One of the most interesting classes from GRS this year was the class where we got a chance to try bugs! A fellow classmate brought in a few different live insects to class, such as crickets and meal worms. He gave the class a presentation on why he started eating bugs, as well as other details such as how to prepare them. Although I heard it only from my dad before as a joke, it was interesting to here that bugs indeed were a good source of protein! Some of the ideas I found interesting was how the bugs were killed. According to our classmate, the insects do not have an advanced nervous system, which means that they are not able to feel pain. To kill the bugs, they are simply put in the freezer until they are frozen to death. This also imitates nature apparently, during the winter season. In this way, eating bugs for protein is also deemed to be a more ethical way of eating protein without eating meat. However, I believe it is important to continue researching the ethics behind eating insects. While studies currently show that they do not have an advanced nervous system, I believe this field of study should still be continued in case we find that insects do in fact have a more advanced nervous system than we thought.

I had also heard some of these ideas before from a few LFS classes and TED talk speakers. Many people have said that insects have played and continue to play a large role in many communities traditionally. However, with more globalization and increasing wealth, many people are looking towards eating more meats as this is often considered a luxury food. As well, many North Americans are not familiar with the idea of eating insects at all. I personally have never encountered any food places that sell insects in Canada or the US for instance. While insects in food seems like a radical idea here, I believe it is something that should be further looked into as there seems also to be various health benefits, such as insects being a low fat alternative for protein, and sustainability benefits, such as insects requiring low inputs.

Our classmate brought in samples of foods with insects to try. One of them was celery with a meal worm spread on it and the other was a almost a chocolate coconut truffle ball with insect powder in it. I personally tried the chocolate ball which was very tasty, though I did not try the celery and meal worms, mainly because I really do not enjoy eating celery. I found the experience of trying the foods very interesting. I was initially very nervous to try the chocolate ball at first because I had never had any foods which intentionally had insects in it. However, with coaxing from my friends around me, I was able to round up the nerves to try it, which I am glad I did.

Overall, the experience was a very positive experience. Although I would still likely be hesitant to try other foods with insects, I would still like to try. Insects seems to be a growing market and I believe it would be a very interesting field to pursue in the future.

Although I am still in the midst of finishing my FNSP 100 course at UBC, I have learned so much more than I expected to learn about Indigenous issues. I initially wanted to take FNSP 100 to learn more about Canadian history and what it means to be a Canadian today. Throughout primary and secondary school, I never learned much about Indigenous history or current events. I vaguely remember learning about Sitting Bull and Louis Riel, but these history lessons were always taught from a settler’s point of view. Not fully aware of what I was getting myself into, I dove into FNSP 100 excited and ready to learn more about Aboriginal peoples. I was expecting to learn about Indigenous culture, history, geography, art. And while I did learn about these topics and the issues behind them, I never expected to learn about them the way Dr Sheryl Lightfoot taught them. We have watched documentaries and films, we have read novels and academic articles, and we have even visited an exhibit in the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. Learning through so many outlets made the process of learning feel much more wholesome and rich – I was able to learn through a variety of ways which challenged me each differently. The content of the course was always thought-provoking and left me reflecting over the issues we talked outside of class. One of the most interesting issues we talked about in class was the ideas raised by Thomas King: the Dead Indian, Live Indian, and the Legal Indian.

The Dead Indian is the romanticized Indian, the Indian that follows the common stereotypes and clichés of society. It is often found in contemporary popular culture, illustrated as a dignified, noble being. At the same time, it is seen as obedient because it is silent and dead. But Dead Indians may not necessarily solely live in the past. Indigenous people may choose to celebrate their culture and history, thereby wearing traditional “Dead Indian” attire, but this is generally intended for one’s own spirituality and connection to ancestors rather than for show. This is also where the overlap between a Dead Indian and a Live Indian is blurred.

A Live Indian is progressive, having rights and responsibilities. But a Live Indian is also often invisible and deemed inauthentic in contemporary times. Live Indians still face many challenges that Dead Indians once faced, yet they are widely ignored and treated unfairly. Thus, many Indigenous peoples fight for their rights, title, and land yet are often called unruly or disruptive for doing so. Moreover, in order to maintain the Dead Indian, Live Indians are often deemed inauthentic, not true Indians because of how they have progressed and adapted just as settlers have. But who is to say that their culture or traditions are static? Who decided what or who a “true” Indian is?

A Legal Indian is an Indian with status. A Legal Indian is controlled by the Indian Act, in which the federal government has ultimate authority over. A Legal Indian receives title from Canada, but it is difficult to receive and maintain this title. Even when one fully identifies as Indian, status can still be elusive. And yet once one is granted status, do the benefits from the government truly compensate Indigenous peoples? The answer is often no, and because of that, Indians are seen as inconvenient. Indians are seen fighting for their rights, which involves control over land and resources, but this is rarely encouraged or advanced by Canadian government which seems to still seek for assimilation.

Although I still struggle with these issues today, FNSP has opened my mind to different resources and perspectives. The course has been amazing so far and I recommend anyone to take it. Learning about Indigenous studies is integral to understanding who you are as a Canadian setter and Canadian Indian. These issues are still relevant today and seen in our current issues. It is up to you to take the initiative to educate yourself on the complexities behind them in order to better understand Canada, Indigenous peoples, and your own role in Canada.

Note: I have attempted to use the term Indian as Thomas King has used the term in his book, The Inconvenient Indian. It is not meant to be offensive or hurtful. The term is intended to be neutral and refers to a group of diverse and indefinable people, just as King has intended to use it.

A few days ago on June 3 was my first time volunteering at the UBC farm and it was a blast! I signed up for the volunteer shift a couple weeks ago, knowing that I wanted to volunteer with the Indigenous Health Gardens. I wanted to learn more about traditional and medicinal plants while as taking part in helping maintain the gardens. Nonetheless, I found it to be a very rewarding experience.

My first task on the farm after meeting a few of the volunteers and the coordinator, Hannah Lewis, was to weed two garden beds that were full of different plants. They needed to be weeded in order that we could put in place other plants to be harvested later in the summer. I dove into the job, ready to get my hands dirty!

Weeding the garden beds

Now as a child, I remember helping my dad around the house with weeding, gardening, cutting the grace, and all the other odd jobs that need to get done outside of the house. However, I never remembered the job to be so tiring! Looking back, I must have been playing outside more than I was working! But on the farm, I was determined to get the job done with the other volunteers, despite the ache in my back that was starting to form after remaining hunched over to weed after a while. To be honest, it really wasn’t that bad. In fact, after finishing all the weeding in that area (and there was a lot of weeds on the beds!), I felt proud.

A mix of compost and soil originally from the garden bed

After the weeding came the composting. Our little group had to grab wheelbarrows of compost and heap them onto the beds we had just weeded. This then required mixing the old soil with the new compost. Once this was finished, we were finally able to move the potted plants into the garden beds. However, this wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be! We first started by watering the potted plants, making sure the soil within the pot was soaked all the way through. This was to make sure that when taken out of the pots, the plants’ roots would not be exposed and all the soil within the pot would remain in one piece. Thus, it make the transplanting less of a shock for the plant. So, I watered the pots and then tried to take them out of their pots by gently flipping the pot upside down, holding the plant stem, while gently shaking the pot in an effort to try to get the plant and soil out. No such luck. I tried for about two minutes but the plant would not budge! Finally Hannah came over to help get them out and out they slipped, easy as pie. We then dug a little hole in the garden beds with our hands and slipped the plants in, making sure to then cover the area around the plant firmly with more soil. We also made a little mote around each plant so that when the plant was watered, the water wouldn’t stream down the sides of the garden bed but instead would stay close to the plant to make it easier for the little seedling to absorb the water. Especially as a seedling, these little tips help them grow better.

Filling up the watering can

Once we transplanted all the pots, it was harvest time! It was prime time to harvest some chamomile. What I learned was that the chamomile that was ready to harvest would have its petals facing down towards the stem rather than straight outwards. This meant that the bulb in the center of the flower (the stamen or pistil) was largest. Because there were so many flowers within that particular garden bed, the picking seemed to go on forever – not that I particularly minded since it was quite a relaxing job. What was interesting to learn was what Hannah said about how they are traditionally picked. Before we started harvesting, she let us know that normally the Aboriginals would offer the plants some tobacco as a form of thankfulness to the plant. As a result, she asked if we could give some sort of thanks, whether verbally or in our heads, to ensure an air of positivity, especially since the chamomile would be used as a form for medicine for some. I also learned that chamomile is good for digestion and relaxation, so I hope to incorporate that into my diet in the future!

The perfect harvest of chamomile

The next thing to do after harvesting was planting some bush beans. Again, we were to weed the area first. Luckily, the area was fairly clear already so that didn’t take very long. Afterwards, we got a few buckets of compost to spread and mix with the original garden bed soil. And then it was planting time! To plant, we pushed two fingers into the soil, only up to our knuckles. We then spaced out the pair of holes about a foot apart to ensure each plant had enough space. We put a seed in each hole, covered the hole up, and finished with a good watering over top.

The left portion of the garden beds were freshly planted with bush beans

By this time, it was the end of our work shift. We ended off with putting all the tools back into a nearby shed and Hannah showed us some harvest we could take home! I ended taking home some little potatoes, arugula, and bok choy. I was very excited to cook up my veggies after what felt like a very productive (but tiring!) morning. I found it to be a really great experience overall because it reminded how you get your food. Often times, I forget that food doesn’t just come from the grocery store. Food has to be nurtured, cared for and by volunteering at the farm, this was exactly what I got to do. Although I thought it was more laborious than I expected, it was an experience that made me appreciate my food while reminding me the value and work that gets put behind it.

Delicious organic bok choy to take home!

Time truly flies so fast because I cannot believe it is the end of my second year in university and the end of my first year in GRS! It has been such a blessing to be in this class and I cannot be more excited to have GRS next year. Reflecting over the past year, I have learned a lot, not only from GRS but many of my other classes. In my sociology class I learned about the power of power; in my food and nutrition class I learned about the importance and processes of aspects of food science; in my land and foods systems class I learned how to interact with group members and stakeholders; and in my statistics class I learned how to carry out research techniques and prove whether the results truly are significant.

While I have learned some amazing new ideas and concepts throughout all my classes, some of the greatest things I have taken away from this year have come straight out of GRS. GRS has continued to push me and motivate me to be my absolute best and consider my actions in regards to others around me. I have learned the importance of serving people and that it is what motivates my heart. I have also continued to learn the importance of food security and the subtle complexities behind it. And beyond this, I have learned to have a greater appreciation for nature and the earth. How? During one of our classes, our class helped to move tools, posts, and plants from the old orchard garden to the new. Although I have worked in gardens before, I had never felt so happy to do so. I loved the feel of the earth between my hands. I loved working together with others to overcome a common goal. I loved that feeling of success, of fulfilling what was not thought possible which at the time was taking down several posts at once! It made me realize my passions truly were at the ground level, working with communities and holistic foods. It also reminded me how lucky I am to be in such a wonderful program with so many caring people – my classmates and also Roxana, Brent, and Mercedes. Although I knew this year would be full of new concepts and greater understanding of various events and situations, I never would have imagined being where I am today and being so happy about it. I still have a ways to go, but I know I will get to where I need to eventually with GRS.

So look out GRS, I will be back in third year, excited to learn more in September!

Instead of a class discussion in GRS, one night was dedicated to bringing people together regardless of age or faculty. A dinner was organized and many in the class, other professors, alumni, and organizations came together to discuss important issues facing the world. I found this to be such a rich experience to learn about a diversity of topics while also getting to know more people within my community. One of the things I enjoyed was just being able to sit down and eat together with people. Often times, it is hard to schedule a meeting, let alone a dinner, to spend time and connect with people while talking about issues such as sustainability and food security. It was also really neat hearing peoples’ personal experiences and how it related to where they are today.

The various issues brought up during the dinner were also fascinating and gave me an amazing opportunity to learn about new organizations. For instance, I never realized that immigrant workers had such difficulties receiving proper medical attention and that there was actually a clinic that set out to address this issue. I was so surprised to learn that this was something occurring locally, but also so proud that some compassionate individuals took it upon themselves to initiate something that could help these immigrants. I also learned more about the issues of fair trade and the benefits of community farming. Previously, I knew fair trade was beneficial to many rural farmers but I did not realize what strategy utilized the process best for the locals. After some discussion with people involved in that field though, I was happy to learn that those farming in a community were more successful since they were able to have a larger say and have a stronger collective voice. Moreover, this also allowed for more support and connectedness among the farmers, which I also believe is a key aspect to successful farming. In this sense, the dinner was a great night which facilitated many great conversations and got many brains thinking!

Just before the end of the night, I remember being able to draw with my group on the paper table covers as well as on the blank canvas, which ended up being one of the many highlights of the night. Our group member ended up drawing some (fair trade) fruits around the earth to signify the importance of fresh, wholesome food. As well, one of the people in my group wrote in Chinese characters, “Do you know where your food comes from?” which is an important question that everyone should consider. Where one’s food comes from not only affects you and your local surroundings, but also situations worldwide. I also want to note that the group member who wrote in Chinese was not Chinese but took it upon himself to embrace other cultures and languages – truly inspiring and a great example of what GRS is all about!

All in all, the night was a success and such a fun way to learn and connect. I hope that I can continue to make time to learn more and share more ideas with others in order to move forward and make more sustainable choices that better the world.