Hey guys! Well, today was an amazing adventure!
After breakfast Mariana and I went to the office of Cecilia Duran who was an adorable and expressive lady. We got the rundown of how things are around EARTH from Cecilia's co-worker. We were told to lock our doors (which I won't have a problem with considering what happened yesterday), put away any expensive electronics or valuables, and assigned a week to clean up the hallways and bathroom. When Cecilia arrived she told us about the many fun activities on EARTH! There are so many clubs to join! There's futbol, which I'm psyched for, volleyball, tennis, yoga, zumba, and so much more! There's even a pool and a gym when you have downtime. Cecilia also told us that there'll be an international festival on July 5th through July 6th! Each country has food, there's dancing, fun activities, and did I mention food? Since Mariana and I are both american, we might have to cook something for the festival that's american. Cecilia recommended hot dogs and Mariana thought that burgers would be a good american food to make. After telling tales about faulty attempts at playing tennis and discussing dance, Cecilia walked Mariana and me to some of the offices where we would meet with some of our supervisors.
When I arrived to Professor Moro's office I was so excited! After months of waiting I was finally going to get started on a project for the World Food Prize! Profe Moro and I sat down and discussed some projects he had in mind that other students started. One project that caught my eye was a project that May, a vet student from Ecuador, was working on. We were originally going to work together but May returns to Ecuador soon so I might take over and put in some ideas. Her project was about creating an evaluation system for estimating cattle welfare.
For those of you who don't know, animal welfare and animal rights are completely different ideologies.
Animal Welfare: The belief that animals have the right to basic needs. This ideology focuses on treating animals like animals. Many people who are in favor of animal welfare believe that using animals for fur, meat, milk, and other consumable items is completely fine as long as the animals are treated with respect during their lifetime.
Animal Rights: The belief that animals should have rights similar to humans. This ideology focuses on putting animals on the same level as humans in some ways. Many people who are in favor of animal rights believe that consuming meat, fur, milk, or eggs is wrong because an animal died or was used to make these products. The biggest animal rights organization is PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
The welfare estimation system that I'm going to be working on is all about making sure that cattle are receiving the healthcare they need, living in safe conditions, and are having beneficial interactions with humans. Many people speculate that when cattle are treated better they produce better milk and meat, which is a valid idea. Stressed cattle often suffer more injuries that damage the meat or suffer psychologically which, in turn, stops them from producing milk.
I'm really excited to work on this project and hopefully many others!
After my tour of the farm I talked to Sofia, made an email address, got a library card, and got a bike so I could ride to the farm. I'm starting to really become acquainted with things around here. After a short nap I read a little bit of the articles Profe Moro gave me and then headed to the rec room where everyone was watching futbol. I think I was the only person there who was rooting for the USA. A lot of students here are from Africa, so I understood why they were supporting Ghana. After the US won (!!!!) Mariana, Lina, and I got dinner. I got another rice dish. There's a surprising amount of things you can do with rice!
All in all I think today was a great start!
Adios!
-Allie
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