So far during this winter season, we have focused on weeding and planting winter crops via transplanting. This week we planted broccoli and bok choy among others. Our understanding of food of course goes beyond just the techniques of growing food. For instance, we are learning about the impact of our food choices in terms of their original location, specifically, food miles. It measures the distance between where the food was originally grown and your grocery stores where they will be bought to bring back home. We are already making a difference by growing and promoting locally-certified sustainable food and by having this knowledge of food miles puts Sustainable Agriculture into perspective. Our food choices can be decided on whether they are being grown sustainably and not just based on nutrition by itself.
The RHS Farm contributes to a decrease in food miles since it is local. It is incredible to me how a common ingredient used in desserts such as sugar is obtained from places that require traveling overseas such as Hawaii and Brazil, which are both over 2,000 miles away, from Marin County. According to my research, Brazil is about 6,000 miles away! This distance matters because as it increases, the quality of the food decreases and CO2 emissions increase due to more transportation as mentioned in the film "Food Fight."
Learning more about food miles has made me recognize how fortunate I am to be living in a place where even more local food options are offered, which includes our own harvested crops. This is considering that as we all know, not many high schools typically offer a Sustainable Agriculture class. Although I have gained more content knowledge, this week the kind of learning I engaged was in making the connections to the activities and the larger picture.
- Andrea Silvera
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