Alumni Spotlight: Adrian Gonzalez
Alum Adrian Gonzalez inspects agricultural enterprises as an Environmental Specialist. Written by Arnel Garcesa The origins of the food we eat can span far and wide. With the momentum towards eating locally-grown foods as part of a sustainable lifestyle, eating crops grown in your backyard can reduce the environmental impacts of the food supply system and support employment of your neighbors. But who watches to make sure what we eat makes sustainability come to fruition? Patel College of Global Sustainability alum Adrian Gonzalez works behind the scenes in the Tampa Bay region to ensure what is grown in the backyard of PCGS echoes the sustainable principles of its teachings. Adrian began working in agriculture at the age of thirteen back home in Mexico. His parents managed a blackberry farm, and Adrian helped to continue the family affair. One thing that remained on his mind was the heavy use of pesticides in growing local berries and how he could go to school to help his family....