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 […]

Solar cooking is the practice of preparing food using only the energy of the sun. Unlike traditional stoves, solar cookers are designed to take advantage of the sun’s heat to cook meals. For those who would prefer not to use fossil fuels or natural gas, solar cookers offer a convenient and eco-friendly option. It’s for these reasons that a growing number of individuals are switching to solar cooking. Millions of people around the world still use wood or dung as their primary source of fuel for cooking, despite the fact that doing so requires them to travel long distances and […]

By Luke Oliver Trevisani Introduction:  Western society in the present day has made it far too easy for individuals to consume processed foods. With the persistent marketing, the short waiting time, and the low price of processed foods people are attracted to processed foods as a regular eating option. Many individuals are aware that this is unhealthy as opposed to consuming whole organic food, however, few people have the knowledge of why organic food is healthier or the beneficial effects which eating organic foods has on an individual. According to Healthline, research has proven that processed foods have a negative […]

Daniel Hilmer 12/11/2022 About Me Last summer I went on a trip to Flagstaff Arizona. I spent 2 weeks altitude training with some of the nations’ best distance runners. The cool brisk mountain air and the beautiful terrain ran through the Coconino National Forest (a portion of the world’s largest ponderosa pine forest). In one moment I’d be running next to some large ponderosa pine and a couple strides later I’d be next to a little shrub that aspired to be as tall as the older ones. It was then that I began to learn about the logging industry that […]

I will be addressing the act of removing beef from one’s diet to help reduce the demand for beef, which overall helps mitigate Climate Change. My position is that one should remove beef entirely from their diet, or at least reduce their consumption of beef raised in a feed-lot system. I personally do not consume beef. People might not agree with this lifestyle, they may like having beef in their meals, or do not believe that cows are a large source of methane as a greenhouse gas. I plan to address those concerns with alternate options and compelling evidence. I […]

In the past, agriculture has always been associated with expansive fields, roaming livestock, and large machinery. This stereotype exists for good reason—throughout history, farming has been a rural practice, involving tilling fields, driving large tractors, and monitoring acres of land. In many regards, this rural type of farming has been successful. Economically speaking, for example, farms in the United States contributed 134.7 billion dollars to the GDP in 2020, making up 0.6% of the year’s gross domestic product, which is more substantive than you may think considering that the GDP is made up of everything we consume; export; make in […]