Race and the Environment in Milwaukee

Chicken is mainly raised on farms in the U.S., especially in states like Arkansas, Georgia, and Alabama. These farms use a lot of water and feed, mostly corn and soy, to raise chickens quickly. This farming uses fossil fuels for growing feed and running the farms, which adds to carbon emissions. Sometimes, chicken farms can pollute nearby water sources with waste. Rice mostly comes from countries like the U.S. (Arkansas, California, India, and Thailand. Growing rice needs a lot of water because it is usually grown in flooded fields called paddies. This can cause water depletion in some areas nearby and rice fields also release methane gas, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. The spices in chicken curry, like turmeric and chili, mostly come from places like India and Southeast Asia where farming can affect soil and water depending on how it is done. I bought my chicken curry and rice from a grocery store, so the ingredients traveled different distances to reach me. The ...

I recently ate chicken curry with rice. The chicken is the main part and the curry has spices like turmeric and chili. The rice is white rice, which is usually grown in wet fields. This meal has a mix of ingredients that come from different places. Chicken comes from poultry farms and rice is grown on fields that need a lot of water. I added a random photo of chicken curry and rice from the internet because I didn't take a photo of my actual meal. Photo from  https://thespicemess.com/pakistani-chicken-curry/ Here is a link about chicken farming in the US: USDA. (2021). Chicken Production(  https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/animal-products/poultry-chicken/)

Plastic bags are a common product, but their waste causes many local problems that I hadn’t fully understood until watching  Battle of the Bag . One local effect that surprised me was how plastic bags clog waterways and storm drains in cities like Milwaukee. This leads to flooding and harms fish and other wildlife by damaging their habitats. I hadn’t realized how much plastic bag waste can impact specific local ecosystems even though it is a global problem. A promising solution shown in the video is how some communities organize “plastic bag bans” and encourage the use of reusable bags. For example, San Francisco banned single-use plastic bags early and introduced fines for stores that still give them out. This local law helped reduce the number of bags found in their streets and waterways. It’s a clear example of how policy at the city or county level can make a real difference. When thinking about plastic bag waste, I believe it should be addressed at multiple scales. Local actio...