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While most students find themselves too busy to worry about where their food comes from, hope for a sustainable future has some students digging in the ground for produce and progress.
Professor Carrie Monlux's "Introduction to Plant Science" class allows students to get a hands-on experience and learn just what it takes to grow their own produce, she said.
Students learn about personal nutrition and get to take home a percentage of the fruits and vegetables they grow, Monlux said. But most importantly, they get the appreciation of knowing where their food comes from.
Learning to grow food makes students pay a little more attention to what they're eating, and will perhaps help them stay away from all the unnecessary carbohydrates and fats they don't need, she said.
Not only are students learning the importance of gardening, there are also a lot of agricultural decisions involved that students take part in, Monlux said. Students get the opportunity to be a part of California agriculture and understand why farmers and ranchers make the decisions they do.
"A lot of people think that farming and agriculture is really easy," Monlux said. "And it's not easy. There is a lot of science and a lot of decisions that go behind that, and they're also monetarily based, as well."
While "Introduction to Plant Science" offers a front row seat in pioneering sustainable agricultural change, there are plenty of other options to help create a safer environment for future generations.
Senior Luke Udsen knows the importance of giving back to the environment as much as people take out of it, he said.
As a member of the Environmental Action and Resource Center, Udsen can't ignore the environmental impact people have on the planet, he said.
"We are definitely consuming our resources far beyond their sustainable yield," he said.
But food choices are about more than sustainability.
"Farming used to be a community activity, but people have lost touch with that factor," he said.
Udsen acknowledges that gardening isn't an option for all students, he said. However, buying produce at the farmers' market is a step in reducing one's carbon footprint and reestablishing a personal relationship with agriculture.
"You lose that connection by buying from a grocery store where products could have been shipped from as far away as Chile," Udsen said.
Francine Stuelpnagel, co-founder of Growing Resourcefully Uniting Bellies, relies on the community to run her program, she said.
GRUB, a Chico-based nonprofit that grows fresh produce and serves it to low-income families, provides space for its members to grow their own produce, Stuelpnagel said.
"It's good to get engaged, because you feel like you're taking an active role in the solution," she said.
Stuelpnagel and Udsen agree on one thing: If people don't start to make changes in the way they consume things, there won't be any resources left for future generations.
Education is the key to changing food practices, Udsen said.
"You want to know why you're making a change, and why you're making a difference," he said. "Otherwise you don't know what you're doing - you're just doing what someone told you to do."
Sasha Knox can be reached at sknox@theorion.com
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