There were a few things I wanted to do in order to teach people about consumer knowledge.

I wanted to hold some kind of informational workshop in which I could inform people of the issues, but I also wanted to encourage students, such as myself, to eat more responsibly and consciously and to care and understand what they were consuming. I wanted to do this by doing a week’s worth of free, pre-assembled salads as a lunch option for students while also asking them to sign a petition for fresh produce to send to the School District of Philadelphia. My goal was to push for a partnership between local farmers and gardens and the School District in order to encourage healthier diets for all students, especially as some families cannot afford wholesome produce and this would be an easy way to deplete food deserts across the city. For those who do not know, a food desert is “an urban area in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food.” They are an extremely prevalent issue in America that is often overlooked and just by providing the students of these areas with access to fresh produce can be beneficial to the entire community.

However, there were a few issues with this plan:

1. I only had a few weeks to pull everything together.

2. Getting in contact with interested farmers and procuring the produce.

3. Making the salads and working with the cafeteria workers to pull it off.

4. Writing the petition.

5. Spreading the word and actually getting students engaged in the idea.

With what was turning out to be a year-long plan, I decided to hold off on this plan for now and instead stick to the idea of an informational workshop.

For the workshop, I had a few goals in mind.

I needed to:

1. Spread the word to students and the public alike.

2. Secure a space.

3. Plan and practice the workshop.

The original checklist seemed simple and, dare I say, easy at first, however the project continued to evolve and after a work or so of planning, this is what I ended up with as my overall checklist:

1. Design flyer

2. Make flyer

3. Print flyer

4. Post flyers

5. Secure a space, a projector, and a teacher chaperone for the presentation.

6. Actually write the script

7. Make slides for the presentation.

8. Practice the presentation.

9. Do the presentation.

SLA RADIO - DAY

EXTERIOR ESTABLISHING SHOT:

INTERIOR MEDIUM SHOT:

ZOE

Alright welcome back to SLA Radio. Today we bring you a story all the way from the west coast and specifically around 1050 miles into the Pacific Crest Trail.

ANTONIA

That’s… far.

ZOE

Let’s meet Cheryl Strayed, an aspiring long-distance hiker hailing from the Minneapolis area.

CUT TO CLIP OF CHERYL:

CHERYL is sitting in a forest eating dried fruits.

CHERYL

So… today is my 105th day on the trail. I think I overpacked a bit.

Many random items spill out of her nearby backpack

CHERYL

Just a bit.

CUT BACK:

ANTONIA
Cheryl is hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. The PCT is a 2650 mile long trail that stretches from the Canadian border all the way to Campo at the Mexican border, right by San Diego.

ZOE

Holy [censored]. I could never do that.

ANTONIA

Yeah it takes most people who aren’t Olympic athletes about 5 months.

CUT TO CHERYL:

CHERYL

I think I just saw a moose?? I’m really bugging out over here.

CUT TO STOCK IMAGE OF LONGHORN BULL

REVERSE SHOT

CHERYL

I’m almost out of money too. The next pit-stop isn’t for another 130 miles so I don’t know if I’m gonna make it.

CUT BACK:

ZOE

Well we wish you luck.

Cheryl waves goodbye.

ZOE

Alright so now I think we’re going to let some callers phone in so if you have something to say just call in at 21SLARADIO. That’s 217-527-2346.

ZOE and ANTONIA sit in silence for about 3 seconds while easy listening music plays.

ANTONIA

Alright here’s our first caller phoning in now, welcome to the show!

CALLER 1

Hey I’m Paul from Tallahassee, long time listener first time caller. Just from what I’ve heard so far Cheryl doesn’t really sound prepared for this hike. Is that just me?

ZOE

No it’s not just you Paul. Honestly I’m afraid I have to agree. I’ve done a bit of backpacking myself and even I know that you’re not supposed to pack that much.

CUT TO CHERYL FALLING OVER

ANTONIA

Yikes. Yeah I’m looking at an article here and it says that the average backpacker should carry no more than 30 lbs of resources. Looking at Cheryl’s pack, I’m guessing she isn’t in that range at all.

ZOE

Yeah it’s important to only carry the necessities. But I mean, even the most experienced hikers always carry something that isn’t a necessity. Like a memento or a small book - something to remind them of home.

ANTONIA

That makes sense. Especially because the trail is so far away from civilization. There are actually some parts of the trail that are so remote, hikers don’t see any people for weeks.

ZOE
That’s insane! So what would you bring with you?

ANTONIA

Not sure. What’s so important to someone that they could carry it for over 2,000 miles?

ZOE

No idea.

PHONE RINGS

ZOE

Oh it looks like we have another caller! Antonia you want to get this one?

ANTONIA

Sure. Hey there you’re on SLA Radio. Can you tell us your name and why you’re calling?

CALLER 2

Uh yeah. My name is Anna and I actually have a friend that hiked the PCT. She ended up losing a bunch of toenails and got a huge scar on her arm from falling on a sharp tree branch. I just wanna know if anything like that happened to Cheryl.

ANTONIA

Oh my god that sounds terrible. Cheryl can you answer that?

CUT TO CHERYL

CHERYL

Oh yeah. I lost at least two toenails and it hurt like [censored]. It ended up being because my shoes didn’t actually fit. To anyone of those listening GET THE RIGHT PAIR OF BOOTS. I can’t even go to nail salons anymore my feet are so messed up.

ZOE

Ouch. See that is why I would hike with someone. If I got really hurt, I would like to have someone nearby to help me out.

ANTONIA

Yeah but isn’t part of hiking the PCT the isolation? I mean, after something as terrible as losing your mom, I get why people would want to be alone.

ZOE

Well if you hiked with a stranger or an acquaintance, you would still get that same feeling of being alone - because you wouldn’t really know the person - but if you got attacked by a mountain lion, someone would still be there to call for help and patch you up.

ANTONIA

I guess that works. Honestly if I had to hike with someone, I would hike with someone I knew. There is basically no chance for hygiene on the trail and I wouldn’t want a coworker I barely know seeing me like that.

ZOE

Haha yeah I get it. I walk for just twenty minutes in the heat and I’m ready to take a 3-hour long shower!

ANTONIA

Oh yeah. And most hikers don’t even carry deodorant because of the extra weight.

ZOE

Ugh I wouldn’t even want to be near myself if I smelled like that!

…

Ok guys! We are going to take a quick break and then one more call before the end of the show! See you then!

(easy listening music ?)

ANTONIA

Okay everyone we are back! So Zoe, one last question -

ZOE

Yeah?

ANTONIA

What would you do if you saw a wild animal on the trail?

ZOE

Well what kind of animal are we talking here? Big, small, scaly, furry - I need some context.

ANTONIA

Hmm okay let’s say the wild animal was a bear. What would you do?

ZOE

I would run.

ANTONIA

...anything else?

ZOE

Nope. I would just run and try not to die.

PHONE RINGS

ANTONIA

Oh it looks like we have our last caller!

(antonia presses button on phone)

Hi there you’re on SLA Radio! Can you tell us your name and why you’re calling?

CALLER 3

I’m calling because you people are dumb.

ZOE

Excuse me?

CALLER 3

If you saw a bear you wouldn’t run! You should back away slowly and maintain eye contact. If you ran it would see you as prey and you would be mauled to death.

ANTONIA

…

ZOE

…uh thank you?

CALLER 3

Psht - idiots. And as for my name - you don’t need to know.

DIAL TONE

ANTONIA

Okay then! That’s all we have for this show! Hopefully next week we will find a better way to block strange numbers.

ZOE

You got that right. Thanks for listening and we’ll see you then!

My research began with deciding who I wanted to interview. I didn’t have any names but I knew that I wanted to interview someone who knew about pesticides, someone who knew about animal welfare, and someone who knew about the environmental impact of both. Who I ended up interviewing was a Regional Pesticide Expert for the EPA, a Hub Manager for the PASA, and the manager of an Animal Welfare Approved slaughterhouse. Each and every one of these contacts shined a different light on the broad topic of agriculture. The light was positive, negative and sometimes just neutral, but still always educational and informative. Yes, industrial farming and agriculture are two very broad topics, so to be able to interview everyone I wanted to was not exactly a reasonable feat - especially as a high school student. But that just made the information I learned even more valuable.

My first contact was Mr. John Butler, a Regional Pesticide Expert for the Environmental Protection Agency. Before my conversation with him, I believed that pesticidal use - while significantly more restricted than in the past - was still generally unmonitored and extreme environmental damage was a common occurrence. During my conversation with him I learned extensive information on the processes that farmers have to go through in order to be authorized for pesticide use. Not only do they have to receive a pesticide license - which requires rigorous tests and constant inspections - but they also have to follow strict codes on worker safety, amounts of chemicals used, and disposal of said chemicals. In fact in 2017 alone, there were around 41,000 inspections in the Mid-Atlantic region with extremely rare cases of violations - the majority of which were met with a monetary penalty. And while a monetary penalty may not seem like a very influential punishment, in the already risky business of agriculture any loss of money can be immensely detrimental to a farmer.

[Below are the notes I took during our conversation.]

Now I would be lying if I said I had done thorough research before my second interview. A tired baked potato of a human being I was barely awake as I typed my questions and so I cannot complain when at first I was disappointed as my second contact also seemed to be focused on pesticides. However as I talked with them, I quickly realized that while at the EPA Mr. Butler focused on the procedures and rules following pesticide use, this contact’s organization worked to educate and support small farmers when it came to sustainable agriculture - and that included making sure their workers were wearing proper safety protection when working with pesticides.

I’m sure you’re on the edge of your seat at this point so I’ll just tell you. My second contact was Mr. Aaron de Long from the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture. The P.A.S.A. is an organization of farmers, for farmers. They work to provide educational opportunities for smaller farming operations in order to make sustainable farming and planting more accessible to them. Farmers communicate techniques and resources with one another all while working together to create a sustainable and profitable agricultural community. As a former farmer and the current Delaware Valley Hub Manager for P.A.S.A, Mr. de Long manages programming for and with dairy farmers in Eastern Pennsylvania. A helpful and friendly resource, we discussed the programs he runs, one of which is a push for grass-based dairy farming.

[Below are the notes I took during our conversation.]

I’m sure you’re confused at this point. You’re going, “Wait a second. All cows eat grass - why would there need to be a specification for grass-based dairy farming?” Hold on to your brain because I’m about to blow your mind.

Yes - all cows eat grass. However, that does not mean they are all fed grass. Unless it says so on the label, the majority of bovine produce is sourced from grain-fed cattle. Grain-feeding cattle is not uncommon, but it is also not natural, not healthy for the animal and not healthy for the environment. Don’t forget that cows produce milk and also eventually become the burger on your plate, which means that whatever unhealthy life the cow lived is now becoming your life - you are what you eat.

In fact, only 2 to 3% of cattle are actually grass-fed while the rest are confined to feed-lots and fed grain and corn.

During his interview, Mr. de Long mentioned a few other resources that I could contact and later continued to be a helpful resource by giving me the contact information of a Ms. Helen Kollar - McArthur.

Ms. Helen Kollar-McArthur is the manager of Rising Spring Meat Company. RSMC’s official mission statement is “to provide high quality meat processing services to local farmers in Pennsylvania.” My first question was, why do local farmers need high quality processing services? It turns out that, in the agriculture industry, the process of turning cattle into meat is fraught with cases of butchers keeping portions of meat for themselves or even returning the wrong meat to their customer. As a way to combat that and create a more trustworthy business, RSMC has a unique identification system that tracks an animal throughout the entire process and ensures that all parts of the product are returned to the farmer. And, although it may seem unlikely at first glance, RSMC is a slaughterhouse that is extremely conscious of the welfare of their animals. According to Ms. Kollar-McArthur, they RSMC is Animal Welfare Approved as are the majority of the farmers that they work with.

Now all of this information I had to learn through extensive interviews, online research, and face-to-face encounters with individual passionate about industrial farming. If it was so difficult for me to find even basic information on my own issue - I could not help but wonder how an ordinary individual viewed my issue. So, I created a survey. And while I have only received 22 responses so far, they are all so varied in opinion and levels of knowledge they tell a story I could never research.

For each of my questions (the majority of which were multiple-choice), my options for responses were usually based on a scale of complete care and knowledge to no interest and no knowledge. Usually I received a combination of the two. However the most interesting question was my open-ended one that asked “If so, what do you know about them (pesticides and GMOs)? Please feel free to answer in as much detail as possible.” Some were adamant that pesticides were not harmful - they were over-exaggerated and were in fact completely safe. Some insisted that all pesticides were harmful and said that they tried to avoid them as much as possible. And many of them just said “Idk.”

Oftentimes, adult female pigs spend the majority of their lives in these two-foot wide pens, without any room to turn around, her sole purpose is to produce and nourish more offspring.

But animal welfare isn’t the most depressing affair in the complicated monster that is industrial farming. Industrial farming is a “system of chemically intensive food production developed in the decades after World War II”. During the Technological Revolution in America, everything was being industrialized from clothes to machines and it seemed to be the most logical explanation to industrialize food production as well. Yet there are a few reprehensible consequences of industrial farming that need to be addressed.

Black-and-white photo of the remains of Iowa land after being used for industrial farming.

Farmland in Brazil that used to be part of the Amazonian Rain Forest.

The aforementioned phosphates are the result of this disturbing amount of algae growth

in Lake Erie which is affecting the water supply of Toledo.

All of this is to say that industrial farming is a practice with innumerable issues and I am excited to use this project as an opportunity to bring awareness and possible solutions to them.

I ended up missing my designated presentation time but that doesn’t mean that the criticism I received was any revered.

The main point of criticism for my slide was the fact that there was a lack of font and the photo was not as front-and-center as it should have been. In order to fix this I played around with fonts until I found the font, “Bungee Hairline” which is what I chose to be my final font due to its bold yet thin lettering and minimalistic aesthetic. I also cropped the photo and eliminated the section of the paper that had a bit of pencil scribble on it as that was distracting and took away from the overall clean look of the slide.

The reason why I aimed for an overall simple look was due to the fact that most of my research said to take advantage of large font and open space as well as the lines of focus. So I thought that the best way to achieve all three of those goals was to one, place my drawing in the center of the slide, two, make sure that it had equal borders on all sides, and three, only place bold font on the left side of the slide therefore taking advantage of one of the horizontal lines of focus while also leaving open space. In conclusion, the goal of my slide is to both simply and effectively convey the change that I have gone through both physically and emotionally throughout the course of my life and I believe, thanks to the power of design, I have been able to achieve this.