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/
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