Xenia Owen

I watched the documentary titled "Food, Inc." I have watched it before in my high school health class but I wanted to rewatch it. The most impactful part for me when I was in high school was the portholes. This aspect still was very hard for me to see. A porthole is a hole they make on the side of a cow so that they can see the inside of the cows' stomachs. It is so gruesome and graphic. Everytime I watch it and let alone think of it-- it reminds me to take a look at my own eating behaviors and just try to be more mindful. 

I live in an apartment building and I like to talk to the people in the elevator I am with and today I met David. He loves coffee and has a dog named Apollo. It was nice to formally meet him as I usually just ask people how they’re doing but this time I got to learn more about one of my neighbors. 

I learned about the some issues regarding a glass plant in Northeast Portland.  Owens-Brockway Glass Container, Inc. has created concern in the Cully neighborhood for years but the glass plant has been receiving more attention in the media these days due to facing multiple fines. In 2021, the company was fined $1.03 million for air quality violations and this year they are being fined for water monitoring violations. This tied to the videos our professor showed us this week-- in terms of the harmful impacts of recycling on the community around it. An article on earthjustice.org states:
"Cully is one of the most diverse communities in Oregon, home to low-and-middle income families, newly arrived refugees, long-term elderly residents, new homeowner families, and BIPOC communities.Residents in the surrounding area face elevated health risks due to hazardous pollutants — but stronger pollution controls can help address these
dangers. Portland, like many U.S. cities, has a longstanding history of racist housing and land use practices that created and reinforced racial segregation and inequities. Exclusionary zoning, racially restrictive covenants, and redlining are early examples of this, with their effects still visible today. These discriminatory practices have all played a role in shaping the city’s urban form—and in exacerbating inequities along lines of race and class." 

I made organic dinners this week. I usually try to buy organic which has really only been more realistic for me since I got food stamps. Whenever I go to the grocery I just feel very fortunate to be able to have access to healthier meals now because it was very different for me for the first couple years after moving to Oregon as I lived with food insecurity. The action this week made me reflect on the need to make these options more accessible. 

I love being outside but I decided to use my jogs this week as a sense of meditation. I tried by just taking in the way my body feels as I am jogging while putting focus on the environment around me. It felt really good to try to center and ground myself that way. I find that when I go on my jogs sometimes, I am not always that present. Practicing this helped me to connect to my body as well as the nature around it. We are a part of nature and I feel that its easy to forget. I felt really lucky to have such a beautiful space to jog-- I love to jog up Terwilliger blvd.

I learned about the Portland Gear company and their efforts in sustainability. They are a part of something called the Oregon Business for Climate Organization which is a program to bring focus around sustainability in the realm of industry. This organization sounds like it would be a good resource for small businesses that want to keep sustainability in mind. Portland Gear has also attempted to reduce their footprint in terms of their shipping practices such as using recycled boxes and biodegradable tape. They also offer an addition called an eco-cart where the customer can pay a little extra to offset the order’s carbon footprint. Portland Gear also works with other charities and organizations put in place for climate work such as SolveOregon. 

For this week's daily challenge I decided to learn about the watersheds in the Portland area. Within the city limits there are five major water sheds which include: Columbia Slough, Fanno Creek, Johnson Creek, Tryon Creek, and Willamette River. I think my abode depends particularly to the Willamette river watershed. There are also additional sub-water sheds connecting to the Willamette river watershed. Having healthy watersheds plays important roles in many aspects such as (and not limited to) protection from climate change, accessibility to water for humans and wildlife, protecting city funds from events such as drought, floods etc and managing groundwater-- the list goes on. Challenges to the watersheds manifest through old infrastructure, the impacts of overdevelopment and human waste. One thing I learned that we can do to help maintain the health of the watersheds is being mindful of the chemicals such as fertilizers and detergents we use. 

This week I decided to watch a documentary relating to food. I chose to watch “The Game Changers” with James Wilks with my boyfriend. I really enjoyed it and I thought he would, too, since we both enjoy watching UFC. James Wilks is a former UFC fighter who takes a journey speaking to elite athletes who sustain a plant-based diet. I thought it would be a good opportunity to show different evidence about sustaining peak performance since his social media often is filled with people engaging in diets like the carnivore diet. It was really inspiring to see athletes who take part in a plant based diet and excel at what they do. Incorporating plant-based foods into one’s diet can be a more sustainable approach since it uses less natural resources. I am not strictly plant-based but it is easy for me to not eat meat every day since I love vegetables and am not as attached to eating meat as I was when I was growing up. I think it is important to still be mindful as there can be some greenwashing involved with the rising popularity of plant-based foods and companies trying to jump in on the profit and using plastics and other less sustainable practices to keep up with popular interest.