Selene Rowan

UTKSUST21

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
631 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

318

minutes

spent exercising
UP TO

30

minutes

spent learning

Selene's actions

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 18
DAILY ACTIONS

Transportation

Go for a Daily Walk

Walkable Cities

I will take a walk for 30 minutes each day and take note of the infrastructure that makes walking more or less enjoyable, accessible, and possible.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Buildings

Explore Other Buildings Solutions

All Buildings Solutions

I will spend at least 30 minutes researching other Drawdown Buildings Solutions.

UNCOMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

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.

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?

Selene Rowan 4/21/2021 8:35 PM

My one time challenge of learning the truth about expiration dates went hand and hand with my daily challenge of tracking my food waste. I was able to waste less food by ignoring expiration dates and using my senses to truly asses if food has gone spoiled or not. It was disheartening to learn that the Best if Used by label is really just to get consumers to throw out food so that they restock. This gives the companies more profit. Learning what the expiration labels truly mean helped my better asses when cleaning out my fridge

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Selene Rowan 4/21/2021 8:15 PM

This week I was unable to eat at home as much due to being out studying for exams. I did not prepare and think of this ahead of time therefor I bought the same amount of groceries I usually do for a week when I plan on eating at home for most meals. I am already expecting to have more spoiled groceries, I should have thought of this earlier and in the future I will remember to plan ahead on weeks I know I will not be eating at home.

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Selene Rowan 4/21/2021 8:11 PM

Today, I cleaned out my fridge because it reeked. I found a spoiled green pepper in the back of my fridge. I had no idea that I had that pepper because it was not visible to me. If I had known I still had it I would have eaten it. In order to limit my food waste I am going to implement keeping my fridge more organized so that I can always see what I have and what I need to eat.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food, Agriculture, and Land Use Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

How does knowing the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates empower you to make better decisions?

Selene Rowan 4/11/2021 4:17 PM

My drawdown eco challenge to learn about the truth of expiration dates was very interesting and helped me with my challenge to keep track of my wasted food. Before I learned the truth about expiration dates, when it came time to clean out my fridge, I often was disappointed that I had not used all my groceries by their expiration date and would throw them away. Now that I know that the FSIS does not even required expiration dates for anything other than baby formula, I don't have to throw away things just because of their expiration date. The true way to figure out if produce or other food products are safe to eat is through my own examination. The expiration date is only for their peak quality, when really you can eat produce or other food products past their peak quality and still receive nutrients and reduce food waste. (https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/food-product-dating) This was the main source I used to learn more about the truth of expiration dates.

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Selene Rowan 4/11/2021 4:14 PM

My daily challenge of tracking my food waste is going well. I ordered some food from a company called misfits market (https://www.misfitsmarket.com/about-us). My family used to order food from them when I was in high school. It is a company that sells misfit produce and other products at reduced prices. Much of food waste comes from farms or distributors throwing away high quality produce that just looks weird, too big too small miss shapen etc. Misfits market resells this produce that otherwise would have contributed to food waste. I remember in high school often the produce from misfits market did not look any different from produce in the store.

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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?

Selene Rowan 4/08/2021 7:32 PM

Today, I walked on the beach. The beach is nice because there is not anyone other than pedestrians. You do not have to be cautious of cars or other infrastructure issues that would come about if you are walking in a busy area where the city did not plan for pedestrian routes.

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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?

Selene Rowan 4/08/2021 7:30 PM

I would rather use this money on experiences such as concerts or traveling rather than wasted food

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