Sustainability

1
Sustainability
Winter 2009 Class 19 Jeff Fletcher
2
Logistics

• Questions about take-home test?
• Next time come with ideas about next year
• Possibility Group exercise will culminate in
  short video instead of PowerPoint presentation
• A Film Festival instead of Group Presentations
• Fieldtrips?

3
Announcements

• Brown Bag Presenting Results of the Shaping
  Sustainability Survey
• Thursday, March 12th, 2009 12pm-1pm in Urban
  Center 270 on the Portland State campus
• Check out these great opportunities and become
  part of PSU's sustainability team!
• 1) Sustainability Marketing Internship with PSU
  Dining Services
• 2) Student Marketing and Education Outreach
  Specialist with PSU Recycles (apply before 400
  pm Friday, March 13th, 2009
• 3) Student Recycler with PSU Recycles apply
  before 400 pm Friday, March 13th, 2009

4
Review Diseases Agents in Food

• Most common foodborne infections (from CDC)
• Bacteria Campylobacter, Salmonella, and E. coli
  O157H7
• Viruses Norwalk and Norwalk-like viruses.
• Occasionally foodborne, infections by Shigella,
  hepatitis A, and the parasites Giardia lamblia,
  Cryptosporidia, tapeworms. 
• Foodborne toxins
• pesticides, herbicides
• Natural toxins
• Bacteria grow on food Staphylococcus aureus,
  Clostridium botulinum. Harmful even after cooking
  and bacteria have been killed
• Other poisonous mushrooms poisonous reef fish 
• Fungi that grow on foods, e.g. peanuts
• Prions
• Ourselves and/or Culture
• Too much of a bad thing overconsumption and bad
  diets

5
Consequences of Cheap Corn Policies?

• In groups construct a causal diagram
• Include as many details as you have time for
• Both positive and negative effects
• Capture as many of the intermediary steps as
  possible
• Example Cows eating corn
• What are upstream causes?
• Farmers get paid more the more they grow, more
  corn on market drives down price, cattle raisers
  go for cheapest calories.
• More subtle USDA grades corn fed beef higher
• What are down stream consequences?
• Cows get sick (bloat, acidosis), need
  antibiotics, increased resistance, increased
  human disease, need for more expensive
  antibiotics
• More subtle acid environment causes E. coli and
  other bacteria to evolve to be acid resistant, so
  if humans eat these bacteria not killed
• Unintended Consequences in Complex Systems
• The Rule (not the exception)

6
Follow-up on Big Organic

• How many have paid a higher price to get the
  organic version of some grocery item?
• Rarely, occasionally, often?
• What is your motivation?
• Better personal health?
• Better for farm workers?
• Better for the planet?
• What does buying organic bananas accomplish?
• What increased cost is worth it to you, and for
  which reasons?
• It's Organic, but Does That Mean It's Safer?
• New York Times article
• Short video

7
Social Engineering

• Policy Legislation, regulation, standards
  guidance.
• Economic or Financial Stimulus Subsidies,
  creating markets, pricing, grants and loans,
  investments.
• Technology Encouraging inventions, adoption of
  new technology, implementation on a wide scale.

8
Discussion Questions

• Do we have effective social engineering targeted
  to increase production and consumption of Organic
  food?
• Do we have social engineering targeted to
  increase production and consumption of Local
  foods? Should we?
• What about water energy needs?
• What about land use?
• Who will do the work of local farming?

9
Omnivores Dilemma

• Ch 10 Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Pasture
• Ch 11 The Animals Practicing Complexity
• Ch 12 Slaughter In a Glass Abattoir
• Ch 13 The Market Greeting from the Non-Barcode
  People
• Ch 14 The Meal Grass Fed