Organic Food Survey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/organicfoodthesis

Hello bloggers! If you eat organic food, whether you are a diehard organic fan or only eat it occasionally, please take the survey from the link above.

I’m currently working on a research project aimed at discovering how much knowledge consumers have about organic food, where they get organic food information, and which messages specifically encourage organic food consumption — for example, do people care more about keeping themselves or their families healthy by eating organic, or do they eat organic because of the environmental benefits?

Help increase the organic food knowledge base!

Tags: Master's thesis, organic food, research

Master’s Thesis: A Call for Help

Hello blog world –

I am currently working on my Master’s thesis, and I could use your help!

I am working towards my Master’s in Public Relations, and my thesis research focuses on organic foods: specifically, which messages and channels are the most effective in causing food shoppers to purchase organic foods.

If anyone reading this happens to know of any fabulous prior research done on this topic, please post it in the comments section.

(Although I already feel like I’m swimming in articles, I want to make sure I haven’t missed anything. It’s a fascinating topic, which is good because I’ll be reading about it and conducting original research on the topic for an entire year!

Tags: Master's thesis, organic food, public relations, research

Ecocide

A video about a mock trial concerning the proposed international “ecocide” law.

Tags: ecocide, London, mock trial

View from a Commute

I am pretty sure I’m being stalked.

By birds.

Let me explain.

About five months ago, two of my friends decided they were going full-blown vegetarian. Since one of these friends is my boyfriend and I talk to him quite frequently, I suddenly found myself inundated with facts about how terribly animals are treated on farms, how unhealthy it is to eat meat that’s been unnaturally corn-fed and pumped with steroids its entire life, and how environmentally friendly it is to be a vegetarian.

Around this time, I also decided I want to adopt a pig as a pet one day. (Yes, I know teacup pigs don’t necessarily stay pocket-sized forever, but I think even big pigs are cute!) Since it’s traditionally frowned upon to eat pets (e.g. dogs, cats, hamsters), I decided I needed to cut ties with bacon and go pig-free. (Disclaimer: I accidentally ate bacon for breakfast about a month ago. In my defense, it was early, and my nose was thinking for my brain.)

In an attempt to be healthier I’ve also tried to cut back on eating red meat, so pretty much the only meat I eat a lot of these days is chicken.

I think the birds have noticed this new favoritism and they are mad. My first sighting was this morning, when in the suburbs of South Jersey, I came upon this crew on my way to the train station:

Pretty intimidating bunch if you ask me. But whatever, besides stopping to wonder if they knew Thanksgiving was coming, I headed on my way without too much of a second thought.

Then I got off the train and was followed five blocks to work by this little guy:

Yes, a white pigeon. Do they even exist?? Apparently, and apparently it’s normal for them to wait by the train stop, fixate on one particular passenger, and follow them until they get cut off by the revolving door leading to an office building. I tried to take a better picture of the bird from a side-view, but it literally would not stop following me for even that long, so every shot I have is head-on.

This experience has led me to believe that I should start eating bacon again so that I will be stalked by pigs instead of birds, and I can finally catch one as a pet.

Tags: bacon, birds, commute, environment, pigs, train, vegetarian

Wash Without Water

No, this isn’t a real suggestion when it comes to your shower habits.

It’s about a water-free car wash called Ecowash Mobile that provides waterless car washing and detailing services. They use a 2-in-1 wash and polish product containing a polymer compound that lifts dirt from your car’s paint surface and forms a bubble around it, which is them removed by a soft cloth.

The fact that waterless car washing exists makes me think that one of the biggest deterrants of environmental behavior is a lack of knowledge of greener alternatives. My family has been getting traditional car washes ever since I can remember, because obviously that option is much more widely known and available. (And I gotta say, the old-school car washes where you could drive through with your car and watch the soap and sponges clean while you’re inside was pretty awesome.) Finding out about this waterless car wash reminded me that it’s always a good idea to research greener alternatives to everyday things you normally don’t give a second thought.

At the time of this post, the EcoWash website claims they’ve saved 1,125,007 liters of water.

Tags: conserve, Ecowash Mobile, environment, water

Occupy: Information

Since my last post about the Occupy Wall Street protest and related protests, the movement has increased and developed. I have not yet been to any of the protests myself, so I don’t personally feel informed enough about what’s going on to write my own article about it, but I have been doing a lot of reading and these two articles are particularly fair and enlightening:

Occupy Wall Street: Beyond the Caricatures

Environmentalists join the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ Fray

The first “official” statement of Occupy Wall Street lists several environmental grievances:

- “They [corporations] have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.”

- “They [corporations] have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices.”

- “They [corporations] continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.”

However, while these environmentally-based issues may seem to digress from the other issues of the protest, they are actually very much in line with the main idea of Occupy Wall Street. Says Russell McLendon, Mother Nature Network blogger: “Whether it’s the Wall Street bailouts or the BP oil spill, high unemployment or high CO2 emissions, Occupy Wall Street aims to defend what it considers a mistreated majority from a privileged minority.”

Tags: alternate energy, animal rights, caricatures, environmentalists, farming system, food supply, Mike Tracey, monopolization, Occupy Wall Street, oil, protests, Russell McLendon

“Get Money Out”

 

The following article is taken from “http://www.getmoneyout.com/ :

It’s Time to GET MONEY OUT of politics

Bailouts. War. Unemployment. Our government is bought, and we’re angry. Now, we’re turning our anger into positive action. By signing this petition, you are joining our campaign to get money out of politics. Our politicians won’t do this. But we will. We will become an unrelenting, organized wave advocating a Constitutional amendment to get money out of politics.

As the petition grows, the wave grows.  Email, Facebook, Tweet — GET MONEY OUT.  We are using The Dylan Ratigan Show on MSNBC, and our ability to influence other media outlets as a platform to force this issue to the center of the 2012 elections. Join us.

From our former Washington Lobbyist, Jimmy Williams, here is a DRAFT of our Constitutional Amendment for public debate this fall:

“No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for Federal office or to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for Federal office. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, campaign contributions to candidates for Federal office shall not constitute speech of any kind as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or any amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Congress shall set forth a federal holiday for the purposes of voting for candidates for Federal office.”

Tags: anonymous, bailouts, get money out, government, Jimmy Williams, MSNBC, peaceful protest, petition, politics, The Dylan Ratigan Show, unemployment, wall street protests, war