I can honestly say that this project in some ways has saddened me. I would not call myself an environmentalist however, being part of the Land and Food Systems facility I have been educated about similar food systems issues such as the one discussed by Manning. Briefly, I forgot that this was a project for a 100 level history class. I was reminded of a lecture in LFS 250 last year where we learned about how to approach an issue such as the food system crisis. We learned that the situation, through the application of systems thinking, was deemed a mess rather than a difficulty. A difficulty is, well, difficult, but in theory there is one solution that will alleviate the problem. However, a mess is far more complicated. It does not have a single solution because ultimately there is no single problem. In some cases, depending on your perspective, there may be no problem at all. At best using a systems approach we can improve but not fix a mess.

What I am getting at is that beyond reflecting on how fossil fuels and Manning’s article relate to our everyday food choices, this issue should be reflected on much deeper than this course requires.

As a consumer, food citizen, and future food system worker, I would encourage you to take what you have learned and apply it to the decisions made where ever your position in the food system may be. While fossil fuel emissions and oil energy for production will not be stopped, remaining anonymous to the situation will only intensify future problems and delay changes or potential solutions.

– Eric Schlosser, author of “Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal”

To reduce our contribution of emissions, education and modification of our lifestyle choices are ultimately necessary.