Building a Better Food System through Farmers Relationships with the Community Sustainability is the process of maintaining our ecosystems and land for the purpose of ensuring future generations success. This idea of sustainability is reiterated again and again throughout the film, Sustainable. Sustainable focuses on the American food system and the dangers that we are facing in terms of it’s long term viability both environmentally and in regards to human health. This film was shown by the Sustainability Department here at Appalachian State University in the IG Greer Theatre on Tuesday, February 20th at 7pm.
This film proved to be very eye opening to me because it emphasizes the change that is possible through communities working together, from farmer to chef to
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The Stewards of the Land provide a great example of community sustainability through working together to grow great produce instead of competing for the sales of the same product, they also follow sustainable gardening methods in which they take care of the soil by rotating what they are growing and refraining from the use of pesticides and herbicides. This organization has kept many local farmers dreams of having their own farms alive and has instilled the importance of working together to maintain food security and the economic viability of their businesses.
The industrial food system that we currently are in contradicts everything that groups such as the Stewards of the Land are working for. The current system has corporations as well as our government prioritizing money over the availability of quality and nutritious food. The American food system features a monoculture of wheat, and despite the availability of many different types the type of wheat that we are growing is nutritionless and flavorless, yet we have devoted 75% of our agricultural land use to its production. By only growing this one type of wheat we have put our food security at risk
The tactics used for gaining land in foreign countries is a causing these developing nations to continue to have problems with food security. The mistreatment of the agro-workers and animals is just a way to get the most money in the least taxing way possible. The truth behind the global food system is told in this part of the book. The pros and cons are both listed, and even though the cons severely out-weigh the pros, I don’t believe there is going to be any change to peoples’ behavior towards food. I think this because although most people are informed that their food wasn’t grown in the best conditions, or treated as a family pet, but rather a means to an end, nothing has changed except for the fact that there are more documentaries like Food Inc. coming out. Something completely detrimental has to happen to the global food system in order for people to realize that what we are doing is not safe, healthy, or beneficial in the long run. Being aware of all these ethical issues in our food system is just the first step. Knowing how to provide a different solution to the problems we now face is the
Wendell Berry's book, Another Turn of the Crank, takes us well beyond the sustainability of agriculture as such. This is a book about community and, necessarily then, it is a book about economics. John Dewey wrote, "Natural associations are the conditions for the existence of a community, but a community adds the function of communication in which emotions and ideas are shared as well as joint undertakings engaged in. Economic forces have immensely widened the scope of associational activities. But it has done so largely at the expense of the intimacy and directness of communal group interests and activities." (Freedom and Culture, pp. 159-160) The context of the present discussion is the disappearance of agrarian communities throughout America and, hence, the death of agrarian culture. Forest culture has been another victim. Part of this story is about access to fresh, healthy foods and good local timber. But most of the story is about much more.
Many policies on farm and agriculture has impacted the way food is grown in America. For example hedge funds, described in page 11 of Foodopoly have essentially driven the prices of land in America and worldwide. This has resulted in farmers having to either cut down costs and make due with lesser land, or be forced out of business. Along with pollution to environment, this policy along with many others results in the situation described in page 12, with lesser farmers working to supply the nation (from 6.8 million to under 1 million). Most often, farmers sell their products are low prices to pay off land that is priced higher...
I found this film extremely enlightening for many reasons. The statistics of the prevalence of certain diseases in countries that primarily ate animal based food compared to those that did not was the most shocking to me. The fact that about forty-percent of Americans are overweight was something I found to be completely horrifying. The amount of sugar and processed meat that Americans consume continue to rise tremendously as the years go by and if something is not done to cut back on the rising number, more people will be overweight or suffer from cardiovascular diseases.
The film starts off with depictions of opportunity when Washington Parks and People begins the selection process for their new program. Members of the local community are
When I think of an industrial farm I think of a nasty, foul smelling plot of land. I also feel that the food produced from industrial farms is no good. After all, who would want to consume harmful chemicals from the very products that we are supposed to be getting nutrition from. Over the past few weeks I have been reading the book "Omnivore's Dilemma" and from reading it I have grown to hate the words "industrial farming". To me organic food seems like the ideal food choice. This article has challenged my original philosophy on industrial food.
In the largely manufactured city of South Central LA, as illustrated by Ron Finley in the video ‘Guerilla Gardener’, people are suffering. Obesity rates are skyrocketing, people are dying from diseases that could be easily treated, all because of produce that is not only expensive, but also unfresh and overwhelmed with pesticides and insecticides. Ron Finley sees this happening in his community and is determined to do something. He explains in his video how gardening is not only a solution to the ongoing food crisis, but is also therapeutic, revolutionary, and life-changing.
Most of Goodall's books focus on her progressing studies, however, in Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating, she discusses another issue focusing on human consumption. Goodall begins her book by touching on the roots of early agriculture, including national dishes from many different cultures and traditions. Then, she dives into modern agribusiness, a new lifestyle where commonsense farming has become more and more rare, especially in the United States. She discusses how mass consumption has developed from the idea of a monoculture, where farmers plant acres of the same crop. This creates a problem because if that one crop fails to grow, then the farmer has no other crop to rely on for profit, causing the farmer to use chemical pesticides. Insects developing resistance towards these pesticides led to the idea of genetically modifying crops so that they develop their own "natural" pesticide. Nonetheless, all of these techniques are poisoning our foods and our environment. The issue is rapidly destroying all farms mainly because GMO's spread easily through pollination and are difficult to kill.
Many consumers and farmers have discovered that living in an industrialized culture where the focus has become faster, bigger, and cheaper is not the best way to produce our food. Obsessed with productivity, the agriculture industry is reaping the negative consequences of creating an unsustainable environment for food production. Time and time again, the media captures stories regarding deadly bacterial contamination and dangerous pesticide contamination causing illness and death in our communities. The environment is also damaged and contaminated. This devastating trend, due to irresponsible farming practices as a result of the industrialization of the food industry, has become all too common. Returning to organic farming, which our grandparents referred to as farming, and reclaiming our food is not only our choice, it is our right.
My belief is that sustainable living means reducing the demand on natural resources in order to not only preserve but promote the health and wellbeing of our earth for the life that exists on it today and for the life that will exist in the future generations to come. To me, that means modifying my lifestyle, starting with my day-to-day cup of coffee in the morning to brushing my teeth before I go to bed at night with respect to my relationship with the earth’s natural cycles and ecology. In becoming a member of this community here at Ohio University, I hope to bring my own experiences in personal sustainability to others in an effort to improve the efforts of our community as a whole in living a more sustainable and eco-centric lifestyle.
The term sustainability refers to development that meets the contemporary needs without compromising the capacity of future generation to meets their own needs. Sustainability basically involves environmental and social matters that impacts the society. Keeping a note of being sustainable of a human action is to covers the overall impact of activities that effects the individual, the economy, the society, the natural and in built environment.
The twentieth century brought significant changes to our planet. Humanity increasingly relies on fossil fuels and chemicals to grow what nourishes us: our food. At the same time, the world has become an urbanized place. More than half of the world’s people now live in urban areas (UNFPA, 2007). We have become disconnected from nature and natural processes. However, there is a new awareness of how to live in balance with the earth cropping up across the globe. Sustainability has become a way of life. There are now many organizations dedicated to promoting sustainable practises. World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) is one of these organizations.
Sustainable: of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged; of or relating to a lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods.
I think that Sustainability means sustaining all of the important resources in the Earth and sustaining life on Earth towards the future for other generations of humans. When I think of sustainability and how something can be sustainable, I think that it means that something is able to endure hardships and continue on in face of obstacles.
Agriculture is one of the most ancient forms of art and science that ties human development and well-being to natural resources and ecosystems. (Fritz J. Häni, 2007) Sustainable Agriculture is the production of food, fibre, plant and animal products using farming techniques that protect the environment, public health, human communities and animal welfare. (Sustainable Agriculture - The Basics, 2015) Sustainable agriculture is an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site – specific application that over the long term will: