Medora LaPlante

UMass Dartmouth

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
486 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

17

meatless or vegan meals

consumed
UP TO

210

minutes

spent learning

Medora's actions

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 30 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 1 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 17
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

Smaller Portions

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will use smaller plates and/or serve smaller portions when dishing out food.

COMPLETED 15
DAILY ACTIONS

Land Use

Buy Bamboo

#35 Bamboo

When they are available, I will purchase products made from bamboo instead of wood, plastic, or metal.

COMPLETED 1
DAILY ACTION

Women and Girls

Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

#6 Educating Girls, #7 Family Planning, #62 Women Smallholders

I will spend at least 60 minutes learning more about the barriers to women's equal participation and representation around the world.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Keep Track of Wasted Food

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will keep a daily log of food I throw away during the EcoChallenge, either because it went bad before I ate it, I put too much on my plate, or it was scraps from food preparation.

COMPLETED 16
DAILY ACTIONS

Women and Girls

Learn about the Need for Family Planning

#7 Family Planning

I will spend at least 120 minutes learning more about the need for family planning globally.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Participant Feed

Reflection, encouragement, and relationship building are all important aspects of getting a new habit to stick.
Share thoughts, encourage others, and reinforce positive new habits on the Feed.

To get started, share “your why.” Why did you join the challenge and choose the actions you did?

REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

Now that you know the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates, how will you view expiration dates differently?

Medora LaPlante 4/24/2018 8:22 AM

Sell by, use by, and best by dates were always something I didn't quite understand and unfortunately never took the time to learn about. Now that I have a better understanding of the three I feel that the amount of food I waste will drastically be reduced.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls Learn about the Need for Family Planning

What did you learn about the need for family planning? Share some of the learning with your friends!

Medora LaPlante 4/23/2018 11:00 AM

According to the United Nations Population Fund "Some 214 million women who want to avoid pregnancy are not using safe and effective family planning methods, for reasons ranging from lack of access to information or services to lack of support from their partners or communities. This threatens their ability to build a better future for themselves, their families and their communities."

For more information on this article please visit https://www.unfpa.org/family-planning

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Medora LaPlante 4/23/2018 10:49 AM

As the ecochallenge unfortunately comes to an end, I have decided to continue my efforts in every way possible.

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Medora LaPlante 4/23/2018 10:49 AM

As the ecochallenge unfortunately comes to an end, I have decided to continue my efforts in every way possible.

Read More
REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use Buy Bamboo

Are bamboo alternatives readily available in your community? If not, what are other sustainable alternatives?

Medora LaPlante 4/23/2018 10:43 AM

I do not believe that bamboo alternatives are readily available in my community. As I was searching for a new toothbrush this weekend, I was hoping to find one that was made from bamboo. I did not find any within the city I live in, however I did find some at a CVS two towns over. As excited as I was to find these products, I was still extremely upset to see how much plastic packaging surround the product.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Smaller Portions

Fun fact: Your brain and stomach register feelings of fullness after about 20 minutes of eating. While dishing food out, we tend to load our plates with more than we need. Using smaller plates helps to mitigate this. Aside from the environmental benefits, what other benefits might come out of this?

Medora LaPlante 4/19/2018 8:12 AM

Aside from environmental benefits of serving smaller portion sizes, there are also financial benefits and health benefits.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Women and Girls Research Barriers to Participation and Representation

What are some of the barriers that exist to women's equal participation and/or representation in your community?

Medora LaPlante 4/19/2018 8:05 AM

There are many barriers that exist to women's equal participation and/or representation. I find it is most present within politics on all global, national, and local levels.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Keep Track of Wasted Food

An average American throws out about 240 lbs of food per year. The average family of four spends $1,500 a year on food that they throw out. Where would you rather use this money?

Medora LaPlante 4/06/2018 9:36 AM

I would much rather donate that money that is annually wasted on food to local shelters and food pantries in the Southcoast region..

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food Reduce Animal Products

What do you think contributes to people in North America eating more meat than other countries, and what does this say about North American values and ways of living? How do we start shifting a meat-focused food culture?

Medora LaPlante 4/04/2018 9:39 AM

Meat products in North America are mass produced, relatively cheap, and easy to prepare (sometimes already prepared when purchased). Our values as consumers become skewed by accessibility and affordability, rather than quality and nutritional value. I believe there are many ways we can shift a meat-focused food culture; better educating our youth, reflecting on what we intake and being more selective when purchasing/preparing our next meal is just a start.

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