Urban+v.+Rural+Culture

= ﻿ ﻿URBAN vs. RURAL CULTURE = ==In modern suburban America ur ﻿ ban and rural culture is harder to find. Yet, I will contrast these two cultures. Let us picture a family on an Iowa farm for the rural example and a New York City family for the urban example. Their diets differ not only in content, but also in the distance their food has to travel from field to plate and in their overall carbon footprints.==

= Rural family’s one week diet: = Family of four mostly eats at home. They shop a little at farmer markets and grow their own food. To feed this family we would need 3.7 Earths. Their diet alone would cause the emission of about 17% these 3.7 Earths (Global Footprint Network). The total on food consumption per individual would be 0.629 Earths.
 * Twice a week: beef and poultry
 * Once a week: pork and fish
 * Every day: dairy products
 * Every day: fruits, grains, and vegetables

= Urban family’s one week diet: = Family of four eats out about ¾ of the time. Most of the food they eat is not grown locally. To feed this family we would need 5.1 earths. Their diet alone would cause the emission of about 16% these 5.1 Earths (Global Footprint Network). Even though the percentage actually drops here the total is more because of the multiplie of 5.1 Earths instead of 3.7 Earths. The total on food consumption per individual would be 0.816 Earths.
 * Twice a week: chicken, pork, fish, and dairy products
 * Once a week: beef
 * Every day: fruits and grains

Looking at urban vs. rural we see that an urban family makes a bigger ecological footprint. The primary reason for the discrepancy is that their food comes from more than 200 miles away. Urban family's tend to eat out more than rural families. Urban families like New York families can just stop on the side walk and get something to eat. Every time they do that they have a greater amount of waste from the containers that the food comes in. On the other hand rural families tend to grow a garden or some fruit trees in their yard. If rural families do not grow a garden then a family member or friend often gives them items out of their gardens. This greatly helps rural families cut down on their ecological footprint. Most of the time about half of what rural people eat does not have to travel more than 200 miles.

· ** Things you can do to help your carbon footprint decrease: ** ü Have a little green house in your home, or plant a garden outside of vegetables and herbs ü Buy from local sellers, someone who is with in 200 miles ü Make a trade system within local communities ü Make fewer trips the store (plan ahead)

· ** Few facts to think about : ** ü Eating less meat reduces the amount of methane gas released from livestock. ü Swapping a meat based lunch for a vegetarian lunch could save 2.3kg of carbon. ü Seventy-five grams of greenhouse gases are expended in the production of every individual-sized bag of chips

**Glossary: ﻿ ** **Carbon footprint **: is the total amount of greenhouse gases that an individual indirectly or directly puts into the air (NYLCVEF). **Consumption: ** Is something you use, it is not just the item you use or food you eat, but all the resources that went into the item or food (NYLCVEF). **Energy Footprint: **Is not the food or feed energy, but the sum of carbon uptake land, forest for fuel wood, hydropower land, also crop land for fuel crops (NYLCVEF). **Culture: **Is a way of life for a group of people that have the same common beliefs, behaviors, and values (Wikipedia). **Rural Sociology: **A rural area is not urban in nature. Most likely they are focused on agribusiness and have agribusiness in social life (Wikipedia). **Farmer’s Market **: Is a market where people sell their locally grown goods to consumers <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">(“Food Protection Program,”).

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Greenhouse: **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Is a glass or plastic containment where the sun heats it up and plants can grow (“Greenhouse-Definition,”). **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Trade Economy **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">: Is a resource that members can trade food with farmers, individuals, and business in a community (Last Polakiewicz, 2010). ** Methane gas ** : Is a gas that is given off by animal waste (“Methane gas energy,”). ** Livestock **** : ** A group of animals in one area raised up to sell (“Improved animal breeds,” 2010).