![]() ![]() Is it Time for a 1. Travel Diet? In The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the feel- good travel epic released last Christmas, Ben Stiller plays a compulsive daydreamer who travels around the world in search of a missing photograph. Mitty’s hunt for the photograph allows him to escape his boring life working in a darkened photo lab at Life Magazine, and to find happiness through adventure. ![]() This narrative of self- discovery through travel is pretty well- worn – Eat, Pray, Love being another prominent example. This narrative, however, has implications that go far beyond the movie theatre. Consider, for example, the advertising materials for The Adventure Travel Company, offering hikes through the Sahara Desert, mountain- climbing in the Himalayas and rainforest treks in the Amazon. Their promotional images typically feature a single person or small group looking introspective or triumphant while standing amongst some sort of dramatic natural scenery. Charity travel packages to climb Kilimanjaro, of which there are many, use similar iconography in their advertising. And then there’s the very problematic practice of voluntourism, whose promotions tends to feature very happy first- world twenty- somethings surrounded by very happy children in developing countries. The message in all these examples is clear: Pay us money to take you somewhere far away, and in return you get a happy, enlightened and purposeful life. On reflection, that seems pretty obvious. Travel might force you outside of your comfort zone and give you a few good stories to tell, but there are ways to do that that don’t involve intercontinental flight. And a few good travel stories won't magically make your dull office job back home more exciting. What’s less recognized, however, is that this narrative is not just flawed; it’s actively harmful. According to Carbon Footprint, we need to reduce the average carbon footprint to a measly two metric tonnes per person per year. Now consider the fact that Walter Mitty's flight from New York City to Nuuk, Greenland, and back from Rekjyavik, Iceland, would have emitted a total of 1. In case you're not planning on any trips to the Arctic Circle, you should know that a return trip ticket from Vancouver to London, UK emits 1. The twenty- first century practice of finding one’s self through global travel, by virtue of its dependence on flying, is fundamentally at odds with sustainability. While it is possible at the moment to address this problem by buying carbon offsets, this is not a long- term solution. There are only so many high- efficiency lightbulbs you can pay to install before you'll have to start cutting back yourself if you want to continue living sustainably. The inescapable conclusion is that if we want to stave off global warming, we need to stop flying so much. The twenty- first century practice of finding one’s self through global travel, by virtue of its dependence on flying, is fundamentally at odds with sustainability. And that means that we need to re- think the narratives given to us by characters like Walter Mitty. We shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking these narratives aren't powerful. Popular stories about technology, described by transportation historian Colin Divall as “techno- tales,” have a powerful influence on how we use and interact with technology. Divall demonstrates that this influence played a big role in the development of tourism, when nineteenth- century railway companies promoted positive narratives of travel in order to encourage more tourist traffic. So Walter Mitty’s tale is, in a sense, a hundred years out of date. Is local food bad for the economy? Masters music the 100-mile diet a year of local eating the end of southern. LISTEN: Mike Francesa responds to Michael Kay's. He said all the criticism of him is. ![]() ![]() ![]() Techno- tales around unsustainable technologies and consumer practices are already being questioned and re- moulded. While a Hummer might once have stood for manliness, for example, they’re now seen as overcompensation in many circles. But narratives around travel have proved surprisingly resistant to this kind of criticism. For now, environmentalists can get away with offsetting their flights, but in the long run we’re going to have to find another way to discover ourselves. The idea of international travel appeals strongly to the traditionally left- wing values of personal introspection and cross- cultural understanding, shielding it from criticism by environmentalists, who tend to be on the left of the political spectrum. But this simply can’t go on if we are to attain any meaningful level of carbon mitigation. For now, environmentalists can get away with offsetting their flights, but in the long run we’re going to have to find another way to discover ourselves. The good news is that there are ways to do this. Cross- cultural empathy can be facilitated through the internet. Websites like italki. And signing up for The Listserve lets you read an email from one randomly selected person every day. Adventure, and even possibly self- discovery, can be found much closer to home. Multi- day bike trips or hikes can provide a feeling of adventure and accomplishment while also revealing spectacular natural beauty. The less athletically- inclined can still attain substantial carbon savings by taking a bus, a train or even a car to somewhere closer to home. Perhaps it’s time for the concept of a 1. Either way, we need to ditch the environmentally destructive and, frankly, classist, travel narratives in which whomever travels furthest, to the most exotic locale, wins. We can discover ourselves in ways that don’t kill the planet. ![]() ![]() The locavore myth – The Mc. Gill Daily. Locavores are people committed to buying and eating food produced locally. Eating locally has many advantages that explain its increasing popularity: fresher, healthier, and tastier products; less environmental impact via reduced transport, packaging, and processing; and cheaper products when there is no agent between producer and consumer. Buying local is a thumbs- up for the local economy, supports responsible land development (preservation of green spaces and farmlands), and creates community by connecting buyers and farmers. Being a locavore is a political statement, an environmental choice, a health- conscious act, and a way to support producers near your home. Or so the conventional wisdom goes. The reality is that the locavore . When the only environmental aspects addressed are food mileage (from farm to plate) and the amount of food processing/packaging, buying local food does not accomplish much for the environment. Other aspects of food production, like the inputs at the farm itself (chemical fertilizers, pesticides, use of oil- powered machinery, irrigation, et cetera), are largely relevant in assessing the sustainability of a local food system, yet they are ignored by locavorism. Additionally, issues of social justice are not addressed by the locavore fad. Since locavorism does not look at the production and distribution of food past the lens of distance, the living and working conditions of farmers and workers along the food production line . Although large farmers and those who find a spot in their local farmers. Workers (migrants, temporary or other) can be found on the farm and in the production line . Many of these workers are underpaid, work in dangerous conditions, and are generally already marginalized people. Locavorism is not concerned with the conditions of workers or small farmers, and hence fails to address issues of social justice in the local food system. At Extra Mile Coaching. We will sit down and discuss ways to change your diet to help you get healthy! Criticism has a place in coaching. Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon Chew the Fat. The 100-mile diet began as a way to reduce. The main criticism of this project and one of the main. By definition, though, locavorism cannot even adapt its aims to such criticism, and can. The locavore trend is individualistic in nature and fuels the belief that changes in personal consumer behavior can solve structural and systemic problems. It is focused on comforting and accommodating the individual consumer rather than correcting inequities that are endemic to the capitalist system. Moreover, the locavore is reduced to a unidimensional consumer: it is assumed that the only way to effect change is to . Instead of giving equal power to all voices, the locavore food system allocates votes according to wealth, and traditionally marginalized people, far from being empowered, continue to be marginalized. Along the same lines, the locavore lifestyle is generally only accessible to middle- or upper- class individuals. Since money and time are not distributed equally among everyone, local food products tend to be less accessible to people who have less money and/or time on their hands due to multiple factors, including but not limited to race, gender, ability, and education. Many working- and lower- class people simply do not have the time or resources to find locations that sell local food products, and pick up food from a location that may be far from home. Locavorism, by once again ignoring the needs and conditions of marginalized people, makes it impossible for them to participate in and benefit from local food systems. Locavorism means well, and it does get the ball rolling on pointing out some major problems within our system; however, just consuming local food is not enough. We need to be considering all aspects of the food industry and making sure that every problem is addressed. We cannot ignore the people that the locavore movement leaves out and we cannot ignore the environment. A full blown local movement is necessary to do that, for in order to make widespread structural change, everyone needs to be involved. A movement like this is already in the works, we just need to join it! Campus Crops is a student- run urban collective on Mc. Gill. They organize workshops and film screenings on food politics issues, and have an on- campus garden space used to share and learn gardening skills by growing food. Find out more about Campus Crops at campuscropsmcgill. Join them for a film screening and discussion on food politics on Monday, December 3, at 4: 3. Madeleine Parent room (former Breakout Room; Shatner building, 2nd floor).
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