of sprinklers or pipes directly next to plants rather than just relying on rainfall C) Weeding/the removal of dead plant matter Permaculture on the […]