Winter weather did not prevent fellowship gatherings in Chicago, Washington and New York in February and the Conversation on Copenhagen went ahead in the nick of time before Manhattan was partially shut down by a snow storm.
Looking forward, watch for networking and lecture dates in New England, the northeast, the southeast, north central, and southern California. From a project perspective, initiatives are in development which will draw on the diverse skill sets of the global fellowship and offer opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration and transatlantic engagement. Also, check out the RSA Fellowship Council Ning where fellows are pondering “A BIG Fellowship Project” and sharing many inspirational ideas and examples.
I’ve heard from several Fellows recently about their own ideas and look forward to working with them to help make them a reality. Topics include
- Nutrition, health and childhood obesity
- National security, including energy and food security
- Education and keeping up with technological change
- Preventing another economic meltdown
- Promoting creativity and strategic thinking at every stage of life
I can’t help thinking there are potentially many “BIG Projects” out there if only we can make the right connections. Don’t be intimidated by the thought of bigger projects. Inspired ideas come in all shapes and sizes and there is a role for everyone. Perhaps you have an idea of your own but don’t know how to get started? Tell us about it by leaving a comment here.
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Food and food production has become much more complicated over the years. Food insecurity and health problems are fallouts of lack of education, in-efficient food production and energy wastefulness. Some of the reasons making these problems so difficult to overcome are public policy, monopolies in food production and the demand for mass production with an ever-growing world population.
I finally watched Food, INC featuring Michael Pollan over the weekend. Pollan touches upon these concerns and also reminded me of author Frances Moore Lappe who was ahead of her time in her 1971 book, Diet for a Small Planet. Lappe is not a vegetarian herself, but argues that the way we raise animals for food is extremely wasteful of land, grain, water, energy, and other resources, while America suffers from obesity and other countries around the world are dying of starvation.
I was born a vegetarian and my mom gave me Lappe’s book in my teens to exemplify why her and my dad decided to become vegetarians in the 70s. While Lappe was not a vegetarian, herself, she quotes:
“We got hooked on grain-fed meat just as we got hooked on gas guzzling automobiles. Big cars `made sense’ only when oil was cheap; grain-fed meat `makes sense’ only because the true costs of producing it are not counted”
Something in both the private and public sectors needs to happen. Start replacing high school home-ec curriculum food classes. Sustainability subjects should be introduced in grade schools. In pursuit of fighting childhood obesity, kids should understand that a “low fat/low cal diet” is not necessarily the best diet. Conventionally raised meat is one of the most toxic things one can eat. Cows that eat grass and walk around outside in their natural environment do not produce tainted meat. Kids should also know what a farmer’s market is and a food co-op, and why both are important. Depending on their economic status, their parents may never have the means or knowledge to introduce them to such concepts.
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