Laurin Sephos, Vice President of the Green Team

Fact: It takes 7-10 calories of energy to make 1 calorie of food.
 
“That’s a huge waste,” said Lauren Sephos, 20, Emory College junior of Manteca, California.
 
As an Anthropology and Religion double major, Sephos studies sustainable food, and facts such as this drive her work as vice president of the Green Team.
 
Although it started as an institutional initiative to make Emory Dining more sustainable, the Green Team is now a student organization. Students like Sephos get the opportunity to network with local farmers and create programs that alert the student body about environmental sustainability.
 
In addition to her work with the Green Team, Sephos also served as the teaching assistant for the Sustainable Food Fair. The Anthropology class’s main objective is to learn about sustainable and local food and then organize a food fair. The class meets for a month and is offered for one credit.
 
“I really like being a TA,” she said of her job. “The best part was definitely visiting restaurants to taste the food that we wanted to be served at the fair.”
 
As a part of her assistantship, Sephos also enjoyed talking to the different farmers that participated in the fair.
 
And Sephos is no stranger to farming. Even though her father gave up farming before she was born, his four brothers continue to work on farms of their own. Some of their crops include tomatoes, bell peppers, and sugar beets. They also cultivate hay and barley.
 
Even though she is a California girl at heart, Sephos said she enjoys Atlanta’s local food more. She explained that even though a lot of food is grown in the Valley, it takes so much energy to transport it across the country.
 
“The food from San Jaoquin is grown to be sold,” she said. Atlanta’s local foods are more sustainable. Her favorite is kale, especially that of Bouchard Farms of Commerce, Georgia.
 
“My roommate and I like to sauté it with olive oil and lemon juice. It has a little Mediterranean taste to it.”
 
Currently Sephos is helping to organize Emory Dining’s World’s Longest Line of Tacos. The event is an effort to surpass Michigan State’s record by making 1200 fish tacos. The event is scheduled for 1 March. Sephos is currently organizing volunteers and is looking for anyone who wants to help.
 
A love for food is what inspires Sephos’s dedication to sustainable foods.
 
“I like to eat good food and I want everyone to be able to enjoy eating good food in the future,” she said. Eventually, she would like to continue working towards sustainable farming and foods. One possible career is advising conventional farmers in developing organic and sustainable farming methods. Another option would be owning and managing a small, mixed farm of crops and animals. She even mentioned a restaurant on the ten acre property that would use crops from the farm in the menu.
 
“I just want a simple life,” she said smiling. “Back to the basics.”