Bold Claims from a Favorite Cereal

Cascadian Farm Organic Granola has for years been one of my favorite choices for breakfast cereal or simply a quick snack on the go.  In fact, I try to keep a box in my car at all times for just this very reason.  Needless to say, I have been supporting this company through my actions as a consumer for years, and have done so without any hesitation.  The product advertises that it is organic, non-GMO, and perhaps most importantly fair-trade.  None of these claims were a cause for question, however, until I read the book "Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies" by Seth Holmes.

The book follows the plight of migrant farm workers in the Skagit Valley, WA, the same location where Cascadian Farm produces it's grains.  After hearing about the deplorable conditions migrant workers are subject to, I wonder about the practices being carried out at Cascadian Farms.  Who makes up their work force? Are they receiving fair wages?  Do they have access to health care? These are all things that come into question upon completing Holmes book.

Now to be fair, I have no evidence to say that Cascadian Farm is anything but what their box claims to be.  However, I think it is important to question these things and take them beyond their face value.  It is clear from reading the book that the plight of migrant workers was not limited to the Tanaka farm and in fact was wide spread throughout the Skagit Valley.  I'm interested to look further into this matter before I continue purchasing and supporting this company.  If anyone has any insights please don't hesitate to comment!

We still use paper to go trays?

 

Food on the go is definitely a familiar thing for college students. We are always on the move and rarely have time to sit down and enjoy a meal. I cannot even begin to count the amount of meals I have eaten out of a paper to go tray in my 4 years at Wheaton. However it honestly is shocking for me that we still have them.

A  few years ago I worked on a project to attempt to help Wheaton dining services be more sustainable and environmentally frienly. One of the biggest suggestions the group I was on made was to issue reusable plastic containers to students. Students could then fill these up with food and take them with them. The next time they came back they could drop off their dirty one and exchange it for a clean one. Their dirty one would then be washed and given to another student. The amount of waste produced by the college would drop pretty significantly. Dining services loved the idea and said they had tried it before to no avail but would give it another chance. It has not been given another chance though due to the changeover in the leadership in dining services.

I guess I am just surprised that a place like Wheaton which has multiple LEED certified building has not been actively trying to fix this problem. The school appears to have such a clear focus on being sustainable and environmentally friendly. Which makes me wonder what the issue is?