There are somethings that I never thought I would say I have done. One happened yesterday: I walked down the dirt road barefoot with a whole 3 pound fish in my bare hands. Needless to say, I chucked to myself. Thanks for the smile, Jiquilillo.
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April 19, 2012
Odd jobs
November 24, 2011
November 24, 2011
It’s that time of the year…for sustainable consumption
I know it’s been a while since I wrote, but I finally have a moment and this moment happens to correspond with a time when I think a new blog post is necessary. Now, I hate to be a downer this holiday season, but with all this talk about economic hardships and high unemployment rates (equaling no expendable income), perhaps it’s time to reconsider how we spend this holiday season.
Today is Thanksgiving which means that tomorrow is the biggest holiday shopping day of the year. We will be bombarded with incessant advertisements of stuff to buy for everyone we know. We won’t be able to turn without being slapped in the face with print ads in newspapers or magazines, ads on television or the internet; “great deals” on electronics, toys, clothes, trinkets, holiday decorations, and shipping. To illustrate, I took a picture of the advertisements found in today’s Palm Beach Post in comparison to the amount of actual news found in the “news”paper.
Whether you go out shopping tomorrow or wait a few days, try to shop consciously this holiday season. Buy only what you think those you are shopping for will actually use or want. Think about how much money you spend on gifts that people don’t want. Where did those gifts come from? Where were they made? By who? Where are the profits going? Where do the gift eventually end up? More often than not, they came from China, made my children or other slave laborers who aren’t making nearly enough to buy their own families food, let alone presents. Those profits are going to the mega-corporations who are making billions off this holiday (yes, this includes Wal-Mart) because you are buying things you don’t need for people you don’t really want to buy things for with money you don’t really have, putting you deeper in debt to banks who are profiting off of your poverty caused by corporations who are charging way too much seeing as they aren’t paying a fair wage to people on the other side of the globe who don’t have enough money to eat. Those people are working for peanuts while you are being laid off (so those corporations can make that gigantic profit) and unable to buy presents yourself…but you will anyway. Because that’s what we’re supposed to do. And where do those cheap gifts end up? Eventually, and some sooner than others, they end up in the landfill. So, let’s rethink this spending season…for your own good, and for the good of others.
While all of these options are pretty interlinked, I’ll try to separate them a bit for clarity. If your main issue with anything I listed above is the child/slave labor issue, shop local. Try to find local stores that sell local goods. Avoid goods that are made in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Honduras, Cambodia, etc. The list goes on…you get the idea. Stay out of giant chain stores or big box stores. Shop at your local holiday market. Shop on Etsy. Ask an artist friend to make you something and pay them a fair wage to do so. Shop for “Fair Trade” items (while there are plenty of criticisms of this label, it’s certainly a good start). And while these two issues are completely intertwined, if you are more concerned with the materials your gift is made of, or what damage it has caused or will cause to the environment, shop for organic products or products that use little packaging. Leave that plastic toy on the shelf and buy from The Original Green Toys or Sprig instead. If you are buying appliances, purchase Energy Star products. A simple google search will give you an array of “green” choices for just about any gift you give. I’ll post again about what to do with all those old gifts from last year (or new gifts you don’t want). Let’s just try to not create tons of waste, create more landfills, and create another garbage patch. CONSUME RESPONSIBLY!
April 22, 2011
Happy Earth Day
This link will direct you to a modern art exhibit of the Human Cost of the BP oil spill. To steal a phrase, “Never Forget.” Oh, yeah. And can we all just try to reduce our use of non-renewable resources?
April 21, 2011
Walk for Water
Pictured above, my friend Shana and I organized a “Walk for Water” event last month in order to demonstrate and empathize for the women and children who have to do this daily—the daily task of having to walk, on average, 3.5 miles in search of water.
Joining us on the walk were nine 10th graders from Northside Charter in Brooklyn, and a few New School students, all simulating the daily chore of the thousands of women and children in developing countries. We were quite the sight to see in lower Manhattan.
Providing water and sanitation are vital first steps out of poverty. More than one in six people worldwide - 894 million - don’t have access to adequate safe freshwater.
Photo credit: Justin Silles
April 7, 2011
Gross! Aspartame has been Renamed and is Now Being Marketed as a Natural Sweetener
There’s nothing “natural” about Aspartame except the cancer that you might get if you use that nasty stuff. Come on, FDA!
(Source: keeslerwelch)
April 5, 2011
The Double Pyramid
Healthy Food for People, Sustainable Food for the Planet.
Possible on Food Stamps? You decide.
April 5, 2011
Peanut Butter Debate
Peanut butter has been a lifesaver during this challenge. I have been posting these blog entries onto my Facebook page and a few days ago I received a response from my sister. Naturally, when my sister commented on my “natural” Skippy peanut butter selection, with a “Skippy???? Really???”, I responded with the fact that I chose Natural over the regular kind, thereby eliminating a list of ingredients I couldn’t pronounce that spanned the length of the jar. It only contains peanuts, sugar, palm oil, and salt for $2.50! She said, “Why do they have to ADD anything to peanut butter? Palm oil = bad, bad for you and bad for the orangutans!!” Good point.
Why IS real peanut butter so much more expensive? Why do our efforts to live within our means, or on food stamps, have to correspond with unhealthy and unsustainable food practices? As you know, I have been attempting to go about this food stamp challenge by maintaining a healthy diet. In the back of my mind (ok, the front) I have been wondering how on earth I would ever be able to eat organic, local and/or fair trade foods on a budget of $46.18 per week. Even this “natural” peanut butter is both terrible for me and terrible for the planet.
Of course, my response to my sister was to try telling someone on food stamps that they can’t eat this seemingly-at-least-a-little-better-for-you-peanut-butter because they are harming orangutans and the rain forests in Indonesia. Personally, I do care about the rain forests and orangutans and the protection of biodiversity. Unfortunately, I have realized that living on this budget precludes one from being able to care for his or her own body, let alone being able to think about the one planet that is to sustain us and future generations. It’s a dog-eat-orangutan world.
April 5, 2011
Redo of Day #6 of the Food Stamp Challenge
I’m not sure if it’s easier or more difficult to redo a couple days of the Food Stamp Challenge. On one side, I’m not sick of eating the same food anymore, but on the other side, some of my food has gone bad, leaving me with less to eat and very little money to spend. I stopped at the cafe on my way to the bus station this morning out of necessity.
I had $10 left and only a couple apples to last me through my four hour bus ride and a two hour meeting. A lemon scone ($2.00) and a cup of coffee (with soy milk and one packet of organic, natural sugar) ($1.85) cost me a grand total of $4.10 including tax. I ate half and shared the rest. While I know I should have eaten it all due to my budget contraints, I felt it was the least I could do as this person had been feeding me for days…
On the bus ride, my hunger grew, but resisted the urge to bite into my applies until I reached Manhattan. I then quickly went through my two apples and began to wonder how I was going to make it until 8:30-ish when I was to return home. On top of that, what food was left at home that hadn’t already gone bad? I asked some friends where I could pick up some cheap food and they directed me to a nearby storefront. I purchased a bagel with cream cheese ($1.75) assuming that it would keep me full long enough to make it through my next class. A lovely friend shared a few bites of her curried rice with me in class, pushing me to officially make it home without starving. I ate 3 spoonfuls of peanut butter while I made more lentils with zucchini, broccoli, and onions and a couple cups of coffee. I ate probably about a cup of the lentil mix and slurped down the coffee. At 2:30 a.m., I am hungry again and will end my day with a couple more spoons of peanut butter and some vitamins.
Grand total for the day:
$5.85.
Remaining balance of “food stamps”: $4.15
April 5, 2011
Day 7 of My Un-Challenging Food Stamps
Day 7 of the Un-challenge - April 3.
Today was quite a diversion from a food stamp diet. I went to a cafe to work in Cambridge, MA. The two sandwiches I split were so incredibly delicious AND healthy. As I consumed them along side a bag of local, all-natural potato chips, I wondered if a food stamp budget would be able to purchase the contents of one of the sandwiches - all veggies with hummus and tabbouleh on 7 grain bread. My guess is “no”, but perhaps with some deep searching, one could find über-cheap vegetables and make the hummus, while passing on the 7-grain bread. This $8.00 sandwich was definitely not food stamp-friendly, nor was the amazing chocolate cheesecake that I indulged in afterwards. On that note, I guess the red wine and Spanish tapas were also a luxury…
I am returning to NYC tomorrow morning and will exchange this days six and seven for tomorrow and Tuesday in an attempt to make this challenge challenging again. I remember that the following food remains at home:
1/4 gallon of milk
4 small onions
4 apples
head of broccoli
bag of split peas
3 Carrots
1 plum tomato
1/4 of a jar of natural peanut butter
2 eggs
1 green pepper
I’ll see what is still good and what has rotten, and eat the rest of the groceries I brought with me to MA on the bus ride home. My remaining $10 will purchase me a cheap lunch and/or dinner somewhere in Manhattan as I make my way through meetings and classes from 2-8 p.m.
April 3, 2011
Unchallenging Food Stamp Days 4, 5, and 6
On March 31 - Day 4 of the Food Stamp Challenge - I was packing to go out of town for the weekend. I was a bit conflicted over whether I should go and how this would affect my challenge, but I figured that, well, life happens. Who’s to say that someone on food stamps wouldn’t try to get out of town to visit a friend if they had the chance. Now, of course, that chance is probably not possible on a meager budget, but…I went anyway.
I started the day at home with a smoothie of about 8 small, rotting strawberries, a mango, a banana, a few ice-cubes and about a cup of milk. Healthy AND delicious, I must say. For lunch I whipped up two scrambled eggs (made with a touch of milk) with broccoli and mushrooms. For a snack I cut up an apple and dipped it in about two tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter. I ate half of my final plate of leftovers and packed the rest, along with some snacks as I ran out the door to catch the bus to Boston. While waiting for the bus, I chomped on an apple and realized that I was hungrier than I thought. I didn’t have quite enough food with me so I dragged my luggage over to the Dunkin’ Donuts and splurged on an everything bagel with cream cheese. mmmmmmm….carbs. $2.18 later, I was full and satisfied that I wouldn’t starve on my bus ride. By the time I arrived in Boston I had a killer migraine and realized that I had only drank about 8 oz. of water all day. I figure that combined with the neck injury was causing my pain. I took a bite of banana and hit the sack.
The next morning, April 1 - Day 5 of the Food Stamp Challenge, I went to the local coffee shop and bought a cup of coffee with milk ($1.85) and made myself a bowl of Cherrios with a banana (the banana was brought from home). A few hours later, my wonderful host made me a sandwich with ham, cheese, lettuce and tomato with a side of pickle and a handful of pita chips. I already felt like I was eating better and I hadn’t even left the house. It’s quite amazing just how luxurious a homemade ham and cheese sandwich was after three days of knowing that I couldn’t have one, not to mention how full I felt afterwards. That afternoon, I whored myself out to a psychology research experiment where I helped bake some cookies - under one condition - Can I eat the cookies??? Okay, I didn’t whore myself out, I just voluntarily helped some friends bake some cookies on a Friday afternoon for their future psych research experiment. Either way, seven cookies later and a couple spoonfuls of cookie dough, along with complimentary beers (3 of them) and potato chips, the experiment was complete and I hadn’t spent a dime. For dinner, I was treated to a late-night vegetable burrito and a beer.
While my eating habits are not quite as interesting as when I am scrounging food from sources other than “food stamps” the challenge has still been on my mind and I have still been learning. For example, I would suggest that people on food stamps search craigslist or other similar sites for research experiments that involve food (or money for that matter). While this isn’t how I got involved, I am sure there are ‘gigs’ out there that could supplement the food intake and/or income to someone on food stamps. Hey, I would be without cookies if I didn’t participate! As for the rest of the evening, obviously beer and burritos would be out of the question, and I would have once again missed out on a good evening with great company, good food, and a social atmosphere.
On April 2 - Day 6 of the Food Stamp Challenge, I ate the other half of last night’s late-night burrito and two leftover cookies for breakfast. Off I went to the coffee shop to get some work done. My lovely host honored me with two cups of coffee with milk for some studying fuel. The burrito place was oh so delicious that we went back to celebrate a birthday the next night. We all shared several plates of food, but I probably consumed about 1/2 of a burrito again, followed by two beers at a local bar. It would have been yet another missed socializing opportunity and, if this was my close friend, an inability to celebrate his birthday for which I would have felt bad.
So let’s see. If I DID purchase these burritos, which I did not, the grand total would have come to about $7.50 for 1 1/2 burritos. Yes. Delicious AND cheap. But not cheap enough to afford on food stamps.
Grand total for the unchallenging days of food stamp living: $4.03 (Dunkin’ Donuts: $2.18; Coffee with milk: $1.85). I still have a $10 bill sitting in my wallet.
March 30, 2011
Challenge - Day #3
Today I am wondering how to eat all of these fresh foods I bought before they go bad, while still making them last through the end of the week. I guess my lesson in this is to not buy so much food at one time. Unfortunately, my schedule, probably like most people on food stamps, doesn’t permit much time to frequent the grocery store, let alone remember how much money I have left and what I still have at home that will complement whatever food I buy. My cheap strawberries are already going bad and I am going to have to put them in a smoothie so I can choke them down and not waste them.
As I ate my scrambled eggs and 1/2 an avocado for breakfast, I wondered whether I should stop eating halfway through and save the rest for later since I had already satisfied my hunger pangs. Of course, I finished the meal. This was probably a good idea because I had a busy day ahead. I had my staple two cups of coffee and 6 oz. glass of water with ACV and packed up my food for the day. While “walking for water” during the New School’s Water Week, I was lucky enough to find a restaurant giving away free food samples. Yey for FREE FOOD! I ate four uber-satisfying mini corn-dog bites with ketchup. At about 4 p.m. I ate my six strawberries and about four tablespoons of peanut butter, followed by a banana on my subway ride home at about 6 p.m. When I got home, I ate some more leftover lentils and vegetables and the last 1/2 of my avocado from this morning. I must say, I am quite full today, even with a hectic day running around town. Despite my fullness, my roommate offered me 1/2 of a Nutter Butter bar and a piece of bread. I couldn’t resist. Never turn down free food! My night ended with a 6 oz. glass of water and ACV.
I have about one meal’s worth of leftovers for tomorrow and am afraid that the rest of my groceries will be going bad soon. On another note, I received an email from the woman who is running this project reminding me that I am welcome to dumpster-dive if necessary. Gee, thanks.
March 30, 2011
Budget Cuts lead some to Fast
I am not fasting, although it sure feels like something close. I can’t imagine living on much less than this meager $46 a week.
March 29, 2011
March 29, 2011
Food Stamp Challenge Day #2
I was SO tired today. Perhaps it’s because I didn’t get much sleep last night, or maybe it’s because I spent the day pretty hungry. Probably a combination of both. I woke up h-u-n-g-r-y and made myself a 6 oz. glass of water with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a pot of coffee. I was already hungry, but didn’t have time to eat a decent breakfast so I packed a banana and two apples, some strawberries, and some leftovers from last nights dinner. I drank my cup of coffee with milk (and no sugar), ate six strawberries, and poured another cup of coffee with milk to go.
By 11:30 I was starving so I scarfed down the apple, quickly followed by the four strawberries. Still not satisfied, I ate the banana. Crap. Now I am just left with leftovers until 8:30 when I get home! I made a cup of coffee at work and used their half and half. “Free” is my favorite four letter word! I filled my 16 oz. refillable water bottle and gulped it down determined to let the water fill me up.
I left work at 3 and walked over to school where I immediately dug into my leftovers. I had to consciously stop eating before I was full so that I could make it another 5 hours. This is a good exercise for me apart from this Food Stamp Challenge because I love to keep eating way after I am full. I filled my water bottle again and went to class. In between classes I finished the leftovers. Every. Last. Lentil. Luckily, it was still delicious. Around 7:15 the hunger set in again and I ate the final item of food - my apple. I savored that sucker and chased it with the rest of my water. Dinner you ask? Dinner was about 8-10 spoonfuls of natural peanut butter, another 16 oz. bottle of water, another 8 oz. glass of water with ACV, and a handful of vitamins (one women’s multi-vitamin, vitamin-C, and B-complex). All in all, it was a pretty healthy day and I am actually full at 10 p.m. Success?
Today I thought a lot about people living on food stamps. Do they often feel hungry or do they get used to eating less? Is it healthier to eat less rather than stuffing yourself after you are full? I also wondered a lot about whether I was going to make it through this challenge without running out of food and contemplated alternative forms of getting food. Could I incorporate a realistic simulation of food stamp recipients and beg for money or food on the train? What else do people on food stamps do for food?
Finally, I forgot to mention that I have now turned down two opportunities to eat dinner with friends. I also pushed off starting this challenge until after Sunday because I wanted to have brunch with friends. I guess my social life would slowly (?) disintegrate if I was on food stamps…yet another thing to think about. So far, I am pleased with the challenge. I am understanding what many people feel when grocery shopping. I am learning the feeling being hungry and making sure to pace my way through my daily allotment of food, and am also learning that social status can often equate to the simple access to food.
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