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CCSA Students Rock JAC! Feed

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Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?

  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food, Agriculture, and Land Use
    What did you learn from your local grocer and what did you share with them?

    Orel Goldshtein's avatar
    Orel Goldshtein 3/10/2025 7:59 PM
    • 22-DAY STREAK
    I learned many very interesting things from my local grocer. I learned that if I buy grassfed and grassfinished beef, not only the quality of the cut is less fatty and healthier, but its also good for the environment. The reason why cows are good for the environment is because the only thing they eat is grass, which means that the farmer doesn't spend money on cow food such as soy and corn. Growing these crops in mass amounts is very harmful because the farmers use pesticides and glyphosate to wipe out entire ecosystems of bugs, which affects the biodiversity of the farm locations, often affecting animals such as birds, spiders and frogs to name a few. The local farmer also told me that he uses the cows poop as fertilizer for his other crops, which helps him avoid paying for fertilizers that might contain chemicals. I also learned from this farmer that raw milk is illegal to buy and sell in Canada, but that its allowed to be used for personal consumption and he let me taste raw milk. The milk tasted very different and had a strong beef taste, you could almost taste the cow through the milk. The farmer said that raw milk can contain bacteria but that every batch he has is being analyzed in a lab first before consumption to ensure that it's safe for consumption. If the batch is infected, they pasturize it and sell it on the local market. Surprisingly, the local farmer is mainly growing crops, although he was very passionate about his cows. He told me that during the summer season, he has blueberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, cherries, raspberries and many more vegetables that he sells at the local farmers market. I was shocked when the farmer explained to me that having cattle that are grassfed or chicken that are pasture-raised and not fed soybeans or corn is better for the environment. He says that all the crops he has are also organic, and if the bugs get to the crops, he either feeds it to his animals or uses the "wasted" crops as compost. He told me that all fruits and veggies that are layered with wax or pesticides are very harmful to the environment and that, for some reason, there is somewhat uneducated propaganda when it comes to eating animal food. Eating animals in a local, organic and regenerative way is very good for the planet and the only industries that are harmful are the ones that overdo it such as mass cow butcheries where cows never see the daylight and farmers that spray more chemicals on their crops than I do into my pool to get it ready for summer.

    • Orel Goldshtein's avatar
      Orel Goldshtein 3/10/2025 8:13 PM
      • 22-DAY STREAK
      Here is my receipt as proof. I blacked out personal information.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food, Agriculture, and Land Use
    An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Where would you rather use this money?

    Orel Goldshtein's avatar
    Orel Goldshtein 3/10/2025 7:45 PM
    • 22-DAY STREAK
    Honestly, I would rather use this money pretty much anywhere else but wasted food. I could pay for school supplies, buy smaller quantities of food from local markets or organic stores such as marche tau, I could pay for parking at JAC or go on a trip to Cancun with my friends during Summer Break.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food, Agriculture, and Land Use
    While dishing food out, we tend to load our plates with more than we need. Using smaller plates helps to mitigate this. Aside from the environmental benefits, what other benefits might come from eating/serving smaller portions?

    Orel Goldshtein's avatar
    Orel Goldshtein 3/10/2025 7:43 PM
    • 22-DAY STREAK
    Eating smaller portions is actually healthier for your body, because it prevents you from overeating and is better for digestion. Personally smaller portions help me deal with Acid Reflux symptoms and also because you eat more often throughout the day you have less cravings.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Transportation
    How has your access to various kinds of transportation throughout your life influenced your current attitudes about transportation and your transportation behavior?

    Orel Goldshtein's avatar
    Orel Goldshtein 3/10/2025 7:32 PM
    • 22-DAY STREAK
    Growing up in Vaudreuil, I relied mostly on cars due to limited transit options, using the EXO train and STM buses for school made frustrated with public transit because they never arrive on time

  • Ryan Broderick's avatar
    Ryan Broderick 3/10/2025 6:02 PM
    • 36-DAY STREAK
    I visited scotland for a week, and at the beginning of the trip I purchased a single use water bottle, however I kept this bottle for the enitre trip, and still have the bottle today at home.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Land Sinks
    How is your diet currently impacting deforestation? What can you do to decrease your negative impact and increase your positive impact?

    Luca Di Salvo's avatar
    Luca Di Salvo 3/10/2025 5:41 PM
    After spending 30 minutes researching, I learned that my diet is playing a huge role in deforestation. I often consume products containing beef, soy, and palm oil, which is the primary reason for this. The production process of beef contributes the most to deforestation, representing approximately 41% globally. This is because cattle ranching requires large amounts of cleared land, particularly in the Amazon. Soybean cultivation provides 12% of tropical deforestation and is used mainly as a feed for poultry and pigs. Lastly, palm oil, found in many products, is responsible for around 6% of deforestation. This is especially true in Southeast Asia where rainforests are cut down to create plantations. All three of these result in habitat destruction, carbon emissions, and the loss of biodiversity.

    In order to decrease my negative impact and increase my positive one, I must make my diet more plant-based by eating less beef and animal products. I can also consume sustainably sourced soy and palm oil products, which can help contain demand for agriculture that drives deforestation. Less food waste is another possible solution. Reducing food waste implies less demand for extensive agricultural growth. In conclusion, by making intelligent choices about what I consume, I can help keep deforestation away and promote a healthier environment.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Food, Agriculture, and Land Use
    What was the most interesting thing to learn about sustainable aquaculture practices?

    Kyla Stenberg's avatar
    Kyla Stenberg 3/10/2025 5:41 PM
    • 31-DAY STREAK
    Everything was very interesting to learn about so I can’t pick just one thing. I didn’t really know what aquaculture was before having done some reading about it. I find it crazy how much output there is in terms of food though.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Industry
    How can you express your personality, creativity, and values in ways that don't require fast fashion or buying more clothes and accessories?

    Kyla Stenberg's avatar
    Kyla Stenberg 3/10/2025 5:36 PM
    • 31-DAY STREAK
    Instead of spending money on clothing, particularly fast fashion you can express yourself and use you creativity by up-cycling clothes. You can redesign clothes you already have or thrift clothes instead of buying fast fashion, where workers are often heavily underpaid.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health and Education
    What was an inspiring thing you learned in Drawdown's Climate Solutions 101 Series?

    Brandon T's avatar
    Brandon T 3/10/2025 5:26 PM
    One thing that was inspirational that I learned while watching this series is how cheap renewable energy has become in the current day. It is now the cheapest form of energy. Knowing this gives me hope that a switch to only renewable resources can be made in the future.
  • REFLECTION QUESTION
    Health and Education
    What are some of the barriers that exist to women's equal participation and/or representation in your community?

    Harryharan Sivathasan's avatar
    Harryharan Sivathasan 3/10/2025 4:12 PM
    • 15-DAY STREAK
    The barriers that exist to womens participation is usually because of some social norms. Such as traditional gender roles. Where this often limits women's involvement in leadership roles and even if they do get the leadership roles. They aren't shown as the people who do it but rather men are. For example, many people believe that only men do farming and rarely any women do farming, but that's not true, there are many women who do farming, being that 30% of farmers are female, but these are the only numbers that were counted as farmers, some women do farming but aren't acknowledged and aren't considered farmer's.
    https://www.producer.com/opinion/female-farmer-numbers-show-major-increase/#:~:text=The%20recent%20census%20put%20female,numbers%20declined%20by%2033%20percent.
    https://farmland.org/in-the-fields-highlights-from-conversations-with-u-s-women-farmers/#:~:text=Nonetheless%2C%20agriculture%20is%20still%20seen,challenges%20being%20accepted%20as%20farmers.&text=In%20the%20most%20recent%20Census,and%2041%20%25%20of%20beginning%20farmers.