I believe my earliest memory of connecting with the earth was going to the beaches on the coast of Florida, and even though I don't remember the very first times, I know it by seeing pictures of me with my grandparents on the sand. I grew up in Miami where it was a short drive away, I was not used to the sticky salty feeling and the water getting into my mouth and eyes, but as I grew older and kept coming back, I became a great swimmer and curious of what was underneath the waves and all the animals that lived in and around the shores. It is now my favorite place to be, to snorkel, to dive, to swim. I can be there from morning until sunset and feel completely satisfied. Once I got into college I decided that the only thing I was willing to spend my life doing was to benefit the natural world, so I got an associates degree in Forestry and later a bachelor's degree in sustainability and the environment. I began working as a law enforcement park ranger believing that I would be the sole protector of whichever land I was based out of. And although I did become involved in wildlife rescue operations, timber theft lawsuits, illegal tree cuttings, injury to park property, and checking seasonal hunters for illegal crab, salmon, and duck catch - I still believed there was more I could do on a grander scale. Somehow I could make an impact in a larger way that worked directly with the preservation of ecological systems and the wildlife that relies on it. As a ranger, I realized I was tailoring a lot of my work towards what the department I worked for wanted, to please the local public. And although there is nothing wrong with trying to give the public a solid recreational experience, I felt I wasn't satisfying my most internal passions which is to help the most vulnerable and critically endangered species on this planet. If money were not a hindrance, I would want to expose the fishing industry that trawls the bottom of the ocean, uses vertical nets that fish entangle themselves in, and factory farms for what happens behind those cement walls. I would create an installation and research project that would be called “The Food Mirror”. It would be a large-scale, interactive traveling exhibition, perhaps having multiple in different cities at once. “The Food Mirror” would be a public art and science installation combined with immersive research outreach. The goal would be to reveal the hidden environmental impact and cost of industrial animal agriculture and commercial fishing. It would be a multi-room immersive experience that uses real video footage, audio, and interactive simulations from inside slaughterhouses, fish farms, and deep sea trawling vessels. I do realize that it is not easy for anyone to willingly walk into a situation that makes them uncomfortable or question the reality they’ve been living in, so I would introduce some incentives. For marketing of the exhibit, I would use words that are less intense and more curious, like “Would you still eat the same if you knew more?” or “Where do your groceries really come from?” The Food Mirror would have free entry. I would offer discounts to local sustainable restaurants, farmers markets, eco- friendly products in specific grocery stores based on their preferences and participation and willingness to try a sustainable option for one week. There would be a raffle entry for sustainably made products and local restaurant vouchers for all those who finish (Continued on attached file)