Accepting grim realities while maintaining a zest for improving life on earth now

Dec 14

Even when we may not feel so hopeful about our ability to turn things around for a sustainable future, what can we hold onto to inspire us to keep going? How does our global industrialized food system aggravate social and environmental issues, and how can we begin to tackle this?

Sharing his expertise here is Rob Greenfield, a world-renowned adventurer and activist who just embarked on his big project called Food Freedom, where he'll be growing and foraging 100 percent of his own food for an entire year in Orlando, Florida. Some of his other past projects include cycling three times across the United States on a bamboo bike for sustainability, dumpster diving in thousands of grocery store dumpsters to raise awareness about food waste and hunger, and wearing 30 days worth of trash out in public to create a visual of just how much trash one average American creates. Let's dive in.

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This is a conversation on Green Dreamer Podcast with Kaméa Chayne, a show exploring environmental and intersectional sustainability from ideas to life. Subscribe to Green Dreamer on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or any podcast app and let’s learn what it takes to thrive in every sense of the word!

Highlights

[2:35] What first inspired Rob's passion for the environment.

[3:39] Rob: "Growing up in the United States, it is quite a challenge to live and not be influenced to have these materialistic values because that is the mainstream narrative that is pushed."

[6:32] Rob on how we may be able to break free from "mono-cropped" perspectives from being in places surrounded by people who live and think in the exact same ways.

[8:45] What led Rob to starting robgreenfield.tv.

[10:03] How Rob comes up with ideas for projects to raise awareness for certain issues.

[12:33] Kaméa: "What's been one of your greatest struggles in trying to get your message out there?"

[13:58] Rob: "Ultimately, if we want to effect change, we can't run off into the woods and be hermits. That would be one of the most effective things we could do to decrease our environmental impact, but of course that's not going to change the world like we're striving to."

[16:04] Kaméa: "How do you deal with people calling you out for the few things you aren't doing perfectly?"

[18:07] How Rob deals with the loneliness or frustration that come from seeing the world's issues so clearly when others may not.

[20:44] Rob: "None of us will ever fix all the problems, and none of us have the responsibility to fix all the problems that were created in the world. But we all can take accountability for ourselves and do our best to have a positive impact around us."

[21:32] Rob discusses his newest project, Food Freedom.

[28:46] The sustainability and future of our global industrialized food systems.

[30:02] How Rob can feel doubtful about our abilities to realize a sustainable future, yet still have so much enthusiasm for conscious living and activism.

[32:33] Kaméa: "What do you think we need most to make the most of our lives and live healthily with clean water, clean air, biodiversity, and enriched communities right now?"