Eat Right, Live Right

I don’t know if it’s the spring weather, or the fact that Earth Day is coming up, or my new part-time writing gig at a social issue non-profit (www.MeaningfulMedia.org!), but lately I have been thinking quite a bit about what it means to live – and in particular, to eat – consciously and sustainably.

It probably started a few weeks ago when I finally got around to watching Food, Inc., the Academy Award nominated documentary about our industrialized food system. For anyone who has read Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, the film explores similar issues – mainly, the monopolization of our food system by a handful of large corporations whose efforts to increase efficiency have led to a corn-based, pesticide rich, unhealthy diet for most Americans. The film also highlights how politicians and policymakers exacerbate the problem by acquiescing to the demands of big business lobbyists in exchange for political support.

What struck me about the film (besides the horrifying facts and images) was its overall hopeful message: that we as consumers have the power to change things through our choices and lifestyles. This got me thinking about my community, my family, and my peers. And I also got hopeful. Here are a few things I thought of:

• Many of my social activities in San Francisco often center on visits to Farmer’s Market, craft beer festivals, organic cuisine, etc.
• Several of my friends are vegetarians (or pescatarians, or flexatarians…)
• My brothers are both Environmental Sciences majors. My dad composts. My mom is supportive.
• I have friends who have spent summers working on sustainable farms
• The other night I had dinner with my brother’s twenty-three year-old girlfriend and her roommate, who cooked me a delicious dinner from mostly organic ingredients and showed me how they are making homemade Kombucha.
• Next week Google is taking employees to a local urban farm to help plant.

I could continue with this list – and when I think about it, its pretty incredible. Many people in my social and community network seem not only conscious of what they eat, but also committed to making social, consumer, and career choices that are healthy and responsible. This consciousness seems to spill over into other areas of life, from fitness to community involvement to emotional mindfulness. This collective energy and resolution motivates me every day, and is a big part of what I love about my community in San Francisco.

Now, before I seem too hippie dippy or Bay Area Elitist to you, let me recognize a few things. First, that the Bay Area is a pretty unique microcosm. Second, living here makes it much easier to consume responsibly – we have access, we have collective support, and we have money (relatively). However, I don’t think that lack of access or funds necessarily limits others from making lifestyle changes. For example, not drinking sugary sodas, eating only seasonal fruits and vegetables, and cutting out meat once a week are three very simple, cheap changes that would amount to a huge difference. Ultimately, most of us probably have something we could give-up, it’s just a matter of making the choice.

To me, the next question is how we can spread and adapt some of these cultural values to the rest of the country, and eventually the world, and what economic and policy changes need to happen first to allow those values to take root. I’m very confident in my generation of industrious leaders and social entrepreneurs, and I think we will make it happen in large part through technology, design innovation, and media. I’m still figuring out what form my own contributions will take, but I know that conscious and sustainable living will certainly be a large influencing factor.

Great Outdoors

Over the holidays I had the opportunity to spend some time outdoors (thank you, California!). I went on walks along the beach, went for a hike on the bluffs of Palos Verdes, and went camping on the central coast of California. Although I am decidedly a city lover, it was nice to slow down, quiet down, and get out and enjoy the small and large wonders of the natural world. I was reminded of how much inspiration can be drawn from the outdoors – not only because of the beauty of the landscapes and seascapes, but also because of the focus and clarity it brings. When you are hiking or merely ‘being’ outdoors, distractions are gone and all that’s left to focus on is the environment. You become increasingly aware of the noises, smells, colors, and textures. As an artist, I immediately begin to wonder, how might I paint that hillside, or that tide pool? What colors would I use, what kind of brushstrokes? Other thoughts fade away and I am content to simply contemplate my surroundings. Its no wonder that the Transcendentalists and Impressionists turned out such inspired work. And then there is of course the wonderful sense of peace that the outdoors brings – a reminder of the larger forces at work, and the pure miracle that is such an abundance of life. The ‘natural high’ one gets from being outside is a powerful, visceral force, when one really sinks into it.

And yet – it is tragically fleeting. We get back in our cars, back to our homes, our comforts and conveniences, and the spiritedness and revelations we experienced, the gratitude we felt simply for being alive, are soon forgotten. Of course it would be nice to simply abscond from our modern lives and amenities. Some do just that - this couple, recently highlighted in the New York Times, live full-time with their baby in a yurt out in the Alaskan wilderness:

And this is certainly admirable – but for those of us who want to balance a host of interests and goals requiring contact with modern society, it is necessary to find a way to integrate nature with urban life. One approach is to bring the outdoors in – creating homes and spaces that celebrate nature. John Carson of Margaretville, New York, embraced this idea when he decided to build his home around a 250-ton boulder:

Although perhaps a bit extreme, I love the idea of co-habitating with something so massive and raw – there is no way to avoid contemplating the natural building blocks of our earth when you have a eight-foot tall rock in your living room.

However you integrate nature into your life, whether it is with regular walks, camping trips, living in a yurt, or building your home around a giant boulder, it is important to make an effort to connect with the outdoors on a regular basis. It reminds us of our history, our unity, and our mortality as human beings.

Palos Verdes, California

Night Owl Paper Goods Calendar

One of my favorite things to obsessively shop for is calendars - big wall ones, small desk ones, yearly ones, daily ones. For me calendars represent an opportunity to combine art with function (what's more practical than marking and tracking time) in daily life. So, choosing the right calendar(s) to adorn my apartment and office can be a long, thoughtful process for me. What images do I want to define the year?

For now, I've chosen this Night Owl Paper Goods desk calendar. It comes with 6 (two-sided) wooden slides, one for each month, that you stick in a plastic display case. I love the simplicity of the graphics and the thinly sliced wood (which is eco-friendly sustainably harvested yellow birch). More and more designers seem to be utilizing wood - I've seen jewelry, wall art, vases, and many more design objects celebrating its raw quality.

You can buy this calendar and other Night Owl Paper Goods items at http://nightowlpapergoods.com/