Ben Neill

Asheville High School!

POINTS TOTAL

0 TODAY
0 THIS WEEK
231 TOTAL

participant impact

UP TO

60

minutes

spent learning
UP TO

24

meatless or vegan meals

consumed

Ben's actions

Food

Reduce Animal Products

#4 Plant-Rich Diet

I will enjoy 3 meatless or vegan meal(s) each day of the challenge.

COMPLETED 8
DAILY ACTIONS

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 0
DAILY ACTIONS

Food

composting

#60 Composting, #3 Reduced Food Waste

I will start a compost bin where I live.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Land Use

Local Perennial Biomass

#51 Perennial Biomass

I will spend at least 25 minutes finding out if anyone is working on perennial biomass projects in my region and how I can get involved.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn More about Silvopasture

#9 Silvopasture

I will spend at least 15 minutes watching videos and/or reading about the environmental benefits of silvopasture.

COMPLETED
ONE-TIME ACTION

Food

Learn the Truth About Expiration Dates

#3 Reduced Food Waste

I will spend at least 20 minutes learning how to differentiate between sell by, use by, and best by dates.

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

Producing uneaten food squanders many resources—seeds, water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labor, financial capital. Which of these motivates you the most to change your behavior regarding food waste?
Ben Neill 4/24/2018 2:44 PM
To me energy motivates me the most to change my behavior. This is because energy conservation and use of renewable resources will lead to a reduction in labor hours, eventual increase in financial capital, and the health of the earth. When we use these resources and they are energy efficient and require little intensive labor we can increase benefits and decrease detriments.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

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?
Ben Neill 4/24/2018 8:42 AM
People in North America of a twisted view of consumption that promotes eating healthy as protein and nutrition through meats. This shows us how misinformed, ignorant, or simply careless we really are. To shift to a meat-focused culture we need to first promote it as not only healthy but beneficial and tasteful.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Now that you know the difference between use by, sell by, and best by dates, how will you view expiration dates differently?
Ben Neill 4/19/2018 10:21 AM
I won't disregard these dates completely but I will hold them in a much lower regard. I will few these dates as simply guidance and not as a safety notice.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Land Use

Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe states that "The reason we care about climate change is because it affects the people and places that we care about." What is happening (or will happen) in your area that will affect the people and places you care about?
Ben Neill 4/19/2018 10:03 AM
Currently and in the future we are affecting the people and places I care about by destroying our natural resources and producing harmful emmissions.

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REFLECTION QUESTION
Food

Had you heard of the term silvopasture" before now? After learning more about it, what do you think is the biggest advantage of silvopasture?
Ben Neill 4/19/2018 9:20 AM
Prior to this challenge I had never heard the term silvopasture. After watching the video and reading about it on the Drawdown site I think that the advantages are extensive. I think the biggest advantage is the reduction of methane emissions because this can reduce our negative impact on the environment and reduce global weirding.

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