Chicago, Food and Sustainability: The Trifecta

Current food-related sustainability projects in Chicago:

The Plant 1400 W. 46th St., Chicago, IL 60609

Copyright by Matt Bergstrom

"The Plant will create 125 jobs in Chicago’s economically distressed Back of the Yards neighborhood – but, remarkably, these jobs will require no fossil fuel use. Instead, The Plant will install a renewable energy system that will eventually divert over 10,000 tons of food waste from landfills each year to meet all of its heat and power needs...All food waste generated by these businesses will be composted in the anaerobic digester to create power for The Plant’s renewable energy system. "

The Plant is a social enterprise model between two companies, non-profit and for-profit, which both aim for a socially and environmentally responsible business.

The building has food-producing businesses and non-profit and educational research facilities. One goal of The Plant is to create new, "green" jobs in the community of Chicago.

One of the more fascinating aspects of The Plant is growing plants and fish in the same environment.

"The fish produce ammonia-based waste that is sent through a biofilter where solids settle out and the rest is broken down into nitrates. Those nitrates are then fed to plants growing in hydroponic beds. By absorbing the nitrates, the plants clean the water, which is returned to the fish. Plant Chicago’s system was also custom-built and incorporates recycled materials into it’s construction."

The Plant even has its own brewery, by brothers Samuel and Jesse Edwin Evans, that utilizes the spent grain by feeding it to the Tilapia,  fertilizing mushrooms, or for energy usage. 

"But much of it will go to an amazing device called an “anaerobic digester,” which is essentially a bacteria-driven stomach that eats up food products like spent grain and produces biogas. That gas will be used in a turbine generator to create electricity for the facility, and 850º steam to be used in the brewing process. The CO2 created by the generator will be fed to plants grown elsewhere in The Plant."

Urban farms, like the one from he non-profit organization and land trust Growing Power  encourages people of all ages and all walks of life to grow and have access to high-quality, safe and affordable food. The non-profit offers:

"...hands-on training, on-the-ground demonstration, outreach and technical assistance through the development of Community Food Systems that help people grow, process, market and distribute food in a sustainable manner... Food production occurs in the organization’s demonstration greenhouses... [and] urban farms in Milwaukee and Chicago.

 We also distribute produce, grass-based meats, and value-added products through the activities of over 300 small family farmers in the Rainbow Farmers Cooperative, and the organization’s year-round food security program the Farm-to-City Market Basket Program. We also sell to numerous restaurants and small grocery stores in Chicago, Madison, and Milwaukee.  

All of the above provide important opportunities for individuals and communities to network with each other as they work in partnership to promote food security and environmentally sound food production practices."

Reddit and Rodger: An Analysis of Elliot Rodger Through Subreddits- Final Essay

"A killing spree was perpetrated on May 23, 2014, in Isla Vista, California, near the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara, by 22-year-old Elliot Rodger. Rodger killed six people and injured thirteen others before committing suicide." -Wikipedia

Social media site Reddit played a big role in the mass shootings, because Roger would frequent "subreddits." Some of the subreddits featured PUAhate or "pick-up artist hate" lamentations because Rodger was involuntarily celibate, or an "incel" and involved in what is called the "red pill" ideology. Both Subreddits are heavily misogynistic. When Roger would try to find dates and was turned down, he became very bitter. It was alleged that the constant rejection is what led him to targeting women who are in sororities during his shooting spree. It has also been brought up that Rodger had mental illnesses that contributed to his depression and skewed perceptions on relationships.

After the shooting incident involving Rodger, it was reported that there were users on various social media sites who recognized that Rodger was a potential threat. Several  articles have been written on Rogers use of social media as an outlet for his “manifesto,” a detailed 138-paged document that describes his life growing up, how he felt he was rejected, and how that lead to his decision to murder innocent people. 

I am an avid Redditor and I watched the event unfold on the site. The general consensus among the users at first was that Roger's story and picture should not be shared because it would perpetuate his actions and render him infamous. It was also feared that others who felt lost like his did would emulate his actions.

Going back to revisit discussions and interpretations about Rodger's perception on dating and women, his mental illness, and why he acted the way he did, has offered some contrast to the initial response of "don't talk about it." Redditors from several Subreddits (links at the bottom of the post) are saying that there needs to be a discussion to prevent such situations from happening.

When I analyze the change in response of “don’t talk about it,” to “we need to talk about it” I think it shows that the community of Reddit was deeply impacted by tragedy and needed time to process how best to respond personally, as well as a community. I have yet to stumble on any thread that show admiration for Rodger; at this point, it is a community of people who discuss his red-flag warnings and mental illness.

After reading through several threads on Reddit via the search "Elliot Rodger," citizen journalism is displayed by way of the various users keeping facts in check and challenging the ideas that are presented. The fault in this is that the idea of subreddits are a gathering place of like-minded people, so some "truths" are skewed.

Rodger would use social media like YouTube to post his laments and ideology. Through social media, he was able to put his ideas out there. He even said that when he would go to sites like PUAhate.com, he would find other people with ideas similar to his.

The main arguments that I saw revolved around Rodgers acting the way he did as a result of his mental illness and lack of social skills. In his manifesto, he said he would wander around and wait for people to approach him. He would become angry when he was ignored and not admired by “hot” females. He detail for pages how his parents tried to help him by hiring life coaches, socialization coaches and psychiatrists, but it only alleviated his loneliness for a small while. He even compared one of his female socialization coaches to a prostitute, as in that she was paid to be with him.

Feminists say that patriarchy and the men's rights movement perpetuated and and added fuel to Rodger's fire of hatred for women. Rodger’s view on women toward the end of his manifesto is disturbing and shows that he does not value women as equal humans:

Those in the Redpill Subreddit say that Rodger was not a redpiller:

Even though I don’t agree with the Red Pill ideology, I do commend the idea of “fixing” an area that one may feel that he is lacking in. Roger does detail in his manifesto that he would go through periods where he would work out, or dress nice in order to attract females. He would stop these endeavors when no one noticed him. Once again, through this thread, there is the discussion that Rodger suffered from mental illness. Part of the proof, they state, is because he wasn't able to get along with his male roommates, either.

I remember following the event as it unfolded on Reddit and being horrified as parts of Rodger's ideology started popping up to explain why he acted the way he did. I was in more traditionally feminist Subreddits, so the view was against the redpill theories and how being a "dominate" man perpetuated such behavior. To do research for this assignment, I have learned that I don't necessarily agree with all of the redpill theory, but I glad to read they did not lay claim and admiration to Rodgers.

Initially, I didn’t want to read his manifesto, but I did. I am deeply disturbed at how quickly his thoughts went to such vile and drastic measures of mass murdering people for offenses they didn’t even commit. The manifesto started out articulating his childhood in a very detailed, yet droll, manner. I found it interesting that Rodger, who had a hard time attending school, was fairly articulate in his writing. It did come across as robotic, until the end when he started detailing his plans for "retribution." He was lonely, but what is so aggravating is that he just expected "good looking women" to be the one to talk to him and make the moves. He said he would sit outside coffee shops and just wait for females to come up and talk to him and instantly want to sleep with him. He would loose his temper and get violently angry if he saw happy couples. He wrote that his parents did make an effort to help him, but what could be done? The police even went to his house to search it before the tragedy happened. 

To be honest, it has made me even more paranoid. I have had guys get visibly angry at me when I have refused to date them. This has even happened when I told them I had a boyfriend, and yes that 250, pound, 6'1 guy over there is my boyfriend. My friend was at a high-end club in at the Palms in Vegas, where a guy was hitting on her. She told him she was married and pointed out her husband. The guy became angry, said there aren't any **** single women around, broke a bottle, and cut her husband's face. It is completely ridiculous, and tragically sad that we as females have to worry about these things when we go out.

After I read the manifesto, I had such an emotional dark cloud hanging over me. I can empathize with feeling socially isolated. But, I think people eventually figure out what they need to find their place in society. This is where I see Rodger's mental illnesses taking over and creating the monster that he turned into.

TheRedPill Thread

TumblerInAction Thread

ChangeMyView Thread

Our Ever-Evolving Lingo: For Karen

KAREN! I found this for you:

Ambiguity: Is Edward Snowden a Patriot or a Traitor?

Edward Snowden: Patriot or Traitor?

I have tried to do more research, talk to people who's opinions I respect, procrastinate to give myself more time to turn this question over in my mind, and I draw the same conclusion I drew a few years ago:

I think Edward Snowden is both a traitor and a patriot.

Backstory:
Having spent 1/3 of my life with someone who was in the military, I have always been pretty paranoid about what information was collected online. I didn't really become active on Facebook until after my divorce, 3 years ago, because the fact everything I put on there is saved forever.  And that terrifies me.

We would put gold-foil star stickers over the webcams on our computers and have a schedule set up for when we would change our online passwords.

So, when Snowden did his thing, it didn't seem like such a big deal. We were pretty sure our info was being gathered to some degree. In fact, my friends and I joked that the NSA was probably having a great time seeing all of the lame stuff we would pin on Pinterest.

I think he is a patriot, because he wants accountability from the government violating the fourth amendment.

I think he is a traitor because he broke his oath and potentially put lives in danger.

I am willing to give up certain privacy rights to help keep my country safe. I get really upset, though, when I think about the privacy violations that include the ability to turn my phone's camera or microphone on at will, when I have given no indication that I am threat to security.

And this Wired article is a pretty fascinating read about Snowden that includes personal details.