Green Guide for an Eco-Education

Using David Suzuki’s Green Guide for an Eco-Education

David Suzuki's Green Guide is a publication that I am passionate about and consider worth recommending to anyone. To refresh from a previous post, the book addresses the Ecological Footprint which measures human impact upon the environment; how much space or productive land is needed to support an individual's lifestyle. The larger the footprint the more impact the individual has on the Earth. Embedded in this concept is how we all impact each other and everything by every choice we make, conscious of it or not. This is really at the heart of thinking of the ecological footprint simply as the consequences of our actions on the environment.



According to the Canadian Suzuki, one of the most environmentally sensible ways you can cut down on your ecological footprint is by being aware of what you eat. He goes into depth about them in Chapter 3 of his Green Guide which contain facts like “the amount of grain fed to livestock in the U.S. could feed about 840 million people on a plant-based diet". This book teaches that "eating is an agricultural act, a biological act, a social act, an economic act, and a political act. With every meal you can vote for the food system that you would like to see". In not shying away from social and political contexts, this text becomes an opportunity to open up minds to the realization that you have the power to directly influence the demand for eco-minded thought and action.

In attending teacher's college, I am engaging with various ways of implementing teaching environmental responsibility. The Green Guide for example states that "by eating a local, organic, and predominately plant-based diet you can reduce the ecological footprint of the food you eat by as much as 90%". By putting this information into the hands of the next generation we are effectively educating for the environment. Therefore we are educating for ourselves and futures where a more harmonious human existence within the natural world has the opportunity to blossom. The natural world has become removed from the hyper-industrialized and technological Western society that sets the climate for education atmospheres. It is imperative that we instil a sense of duty and urgency towards being aware of ecological conditions and their implications. One of the ways in which we can achieve this is being extremely conscious about how our daily habits manifest into environmental conundrums on a macro scale.

This publication is also a direct connection to the David Suzuki Nature Challenges which are available in the text, online, and are a fun and easy way to incorporate environmental issues into the classroom. Alternatively, a student or teacher reading this book may choose to implement an organized Nature Challenge group that participates in learning about, practicing and teaching others about ecological footprint reducing factors and information. David Suzuki’s Nature Challenge teacher guide is also available and contains 20 lessons that focus on our interconnectedness with nature!

This is an excellent read because it is not just a “how to” or a boring guilt-ridden summary of how one is personally killing the earth. Instead it is a comprehensive look into the current ecological conditions and how it is of our best interest as individuals and as a group to be invested in the thought-provoking information and wisdom that the text provides.

Eco-Footprint of Food is the Key to Saving the World!!!

Ecological Footprint: Measures human impact upon the environment - how much space or productive land is needed to support an individual's lifestyle. The larger the footprint the more impact the individual has on the Earth.

Ok so it is important to first acknowledge that we all impact each other and everything by every choice we make, conscious of it or not. This is really at the heart of thinking of the ecological footprint simply as the consequences of our actions on the environment. One of the main factors surrounding all this is where and how we come to acquire the food on our plate and what we choose to eat. The current industrial food system is perpetuating that the lack of choice we have when it comes to how our food is grown, processed and transported and is responsible for a number of environmental effects.David Suzuki is pretty much the best Canadian ever. One reason is that he highlights the importance of the "ecological footprint of food" in his latest publication David Suzuki's Green Guide (printed on forest friendly paper of course!). According to Suzuki, one of the most environmentally sensible ways you can cut down on your ecological footprint is by being aware of what you eat. He goes into depth about them in Chapter 3 of his Green Guide:

"Producing meat uses vast volumes of water"

"the amount of grain fed to livestock in the U.S. could feed about 840 million people on a plant-based diet"

"By eating a local, organic, and predominately plant-based diet you can reduce the ecological footprint of the food you eat by as much as 90%"

"Compared to plant protien, red meat is responsible for 6-20 times the land use, 5-17 times the water pollution, and 5-25 times the water use "

It is all about the realization that you have the power to directly influence the demand for alternative choices that will help to create a new food system. One with less impinging on the lives of animals and lowering the level of violence. One with the potential for more equal distribution of food throughout the world. One that is sustainable: creating healthy bodies and healthy local food economies.

"Eating is an agricultural act, a biological act, a social act, an economic act, and a political act. With every meal you can vote for the food system that you would like to see".

Find out how productive and easy it is to think about these simple choices which literally effect the world - Drastically Lower Your Eco-Footprint of Food by:

1. Eating less meat, eggs and dairy products
-the most environmentally damaging foods that people consume!

2. Choosing Local Food
-this reduces "food miles" which is the energy used to transport food far distances and back so as to be produced

3. Buying Organic Products
-avoid synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics

4. Whole Foods Over Processed Foods
-whole foods consist of fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and beans that have not been extensively processed or refined

5. Consuming Fewer Calories
-higher quality whole foods with a lower consumption quantity

6. Avoid Bottled Water
-the bottles themselves are made of plastic that is energy and water intensive to make
My favourite one David Suzuki Nature Challenge is "Meat-Free-Mondays", encouraging meat eaters to cut out meat one day a week to acquire a perspective. This challenge especially illustrates how easy it can be and how much there is to learn about how even one meat-free day can help you reduce your ecological footprint. (Yes, this challenge is for YOU!)