The definition of traveling is commonly described as moving ourselves from one place to another. In my opinion, traveling is not necessarily connected to taking a car or plane. Perhaps the phenomenon of traveling is something larger. A journey of existence. Essentially, all things travel. A bean seed travels from being stuck underground, to a big plant filling itself with sunshine, to being part of a delicious bean soup or hummus spread. Planet earth also travels. It travelled from a lifeless boll covered with volcanos to a place with oceans, green lands, and countless of living species. To in the future potentially again a lifeless planet if humans continue to destroy the planet.
We have absolutely no control about the final destination of our travel. We can only steer it in the right direction, by taking the right steps along the way. Similar to the bean plant and humans, earth has the inevitable faith of dying one day (O’Malley-James et al. 2012). However, good care will significantly impact the duration and enjoyability of its life. In a sense, humans are part of earth’s travel. Therefore we are responsible for earth’s journey. So far we have done more bad than good for the environment. Luckily more and more people start to make the right decisions during their travel of life. The UN for example, has 17 sustainability goals, each of those adding to making this planet a better place (https://sdgs.un.org/goals). For my semester exchange to Brighton, I will specifically look at goal 12 (Responsible consumption and production). Brighton does many things to be more sustainable; a good example is its unique green food market. In 2020 Brighton was to first city in the UK to be awarded with ‘Gold Sustainable Food Status’ (https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220922-how-brighton-hove-became-britains-greenest-city). Brighton is recognized for harvesting its own food, including a big market in beans. These beans are distributed to local homes and restaurants. Besides, there are a lot of spaces available for people to harvest their own food. The people from Brighton also contribute by applying strict waste separation and biological products for food production. This makes Brighton the ‘Greenest food city of Britain’. (2022)
When I travel to Brighton in its limited definition, I plan to support planet earth’s travel in its ultimate definition. I am going there with the most sustainable travel plan. During my stay in the city, I hope to contribute to the city’s goals for sustainability. Specifically in relation to the food system of Brighton. By cooking with a lot of local ingredients, and even some food harvesting myself. The day I arrive, I will plant a bean, that will be the start of its travel. It will travel from a seed to a plant, to a delicious bean in my dinner meal on my final day in Brighton. This way: me, the bean, and the planet earth can enjoy the travel of life to the fullest.
