Catering Series, Ep 3: The One-stop, One-pot Show-stopper
plus my rant, "Saving the World: Why We're Full of Funny Superheroes"
"The world is coming to an end if we don't do anything about it," I hear so often. "We are squeezing every last drop out of this planet." Even the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics says, "Energy tends to degrade and disperse with time, the total amount of entropy in any system tends to increase with time. Entropy is also at the heart of our concept of time. The same is true for the largest system, the universe. The net entropy in the universe is continually increasing."
So the world is inevitably going to end, is that the definite truth?
I feel that this is a recurring message that takes place with any lecture event talking about environmental, social, animal justice, bioethics, health—you name it. Georgetown is laden with "discussions." For instance, just within this past week, there was the Lannan Symposium and Literary Festival: "America from the Outside: How the World Sees US," a presentation on "Hidden Faces of Food" by the Humane Society, and The National Undergraduate Bioethics Conference. But also here on campus, there is the Pachanga Latino Takeover, Activate DC Fundraiser, Hindu Students Association's Holi celebration on Copley Lawn, ABISSA 2013: Africa Unveiled, and for good measure, a bra drive. The combination of cultural showcases, lectures by renowned global thinkers, and the most beautiful spring weather (hello, 70-degree weather and flowering cherry blossoms) here all over DC make a funny juxtaposition.
Naomi Klein tells us that we are too deeply ingrained in a money-driven society that only propagates climate change. Easter Island, Nauru, and other small islands are examples of isolated, resource-rich ecosystems that are being destroyed from the inside out (exploitation of resources at the detriment of fertile land) and then the outside in (rising sea levels). It's not only researchers and writers who realize that these small islands are microcosms of what we expect to occur on our mainland countries within the next decades. Some scientists say a rise in ocean temperatures by 4 Centigrade will mean the end of the world. Some say 3. Some say we will be lucky if we survive with 2. Klein emphasizes that the only way to effect fundamental change is through radical means. But the question that a speaker in the film directed by her husband, Avi Lewis, raises is, "What else can we do to save our planet without changing the way we live? I don't believe we can so easily maintain the status quo and save the planet.
Aaron Ross of the Humane League, presents the brutalities, inefficiencies, the prevalence of factory farming, and a solution we've all heard before: becoming a vegan and stifling that facet of agribusiness. I guess it would be one way we might be able tto save the world. The problem of a negative stigma associated with being a vegan leads me to another thought—society as it is the problem. My problem is the stigma behind doing things out of our comfort zone.
Stick and stones may break bones, and words still hurt. The terms "gay" or "hippie" are too commonly thrown around. But what's worse is the attitude. As sensitive and intelligent beings, it is not hard to notice when you are being avoided or facing disapproval, as subtle as the signs may be. As social animals, we want to avoid being different in a manner that would repel our friends. Maintaining conformity while living sustainably is difficult. Sustainable practices would require us to change the way we eat, play, live, think. This is where I begin to understand Klein when she says we need to uproot and transform the way society works.
Unfortunately, we are just too comfortable with the current and hedonistic way we live our lives. Here, at least, life revolves around studies, going out, and working out. It is hard to make time for anything much else. Why be different and make your life more difficult? We build relationships with other people because it's comfortable (evidenced by the way people tends to gravitate towards peers of fellow ethnic or cultural background). Finding friends that live similar lifestyles and not having to contend with them is easiest. I wish everyone could give thought to the quote, "Get comfortable with being uncomfortable."
My idea of being uncomfortable entails engaging in green practices, such as recycling, conserving energy, consuming less, etc. However, it is hard to avoid the feeling of futility in saving the earth. For instance, if we decide to protest agribusiness by becoming vegetarians, we are inadvertently supporting the wheat industry, a major patron of the fossil fuel industry. By cutting electrical consumption, we would be supporting air pollution with the use of uncleanly burning candles, killing more bees, promoting the soy industry, or promoting deforestation. If we're flying around to give motivational speeches to universities and symposiums, we're burning fossil fuels, promoting air pollution, as well as the petrochemical industry by buying miniature plastic containers ("no more than 3-oz. of liquid," my ass). Information dissemination itself is a major consumer of energy. Like, blogging equals electricity consumption equals lightbulb production in factories run by underpaid and maltreated workers somewhere in China. Here, I reiterate the 2nd law of thermodynamics: "The net entropy in the universe is continually increasing."
We must all see ourselves as superheroes. Everyone on campus considers themselves an "environmentalist" if not "environmentally conscious," yet throws plastic bottles in the trash can because there's no recycle bin close by or order so much shit online or take-out because they "don't know how" to make rice or pasta. "First-world problems" derive from colleges.
Here is a scenario of a radical solution and its problems. If we all lived by a calorie restriction to a one large meal per day (studies of which show that would actual prolong our lifespan)—society would call us "anorexic." Even if this was some form of self-cultivation, we'd probably have to take more elevators and escalators, promoting energy consumption. I hope that made sense.
Unlike animals, nothing that we're doing is saving the world in any way. All each average citizen does to promote the consumption of finite resources and give nothing back. And so on, and so on, so on. Input, input, input. No output outside our elitist tendencies to propagate ourselves. My god, all is wrong with the world!
There is a similar problem of hypocrisy in social justice. If we support gay rights, something else we're probably doing in the world is promoting something else, like ableism, anti-transgenderism, or some other form of bias that someone in the world is devoting their lives to tackling. And what's worse is that all of these problems are independent of social class, race, and that jazz. Even if we could do whatever in the world we wanted to do, with unlimited money and time, we're screwed. With all the fatalistic cues of the future, sometimes I wonder why people are still puzzled by depression and suicide. Forget where the problem came from. Forget finger-pointing westernization, imperialism, etc. Boiling down everything to its essence, these problems are ultimately a result of human nature. At this rate, even if everyone felt accountable for their irresponsible actions, there's not much that can be easily done to save the earth.
I do realize we are not trying to eliminate our environmental impact, but rather minimize it, but hell, even if we somehow managed to minimize it—the way society and technology are today—we'd still be detrimental to our ecosystem because there are over 7-freaking-billion of us. And the take home message of my environmental law class is this: government is not the solution, especially considering rampant corruption and lack of regulation enforcement, which requires money. Worse, most people with the money don't want regulation. We live finite lives, so say "hell" to the future. Exemplary of the selfish side of human nature: corporate exploiters of the isolated nation of Nauru really did approximate the island's lifespan until it is no longer economically viable and self-sustaining. So I'm sure we are all fully aware that the world as we know it is fucked. But will it be because of climate change? But will it be by becoming the change we choose--or fail to choose--to be?
(That's why it's funny that while there are discussions on the fate of the impending doom of the world, broodings over the destructive effects of globalization dominated by corporate industry, everyone here is having the time of their lives. You'd thinking with the closing in of an Apocalypse-slash-Armaggedon approaching, everyone would be scrambling to do their best to do something about it, whether it be by "changing the way people think" (which appears to be the most common objective by intellects and academics) or protesting or hunger striking or gardening or eating more vegetables instead of meat. If we're all going to die anyways, we might as well have fun doing it, and let our prosperity handle this climate change shit.)
/rant.
Now onto the recipe! If you skipped my rant, I understand. If you read (or skimmed) it, I hope you don't feel too bad at being waylaid (or my attempt to) by the enticing rice and beans and peppers and herbs. (To this I say, "Haha, you see what I did there? Globalization! *troll face*)
Ahem. But anyways, it is during moments like this that I regret Google smell doesn't actually exist. Because as monochromatic as my Riz et Pois, a.k.a. attempt at another Haitian recipe, looks—it's them herbs! Once you've smelled this, there is no going back to whatever you used to sniff. Best of all, it's extremely budget-friendly, takes almost no time to put together (and if a first-world problem for you involves putting things on the stove, then that's too bad), and is filling!
This is one of those dishes that will make people ask, "What are you making? That smells delicious," or, in my case, "I really hate you. Stop making me hungry." It is one of those dishes that you can make to win over as many people as possibly with minimal effort because since when is food not an incentive? This is also one of those recipes that makes you re-consider your pre-med career in favor or creating your own frozen-food company because it is so easy and so delicious. Or just one of those recipes for college survival in general.
Now rice and beans is one of those things that different people like differently. What I mean is texture. Some people like their beans tender or not-so-tender. Some people like their rice on the dry side or on the mushy side. As for me, I like my rice and beans soft, so the time to cook each varies. This particular recipe was conducted for an event, so it is either meant to feed a party or—best of all—frozen into individual servings!
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Riz et Pois à la Haiti adapted from allrecipes.com Serves probably 30-40 Riz et Pois à la Haiti. Seasoned with caramelized garlic and onions and adobo. Infused with bay leaves, thyme, parsley, and—the Caribbean kicker—habanero.
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