Ecochallenge.org

Drawdown Ecochallenge

Jaida Lee

Sustainable Bruins

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
337 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

270

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

95

minutes

being mindful
UP TO

1.0

meatless or vegan meal

consumed
UP TO

2.0

more servings

of fruits and vegetables
UP TO

30

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

120

minutes

spent outdoors

Jaida's actions

Action Track: Healing & Renewal

Eat Mindfully

I will eat all of my meals without distractions, e.g., phone, computer, TV, or newspaper.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Industry

Learn About & Practice Sustainable Fashion

Multiple Industry Solutions

I will learn about sustainable fashion and begin trying to practice it in my own life.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Smaller Portions

Reduced Food Waste

I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Action Track: Healing & Renewal

More Fruits And Veggies

I will eat a heart healthy diet by adding 1 cups of fruits and vegetables each day to achieve at least 4 cups per day.

COMPLETED 2
DAILY ACTIONS

Action Track: Healing & Renewal

Tend A Garden

I will tend to a garden, or prepare for one, each day using sustainable gardening practices.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Action Track: Healing & Renewal

Explore My Area

Sometimes protecting nature requires feeling connected to nature. I will invest 60 minutes in exploring and appreciating a natural area in my region, whether a forest, wetland, coastal area, or somewhere else.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Calculate the carbon footprint of my household

I will calculate the carbon emissions associated with my household and consider how different lifestyle choices could reduce our carbon footprint and our impact on the environment.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Keep Track of Wasted Food

Reduced Food Waste

I will keep a daily log of food I throw away during Drawdown Ecochallenge, either because it went bad before I ate it, I put too much on my plate, or it was scraps from food preparation.

COMPLETED 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food, Agriculture, and Land Use

Reduce Animal Products

Plant-Rich Diets

I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 90 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 3
DAILY ACTIONS

Electricity

Watch a Video about Methane Digesters

Methane Digesters

I will watch a video about methane digesters (also commonly known as anaerobic digesters).

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Electricity

Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

Ocean Power

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning more about the energy generation potential of wave and tidal energy.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Learn More about Wave and Tidal Energy

What did you learn about wave and tidal energy? How do they compare to other energy sources?

Jaida Lee 3/08/2022 4:38 PM

Sustainable wave and tidal energy is something I never knew existed until now! I decided to watch a YouTube video titled, "Tidal Energy Could Be Huge - Why Isn't It?" by a channel called DW Planet A that has garnered over 2 million views in only 4 months! And I can see exactly why. I learned that wave and tidal energy is basically generated just like giant, more sturdy wind turbines that are placed underwater to use the current from tidal waves to push the turbines and generate electricity. The video goes into detail about how tidal energy is extremely advantageous compared to other energy sources for 1 main reason: their predictability. With solar powered energy, the sun is not always out, so it's not everyday that this energy source is reliable. The same goes with wind turbines as wind patterns can be random. However, with tidal waves, this phenomenon exists and happens routinely twice a day as long as the sun and moon exist.

One of the ways that tidal energy can be harvested is through tidal range power. Although it does take more money to build the infrastructure needed for these tidal range power to work (such as building a dam), the overall cost of the energy once its built is cheaper for civilians than solar and wind energy and can power cities with thousands of people for years. One downside to tidal range energy is that the underwater projects needed cannot be built just anywhere. There is an ideal tidal range of about 5 meters that is needed for this energy source to garner the most optimal amounts of energy. However, in the areas that are optimal, sometimes there's not enough civilization around or the people who live near that area oppose the infrastructure (such as dams) needed.

Another, more modern method of harvesting tidal energy is with tidal stream energy. This method of tidal energy doesn't need large dams or any ideal location with the correct tidal range. With this method, clusters of turbine farms can be built underwater or floating turbines can be built which is cheaper for development.

The video acknowledges that tidal energy could be detrimental to marine life because it may displace animals that live or feed in those areas, however, researchers try to compare its effects to those of climate change and reason that the effects of climate change on these marine animals by 2050 will be extremely more worse than the effects of tidal energy.

Overall, I can see why tidal energy is not as popular of an energy source as it's a fairly new energy source that still needs a lot of testing and is fairly expensive at the moment, however, I do see potential and am fascinated by the new technology that is still continuing to be developed for cleaner energy!

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- Sofia MakePeace 3/08/2022 7:45 PM
  
  Wow, thank you for sharing what you learned about tidal energy Jaida. I also haven't heard much about this alternative energy source, and am really curious about learning more potential solutions to the huge amount of emissions we acquire burning fossil fuels. Not only do we need to change our energy sources to reduce emissions, but fossil fuels are a finite source, and we will inevitably run out. In a recent documentary, I watched, titled Climate Crisis: Adapt or Die, researchers, deemed wind turbines the most promising form of renewable energy so far.
  
  While wind energy is highly effective and can (and currently does) fuel entire cities with all the energy they need, many huge turbines are needed to have that scale of power produced. And, as you said, it can be unpredictable and unusable in areas with very calm wind patterns. I didn't consider how risky it would be to have the entire world relying on wind for all of its energy. Because wind can always pick up and slow down. That makes tidal energy seem really promising since we know the tides are reliant on the moon's patterns and can tract this source of energy to a T.
  
  However, I do hope more research is going into how to harvest this energy more effectively because I know dams are extremely detrimental to marine life populations, especially for species who migrate between seasons for mating and hunting, like salmon. There are actually ecological preservation groups, like Patagonia, constantly fighting to remove dams all around the world. You pointed out that the effects of burning fossil fuels for energy are worse for these species than building dams, and that is a very good point. However, I think with more research tidal energy could be harvested without adding that extra strain on the environment. Perhaps we could rely on alternative energy sources like wind and sun until a more reliable method of harvesting this energy is available?
  
  However, overall I feel inspired by all these renewable energy sources that are bringing us further away from robbing the Earth of its resources, and instead, building a harmonious relationship with the resources that the Earth offers at no cost, like sun, wind, and tides. I think the more we live symbiotically with the elements we're surrounded by, instead of just picking and taking the things we want, the more prosperous we will be. These energy sources (like tidal energy) could even prove to be more powerful than the ones we're using now.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Electricity Calculate the carbon footprint of my household

After you determined your carbon footprint, did you see what different choices you can make in order to reduce it?

Jaida Lee 3/08/2022 4:03 PM

I calculated my carbon footprint on footprintcalculator.org and my results were pretty shocking. I was inclined throughout the survey to maybe tweak my answers a little so that it didn't seem like I'm as unecofriendly as I actually am, but I wanted my results to be as accurate as I could make it, even if it hurt me to report that I ate chicken almost every meal. It turns out that if everyone in the world lived like me, we would need 6.3 Earths, which is 1.3 more Earths than the average person living in America... which means I'm doing pretty bad LOL. Apparently my carbon footprint is 68% of my entire ecological footprint, with most of my consumption being in the "shelter" category. I wish this website would have explained these results a little bit more because I don't quite understand what "shelter" consumption exactly consists of (my guess is probably electricity usage). Nonetheless I really enjoyed how this website provided solutions as well to reduce my carbon footprint, such as supporting smart urban planning developments, taking public transit or carpooling, reducing food waste, trying a new vegetarian recipe once in a while, and protecting and regenerating natural ecosystems.

While I was taking this survey to calculate my carbon footprint, I realized I was very much towards the unecofriendly side of the spectrum. As a result of this realization, I noticed some categories that I can start working on now to reduce my carbon footprint, such as eating less animal based products. For example, I reported that I eat eggs, cheese, and dairy with almost every meal. I could try to reduce this to one or two meals a day. I also reported that poultry almost every day. I could try to reduce this to a few times a week or even once a week. I also reported that very few of the foods that I eat are unprocessed, unpackaged, or locally grown. This is because I don't really like vegetables all that much... however, I do realize that I need to start eating healthier more now that I'm entering my 20s, so maybe it's time to start buying more fresh produce or start my own garden once I graduate! I also reported that my energy efficiency in my apartment is very low, meaning we have few LED lamps, poor insulation, and we use our heating/cooling systems very often. Although I can't do much about the poor insulation, I can try to reduce the usage of our AC system by opening the windows more and using a lighter blanket. I also will try to look into getting LED bulbs because we have a few lights that need replacement right now! Calculating my carbon footprint was really eye-opening to me because it made me realize all the alternative responses that I could have made if I were a little bit more mindful of how my actions are hurting the environment. As I move forward, I'll definitely be keeping this survey in mind and try to do my best to achieve all the goals I listed here!

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Keep Track of Wasted Food

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Where would you rather use this money?

Jaida Lee 3/08/2022 3:31 PM

I will admit I have a huge problem with wasting food. I'm very aware that I have a small stomach, yet I still end up ordering/making way too much food for myself! Over the past week, I've kept a small log in my phone and wrote in it after each meal that I ate and wrote down if I had wasted food and why I wasted that food. I noticed that the main reasons why I had wasted food were because I simply was too full to finish it, or forgot that I kept it in the fridge so long and by the time I wanted to eat it, it went bad already. Towards the end of my week, looking at all the repeated times that I had wasted food because I couldn't finish it, I started to be a lot more mindful of the amount of food that I made for myself and decided to cut back a little bit while I was cooking. For example, normally when I would cook chicken for myself, I would just make the entire package, which is usually around 10-15 pieces of meat. However, after thinking about how I normally only eat 3-4 pieces of meat every meal, I decided to only cook the amount that I would be eating that day, and put the rest in sealed bags to go back into the fridge for another day. I found that this was extremely effective in not wasting food and also I didn't have to put anything extra in the fridge that would potentially be forgotten about!

The fact that the average family of four spends $1,500 on food that they will eventually throw out is shocking to me. Thinking back, I have definitely spent a lot of money on produce that goes bad before I can get the chance to eat/cook with it. $1,500 is a lot of money that could be used for so many different things! A nice gift for your parents, a trip to visit friends, a bus fare to downtown LA; so many more fun things could be spent with that money rather than food that will eventually end up in the trash. After this class ends, I'm going to continue trying to waste less food, only cook what I know I will end up eating, and get better at eating food in the fridge before I forget about it.

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- Daisy Lookinland 3/08/2022 9:07 PM
  
  Hey Jaida,
  
  I definitely have similar problems with wasting food, especially this quarter. I think this is partially because I too tend to buy more food than I can actually eat, but I also have a really busy schedule this quarter working with the volleyball team because they are in season. During games, I'm working for at least 6 hours, and they feed me lunch and dinner. We have a lot of games, and I've been really bad at accounting for the fact that many days of the week I won't need to feed myself. I've had a few instances this quarter where I will go to my fridge to cook for myself after a week with a lot of games and literally all of my food will be bad.
  
  My usual method of grocery shopping is to go to the store without any planning and come up with what I want to eat for the week or so that I'm shopping for while I'm there. This clearly is not working out for me, so from now on I'm going to try to shop more frequently for less items, and plan out the days/meals that I will need to cook for myself so I don't over buy and waste my food. This will also allow me to walk to the grocery store rather than drive because there's just no way I could carry the 6 or so bags of groceries I sometimes get all the way from the store back to my apartment by myself.
  
  I have already been very upset by the amount of money I've wasted on groceries recently, especially when there are so many things I want to do now that COVID restrictions are lifted. I love nothing more than going to concerts, so the hundreds of dollars I've probably already wasted on food because of poor planning would have definitely gone to concert tickets. I am definitely going to try to be smarter about my shopping so I can do the things I love without stressing as much about money!
  
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Jaida Lee 3/05/2022 4:23 PM

I'm not too sure if anyone will see this in time, but if anyone is still looking for anymore last minute climate action events, this Sunday March 6, 2022 at 12PM at Sunset Rec mesa lawn located on the Hill, Dig Student Garden at UCLA is hosting their last "Dig-in" of Winter quarter! This Sunday will be my first time attending one of their Dig-ins but based on photos on their Instagram, it looks like these past few weeks they've done activities such as making pressed flower stickers, clearing garden beds, watering plants, harvesting crops, seed planting, and weeding! If you don't know how to get to Sunset Rec mesa lawn the UCLA Student Housing instagram page (@uclahousing) did a video on it where they show you the direct path you can take to get there. Hopefully this was helpful to someone if you're looking for another limate action event or just are interested in gardening! For more info, you can check out @digucla on instagram.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Transportation Go for a Daily Walk

What have you noticed on your daily walks? What have you enjoyed? What infrastructure changes could make your walks more enjoyable or possible?

Jaida Lee 3/04/2022 4:54 PM

This past week I took a walk around the UCLA campus with a friend who was visiting out of town. It was a beautiful 70-degree day and campus was bustling with students. There were tons of people laying on the grass, suntanning, and having picnics of the Tongva (Janss) steps lawn. I gave them a tour and really got to reminisce about time as a student here at UCLA while doing so. We walked around Royce court and I got to show them all the different buildings I had lectures or took finals in. We also took a stroll through the Sculpture garden and there were also tons of people studying on the benches and there was even a yoga class in session! I really love the calm-outdoor nature of the UCLA campus and I love seeing other people enjoy it's beauty. One thing my friend and I did point out though was how tired we were only 20-30 minutes into our walk! Also the lack of bikes and other modes of transportation around campus. I think one change that UCLA could do to make walks or other modes of transportation around campus more accessible are more ramps around campus! Not just ramps that are super hidden that you have you go out of your way to go on, but ramps that are accessible that don't take away from the beauty of strolling through campus just like any other path.

Also, one big thought that struck me while walking around all these buildings is that I feel a lot different about the UCLA campus now as a Senior than I did when I was an excited, eager, and starstruck Freshman. Before, I used to walk around campus as if I were the star in an indie Youtube "Day in the Life of a UCLA Student" video. However, now, campus is just campus. Royce hall is still beautiful but now it's just a building that I have class sometimes in. That's when I realized that I am ready for a change. UCLA is still a wonderful campus and I am extremely fortunate to attend this school and receive my education from here, but when I walk around campus and know every shortcut and back alley or can walk from one building to another with my eyes closed, I know it's time for me to move on to new things awaiting me in my future! It's definitely scary, but I think change is necessary, and I probably wouldn't have come to this resolution without this extremely mindful and peaceful walk around campus.

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- Alicia Cheng 3/06/2022 10:57 AM
  
  Since some classes returned in person, I've been driving to the campus and walking from the parking lot to the classrooms. I tried to minimize the time spent on my way as much as possible due to the busy schedule, so I usually park at the parking lot nearest to my classroom and have a short walk. But I was still able to enjoy the walk by looking around and at people I walked past and saw what they were doing. I also enjoyed the weather of the day by feeling the gentle wind or the warm sunlight. These were a little break from my work. However, sometimes I was running late and had to rush to the classroom, or I was thinking about what to write on a paper during the walk. These things could keep my mind busy and prevent me from enjoying the walk wholeheartedly.
  In contrast, I recall that a walk on campus with my cousin was much more enjoyable. She visited during the winter break and I showed her around the campus. During the break, I had no lab or school work to worry about. We parked under the soccer field and I brought her to the science court, Royce Hall, and then the sculpture garden. 40 minutes flew by in our walk and chat. I realized that walking can be much more enjoyable if I can give myself more time, slow down a little bit, and take a temporary break from the stress.
  
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Jaida Lee 3/01/2022 6:12 PM

Recently, I've been hearing a lot about how bad fast fashion is for the environment. However, I was puzzled at first because I was unfamiliar with the term. After a few conversations with my friends and a few searches on the internet, I found out that fast fashion is a term used to describe fashion companies that try to replicate high-end "trendy" fashion styles with mass-production and sell these items at a lower-price in local retail stores. I was intrigued by this because I had no idea that this was so detrimental to the environment. Apparently, I had been contributing to these fast-fashion brands my whole entire life. A few examples to name are GAP, Forever 21, Fashion Nova, and Shein. I learned that fast fashion is not only detrimental to the environment, but also has negative social impacts as well.

Producing clothing that contributes to the fast fashion industry often releases toxic chemicals from the dyes into the surrounding environment. Not only that, but it also demands massive amounts of water, non-renewable resources, and further contributes to the ongoing problem of greenhouse gas emissions. Secondly, the fast fashion industry also exploits the workers who work inside these clothing factories to produce these clothes. Ever wonder how your super cute t-shirt that you ordered on Shein was only $5? What a steal right? Well, according to Emma Ross, who wrote an article with The George Washington University Law School, only 2% of the 75 million workers who are currently employed at these clothing factories make enough to earn a living wage. They often work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, and many companies also take part in child labor, employing children at young ages. Fast fashion also has harmful impacts to societal values as well. In order for these companies to continue to rake in revenue, they're always looking for the next trend. The next set of styles that they can get their hands on to try to market to the public. They often do this multiple times a year. What this causes is a change in the mindsets of their consumers, often affecting the younger generation more. Suddenly their super cute shirt that they bought last spring that they were obsessed with isn't trendy enough this year, even though the shirt is still in perfectly good condition and could be worn for a few more years down the line. Teens begin to think that they need an entirely new wardrobe every school year to stay in style. It makes sense if the clothes simply don't fit you anymore and you need a new size. But it doesn't make sense when you're throwing away perfectly intact clothes just because these fast fashion brands are causing you to think it's not "trendy" anymore. I can't say that I haven't also been a victim of this mindset as well.

Now that I am older I decided to change up were I decide to get my clothes. Unfortunately as a college student without a car living in LA, it's a lot harder for me to find time to go thrift-shopping in person. Luckily because we live in the modern age of technology, I found an online thrift store called ThredUp where I can shop in the comfort of my own home! (I also don't have to further contribute to carbon dioxide emissions by using a car to drive to the store too, so that's a plus!) ThredUp is an online store where you can buy high-quality second hand clothes at a reduced price! Some of the clothes that they sell still have the price tag on them! People can send in their clothes to the company, they'll select the clothes that are in the best condition, take professional, well-lit photos of them, and organize them on their website just like any other clothing store! I bought my favorite set of jeans from ThredUp. They fit perfectly and are also a little stretchy and not too stiff like new ones often are! Thrift shopping can honestly be so addicting because although it does take a little more time to search through the selection and find something that you like in your size, once you finally find those few items and they fit your body perfectly, it's such a rewarding feeling. Also knowing that you bought clothes in an environmentally-friendly way is also rewarding as well! I would definitely recommend buying your clothes second-hand to everyone.

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- Bailey Herbert 3/01/2022 6:54 PM
  
  Hi Jaida! I also tried out ThredUp because of this class and love it! The items I purchased are in great condition and, as you mentioned, one of them even had the tags still attached. I couldn't agree with you more - thrifting can be such an addicting feeling and it's so rewarding when you find the perfect piece. I ordered 3 things off of ThredUp and honestly was ready for 2/3 to be flops. To my surprise, all 3 things were better than I thought they would be! I ordered a dress and a top that both fit me perfectly and were in such nice condition (the top was the item with the tags still attached - and it was from Aritzia!). I also ordered a purse and it is absolutely adorable. I would highly recommend!
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Reduce Animal Products

Why do people in richer countries eat more meat than people in other places? How does eating more meat affect our bodies, our planet, and other people?
Jaida Lee 2/25/2022 4:20 PM
Today I decided to eat cauliflour mac n cheese! Instead of pasta, the dish included cauliflour and cheese as well and I added some avocado and chives, because everything tastes better with chives! (Unfortunately it wasn't home-cooked, because I am not the best cook LOL so it was store bought but it was still good!) I initially actually didn't know that this included caulifour instead of actual pasta, but nonetheless, I thought it would still be a good idea for a drawdown ecochallenge to not eat meat for a meal! Also I initially was going to bake chicken, but decided to cut down on meat and eat this instead. Unfortunately, I didn't end up finishing it all because of my personal childhood-rooted trauma of cauliflour from when I was forced to eat it back in daycare, but I still thought it was good and would recommend this vegetarian dish if anyone ever wants to cut down on meat for a day! I personally bought mine frozen from Target because I am not the best cook lol, but for all my chefs out there I found a recipe!

Ingredients:

8 cups chopped cauliflower florets, 1/2-inch pieces (26 oz)

1 tbsp Real California butter

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/4 cup minced onion

3 tbsp flour, use ap gluten-free flour for GF

2 cups fat free Real California milk

7 ounces freshly grated Real California sharp cheddar, about 2 cups total

1/2 teaspoons salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Place 1 inch of water in a large pot with 1 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Add the cauliflower and cook until tender crisp, 6 to 7 minutes. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.

Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook about 2 minutes.

Stir in flour. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring continually 3 - 4 minutes, to cook out the flour.

Add the milk and continue whisking, raising heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil and becomes smooth and thick, about 2 minutes stirring; season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper.

Once it becomes thick, remove from heat completely onto another burner if possible. Add the cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup at a time mixing well until cheese is all melted.

Stir in cooked cauliflower, then pour into a baking dish and bake until bubbly and golden, about 15 to 20 minutes. Then broil 2 minutes, or until the top is slightly browned.

I feel like people in richer countries such as in the United States tend to eat more meat because of how easy it is to get it and how incorporated it is in almost every American dish. Secondly, people in other countries tend to grow their own vegetables since they have the land space to do so, unlike the concrete-covered United States that has little to no room in the cities for agriculture. Because of this, they tend to incorporate more vegetables and less meat in their dishes. Cutting back on meat is not only a good investment into your overall health, but also for the planet! For my climate change project, I focused on how bad carbon dioxide emissions can be for the ozone layer and overall global warming. Cutting back on meats can lower these harmful carbon dioxide emissions and benefit the planet! Coming from someone who normally does eat meat with every meal, this eco-challenge was definitely eye-opening and showed me that you can have delicious meals without meat as well!
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- JIMMY ZHOU 2/27/2022 7:06 PM
  
  From my perspective, the reason that people are able to eat more meat than people in other places that might not be as wealthy from a socioeconomic standpoint is because they are able to afford meats. According to DIW Berlin, “people in richer countries consume not only more calories and more proteins per day than those in poorer countries, but a larger fraction of their protein intake comes from animal-based products, especially meat (Sans & Combris, 2015).” In many ways, this is similar to the climate discrimination that occurs where climate change disproportionately affects certain communities of lower socioeconomic status.
  
  However, ironically, the production process of meat is detrimental to the climate, with many sources citing that the production of beef creates almost four to eight times the emission of other plant-based proteins (NYTimes, 2021). While there are certain benefits to the consumption of meat, such as increased protein, iron, zinc, and B vitamins, there are also severe long-term consequences. For how much meat in consumed in richer countries, there is a significant number of risks such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
  
  Meat is still largely consumed because of how convenient and delicious people believe it to be. This is exacerbated by the fact that the majority of the population within the United States consumes meat because of how convenient it is for people to get their hands on meat whether through American dishes, fast food restaurants, or otherwise. It’s also a possibility that richer countries have more metropolitan areas, which reduces the reliance of agriculture farmlands for plant-based foods. Regardless of the reasoning, richer countries benefit from the mass production of meat, while the environment suffers because of the toxic gases that go into the production process.
  
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REFLECTION QUESTION
Action Track: Healing & Renewal Eat Mindfully

Mindful eating is healthier for us than eating with distractions. How does your eating experience differ when practicing mindfulness?

Jaida Lee 2/24/2022 12:08 AM

Today I decided practice mindful eating without using distractions, such as my phone, laptop, or TV while I ate! Initially, starting this task was a little daunting because I could never bring myself to finally sit down without a distraction and just eat. I've been eating while watching TV throughout my whole young adult and adolescent life. I think the last time I ate without a distraction was probably when I was still a kid and couldn't watch TV while eating as a punishment!

However, once I actually sat down and began eating, I found it quite peaceful and found that it was the perfect opportunity to take a break from social media and practice some self-introspection. I began to make a mental note of all the things I need to get done by the end of the week and what things I need to get prepared before this weekend, since I have a friend coming to visit.

Shortly after, to my pleasant surprise, my roommates came out of their rooms and we all started having a conversation. Sometimes when I'm eating breakfast, I'll hear them come out of their room but we won't even say anything to each other, probably because when they see me watching a show with my earbuds in on my laptop they don't want to disturb me, so they don't talk to me. However since they saw I was just sitting there eating with no distraction, they probably felt more welcome to strike up a conversation and we got to catch up on life and got to confide in each other about the stresses of the quarter! It's not everyday that I get to have deep, bonding talks like these with my roommates since they're not always home, so I'm really glad and thankful that I took the time out of my day to do this Drawdown Ecochallenge, as it lead to a peaceful, relaxing time for self-reflection and a good conversation with my roommates!

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