: How can you make a difference?

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ua1171_sp17_part7.pdf

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Contemporary Issues in Designing and Managing Sustainable Cities

Urban Affairs 1171:001

Lesson 7 • Food and Food systems

Green-wash (green’wash’, -wôsh’) – verb:

the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.

source http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/

"All natural" isn’t necessarily ‘green’. Arsenic, uranium, mercury, and formaldehyde are all naturally occurring, and poisonous.

Food Facts • Food travels 1500 miles on average before sale

• The average large supermarket has over 45,000 different products, with over half being produced and manufactured by only 5 corporations

• 10 calories of fossil fuel required for every calorie of food energy

• 19% of all greenhouse gas emissions from the food sector

•  60% of Americans overweight, and 25% obese

•  Census data reveals that 49 million Americans struggle with food insecurity, including 16.7 million children.

h"p://www.fmi.org/facts_figs/superfact.htm

Fast Food Facts

• Each day, 1 in 4 Americans visits a fast food restaurant

• In 1972, we spent 3 billion a year on fast food, in 2009 we spend more than $110 billion

• McDonald's feeds more than 46 million people a day - more than the entire population of Spain

• French fries are the most eaten vegetable in the United States

http://www.reviewdiets.com/sad-fast-food-facts.cfm

Fast Food Facts

• You would have to walk for seven hours straight to burn off a Super Sized Coke, fries, and Big Mac

• One in every three children born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime

• Left unabated, obesity will surpass smoking as the leading cause of preventable death in America

http://www.vegsource.com/news/2009/09/how-to-win-an-argument-with-a-meat-eater.html

http://www.reviewdiets.com/sad-fast-food-facts.cfm

Cause of Death in US (2011)

1.   Heart disease: 597,689 2.   Cancer: 574,743 3.  Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 138, 080 4.   Stroke: 129,746 5.  Accidents (unintentional injuries): 120, 895 6.  Alzheimer's disease: 83,494 7.   Diabetes: 71,382 8.  Nephritis (kidney disease) : 50,476 9.  Influenza and Pneumonia: 50,097 10. IntenJonal self-harm (suicide): 38,364

Source: Center for Disease Control h"p://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm

Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years.

The prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008.

The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 18.1%.

School Food School lunch is paid for through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), a Federally funded program of the USDA.

The cost of the NSLP in 2009 was 9.8 billion dollars.

In addition, the USDA purchases approximately $1 billion in commodity foods to provide schools with access to low-cost ingredients, and to subsidize farmers.

Michael Moore film

USDA vs Institute of Medicine (IOM)

h"p://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2010/

h"ps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/02/05/where-people-around-the-world-eat-the-most-sugar-and-fat/

1. Sugar 130 pounds

2. Fats and Oils 55 pounds 3. Soda 300 cans 4. Chewing gum 200 sticks 5. Ice Cream 80 quarts 6. Candy 18 pounds 7. Potato Chips 5 pounds 8. Other snack chips 2 pounds 9. Doughnuts 63 dozen 10. Cookies and cakes 70 pounds

Junk Food Consumption of the Average American (Per Year)

For Each Dollar Spent On Junk Food... •  12 cents goes for packaging •  17 cents pays for the advertising and promotion •  55 cents goes for processing and profit-markup •  6 cents is for additives, preservatives and colorings •  10 cents is for the actual food in the product

h"p://www.rawfoodexplained.com/junk-foods/the-economics-of-junk-food.html

Farming: Who makes the money?

Life expectancy?

Life expectancy in US (2011) Increased to 78.2 years (average)

…but has dropped to 49th in world, from 36th in 2006

GMOs

(Genetically Modified Organisms)

The illusion of choice

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) Genetically Engineered Foods (GE)

Genetically Modified Organisms (Genetically Engineered)

A GMO is the result of a laboratory process of taking genes from one species and inserting them into another in an attempt to obtain a desired trait or characteristic.

Genetically Modified Organisms (Genetically Engineered)

90% of the soybeans grown in the the US contain Monsanto patented, "Round-Up Ready" genetic material

Currently commercialized GM crops in the U.S. include soy (91%), cotton (88%), canola (88%), corn (85%)

Countries with Mandatory labeling

38 countries have banned growing GMOs, including 28 countries in Europe (all the EU).

Why haven't we?

GMO agriculture

1) Herbicide tolerant 2) Self-generaJng insecJcide

MONSANTO manufactures both herbicide resistant seeds and weed killer

"GM: New study shows unborn babies could be harmed" h"p://www.independent.co.uk/environment/gm-new-study-shows-unborn-babies-could-be- harmed-522109.html

"GM Soya Fed Rats: Stunted, Dead, or Sterile" h"p://www.i-sis.org.uk/GM_Soya_Fed_Rats.php

"Monsanto, Bayer and Dow face trial for 'systemaAc human rights abuses" h"p://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/1122020

monsanto_bayer_and_dow_face_trial_for_systemaJc_human_rights_abuses.html

"New Study Links Monsanto's Roundup to Cancer" h"p://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/glyphocancer.cfm

"Monsanto's GMO Corn Linked To Organ Failure" h"p://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/12/monsantos-gmo-corn-linked_n_420365.html h"p://www.biolsci.org/v05p0706.htm

"Monsanto pays up" h"p://www.greenpeace.org/internaJonal/en/news/features/monsanto-pays-fine-for-bribery/

"Glyphosate effects on diseases of plants" (Roundup) (Huber, Europ. J. Agronomy 31 (2009) 144–152)

We are not alone...

Microbiome The body has about 10 trillion human cells.

We have ten times more bacteria cells in our bodies as our own cells (= 2 - 3 lbs)

At least 500 species of micro flora exist in our intestines alone, which vary from person to person

Documented Effects of GMOs

1. Intestinal permeability 2. Imbalanced gut bacteria 3. Immune activation and allergic response 4. Impaired digestion 5. Damage to the intestinal wall

the majority of our immune system is located in our digestive track

http://responsibletechnology.org/media/images/content/Press_Release_Gluten_11_25.pdf

h"p://responsibletechnology.org/gmo-dangers/65-health-risks/1notes

Endocrine disruptors affect the hormone system, effecJng every system in the body.

Can cause tumors, birth defects, and other early developmental disorders, and in addiJon may be associated with the development of learning disabiliJes, severe aLenAon deficit disorder, cogniJve and brain development problems; deformaJons of the body (including limbs); breast cancer, prostate cancer, thyroid and other cancers; sexual development problems such as feminizing of males or masculine effects on females, etc.

http://sustainablepulse.com/2014/02/19/roundup-linked-global-boom-celiac-disease-gluten-intolerance/ #.U01tLSiEO1k

" ...Monsanto is internationally infamous for its use of lobbyists within the governments of nations where it is doing business, leading elected officials to effectively represent Monsanto rather than their electorate."

h"p://www.permaculture.co.uk/news/0304144683/garden-farm-fungicides-herbicides-pesJcides-far-more- toxic-originally-thought

"... 8 out of 9 products were up to one thousand times more toxic than the approved active ingredients with Roundup being one of the most toxic.

PrecauAonary Principle

"A strategy to cope with possible risks where scienJfic understanding is yet incomplete, such as the risks of nano technology, geneJcally modified organisms and systemic insecJcides."

h"p://www.precauJonaryprinciple.eu/

"The dimension of the precauJonary principle goes beyond the problems associated with a short or medium- term approach to risks. It also concerns the longer run and the well-being of future generaJons."

h"p://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2000:0001:FIN:EN:PDF

Neo-liberalism?

Donald Rumsfield Former Secretary of Defense

Board Member Monsanto's Searle PharmaceuJcals

Anne Veneman Former Board of Directors of Monsanto's Calgene CorporaJon

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture 2001 - 2005

Clarence Thomas Former Monsanto a"orney

Current Supreme Court JusAce

Margaret Miller Former supervisor for Monsanto (GBH program)

FDA Deputy Director of Human Food Safety (G.W. Bush Admin)

Islam "Isi" Siddiqui VP of Science and Regulatory Affairs at CropLife USA, lobbying group that represents Monsanato

Former Chief Agricultural NegoJator for the U.S. Trade RepresentaJve

Tom Vilsack Former a"orney for firm that represented Cargill and ConAgra

Former Governor of Iowa

US Secretary for Agriculture

Michael Taylor

1981 – 1991 King & Spalding: Law firm represenJng MONSANTO

1994 -1996 USDA: Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Administrator of Food Safety

1996 – 2000 MONSANTO: Public policy, BGH development

2000 – 2009 Center for Risk Management 2009 - 2016 FDA: “Food Czar”

"…illegally accessed and genetically modified six varieties of Indian brinjal to produce Bt Brinjal."

38 countries have banned growing GMOs, including 28 countries in Europe (all the EU).

Why haven't we?

h"p://www.fullcircle.com/goodfoodlife/2012/05/08/the-dirty-dozen/#_sf_id=1.1336582786.4289 h"p://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php

http://americannutritionassociation.org/newsletter/nutritional-quality-organic-versus-conventional-fruits-vegetables-grains

conventional vs organic? they might have it backwards

http://tobifairley.com/blog/2012/gratitude-for-a-healthy-mind-healthy-body-and-healthy-life/

The Idiot Cycle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUaRi7CHASo

h"p://www.seedthemovie.com/trailer