Monthly Archives: September 2013

Guest Blog: Foer’s Virtual Visits

Sep2013

We at Farm Forward are big fans of Fed Up With Lunch and the invaluable resources it provides parents and food advocates who want to reform school lunches and improve children’s health.

We wanted to share with you a great opportunity for educators to bring critically acclaimed author Jonathan Safran Foer into your classrooms to discuss the issues raised in his international bestseller Eating Animals.

Last year, we held our first series of “Virtual Classroom Visits,” where Foer met with more than 2,100 high school and college students. In all, 70 college and high school classes across 20 states and 3 countries participated. The response from teachers and students was overwhelmingly positive.

Thursday, October 10, Foer will once again visit classrooms around the world through eight webinar sessions, provided free of charge by Farm Forward. During these virtual visits, Foer will lead discussions with students on pressing problems in today’s food industry, including such issues as animal welfare, environmental degradation, avian influenza, the plight of farmers, and more.

If you are an educator who would like your class to participate in a Virtual Classroom Visit with Jonathan Safran Foer on October 10, click here to sign up. We hope we hear from you!

About Farm Forward: Farm Forward is a nonprofit advocacy and consulting group implementing innovative strategies to promote conscientious food choices, reduce farm animal suffering, and advance sustainable agriculture. Learn how to get involved here: http://www.farmforward.com.

Being reflective

IMG_6219r

I’m approaching my 36th birthday. I really thought I’d have figured it all out by now. I still don’t feel like I’ve grown up most of the time, but I have to behave like one.

The last time I felt a cosmic shift in my life was when I was 23. At the time I felt self-acceptance for the first time. In particular, I remember liking my body and appreciating it. There was a happiness in that shift.

Having little Daniel join the family has softened me. I don’t think anyone can come away from parenting without having their world view jostled quite a bit. It turns out that having kiddo number two has made me even more relaxed about things. My favorite thing to do with them is just lay on the carpet in the living room, playing Legos with Charlie and wrestling Daniel as he crawls all over me.

Every day I have an idea for a blog post. That’s probably surprising considering I haven’t posted in a couple months. The thing is that most of my thoughts don’t apply to the original mission of this blog. Blog posts get written in my brain while driving to work, doing dishes at the sink, taking my dog out… but they don’t get written or posted here or anywhere.

I’m going to publish on a different blog. I’ve already purchased a couple different domains and I’ve been toying with some new ideas. I don’t want to commit until I’m sure that I will be able to move forward. That’s why there has been some quiet time here on Fed Up With Lunch. And… I’ve started packing lunch for Charlie this year again. I was able to take 15 months off of lunch packing and it was a much needed respite. I’ve taken some pictures of his lunches and I’m thinking about putting those shots online somewhere. But not here. Putting his lunches here always made me feel uncomfortable.

Watch me jump. It will happen this year.