Program reciprocity

This essay for a scholarship for HECUA's Environment and Agriculture program answers the question of what I thought I could contribute to and receive from the program, and how my participation would benefits myself and others. Bottom line: I want my kids to know that Brussels sprouts are a fall vegetable and delicious with mustard.

Environment, Agriculture, and Brussels sprouts

My mother grew up with a kitchen garden in the backyard and canned vegetables in the basement. I grew up helping her shop at the co-op and shucking corn from the farmers’ market. So it surprised both of us when one summer afternoon in my teenage years, I could not say if Brussels sprouts were in season. My mother had assumed that I had a clear conception of seasonality, but all I really knew was that citrus fruits were somehow “in season” in the winter. Not long after this, I launched in the study of nutrition, working my way from Introductory Chemistry to Physiology to Medical Nutrition Therapy. Missing from my classes, however, has been a comprehensive look at how healthy food, the foundation of nutrition, gets to our plates. This Environment and Agriculture program promises to flesh out my understanding, cobbled together through reading books and articles on my own, so that I can more effectively work toward just and sustainable food systems in Minnesota.

To this program, I can contribute thoughtful discussion and openness to new ideas. Before attending the University of Minnesota, I spent two years at Lawrence University, a liberal arts college in Wisconsin. Small class sizes and a tight-knit community fostered thoughtful discussion. There, I learned how to prepare well for class and lead discussions. Later, after a semester abroad, I became more open to new ideas that challenged my previously held beliefs. I came to realize that no idea, no matter how great it sounds, comes without drawbacks and should be weighed carefully. As much as I want to see issues in black and white – organic good, pesticides bad – I realize that life is painted in shades of gray.

Environment and Agriculture will surely give as well as receive. I believe I will gain much from this program, both personally and academically. I do want to know where my food comes from and how to grow it, but often these tasks seem overwhelming. I’m not prepared to interrogate each farmer at the farmers’ market or figure out how much light my backyard gets or what the soil pH is. I believe this program will help me take strides forward in this arena, giving me the vocabulary and confidence to talk with farmers and, through an internship, getting my hands in some dirt. These strides will help me achieve my goal to become a registered dietitian who considers the impact a diet will make not just on the health of her client, but also on the health of the soil it came from and the people who harvested it. Academically, I look forward to breaking away from lectures and professors, and learning from my peers and food system actors.

The benefits of this program will not be confined to my own personal and academic goals. I anticipate great benefits for the issues that I care about – school lunch, food deserts, and animal cruelty. I look forward to meeting and building relationships with local farmers because I want to be an able implementer of farm-to-school programs around the state. With a deeper understanding of food system politics and economics, I could contribute to or evaluate plans for eliminating food deserts in urban and rural neighborhoods. I need to see farmers treat their livestock with compassion to balance out the images of animal cruelty I’ve seen over the years. I plan to use everything I learn on this program to help me be a more better advocate for sustainable food systems.

There are others who will benefit from my experience in with Environment and Agriculture – my future children. I want to be happy to have them eat school lunch. I want them to always be within walking distance of a grocery store. I want them to know that drumsticks come from a bird that has feathers and a personality. I want them to know the work that farmers do and appreciate truly healthy food is. And, I want them to know they have to wait until fall for Brussels sprouts.