Industrial Farming
M6.4 Industrial Farming
Vanishing Bees:
I have heard of this crisis in the past and about colony collapse disorder (CCD) but did not previously know to the extent or the reason why it might be happening. I think that the most surprising notion of the film and the issue in general was the silo'd nature of important information about CCD or "bee death", which France used to describe the same issue. France went through the same issue in the 90's in dealing with the synergy of systemic pesticides which had enough of an impact that the government had to make stricter regulation. However, the U.S./CDC/EPA did not know or follow suit on those regulations, so the same issue just happened again, even though we had the know how, the science, and the precedent to stop it.
Dirt! The Movie:
I never would have thought that there would be so many people just emphatically into dirt. It was really interesting to be able to get into all of the levels and structures of dirt. It was also crazy that again, the United States farming practice and mono-cropping in general is a key degradation procedure to cause erosion and prevent quality food from being grown. I find myself again thinking that we have the science and the know how to do farming correctly and to sustain these lands to prevent ourselves from falling into a food crisis, however there always seems to be capitalistic backlash. The people with the money are making the decisions and the rest of the population (who the gov't is supposed to protect) will suffer form a small minorities actions.
Factory Farms Near Me:
I live in San Francisco so there are no factory farms in the city or county lines, however just over the bridge in Marin county there are high density dairy factory farms which makes sense b/c of the massive amount of dedicated farm land that is in that area. I also looked in San Diego county where I grew up and that is where I found some really surprising information. I do not really think of San Diego county as a deeply agriculture area and more well known as a naval base, I would associate central California within that category. However checking out the Factory Farm map I found that there is extreme density of dairy, hog, and layer (chicken) factory farming within the county.
Compost:
I compost at my home in San Francisco. It is easy in the city because we just have to put our compost bin out in the sidewalk on trash day like we would for any other of our bins (general or recycling). I do not have a backyard or garden that I go to, to do the physical work of cultivating a compost at my home. I think that composting can become a natural behavior when there are city regulations in place to deal with the natural scraps, other wise it becomes cumbersome for the everyday consumer and can be gross at times. In San Diego, even though I would like to compost and my family tries to be intentional about composting, they do not because there is no way to get rid of the waste.
Vanishing Bees:
I have heard of this crisis in the past and about colony collapse disorder (CCD) but did not previously know to the extent or the reason why it might be happening. I think that the most surprising notion of the film and the issue in general was the silo'd nature of important information about CCD or "bee death", which France used to describe the same issue. France went through the same issue in the 90's in dealing with the synergy of systemic pesticides which had enough of an impact that the government had to make stricter regulation. However, the U.S./CDC/EPA did not know or follow suit on those regulations, so the same issue just happened again, even though we had the know how, the science, and the precedent to stop it.
Dirt! The Movie:
I never would have thought that there would be so many people just emphatically into dirt. It was really interesting to be able to get into all of the levels and structures of dirt. It was also crazy that again, the United States farming practice and mono-cropping in general is a key degradation procedure to cause erosion and prevent quality food from being grown. I find myself again thinking that we have the science and the know how to do farming correctly and to sustain these lands to prevent ourselves from falling into a food crisis, however there always seems to be capitalistic backlash. The people with the money are making the decisions and the rest of the population (who the gov't is supposed to protect) will suffer form a small minorities actions.
Factory Farms Near Me:
I live in San Francisco so there are no factory farms in the city or county lines, however just over the bridge in Marin county there are high density dairy factory farms which makes sense b/c of the massive amount of dedicated farm land that is in that area. I also looked in San Diego county where I grew up and that is where I found some really surprising information. I do not really think of San Diego county as a deeply agriculture area and more well known as a naval base, I would associate central California within that category. However checking out the Factory Farm map I found that there is extreme density of dairy, hog, and layer (chicken) factory farming within the county.
Compost:
I compost at my home in San Francisco. It is easy in the city because we just have to put our compost bin out in the sidewalk on trash day like we would for any other of our bins (general or recycling). I do not have a backyard or garden that I go to, to do the physical work of cultivating a compost at my home. I think that composting can become a natural behavior when there are city regulations in place to deal with the natural scraps, other wise it becomes cumbersome for the everyday consumer and can be gross at times. In San Diego, even though I would like to compost and my family tries to be intentional about composting, they do not because there is no way to get rid of the waste.
Hey Kelly,
ReplyDeleteThere is an actual term for the disappearance of bees? I think bees should be put on the endangered species list just as any other wildlife. The development of micro "polonizers" is far from being complete. I would have guessed that San Francisco is a very compost friendly place! I wish there was a compost bin in my residence. For Sac to be a farm to fork city- you'd think there would be more composting sites. Dirt is very important and we need to grow and take care of it the same as we would air and water.