By Sarah Levesque, Sustainability Director Compass at Northwestern
Whenever I talk about individual impacts on the planet and how individual impacts on the planet and how individual actions can make a difference the common refute is this statistic: 100 large companies are responsible for 71% of global greenhouse gas emissions since 1988 and 25 of those companies are responsible for 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions- so why should I as an individual care?
So why should I as an individual care?
The reason you should care is because companies care about what their consumers do. Believe it or not companies spend millions of dollars each year trying to figure out what their customers care about and will change if a large enough group of customers change their opinions or decide to spend their money at a competitor. Another reason is that at the end of the day governments have to step up and provide incentives for companies to change but the only way that will happen is through voters speaking up and demanding change from their elected representatives. These actions all start at the individual level
These actions all start at the individual level.
This Earth Day I want to show you how one simple salad can have an impact on prison reform through mindful purchasing.
Start with your greens from Windy City Harvest.
Windy City Harvest is a branch of the Chicago Botanical Gardens that provides outreach, job training, education and many community engagement programs around the south and west sides of Chicago. They have many farm locations but today I want to highlight two of those locations.
The farm on Ogden is based on community health and houses a massive 50,000 gallon aquaponics system. The aquaponics system allows for water and nutrients to be exchanged from tanks of fish to lettuce and back. The fish waste provides nutrients for the plants and the plants filter and clean the water for the fish. This allows greens to be grown year round in a sustainable system using significantly reduced water volumes, no soil, and no fertilizers or pesticides.
This isn’t the only program and innovation the farm supports. Along with the hydroponics they also lead the community Veggie Rx program that provides free fresh fruits and veggies to community members who are struggling with chronic illness related to food such as diabetes or obesity -- for free. They also provide counseling and teaching kitchens each week to show participants how they can prepare the veggies in their boxes in new and healthy ways. They track the progress of the participant’s health over time and have seen incredible results by increasing food security and healthy food options for their community residents.
The other location I want to talk about is the Rodeo Farm. Along with providing job training and education, the site also participates in a program to create justice reform. Individuals who have been found guilty of a crime can be sent to the Rodeo Farm instead of a jail cell to be paid to work on the farm and receive job training. They are allowed to return home every night and be with their families instead of being separated and isolated.
After you have prepared your greens you can turn your attention to the other components:
Maybe you are adding some wheat berries from Janie’s Mill, an all organic, local, stone ground mill. Or you might be adding tomatoes from Mighty Vine, a local greenhouse tomato vendor using way less water than a traditional farm. Or maybe you are adding peas from Klein’s Farm, a family owned and operated farming operation in Elgin, IL (all of these items can be found at Local Foods). Or you could add some fresh grilled walleye from Lake Michigan caught by the Red Lake Band of the Ojibwe at Red Lake Nation.
After you’ve added these components it is time to add the garnish by Garfield Produce.
Garfield Produce is a hydroponics farm in East Garfield Park whose goal is to provide jobs and job training for returning citizens who might otherwise struggle with employment. They grow micro greens that have a powerful punch and have a powerful impact on the community. They have been able to double their production over the years and provide steady incomes in the community.
Now that you’ve completed your salad take a moment to appreciate all of the people who have worked to make this meal possible and all of the lives you have touched simply by mindfully choosing the components of your salad.
If a single salad can have this much impact on the community, imagine what you can do to influence change in this world.