Sustainability Visits

1.) What is your name and your role here at the Farmers Market?

"My name is Janet and I am a vendor here, selling for my company Grammy's Granola."

2.) Why do you choose to sell here?

"After six months at my job I had had several pay cuts that decreased my salary to the point where I couldn't live off of it. I was in my early fifty's, and single, and I needed to figure out what to do with my life. What do I want my life to look like? What's important to me? I knew for a fact I wanted to be outside, somewhere or something outdoors. So at one point I was pacing back and forth in the kitchen, and all of the sudden this idea came to me. I remembered how comforting granola snacks were to me when I would come home from a tiring day at work, and just how happy it would make me. I thought, maybe I can bring this joy to other people! But I had to find out if I would really be able to sell my product, so I got together with a bunch of my girlfriends and asked if they would really pay money for what I was selling, and they did! Afterward, somebody suggested the Farmers Market, and so I tried it out and I've been here ever since. I absolutely love it, I get to wear jeans to work, I work with positive people, and I make more money than I ever made working at my other jobs. I love my life, it's perfect."

3.) When did you first start selling here?

"Seven years ago."

4.) Do you garden at home?

"No, not really. Nothing that has anything to do with what I sell here. Just small things, that's all. I do buy locally though."

5.) What would be your advice to get others to do what you do?

"Not so much as advice to get anyone to do what I'm doing, but more as general advice, I would say to do what you love. It's never too late to reinvent yourself."

6.) Have you seen a change in the number of people participating as shoppers and vendors here since you've been here?

"Yes, definitely. There are a lot more vendors and costumers."

7.) Have you noticed a change in the products that are beings sold?

"Yes. It has gone from mainly seasonally grown food to everything imaginable. All kinds of original organic and creative products, many of which are great for the environment, too."

*My Reflection*

1. What struck me about this Farmers Market was the vast variety in products being sold. It wasn't anything different from my other visits to this Farmers Market, which happens to be a common visit for me and my family, so there wasn't anything really unexpected there.

2. A lot of the jewelry was surprisingly cheap, while a lot of it was also very expensive in comparison to your average jewelry shop. I think the reason for them being more expensive is because they are all hand made, but I think a lot of it might be less expensive because it does not have to be shipped in from far away locations.

3. I think I will continue to make my weekend visits to the Farmers Market, I really enjoy all of my experiences there.

4. I think this relates to the concept of living more sustainably because these locations promote things like organic, locally grown, and healthy food, which is a big part of our culture. These places can also be a big step toward convincing people to live more sustainably because it shows that it doesn't take very much even to just get started.

Talking these ideas out.

-Food Inc.-

One of the things that struck me the most about Food Inc was how really when you see all the different brands' and companies' labels on food, but it all really comes down to a few major companies that are running the whole food packaging system.

I do not agree with the fast food companies and their demand for every burger to be processed and modified to whatever necessary extent so that every burger (or whatever meal) tastes the same no matter the location of their costumers' purchase. This is because I think it is unnatural and unhealthy to have to genetically modify any kind of meat, especially when the only reason for it is for taste satisfaction.

These don't just apply to the real world- it IS the real world. Sadly this isn't some story or metaphor you can simply compare to the real world. This is really going on in the real world all around us today.

My family says that they have no idea the conditions all the to-be-slaughtered-animals were so bad, that everything connected and was relatable to the food system of today- even something like illegal immigration. They also agree with my thoughts on how there are really only a few companies involved that control the food (mostly meat) manufacturing, and that these few companies have a monopoly over the production and manufacturing.

My Ishmael (School Daze/School Daze2) Dialectic Journal

Quote:
"So the idea is to give the impression that you understand everything, whether you do or not."
(Page 58)

Response:
This quote strikes me in general because it is stating something so obvious and accurate, but I have never heard the concept so simply put! It is something that I'm sure the majority of students in our country feel, but until now, I have yet to come across a statement that explains so thoroughly and at the same time so simply how students across America feel.
I find it an interesting quote, however, because it doesn't just relate to students. The way I interpreted it is that it applies to anyone that is, as Ishmael puts it, a part of our culture. Really, that means anyone who abides, deliberately or obliviously, to the system our culture has created for itself.
This quote raises a few questions for me, questions like, Why do you all go for this? Why do we all just agree to this method of giving the impression that we do understand things when a lot of times we really don't?
I think the point the author is trying to make is how we just go along with our culture and its ways, when we should really take a step back and look at the big picture of 'why.'
I would like to say my reaction to this quote it something like 'Wow! How lazy can people get- agreeing and pretending to understand out of sheer laziness and apathy!' Unfortunately, I myself am guilty of this crime. It is not others I have to blame, it is me. I am just as guilty of this as many other people in our culture, and even though I do know about this concept of giving the impression of comprehension when untrue, I can't say I've done much about it.
This makes me a little bit sad because I know that I'm not oblivious, but sometimes I either just don't know how I can make a difference in our culture and its system, or don't want to give up enough of my own possession's- mental as well as literal- to do what I need to. This is also the situation many other people are in as well.