Kyle Pacheco

This subject went along with my palm oil challenge, I saw through research how much my palm oil consumption leads to deforestation of tropical rain forests and how it displaces animals and indigenous people for profit. I was shocked by this information, and instantly removed this product from my diet. In addition to avoiding palm oil, I will try to educate my friends and family about this additive to food and how this contributes to their impact on a global scale.

This. Was. Super. Difficult. I never knew how much palm oil was placed in my food items. It seemed like every item I picked up I saw "palm oil", which I was shocked about. Why do so many items need palm oil? Then I did some research and I found out that it was just a cheap substitute in products, basically just to cut corners. Then it all made sense, again the environment is utilized in a negative way to produce a product to cut costs and to increase profits. Now that I am hyper-aware of this addictive I will be fully remove it from my diet whenever possible. 

I never really thought how much driving I do between classes across my college campus, of course this adds up, however these thoughts do not come to the surface of my consciousness.  Right away after the first few days of the EcoChallenge I realized how quickly I went to my car to drive to a building across campus - which in actuality was a quicker getting to via walking. Through this, I realized my impact through my driving habits, something I thought I was good at. In addition, I enjoyed walking through campus to meetings, work, and classes. I saw professors, friends, and coworkers I usually never saw and added to my sense of campus community. This is a practice that I expect and would like continue because it adds to my campus experience.