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| About the Class & Teachers |
When I began to look at ways to reduce my footprint in an urban environment, I ran into a lot of blocks which had me feeling frustrated. Yes, I was carrying my travel mug, water bottle, eating accoutrements and canvas bags around with me. I didn't drive. I tried to follow the principles of permaculture in my gardening…but how much did that all add up? My ill-informed landlord forbade me to compost and with the sad state of recycling in Chicago, I could not be sure that I was not adding gratuitously to landfills. My building wasted energy and water with wild abandon and the green efforts within my one apartment seemed to be an invisible drop in a vast ocean of waste and apathy. It was then that I learned that I could reduce my carbon footprint by 75% simply by becoming a vegetarian. I was amazed by this fact and after doing much research, walked away from being an omnivore (and have not looked back). For me it was a lazy choice really; a choice that (with limiting my consumerism) allowed me to make much more of an impact than I ever could have by using CFLs or begging my landlord to consider solar panels. This one switch opened a door which allowed me to get a glimpse of the myriad connections between food, health, environmentalism, economics, and social justice (to name a few). I began to believe that I could go beyond reducing my footprint through my food selections and realized that I could truly manifest my values every single day by being aware of the multiple effects of what I was eating. It isn't always easy, and I rant a lot about the lack of fair-trade, organic, local options in my area. I am sometimes thwarted by the costs of eating sustainably, and am consistently disgusted by over-packaging. I am a devotee of coffee, chocolate, exotic spices and dates…none of which are native to the Midwest. Yet I continue…learning more as I go, making different choices, balancing exceptions, etc. And I talk (quite extensively) about food as a key to global change in the hopes that others will become curious enough to begin making informed meal choices themselves.
I am a huge fan of experiential, multi-sensorial learning. I often learn best by doing, so when I teach, I am always looking for ways that we can share and experience knowledge outside of the common "I lecture, you listen" model. I consider myself a student of life and love learning from all of the individuals who attend my classes. I encourage folks to take responsibility for the richness of the workshops they attend and I really value those who are present, who do the homework, who ask questions and who speak honestly with everyone in the class about what they think and what they want. In this class particularly, I have what I call a "no judgment/no guilt" philosophy; one I will encourage participants to embrace. I believe that our food choices are highly personal, and I would not ever wish to impose my food values on another. When I tell people that I was raised in a meatpacking family and am now a vegetarian in protest of industrialized farming and meat production, I worry that they sense some implication of judgment. I want to make it very clear in this workshop that I do not have judgment about meat-eating or any other food choices beyond one: that people take the time to try to know what they are eating and its impact. I feel that once informed, we can all settle into food choices that work for us…and I don't think those choices will all look the same. When I look at all of the issues that threaten our world and humanity it is easy for me to feel discouraged or overwhelmed and those feelings can lead to paralysis. This class is not about guilt, doom or proselytizing any "one way". This is about hope, connection and a willingness to act out of knowledge rather than ignorance or fear.
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