This challenge stemmed mostly from laziness and not wanting to water/cut grass.

Farmer markets are great, this was an easy challenge that I choose to complete most Saturdays. 

This was a pretty interesting challenge. It involved me going out to Mt Hood national forest for a weekend with some friends. Mostly berries and fish were foraged for dinner that night.

Historical water pollution, forest fires and radon are tops. Water pollution from factories and mills, most of which are closed down, introduced so much lead into the water table that it is going to take a long time for the rivers to clear up. Yearly major forest fires negatively affect air quality and radon is giving people with inadequate home ventilation cancer.

I think starting back on eating fruits and vegetables from an all meat diet.

Balance is important to sustainability because without it, you simply can't be sustainable. For example, over-fishing leads to less fish/less food- and that in and of itself is not sustainable. Sustainability isn't about not using things or eating certain foods. It's about doing it in a mindful manner that you're not completely eradicating one food source. That means less available food for people, but also means harm to the environment.

Food sovereignty is giving the people who produce and distribute (and those that consume) should have more control over policies and how food is produced and sent out, rather than corporations. Also that people should have healthy food easily accessible to them by both location and price. Back in the day, we grew our own food, or we bought from local farmers. There was not a lot of middle-men (if anything, a local shop but not huge corporations). So it was easier to get the healthy foods that people needed. When corporations came into it, there was a lot of added processes, many of which were not very beneficial or helpful to the consumer. I think if there was more food sovereignty, it would take some power back from the corporations and put it back into the hands of the people (growers, purchasers) who are at the ground level when it comes to food. It would likely make food healthier, cleaner and easier for everyone to access. 

Knowing who produces your food and where it comes from definitely sheds more light on the quality and freshness of the food. I think it also can evoke a deeper sense of gratitude towards food and the producer, which in turn would motivate the consumer to advocate for better quality of life for producers. 

While these numbers don't necessarily surprise me, I do think that the US could allocate their funds in a way that better supports the public.