Serena Bhakta

Yesterday, I practiced mindful eating by eating without distractions. though this task was not difficult to do, I am very used to eating while talking to friends and family or watching TV. I have grown up with family dinners, and have watched Netflix for most of meals that I have spent by myself. During this exercise, I found that I appreciated the flavor of the food much more. I will definitely be trying this again, just for that reason! I also felt like I got a certain "break" from technology. I spend most of my day scrolling on my phone or working on my computer, so each meal was like a "detox" that allowed me to mentally reset before getting back to work. Lastly, I found that I was more conscious about how much I was eating and payed more attention to when I was full, or if I was still hungry. I can imagine that if I keep doing this, I might get some health benefits. Additionally, I could produce less food waste. Overall, this was a great experience: I highly recommend!

Today I learned about temperate forests, what they provide for us, how we persistently damage them, and how we can lessen our impact to continue the beneficial relationship we share with them. We gain many resources from the forests: from clean air to resources like food and wood. However, deforestation of temperate forests has decreased the productivity and biodiversity that makes them thrive. As a result, we are not able to gain anything from these forests. A solution that was mentioned in an article that I read mentioned restoring 128 million acres of deforested areas by 2050. This seems VERY overwhelming and nearly impossible. However, on an individual level, the article mentions that we can adopt plant-based diets, reduce food waste, and vote to help promote that daunting task. I find that these recommendations are more palatable. Although I am vegetarian already, I will try to choose vegan meals when I can. Furthermore, one of my main goals in this eco-challenge so far has been to reduce food waste, so hopefully I can improve that skill and help out as best as I can!

I have also linked some articles below!
https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/temperate-forest-restoration
https://foresteurope.org/ecosystem-services/

Knowing the difference between these types of dates will help me, personally, decrease my food waste. Furthermore, it will help me inform others and encourage them to do the same. One thing I learned that I found shocking was that 1/3 of the worlds food goes to waste. If more people knew about how food production labels products based on their quality rather than according to safety, then maybe this statistic would go down. In the past, I have thrown away many grocery items like eggs, chips, and produce if they passed the labeled date, but seemed just fine. I thought "why take the risk." I know that from now on I will assessing the safety of the food I eat rather than just throwing away food that has passed its labeled date.

My eco challenge has been going well this past week! Through reading classmates reflections about their walks to and from class, I’ve been able to actively appreciate nature and develop a greater pleasure out of walking rather than taking alternate transportation.

Apart from the walks, I’ve been trying to implement eating more fruits and vegetables into my diet. I chose this challenge because I often find it challenging to find the time to incorporate vegetables into my meals. In the past, when I have bought fresh produce, I eat the fruits right away, and end up wasting the vegetables. However, this week I meal prepped some soup that enabled me to incorporate 4 vegetables in my dinners!

Though I cannot observe a health benefit quite yet, I definitely feel a sense of accomplishment. I am proud of myself for taking care of my body’s needs and am sure that I’ll even feel more healthy as I continue this challenge.

I can also say that my healthy initiative has encouraged my roommates to consider their diets as well. In sharing my meals with them, I was able to convince them that eating more fruits and vegetables can be both healthy and delicious! Although I bought my vegetables from the regular supermarket, I plan to start buying from the Westwood farmer’s market in order to support small businesses. I find that helping others is an even stronger motivator to keep me on this journey.

By increase in my intake of fruits and vegetables, I am decreasing my intake of packaged foods and grains. Using less single use plastics and product packaging slows landfill growth and decreases the amount of plastic making their way into natural environments. These processes can help to preserve biodiversity and maintain the productivity of ecological systems that we rely on. For example, less plastic in the ocean leads to increased algae populations and decreased CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Though I cannot see these impacts immediately or directly, they motivate me to keep up with this challenge.