Portfolio for Prior Learning Assessment

Petitioning for Elective Credit

Based on PHI 205.001 – Food Ethics

From the University of Kentucky

NAME

City University of New York School of Professional Studies

Date

Table of Contents

I. Learning Narrative – pages 3-20

II. Portfolio Artifacts – pages 20-26

III. References – page 27

Learning Narrative

Introduction

My name is ________. I am a twenty-six-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native, currently

based in _____________. Most of my professional life has been spent as a child caretaker,

whether as a babysitter/nanny, or as a preschool teacher, which I have been for the past two years

at two private preschools that both are inspired by the Reggio-Emilia learning philosophy, which

is student-centered and places a strong focus on nature and the environment. I plan to pursue my

Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education after receiving my Bachelor’s degree in

___________ from the CUNY School of Professional Studies (SPS). I anticipate graduating

from SPS following the _________ semester. When I am not teaching or otherwise caring for

children, I volunteer for a nonprofit cat adoption organization called Animal Nation in

________. I also volunteered in a similar role for the ASPCA in New York City. I was raised

with a sincere love and respect for animals, and this has become a key part of who I am as a

person, and also a major motivation for me to adopt a vegan lifestyle in October of 2013.

All of these experiences reflect my learning styles, which I discovered after taking a

Multiple Intelligence Assessment are: Self, Nature, and Language. Becoming aware of the role I

personally play in the world, the difference I can make, and how my actions have lasting effects

was critical when it came to completely changing my lifestyle into one that strives to live

compassionately. We are all not simply individuals, all alone in this world, but rather part of

something much larger and more consequential. We are each a piece of the puzzle of nature and

the Earth as a whole, and understanding just how great of an impact we each can make on the

changing and healing of our world would behoove us all. My goal is to leave this world in better

condition than it was in when I entered it, and I sincerely believe living a vegan lifestyle and

communicating that to others is how I am meant to accomplish that.

On October 28, 2013, I had an experience that forever changed my life. It started out as a

normal evening of bonding with my father, deciding on a film to watch together. On a whim, we

chose the 2011 documentary “Vegucated.” I did know about the film prior to this, but it made

such a lasting impact on me. The film’s premise was following three New Yorkers as they

adopted a vegan lifestyle for six weeks. In between documenting the trials and tribulations the

individuals went through in making this change, the film also revealed the horrors of how the

animals we eat get to our tables, the destructive impact eating animals has on the environment

and one’s health, making an extremely clear and indisputable case for becoming vegan. One

scene from this film in particular will never leave me, and every time I think about it, I shudder

with disgust and outrage: in a factory farm, where the conditions are revolting and grossly

unsanitary, a worker is holding a Taser and pointing it square at a pig’s head. I had to close my

eyes once I saw what was unfolding, but I will never forget the panicked squeals and screams

coming from this innocent animal enduring this unconscionable cruelty. Being Jewish, I have

never eaten pig, but a similar fate is experienced by kosher animals during “humane” slaughter,

of which there is actually no such thing. After this film ended, I made the decision right then and

there to live a compassionate lifestyle, setting out on a journey to learn all I could about what

was presented in the film, and so much more. Thus, I began my learning journey into food ethics

and veganism, and it has been—and continues to be—the experience of a lifetime.

In this Learning Narrative, I will describe the course outcomes from the syllabus for PHI

205.001: Food Ethics, a course from the University of Kentucky in an effort to petition for

Elective credit toward my degree at SPS. I have also included supporting documentation that

further shows my reflective experience and learning. Much of the learning I have done on this

compassionate living journey has taken the form of reading books upon books on the subject,

watching documentaries similar to “Vegucated,” and taking everything I’ve learned and turning

it into action by completely changing my lifestyle to be more in line with my new values.

The course description for the Food Ethics course is as follows:

You are what you eat, or so the saying goes. If this is so, then [do] food consumption, and

production, habits express your values. Do you think it is morally acceptable to kill sentient

creatures for your nutritional needs, even if it can be shown that it is unnecessary or that the

production practices are torturous? Beyond the ethical, we will address the political. Thus we

will examine what is a food system, and what constitutes a food culture? In short, in what sense

is eating a moral or even a political act? In our study of these questions our focus will range

from the local to the global. This course aims to give you an informed overview of how

individual food choices and socio-economically defined food systems impact us as ethical agents

and as responsible members of a local community and broader national and global society.

Over the semester, we will be looking at various ethical arguments for restricting our

eating habits—i.e., vegetarianism, veganism, only eating locally produced food, etc. You will be

required to track and reflect on your own food habits. Additionally, each member of the class

will participate in an ethico-political study of the Lexington food system. The aim of this class is

two-fold: (i) to get you to think about the social, environmental, and ethical impact of your

everyday food choices and (ii) to equip you with the analytical skills to recognize and assess

philosophical arguments.

The Learning Outcomes from this course are as follows:

1. Assess one’s own connection to their local and global food community

2. Explain and defend one’s own ethical standpoint according to these ethical concepts

introduced in class, especially in light of one’s own eating habits

3. Demonstrate an understanding of historical, societal, and cultural differences in

regards to food systems production arising from nationality, religion, political, and

socioeconomic class

4. Explain historical, societal, and cultural differences underlying individual food

choices

5. Articulate and evaluate regional, national or cross-national resistance movements and

civic engagement efforts fighting the loss of local, indigenous and/or traditional food

production systems

Outcome 1: Assess one’s own connection to their local and global food community.

As I stated in my introduction, we cannot see ourselves as being insignificant, our

actions not having any impact at all on the world around us. Rather, the truth is quite the

opposite: each choice we make has lasting effects, and we need to be acutely aware of

just how influential we really are and make positive choices accordingly. It might not

seem so remarkable, but the groceries you buy, the food your order at the restaurants you

frequent, even the clothing and personal products you purchase, are all connected and

essentially reflect your values. For example, take a package of ground beef you pick up at

your local supermarket. Do you ever stop to think about the animal from which that meat

came, the life it led, the suffering and pain it endured in the farm it spent its entire (short)

existence in, just to get ground up and become the hamburger sitting on your plate? This

kind of reflection is often the first step aspiring vegans experience as they make their way

toward coming to the realization that they do in fact play a role in the global food

community, and if they want anything to change, it starts with them. There are many

steps one can take, even before becoming vegan, that can make a substantial difference in

both the local and global food communities. Buying seasonal, locally-produced foods is a

great example, as the benefits are far-reaching. According to a 2012 publication from the

Department of Environment & Society at Utah State University, buying locally grown

food has economic, environmental, mental, physical, and even social benefits. From an

economic standpoint, buying goods grown and sold directly by local farmers allows those

farmers to “retain a greater portion of the value-added costs typically captured by larger

firms (‘middlemen’) further down the supply chain” (Utah State University, 2012, p. 2).

Supporting locally produced goods also has great environmental benefits, such as

reducing the distance the food has to travel, also known as “food miles,” which in turn

cuts down on fossil fuel consumption, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions (Utah

State University, 2012, p. 2). The mental and physical benefits are sort of like setting a

domino effect into motion, since “eating locally is correlated with improved nutrition,

increased likelihood of making healthier food choices, obesity prevention, and reduced

risk of diet-related chronic disease,” in major part because this food is more nutrient

dense and much less processed than conventional foods (Utah State University, 2012, p.

2). Additionally, being able to connect with your food suppliers, having the opportunity

to ask questions, and learn more about where your food comes from is a wonderful social

benefit of the local food movement.

When I began my journey to veganism, one book I read, Eating Animals by

Jonathan Safran Foer, completely changed my life. The following quotation really put

into perspective the moral obligation we all have to acknowledge the atrocities associated

with consuming animals, and subsequently change our diets and lifestyles, not only for

the good of the animals, but for the good of ourselves:

However one interprets it, whatever practical, technical, scientific,

juridical, ethical, or political consequence one draws from it, no one can

deny this event anymore, no one can deny the unprecedented proportions

of this subjection of the animal… Such a subjection…can be called

violence in the most morally neutral sense of the term… No one can deny

seriously, or for very long, that men do all they can in order to dissimulate

this cruelty or to hide it from themselves, in order to organize on a global

scale the forgetting or misunderstanding of violence.

(Safran Foer, 2009, p. 108)

As this quotation rightfully asserts, there is no possible justification for the

manners in which animals are disgustingly mistreated in order for humans to have a moment of

unnecessary “satiation”. Once one learns and considers these facts, adopting an animal-free diet

is the only logical next step, as I am proof of. Veganism is more than just a diet, however. It is so

much bigger than simply what one chooses to eat, as vital and significant as that is. But more

than that, veganism connects the world to the individual, the local to the global. Once one

realizes that the food system is not an isolated part of life but rather something that links every

person to every thing, all of their choices and future decisions are impacted. I can speak to this

from my own experience on my veganism journey. When I learned about all the links in the

chain of the food system and the food community as a whole, I could no longer consider myself

separate from something we are all deeply a part of. I learned that my life does not require the

taking an innocent life in order to be sustained. As I will explain further in this narrative, it is the

horrific fate of these innocent lives that truly solidified this life change for me.

Outcome #2: Explain and defend one’s own ethical standpoint according to these ethical

concepts introduced in class, especially in light of one’s own eating habits.

There are many ethical issues that are present in one’s own eating habits, whether or not

one is aware of them. While I do not have a list of the ethical issues discussed in the course from

which this syllabus and course outcome originates, I can think of a number of possibilities,

including the environmental impact of our eating habits, the ethics (or lack thereof) of factory

farming, food waste, among many others. As I grew up in the Jewish religion, I did not know any

better when it came to my food choices; I simply ate what my parents put in front of me and

came to understand that some of the foods I was eating and religious acts involving animals were

culturally and spiritually significant. For example, before the holiday of Yom Kippur, known as

the Jewish Day of Atonement, it is customary to slaughter a chicken, praying that it takes on our

sins so they are not attributed to us anymore. As I got older, I came to dislike this practice more

and more, especially after witnessing it not from a religious standpoint, but from the perspective

of the chicken, what it was going through was the knife slit its throat all in the name of my

atonement. (Typically, the slaughtered chickens are supposed to be given to charity, but I’ve

never personally seen that as the case.) I am not aiming to ascribe any negativity to Judaism, and

as I will explain later, Judaism is very closely related to veganism. But this practice is something

I am wholeheartedly against, and reflecting on how witnessing the slaughter of an animal right

before my eyes affected me was a significant moment for me in my journey to veganism. I

simply cannot accept that there is any ethical justification for it. Thankfully, the same ritual can

be achieved using money, so I am able to participate in this required ritual without needing to

harm another life.

In regard to my own eating habits, the reflection and defense of which is required by this

learning outcome, I believe I have done ample research about this topic and can show mastery of

it. I could not defend my eating habits prior to becoming vegan once I began to learn more about

the issues with which my eating habits were associated.

Another ethical basis many vegans have for giving up meat and any animal product is the

disastrous effects eating such foods has on the environment. So many studies have been

conducted regarding animal agriculture’s direct link to the many ailments affecting our

environment, chief among them being climate change, animal waste in the food and water

systems, and pollution. The United Nations in a report summarized the meat industry to

environmental effects quite well: “raising animals for food (whether on factory or traditional

farms) ‘is one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious

environmental problems, at every scale from local to global… Livestock’s contribution to

environmental problems is on a massive scale’” (Safran Foer, 2009, p. 58). If we as a global

society wish to have a planet upon which it is possible to live, we must take drastic action against

climate change and make the necessary modifications to our lifestyles in order to achieve this.

Another UN report from 2010 titled “Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and

Production” declared, “Food production is the most significant influence on land use and

therefore habitat change, water use, overexploitation of fisheries and pollution with nitrogen and

phosphorous… Both emissions and land use depend strongly on diets. Animal products, both

meat and dairy, in general require more resources and cause higher emissions than plant-based

alternatives” (UNEP, 2010, p. 78). This report also asserted that a change in diet would have a

significant impact on the environment, especially if the global population continues to grow as it

is now. But perhaps the biggest takeaway from this report was this statement about how to

reduce the impacts on the environment: “A substantial reduction of impacts would only be

possible with a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products” (UNEP, 2010, p.

82). The United Nations fully endorsed a plant-based diet in the name of saving the planet.

Outcome #3: Demonstrate an understanding of historical, societal, and cultural differences

in regards to food systems production arising from nationality, religion, political, and

socioeconomic class.

It is comical that once you announce you are moving to a plant-based diet, almost

everyone you talk to feels compelled to give their opinion, as if they suddenly became

nutritionists, philosophers, and ethics experts. I have found this to be especially true of my fellow

members of the Jewish community, as much of what we do, and most of the holidays, revolves

around food in some way. Food is meaningful. Food is social. Food brings everyone together,

unifies us and is a common denominator. However, the significance of food is not the same for

everyone, and nor should it be. Something I have found myself in very heated debates about is

the idea of the “humane” slaughter of kosher animals. I am completely understanding of peoples’

position here as they defend this way of eating. They point to the Bible as evidence that animals

were created for us to eat, sacrifice, and use. I cannot, however, agree with them whatsoever. Just

because an animal is said to be kosher does not mean that it lived a better life than any other non-

kosher animal, or it was treated better somehow. In fact, at the largest kosher slaughterhouse in

the world, Agriprocessors, in Postville, Iowa, video footage revealed cattle “having their tracheas

and esophagi systematically pulled from their cut throats, languishing for up to three minutes as a

result of sloppy slaughter, and being shocked with electric prods in their faces” (Safran Foer,

2009, p. 69). These acts completely went against the procedure for slaughtering a kosher animal,

as it is (supposedly) not meant to feel any pain or suffering. (I must interject here that I, and so

many others in the vegan community, do not believe that slaughter can be done humanely. It is

taking a life, and that is inhumane at the outset.) With that background knowledge about kosher

slaughter, it is clear that the actions perpetrated by Agriprocessors was beyond deplorable, and it

certainly caught the attention of the Jewish community. In fact, the president of the Rabbinical

Assembly of the Conservative Movement responded to this controversy by stating, “When a

company purporting to be kosher violates the prohibition against tza’ar ba’alei hayyim, causing

pain to one of God’s living creatures, that company must answer to the Jewish community, and

ultimately to God” (Safran Foer, 2009, p. 69). Another statement was made, this time by more

than fifty influential rabbis, arguing that, “Judaism’s powerful tradition of teaching compassion

for animals has been violated by these systematic abuses and needs to be reasserted” (Safran

Foer, 2009, p. 69). While I appreciate the outpouring from the Jewish community standing up

against the abuses performed under the guise of kosher slaughter, I feel that this idea of teaching

compassion for animals while at the same time killing them to be a bit contradictory. How is

raising and killing an animal compassionate? Safran Foer agrees, contending, “is it even possible

to eat meat without ‘causing pain to one of God’s living creatures,’ to avoid (even after going to

great and sincere lengths) ‘the desecration of God’s name’? Has the very concept of kosher meat

become a contradiction in terms? I believe it has, and I defend my ethical standpoint of being

vegan by refusing to take part in or benefit from the mass murder of animals, regardless of how

“thoughtfully” they have been slaughtered. It all comes down to the reflection of the idea that my

actions have consequences, and my refusal of eating any animal product is not only a personal

choice, but a moral and ethical one.

Food choice itself can oftentimes be a result of one’s socioeconomic status. The poor, for

example, “choose diets higher in calories, fat, meat, and sugar, and they display higher rates of

obesity and chronic diseases” (Nestle, 2002, p. 27). Wealthier people, on the other hand, tend to

be healthier, as they have better access to more nutritious foods. This stark contrast between food

availability based on economic status is something food and beverage companies are quick to

exploit, as they “reinforce this gap when they seek new marketing opportunities among minority

groups or in low-income neighborhoods. The alcoholic beverage industry is especially adept in

marketing to ‘disenfranchised’ groups” (Nestle, 2002, p. 27). After learning this, I reflected on

how I have seen this play out in my own life, and began actively observing the inconsistencies

between healthy food availability in different neighborhoods. I noticed, for example, where I

used to live in Las Vegas, there were more health food stores near my home in a middle- and

upper-class area than there were in the downtown area, or the more south and southeast I

traveled. These areas were predominantly populated by lower-class individuals, and there were

more convenience stores and smoke shops than there were healthy food options. To me, this was

just one of many examples of how socioeconomic class dictates, to some extent, one’s access to

healthy, nutritious food and one’s ability to make healthy food choices.

Outcome #4: Explain historical, societal, and cultural differences underlying individual

food choices.

Different cultures and societies have different ideas about food: some are culturally

significant, such as the Jewish food customs I mentioned previously, and some have simply

become a hallmark of society, such as the prevalence of fast food restaurants in America.

Additionally, government and federal organizations such as the Food & Drug Administration

(FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) also play a role in our food

choices as a society, and the effects are not always positive. Many lobbyist groups, political

action committees (PACs), and politicians today do not necessarily act for the good of the

people, but rather for the good of the food industry that gives them large financial contributions

to further their agendas. It is this powerful influence that worries many vegans, and living a

vegan lifestyle is one way of taking control of the food system situation that impacts everyone

from all races, religions, and classes.

As Marion Nestle wrote in her book “Food Politics”:

When officials of regulatory agencies go to work for industry, they are almost

certain to be paid better than they were in their government jobs, and they

contribute to industry the valuable expertise that they acquired at the expense of

taxpayers. This practice of recruiting industry executives to government work

raises questions of conflict of interest, even when they accept lower salaries to do

so, because it is difficult to imagine that they can make decisions without keeping

their former employer’s interests in mind.

(Nestle, 2002, p. 101)

Most everyone should remember from some point in their lives learning about the

“Eating Right Food Pyramid” that was created and circulated by the USDA in the early 1990s. It

included the 6 major food groups (grains, vegetables, fruits, meat, dairy, and fats/oils/sweets) and

presented them in a way to help Americans make better food choices. Through my post-

enlightenment research, I was shocked to discover that the USDA had actually initially blocked

the release of this food pyramid in 1991 “under pressure from meat and dairy groups objecting to

the position of their products in its hierarchy” (Nestle, 2002, p. 52). This simple fact shows just

how far-reaching the influence of the major players in the food industry really is on how our

society makes food choices; they are practically made for us.

I would now like to focus on the cultural differences regarding food, in particular

reflecting on my experiences with the impact and importance of food in the Jewish culture.

Something I found especially interesting when beginning to learn about the connection between

veganism and Judaism is how closely connected a plant-based diet is to Jewish thought and

theory. Indeed, according to Rashi, the foremost Jewish Torah commentator, the first dietary law

God gave the Jewish people was consistent with vegetarianism, as it is written in the book of

Genesis, “And God said: ‘Behold, I have given you every herb--yielding seed which is upon the

face of all the earth, and every tree that has seed-yielding fruit—to you it shall be for food”

(Genesis 1:29). Rashi explains, “God did not permit Adam and his wife to kill a creature and to

eat its flesh. Only every green herb they all eat together” (Schwartz, 2001, p.1). Additionally,

13th-century Jewish commentator Nachmanides posits that the initial inclination for humans to

adopt a plant-based diet is the connection between all sentient beings. He writes, “Living

creatures possess a soul and a certain spiritual superiority which in this respect make them

similar to those who possess intellect [human beings] and they have the power of affecting their

own welfare and their food, and they flee from pain and death” (Schwartz, 2001, p.1).

The turning point in Jewish history that saw the allowance for humans to consume meat

came after the flood in the time of Noah, at which time humanity’s morality had all but vanished,

as it is written in Genesis 6:12, “And God saw the earth, and behold it was corrupt; for all flesh

had corrupted their way upon the earth” (Schwartz, 2001, p. 3). Permission to eat meat was only

given “as a concession to people’s weakness” (Schwartz, 2001, p. 3). Another commentator,

Rabbi Moses Cassuto, states, “Apparently the Torah was in principle opposed to the eating of

meat. When Noah and his descendants were permitted to eat meat, this was a concession on the

prohibition of the blood. This prohibition implied respect for the principle of life [“for the blood

is the life”] and an allusion to the fact that in reality all meat should have been prohibited”

(Schwartz, 2001, p. 5). Although the typical diet, Jewish or otherwise, consists of animal

products, I feel strengthened in my convictions of living a plant-based lifestyle knowing that its

roots are in the Torah, the foundation of all Jewish life.

Food itself is a social and cultural event. When one even only briefly reflects upon the

idea, most social gatherings are centered around food in some way: birthday parties, dates,

lifecycle events such as weddings and even funerals, all place some kind of emphasis on food.

This is especially true in the Jewish culture, where the observance of most holidays requires the

eating or utilizing of food in some way. In fact, several holidays actually favor and honor plant-

based foods. For example, for the holiday of Tu B’Shevat, known as the “New Year of the Tree,”

at its root is about connecting us all to our planet and giving thanks to what the earth, by way of

God, gives us. As Ari Elon writes, “celebrating the ‘new year of the tree’ became the day to join

together earth and Heaven: To join the celebration of living trees to the celebration of the Tree of

Life; To join protection of the flow of abundance around the great round globe to affirmation of

the Divine Flow from below to above, from above to below…; To join joy in eating without

killing any creature to joy in living ‘by everything that comes forth from the mouth of God’”

(Elon et. al., 2000, p. 19). An entire meal, called a seder, is had by many Jewish families and

communities during this holiday, as all in attendance each get an opportunity to try different,

unique fruits as a show of gratitude for the bounty of the earth. This is just one of many examples

of the connection between the social and cultural significance of food and food choices.

Outcome #5: Articulate and evaluate regional, national, or cross-national resistance

movements and civic engagement efforts fighting the loss of local, indigenous and/or

traditional food production systems.

Living an ethical lifestyle is not just an idea, but rather a movement in and of itself. There

are a large number of organizations whose sole purpose is to raise awareness about the ethical

issues plaguing the food system and the mistreatment of animals.

For example, one of the most hot-button issues surrounding our food is the presence of

GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and the pesticides used to grow produce. The Non-

GMO project has made great strides in making the public more mindful of the foods that have,

and the foods that do not have, been processed using GMOs, how to avoid these foods,

alternatives, and the dangers of consuming these foods. GMOs have had their genes altered;

“sometimes an existing gene may be removed, or its operation blocked. In other cases, a gene is

inserted from another organism, sometimes from an entirely different species, to confer a desired

trait on the plant or animal” (Singer & Mason, 2006, p. 206). The most common GMO is that of

“Bt corn”, which is a form of corn “that has been given a gene from a bacterium, Bacillus

thuringiensis” (Singer & Mason, p. 209). This particular bacterium has a pesticide built inside it,

so it does not need to be sprayed with pesticides against corn borer, a common pest that is very

damaging to non-GMO corn. This genetic modification takes place in every part of the corn,

each cell and protein, and when we eat this modified corn, we are eating this built-in pesticide.

While it is true that many genetically modified foods are theoretically safe to eat, there is no

“guarantee that no risks will be encountered as more foods are developed with novel

characteristics” (Singer & Mason, 2006, p. 210). According to the Non-GMO Project, there are

four risk levels assigned to genetically modified products: high-risk, low-risk, non-risk, and

monitored risk. In high-risk GMOs, such as corn, cotton, soy, sugar beets, and animal products,

“the input is derived from, contains derivatives of, or is produced through a process involving

organisms that are known to be genetically modified and commercially available” (Non-GMO

Project). The examples listed, especially corn, cotton, and soy, are found in so many products,

and consumers have a right to know when the goods they are purchasing are genetically

modified. Low-risk GMOs are not derived from or contain derivatives of GMOs, or are not

produced “through a process involving organisms that are genetically modified and

commercially available” (Non-GMO Project). Examples of low-risk GMOs are lentils, tomatoes,

spinach, and avocados. Non-risk GMOs are just that: not at risk of being susceptible to genetic

modification. Finally, monitored risk GMOs are carefully monitored through the Non-GMO

Project. The Non-GMO Project is currently tracking close to 100 products “because they will

likely soon be widespread or because of known instances of contamination from GMOs” (Non-

GMO Project). Examples of these include flax, wheat, apple, mushroom, potato, and even

salmon. I will reiterate here that it is important for consumers to reflect upon the goods and

produce they are purchasing, as so many of them have the potential to be contaminated with or

produced used genetic modification. I have and continue to go through this reflection, and I

make many grocery purchase choices based on whether or not they have been produced using or

at all contain GMOs. GMOs are also yet another reason to invest in buying local food.

The local food movement is an effort that seeks to make nutritious food available and

affordable, regardless of one’s location, since in some less densely populated areas it may be

difficult to find such food in their food system. Interest in local food has increased dramatically

in the past number of years. While local farms are usually small and therefore have struggled to

remain in business while going up against major factory farms and grocery chains, they strive to

stay in business using clever strategies such as, “selling differentiated food products directly to

consumers, or grouping together to sell those same differentiated products through specialty

retailers, food co-ops, and food service companies” (Pirog et. al., 2014, p. 7). These strategies

have worked in the farms’ favor, as they “converged with a growing prevalence of more

‘anonymous’ food in the marketplace. This sparked renewed interest by consumers about the

farmers who produced their food and how that food was grown” (Pirog et. al., 2014, p. 7).

Indeed, these farmers have found a goldmine in the direct-to-consumer business model, as “sales

increased to $1.2 billion in 2007, up from $551 million in 1997” (Pirog et. al., 2014, p. 8).

Another way the local food movement has made itself an even larger presence in communities is

through gardens and farm-to-school programs. I have personal experience with this, as my

mother, a retired public school teacher, made it her mission to have thriving gardens built, ran,

and harvested by her students in the schools at which she taught, which were mostly in

underserved communities and neighborhoods that would not ordinarily have access to this kind

of fresh food. The children, ages 8-12 years, took great pride in their gardens, and learned so

much about the process of growing their own food and the importance of eating healthier. When

their gardens were ready to be harvested, they either had a “farmers market,” or even sold their

products to a local vegan restaurant. I accompanied my mother to a meeting with this particular

restaurant, and I was so inspired that I got involved in working for them as well. This experience

inspired me even more to continue on this journey of healthy eating, learning the value of local

foods.

Conclusion

Reflecting on the issues stated above through the Learning Outcomes of this Food Ethics

course, I felt I needed to do more research in order to gain a better understanding and make the

most informed decision to become vegan. As the following Portfolio Artifacts will show, this is a

journey that I have been on for a long time, and will continue along for the rest of my life.

Learning never ends, and enlightenment never ceases, especially when one is striving to learn

more and more about something that is not only so important on an individual level, but also has

major consequences reaching far greater distances than could be imagined.

Portfolio Artifacts

(Note for the reader reading this as an example of a portfolio that passed. The following images

were originally from the student’s Instagram account. This showed to the accessor that the

student had been living this vegan lifestyle for years. The Instagram posts were removed to hide

the student’s identity and replaced with simply the images).

1. This photo is of three books that I used to jumpstart my journey into veganism, and they

completely changed my life. I continue to reread them to this day if I ever need to be re-

inspired.

2. This is a photo that demonstrates multiple things: my commitment to this lifestyle, how

Judaism and veganism are connected, and my activity in the vegan community.

3. This photo exemplifies how I used my newfound knowledge about veganism and the

animal welfare aspect of this lifestyle. I actively took steps to change my lifestyle, in this

example by changing out the products I used for ones that were not tested on animals, not

made with animal ingredients, and produced by a company that makes combatting animal

testing part of their mission. I learned that this kind of purchasing behavior is called

“conscious consumerism,” and I have strived to maintain this kind of conduct with all my

purchasing choices.

4. In this humorous photograph, I created a guide for my family of what I as a vegan will

and will not eat, both in an effort to help them if they ever need to have food prepared for

me (i.e. a family dinner), but also to educate them about the reasoning behind my life

change.

5. This photo of an incredible and very well-loved book, and its accompanying caption,

further proves my commitment to learning about animal rights, food ethics, where I as a

person fit into it all, and what I can do to make a difference.

This is a photo of a

very long list of books I made at the beginning of my compassionate-living journey.

While I have not read every book on this list as of yet, it is an important goal of mine to

do so, and I continue to make progress and even add to this list.

References

Brain, R. (2012, September). The Local Food Movement: Definitions, Benefits & Resources

[Scholarly project]. In Utah State University Extension Sustainability. Retrieved from

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredi

r=1&article=2693&context=extension_curall

Elon, A., Hyman, N. M., & Waskow, A. O. (Eds.). (2000). Trees, earth, and Torah: A Tu bShvat

anthology. Jewish Publication Society.

Foer, J. S. (2009). Eating animals. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Masson, J. M. (2010). The face on your plate, the truth about food. New York: W. W. Norton.

Nestle, M. (2002). Food politics. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.

Pirog, R., Miller, C., Way, L., Hazekamp, C., & Kim, E. (2014, May). The Local Food

Movement: Setting the Stage for Good Food (Publication). Retrieved

https://www.canr.msu.edu/foodsystems/uploads/files/Local_Food_Movement.pdf

Schwartz, R. H. (2001). Judaism and vegetarianism. New York: Lantern Books.

UNEP (2010) Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production: Priority

Products and Materials, A Report of the Working Group on the Environmental Impacts

of Products and Materials to the International Panel for Sustainable Resource

Management. Hertwich, E., van der Voet, E., Suh, S., Tukker, A., Huijbregts M.,

Kazmierczyk, P., Lenzen, M., McNeely, J., Moriguchi, Y.

Walters, K. S. (1999). Ethical vegetarianism: from Pythagoras to Peter Singer. New York: State

University of New York Press.

What is GMO? (2016). Retrieved March 13, 2018, from https://www.nongmoproject.org/gmo-

facts/what-is-gmo/