When I simply googled "food" my first result was the Food Network. Not surprising, I suspect the Food Network, pays Google well to be the first result in this query. I understand how website optimization works, and am a little freaked out that a television network is the most relevant hit when I search for "food." Today I gained a perspective on food that somehow I missed out on in my first 35 years on this planet.
There is enough food for everyone on this planet however droughts, politics, war, and other correctable conditions make it impossible for everyone to eat everyday. I have never considered the global why of starvation, and now that I am thinking on it I wondered how I missed this in all of my years of education.
This is my fifth contribution to a project called Urgent Evoke. The following writing and assignment will score me a single point in a complex global game, where players are working to literally make the world a better place by a****sing global issues that urgently impact everyone. At some level I would rather spend my precious gaming time unlocking a tank and going on a rampage in Grand Theft Auto, I could be speeding down a virtual street in a virtual limo full of virtual hookers.
I am sure this is a better use of my time.


On a personal level, I've already learned quite a bit. Many people are taking the game seriously. If they win they can earn grant money to fund their farms in Africa or Haiti. Students can earn college scholarships. This is serious business. For me, I'm participating as an educator trying to discover if this game can work. I stopped playing Mafia Wars to keep up with this game.
In Mafia Wars I learned to balance time and jobs. I learned how to make valuable in game money to buy valuable in game loot. In Urgent Evoke, I am meeting people from around the world who are desperately hoping to bring drinking water to their home village or people who are trying to learn if they have the skills and resourcefulness to convert their family farm to an organic one. I'm a researcher, and I can help contribute to the discussion with this pithy but thoughtful bibliography which represents my fifth assignment.
Co-Ops and Sustainable Agriculture
Community Supported Agriculture: http://www.localharvest.org/csa
Urban and Home Gardening and Seeds: http://www.seedsofchange.com
Square Foot Gardening: http://www.squarefootgardening.com
Food Co-Ops: http://www.coopdirectory.org
Green Roofs: http://www.greenroofs.com
Diet & Nutrition
Diet for A Small Planet. Francis Moore Lappe
Why Food Matters, Mark Bittman
In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan
Diet for a New America, John Robbins (also The Food Revolution)
What to Eat, Marion Nestle
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver
This short list in no way reflects what I learned form this "mission." If I could convert what I learned today into an ironic image that hipsters would appreciate it would look like this:

What is Evoke? And what am I writing about?

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What is an EVOKE? from Alchemy on Vimeo.
My Previous Evoke Writings
http://open.salon.com/blog/sueinaz/2010/03/17/how_do_we_evoke_chang...
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