We officially only have two full days left in little Gent, Belgium, and I can’t help but think this place feels more like home every day. Currently, I am sitting on the top bunk in my six girl room, eating chocolate after a completely vegan dinner, and people-watching the busy streets from my window. Even though this culture is very different from the American culture I grew up surrounded by in Arkansas, many similarities are still prevalent. One thing I have noticed is that food, music, and competition are three things that can always bring people together. Personally, I immediately bonded with our one of our internal relations coordinators, Michelle, over tennis. On a bus back to the hostel from an excursion, Michelle and I engaged in probably a fifteen-minute conversation about the upcoming French Open. However, even though we could immediately bond and discuss a passionate topic, I was reminded that we still have differences because of the court surface we have grown up playing on. I have only played on clay courts once in my life, and he has never once played on hard courts. This is a constant reminder that everyone in this world has major similarities that are more important than small irrelevant differences in environments.
In the realm of music, not only do most people share a common enjoyment for good live music, (like we saw outside the food truck festival and the street artists we pass daily) but also the similarities go a step further between Belgium and America. Here in Belgium, every club/pub plays typically American pop songs. I am still fascinated with the idea of becoming fluent in multiple languages like most people here are, and then I could enjoy music from other cultures as they do to ours. Lastly, food is obviously enjoyed cross cultures, but one thing I have noticed about Belgium is that I have not seen a single Hispanic restaurant (honestly it’s the one thing I miss the most from America). What Belgian’s lack in tacos they make up for in chocolate, but my first meal in the States will definitely have to be shrimp tacos.
On the more educational side, I have found that the lectures are informative but slightly broad. I have gained the most new knowledge through our almost-daily excursions to new environmentally conscious companies. Most companies we have visited will not even be introduced to America within the next thirty years simply because of the mindset the American people have towards government subsidies going towards the environmental industry. Thus far, my favorite excursions have been to Inagro, Ecotreasures, and tours of the Cacaolab and Delirium Brewery.
Inagro seems to me like a sustainable consulting company. They are a large institute that conducts research and gives advice in agriculture and horticulture to farmers. After a tour of the premises, we saw trial plots, massive greenhouses, and an aquaculture center where new varieties of different crops, pests/diseases, and fish are examined. One development that fascinated me was a natural system to filter out the pesticides that are leached into farm water. The water is run through a system of tanks with compost first to settle out the pesticides and provide the surface area for the microorganisms to break down the bacteria. Then, the water is pumped to different plants in order to evaporate, with the most efficient being the willow tree. This creates a closed, no-waste system to rid the crop water of pesticides but still take advantage of all the nutrients in the run off because the compost is lastly distributed back to farmland. Additionally at Inagro, the massive greenhouses used a system of hydroponics to grow multiple crops, which was very interesting to see in action. One crop we saw being cultivated was my absolute favorite food: the tomato! Anyone that knows me probably realizes how excited I was about this. Attached are pictures of the pesticides filter, hydroponic system, and greenhouses.
Ecotreasures is another company that promotes sustainability in a way never before seen in America. Ecotreasures takes pulp runoff from berry growing farms in order to make unique oils. When we toured the plant, we were able to view the process of taking raspberry bits and turning it into raspberry seed oil that is currently being used in makeup and other cosmetics. This again, minimizes waste through new applications of residual streams. The founder actually mentioned after the tour that some blueberry farms in California have reached out to him, so hopefully this practice could be introduced to the States in the near future.
Sustainable practices are even evident in the Breweries here, which use solar panels. Also, although less to do with sustainability, touring the Cacaolab provided us with more insight into the Belgian culture and was delicious. We were able to see the process of actually producing the world famous chocolates, which surprisingly does not happen at the local chocolatiers. These excursions were less educational, but submersed us a little deeper into the Belgian culture, and I think each of us appreciated it a little more afterwards. Sadly, we only have two days of classes left, in which we will tour a vineyard and travel to visit a company in the Netherlands. As I am currently looking out on the canal from our little hostels kitchen seat, I can already say I am going to miss this little home of ours.
Eleanor, a Biological Engineering major, studied abroad with our U of A Faculty-Led: Sustainability in the Euro Food System program.
Read more from Eleanor at https://you.uark.edu/egh001/
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