Setting her sights on serving our community as a police officer at a young age, before sparking an interest in wildlife from beloved family camping trips- Emma Brett; a 22 year old chocolate and Brussels sprout lover, has a profound passion for responsible food purchasing.
A recent graduate and honours student of Deakin University, Emma is keen on sparking awareness in the community as to how our everyday choices can have a lasting impact on the world- both positive and negative.
In her second year of University she went on an Environmental exchange to Canada. Upon her return unshe started a questionnaire with the assistance of her University lecturer. She asked one thousand people from five different suburbs if they ever considered where the food that they put into their mouths each day came from. When the results came in and weren’t what she fancied, her desire for change emerged.
When asked how she lives an eco-friendly lifestyle, she responded by stating that she’s “trying to eat more in season food… and won’t buy food from overseas”. Whilst she agrees that these tasks may be difficult as she isn’t living alone and has to share a lifestyle with others, she is still an admirable role-model by making her own bread, planning her weekly meals ahead of time, growing her own food at home, and eating as a vegetarian. She even looked into fostering a local community garden in a vacant block of land and whilst she was unable to because the land was privately owned, it still remains an interest of hers.
Her goals for the future are high as she hopes to pursue her passions by continuing her research, returning to Canada for permanent work and “educating people by running a university subject or working with kids in a school”.
Her advice to people of all ages is that “You don’t have to be a hippie” to “do your own research” and “know what’s in season”. “You can look at any books from the library or websites which will tell you what’s in season and try to work around that”. Whilst you may not feel as though your actions are contributing, “even if it’s one person, you can make a difference”.
Words By:Annalisa Cercone
Photo by: Sean Porter
© Sean Porter 2011
banyule100.com 
Leave a Reply