art project : 155 lbs

today i was going through my e-mails and came across a very interesting parallel. It was an article on the Green Garbage Project, which was started by a concerned couple to try and see how little waste they could produce within a year.

the reason why i was so drawn to this article was that a little less than two weeks ago my roommate, kim, a friend of ours, justin, and i just showed an installation of all the recyclable 'waste' kim and i have been hoarding in our apartment for seven months. and now we are looking to be even more thorough in collecting our waste for the next year.

in the first installment of our project we set out collecting these items so we could re-purpose them and reduce waste. we use glass drink containers and jars as dishes. we use plastic containers as tupperware, planters, and dishes as well. we use milk cartons, cans, and fruit containers as planters. cardboard, and containers have been used for art projects and canvases. tuna cans make great ashtrays and coin dishes. and even still we have more bottles and cans and bags and cartons than we can really handle in our tiny three bedroom boston apartment.

and that's two eco-friendly art students' consumption rate, not even the average american.

we did the math and we produce around .35 lbs of recycling per person per day, which is very low compared to the average 4.5 lbs of garbage the average person generates. and on average it takes us about a week and a half to fill up a kitchen trash bag with the other waste. so even with numbers lower than the average american, in only recycling we were able to fill an entire squash court.

that's a lot of trash. and when you hold onto it and live with it in your space every day for seven months it really strikes you how much trash we're making on this planet. and how necessary it is to be responsible for that waste.

The Problem is in the Food

the scariest thing is that they don't know the food is what's bad for them. in a country where a healthy vegetable pasta doesn't meet UDSA cafeteria pasta, but french fries and pizza count as a vegitable and a grain it is no wonder we're in the midst of an obesity epidemic. children are no longer being taught what is healthy or unhealthy because of parents that have been misinformed by the food industry, and are being served what is most appealing to them by the school system. no elementary schooler would say no to pizza for breakfast, but that doesn't mean you have to give it to them.

i heard about jamie oliver's show briefly when i read an article about him winning the 2010 TED award, and then again by my mom and another article about the 'faling' of his Food Revolution. So I went on hulu and watched the first three episodes and was shocked about how bad things really are. kids don't even know what potatoes and tomatoes are. try after try jamie oliver attempts to prove that kids will make the healthy choice over the food that's killing them, and every try ends in favor of poor food. but he keeps trying.
 

TED Prize to Celebrity Chef to Fight Obesity - an article on jamie oliver winning the $100,000 TED prize to fund the Food Revolution in the us

How TV Supershef Jamie Oliver's 'Food Revolution' Flunked Out - another article talking about the loosing battle jamie seems to be having with bettering our food system.

Hunger and Obesity: Two Sides of the Same Coin - this article talks about the relationship between food scarcity and obesity in our society

On job creation—local fruits and vegetables vs. corn and soybeans - a recent study shows not only is the midwest able to grow fruits and vegitables, but they'd profit better and everyone would be healthier as well!