Welcome Spring!

Finally. The weather is warm again. It seems to make sense that the calendar in countries like Afghanistan and Iran mark the new year at the first day of spring. But, I'm sure there is some virtue in having it in the absolute dead of winter.

This past weekend was extremely busy for me. The Georgia Organics conference was held at Agnes Scott last week and we were very busy preparing for it. "We" being the Emory Gardens, Slow Food Emory, the Green Bean Coffee Cart, and several other people involved in branches of the Sustainability Initiatives. Slow Food Emory is part of an international organization that promotes good, clean, and fair food. Most of the food we eat daily is produced in conditions that are taxing on the people processing it, the soil growing it, and the environment containing it. 

Cows for instance are grown on huge feedlots called CAFOs, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. They are force fed corn (since we grow too much of it) and are given antibiotics daily. Why would a cow need antibiotics? Probably because its four stomachs were designed to let it eat something else...grass.

Yeah, cows probably shouldn't eat corn. This is one reason why 70% of the antibiotics produced in America go toward agriculture. Gah.

Luckily, there is a growing movement that is attempting to make higher quality food available to everyone. The movement keeps the interests of the people producing it as a high priority at the same time. What a novel idea, considering that there are considerably more eaters than growers in the world.

There was a huge banquet at Agnes Scott on Saturday. An enormous tent was set up on their quad, and dozens upon dozens of tables were arranged inside. Over 1,000 people came to dine together and listen to Michael Pollan speak! Michael Pollan wrote a book called The Omnivore's Dilemma. It has gained quite a bit of popularity. The "dilemma" is that we have suh a food culture in America providing us with so many options, that we have difficulty in making responsible and healthy food choices. It's not a book about making the world vegetarian. I eat meat and enjoy it. I just try to make sure the animal lived a happy life before it gets to my plate.

At the event, my friends and I were servers. It was pretty crazy, but I haven't had that much fun in a while. We met so many amazing people! Scott Peacock from Watershed, for instance. He's a chef that specializes in Southern cuisine and has appeared on the Martha Stewart show. He was also voted the best chef in the South. Emory was lucky enough to have him give a lecture Monday night and teach us how to make biscuits! I've definitely met some pretty amazing people through school. Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Pollan, Trisha Yearwood. Quite the crowd.

Hope college applications, etc. went well. I guess you're hearing back from schools now. Let me know if you're reading this and are planning on a campus visit. I'd love to show off the gardens, haha.

Yours,

-Bilal

Spring 2009

So, I'm not sure why they call it "Spring" semester when it is just starting to get cold in Georgia when we come back. Although, It is kind of nice that Emory gets longer breaks than most other schools. Not surprisingly, most of us spend it being productive, traveling, volunteering, and/or working. I'm not sure how productive I was over the break, but I definitely performed the rest of the previously mentioned activities. I even helped build a chicken coop at the Oakhurst Community Gardens on my birthday!

During break, I took a drive along the east coast to Princeton, NJ and visited friends and family along the way. My first stop was Fredericksburg, VA (most historic town in America...ever). I stayed with my friend Julia (from Emory) and her family. 

These past couple years, I have really taken the concept of "sustainability" to heart. Sustainability simply focuses on practices that can be repeated indefinitely without a negative impact on our environment. This can relate to anything ranging from how far away your food travels before it gets to your plate to how you water plants. 

Julia's parents really embodied this at home. They had a compost pile in their backyard that was open for all of their neighbors to use. Starting a compost pile is surprisingly easy. My parents keep one back home in Conyers, GA. I initially thought that having rotting food in your backyard would reek, but composting is one of the most efficient, sanitary, low-odor, cheap, and sustainable ways of processing waste.

First of all, try not to compost meat or too many milk products. These are the things that smell and that attract animals to your yard. It's not that meat doesn't compost or that worms don't eat it (what turns bodies to earth underground?), it's just that it takes a little longer and the process is more involved. Composting materials include eggshells, vegetable and plant waste, grass clippings, bread, rice, shredded paper, leaves, coffee grounds (worms love these), table scraps, etc.

I could go on for several pages about this, but I'll spare you. You just need a bucket, some dirt, dry leaves/paper, and table scraps. Just add water and mix it around every other day. You'll be amazed how quickly food turns into soil. My mixing the bucket, you're introducing oxygen that encourages aerobic bacteria to multiply and keeps the (smelly) anaerobic bacteria from growing. Eventually, the pile will reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit, which kills off harmful parasites. I didn't think compost could get that hot, but millions upon millions of tiny little breathing creatures eating your four-week old leftover lo mein generate quite a bit of heat.

My parents have reduced their waste by two-thirds since they started. We figured this out by how empty our trash bin is each pick-up day.

I hope the college application process has gone well for everyone. I think the deadline was a few days ago.

Now begins the lovely waiting period.

Let me know how it goes!

Best,

-Bilal

Introduction

Hello Fans,

My name is Bilal (after the first man to give the call for prayer, also means "one who quenches thirst"). I was born in Atlanta and raised in Conyers, GA (home of The Georgia International Horsepark). I graduated from Salem High School in 2005.

So, what else is there to say? I'm an Afghan American, majoring in Anthropology and Human Biology, minoring in Environmental Studies, and premed (kind of). I have never really had a blog. I did the LiveJournal thing a long time ago, but my friends pressured me into it. 

I like being outdoors, some say I have a "green thumb", and I don't like cold weather. 

I'll list off the organizations I'm involved with. If you'd like to know more about one of them, please feel free to ask! I'm sure I'll explain them in later posts.

Slow Food Emory (Vice President)

Emory Educational Gardens (Coordinator)

Roots & Shoots

Emory Tour Guides (Trainer)

Orientation Leader

Best introduction ever.

I'm really modest too.

Yours Truly,

-Bilal