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LFS 250 Reflective Essay 2
I have always drunk milk from a young age, and challenging that habit through analyzing the BC Dairy system has been difficult. While analyzing the BC Dairy System hasn’t caused me to stop drinking milk completely, my consumption has fluctuated over the past few weeks. I remain conflicted on whether to stop consuming dairy products and replace them with alternatives, or to continue with my regular consumption. My initial assumption was that I would stop drinking milk (and dairy products in general) after the trip to the farm, but I gained a new found appreciation for the animals and farmers who provide these products. The fluctuation in my consumption was significantly influenced by the Stoll-Kleemann & O’Riordan (2015) reading concerning the sustainability and environmental impacts of producing dairy products, the nutritional aspect highlighted by Dr. Rideout,
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(2014). I decided to consider alternatives and decrease my dairy consumption when learning about the unsustainable practices of producing feed for cows that destroy our biodiversity and contribute to climate change through significant greenhouse gas emissions (Stoll-Kleemann & O’Riordan, 2015). I purchased soy milk but found it very difficult to switch and to break my habit despite my belief that there needs to be a change in our production and consumption of these products for the wellbeing of our environment and biodiversity. Moreover, after Dr. Candice Rideout lecture I knew my consumption of dairy products was low, and I started questioning whether it would have repercussions on my health. As a result, I switched back to consuming dairy products. Yet coming to the end of this unit I am still questioning the effects my consumption would have on