My time in Ghent has come to a close. While I am excited to go back home, I am really going to miss this charming city. We learned so much about sustainability, the food system, and the culture of Belgium.
The overarching sustainability theme was waste valorization. This means turning waste into something useful, instead of just disposing of it. We observed this in class and at several of our site visits. At EcoTreasures, they obtain the waste of the fruit juice industry, such as fruit skins and seeds. They press the oils from the seeds to use in cosmetics or dietary supplements. Currently, the skins are turned into animal feed, but they are looking for more profitable options. In the US food system, production systems often sell their organic matter waste as animal feed. On my first industry field trip with the Biological Engineering department, we toured the Skippy peanut butter plant in central Arkansas. When asked how they disposed of the peanut shells, they also said that they were sent to animal feeds. Overall, I think Belgium has a better grasp on waste valorization, but the US is starting to get there too.
Overall, I loved Belgium, as well as their views on sustainability. All of the cities we visited were very clean, and it was so easy to get around. Nearly everything I put in my mouth was incredibly delicious, such as Belgian waffles, chocolate, beer, fries, croissants, strawberries, shrimp croquettes, moussaka… the list goes on. Since Belgium is a small country, they don’t have much room to spare and are very sustainably minded. They offer recycling for many types of plastics, drink boxes, papers, and cardboards. At the university, they also had a bin for organic waste, such as an apple core or peelings from an orange. Much of their waste goes to incinerators to produce electricity for the city.
This class helped me dive deeper into my discipline of Biological Engineering through many of the lectures and excursions. One that was very interesting to me was our lecture on food packaging. I have not taken a foods class yet, but I am enrolled for it in the fall! I am also very interested in this topic because I am trying to reduce the waste I produce and the amount of food in packaging that I buy. The lecture was all about sustainability of packaging and how it can be made better in the future. There is a fine line when looking at sustainability of food packaging. On one hand, a recyclable plastic package could be used, but it would have to be denser to obtain the preservative qualities needed. Most likely, the container is not 100% recyclable. If a package made from several plastics was used, it could be made much thinner, but it wouldn’t be able to be recycled. Often, the second situation will result in less plastic going to the landfill. It’s a very interesting question, and I hope to learn more about it soon!
Getting to learn about the Belgian culture was a blast, especially seeing the differences between it and my American culture. One of the biggest differences is history. All of the buildings are much older in Ghent, and it adds an element that is not found in most parts of the United States. Our hostel’s foundation was laid nearly 10 centuries ago, and after several renovations, it still stands in the same location by the canal. There is also Christian influence everywhere, such as large Catholic churches and Cathedrals, or “hidden Mary’s” around the town. As much as I loved it all, I am ready to get back to my tall trees, cheese dip, and bed in Fayetteville.
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| Attempting a jumping picture in the middle of Graffiti Street – a street where people can freely paint and express their artistic talents. or say there were here, in my case. |
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| St. Nicholas’ Church in Ghent |
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| St. Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent |
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View of the city from the Belfry
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My name is Maddie, and I am a 4th year engineering student. This May, I will be traveling to Ghent, Belgium to learn about Sustainability in the Euro Food System. I can't wait to learn more about green practices and share them with you all!
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Biological Engineering major Maddie Oxner is spending the May intersession 2018 in Belgium with our U of A Faculty-Led: Sustainability in the Euro Food System with the help of our our Office of Study Abroad Scholarship and the College of Engineering Study Abroad Grant.
Read more from Maddie at at sites.uark.edu/mjoxner
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