ThePlanet That I Consume: Essay
The Planet That I Consume: Essay #1 Prompt
This essay asks that you consider the inner (and outer) workings of the world around you in
terms of your food and other consumptions. We manipulate the planet and all of its
creatures. We create, we consume, we build, and we destroy, but how often do we consider
the processes and people that provide unceasingly for our unquenchable appetites? How
often do we consider the consequences?
During this project we might ask ourselves: where do our food and our “stuff” come from,
and at what cost? How have our foods and other goods been processed, conceived, even
constructed, and then shipped and stored? How do we treat the animals we eat? How
should we treat them? How are they killed? How conscious are we of the world we are
taking from every single day? Where do we fit in? What do we have to say?
For this essay we are most interested in how we give and how we take from the planet, from
plants, from animals, and from the people who share in the spaces we occupy.
During this essay block you will be asked to take part in conversations, readings, and writing
activities which will require you to look closely at how we might have lived in the past, and
how we currently live in and interact with the world around us, particularly when it comes to
what we eat, the planet we exhaust and renew, and how our consumption shapes the world,
in both positive and negative ways.
You will need to choose a topic (although it must be related to the main topic/theme of this
essay block by considering your relationship with food and consumption and the
consequences of your living and eating habits, on yourself, other individuals, societies, and
the planet that we share) which you will then think about independently so that you might
share your story in order to convince your reader that your experience is one with
considering (we want a moral, a lesson, a warning, or maybe just something to consider).
You must have some exigency (a reason for writing, a “necessity”) before beginning this
essay.
In other words, this essay is a personal literacy narrative in which you discuss your own
relationship with food and/or consumption and reflect upon the various factors (communal,
cultural, political, familial, academic, etc.) that contribute to it. In this way, you are becoming
literate in regard to your understanding of the ways in which these outside forces have
played a role in shaping your thoughts and your ability to be an active, self-aware member of
your various communities and beyond.
To achieve this, you will write a “narrative essay” about how you might have acquired
behaviors and attitudes related to food and consumption and what you learned from your
experiences. In addition, you are encouraged to consider not only how these behaviors
and/or experiences may have affected you, but how they affect society, as well.
You may wish to consider some or a few of the following as you draft your essay:
Your educational background as well as that of those closest to you and how this
relationship might have influenced your decisions when it comes to eating and living.
Your attitude towards the “food cultures” within any communities you might belong.
The ideas and themes that circle around food/consumption in the essays we have
read.
Any transformative experiences that pertain to your ideas of food and consumption.
Your feelings in general towards your own concept of moral and ethical eating and
living habits.
You are not being graded on the ideas you hold, but rather on your ability to convey them in
an effectual way. Additionally, I will be looking to see that you are able to demonstrate a
clear understanding of the ways in which your chosen experience has influenced your own
eating habits and lifestyle.
Literacy Narrative Guidelines
A. Essay should be 3-4 pages in length, not including works cited page.
B. The narrative should explore an event (or a series of events) that exemplifies your
experiences with food and/or consumption relevant to some aspect of the essays we have
read.
C. The narrative should have a thesis, which addresses the importance of this topic for you
personally and also for people generally. This thesis may be subtly developed (rather than
explicitly stated). Be aware that a subtle thesis does not necessarily occur in one single
sentence. Rather, you should show your readers, rather than tell them, the relationship
between your feelings towards food and consumption, and the belief you are working with.
Furthermore, it will greatly strengthen your essay if you relay the importance and meaning of
the experience for you and/or for a larger community. In other words think beyond yourself
to show your reader this is an issue of importance beyond just you. Why does what we eat
and how we “consume” the world matter for all of us?
D. The narrative should have a title and an introductory paragraph that promote interest.
E. The narrative should support claims about your experience/beliefs through vivid
description and analysis of a significant event and the person(s) involved.
F. The narrative should have effective transitions (between sentences, paragraphs, and
larger sections).
G. The narrative should be mostly free of mechanical, grammatical, and usage errors.
H. The narrative must include at least 3 secondary sources, one of which must come from a
source other than the class readings. Must have a works cited page using MLA format.
Solution Preview
The Planet That I Consume
Beef has always been my favorite meal ever since I was a small kid back in the day. Nothing was better than that meal, and I would not stay two days without eating it. My parents were also not very strict with me in terms of regulating the frequency with which I took in my favorite beef meal. This is probably because I could not allow restriction, especially not with something I loved so much.
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