Thesis Crisis!

As many a person before myself has experienced, commitment can spur fits of wild rebellion. This may be an instance of such a thing: upon drafting my thesis statement, I feel the need to take one final stab at an alternative idea.

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I believe that the act of eating lies at the center of our identity. When we eat is a factor of our biology and response to our bodies. How we eat is an expression of our values and our relationships with each other. What we eat defines the very nature of our relationship to the planet we live on.

The average American diet far outstrips our ability to provide for ourselves. The typical animal-based diet requires as much as seven times the land acreage to produce as a plant-based diet (1).  As much as half of harvestable food in the US goes to waste (2). Meanwhile, agriculture as it stands today is often hugely disruptive to a landscape, replacing native habitats, ecosystems, and even watersheds with a small selection of tightly-controlled foreign species.

WHAT IF the Extension Service was at the center of our communities, like a library or civic center– a center sharing and promoting local food via  potlucks, gatherings, community farms and seed banks?

WHAT IF groups like Food Not Bombs that work to combat  food waste and feed the hungry had more prominence in our culture?

WHAT IF our actions to reduce the impact of our diets could change the American landscape?

Whew. I had to get that out there. So now to pick, which is the more compelling project, this or my previous thesis? Comments and personal picks welcome.

Sources

(1) http://veg.ca/content/view/133/111/#diet

(2) http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/Supply-Chain/Half-of-US-food-goes-to-waste