It’s been fun, living in an ivory tower. In the ivory tower called upper-middle SES (socioeconomic status), the people are very much insulated from a pervasive societal cancer. Sure every now and again, I’d hear about or even experience firsthand the corruption of our government, the bribing, the slow court hearings. But, I had the money and the status to mitigate most such effects. So, what about those that don’t have such luxuries? My encounters with low SES people are biannual. Every year, I, my mom, and our group would do outreach activities twice, near our birthdays (August) and near Christmas. I would help distribute goods, sometimes, take over registration. I’d do for a number of reasons: because my mom influenced me, because I felt good about it, because I earn good karma. But that was the extent of my participation in social justice activities. They were a biannual thing. It’s easy to absolve one’s self of responsibility. Those below the poverty are there because they’re too lazy to raise themselves up. They put themselves in that position and choose to stay there. At least, that’s what I used to think. Since then, I’ve realized that a lot of these people work very hard. For some, their only “mistake” was not being audacious enough to take advantage of another or to work through our convoluted system that exploits others. I’m talking about the government, corporations, and the so-called professionals with ethics that conveniently forget certain sectors of society. I now know that the true cause of poverty is much deeper and more systematic than what I initially thought. Theology 141 helped me a lot with these reflections. Also, the Napoles Pork Barrel scandal and the corruption exhibited during the Typhoon Haiyan relie... ... middle of paper ... ...enerate nutrients and lead to equally plenty but more nutritious, more organic, and non-poisonous produce. Family farmers also tend to participate more in the community, looking out for their community’s welfare and that of their workers. This is opposed to companies’ subservience to an elite group of shareholders who own their stocks. Ultimately, family farming leads to more equally distributed wealth and to happier and healthier producers and consumers alike. Both the rights of the human and of nature are upheld, and this is important not only intuitively but also because both are the body and creation (the Earth) are considered sacraments. Lastly, the goal of social justice better fits this model than the corporate one. Evidently, family farming is the better option. In an integrative manner, both economically and morally, family farming should be the choice.
The idea of the family farm has been destroyed by large food corporations. As discussed in class, industrial farming typically leads to the mass produ...
One of these points is that with enough passion and grit one can start a serious social movement. The example here is Alan Chadwick gaining a huge following despite coming on campus to just be a gardener. The man was so influential that he literally effected people for the rest of their lives, “Chadwick was so great a teacher that Lingemann 's interest in gardening became her life 's focus” (p 279) This line of logic is strong because Chadwick went from a nobody to one of the most influential people in his field. He built up his reputation and following with pure passion. One other strong point is the connection between nurturing a garden and nurturing a person. Waters makes the point that humans intrinsically want to protect something growing and look after it, “Watching something infinitely fragile sprout in warm, fertile earth and nursing it along to the point where it can survive and grow strong is practically definitive of what it is to be human.” (p 280) This point is strong because there truly is no joy like raising something small and weak to become strong. The evidence here is that people innately feel the need to have children and then protect them. One weak point in the essay is Waters subtle persuasion that the best way to do agriculture is the most natural way. She states, “Alumni apprentices have started their own farms,
Our nation was founded on agriculture, and for hundreds of years we were able to migrate across the nation bringing our farming tools and techniques with us. Technology has driven populations away from rural areas towards industrialized cities. With money now being pumped into cities, rural farmers are suffering the most. Farmers are taking out large loans in order to sustain their farms, leading to debt and in some cases suicide. Patel spoke about a farmer in India whose husband took his life because he was unable to live with the amount of debt from his struggling farm. This man left his wife and chi...
People living in poverty can be thought of as a “them” who can be easily ignored and forgotten; when, in reality, poverty can affect anyone. When people are living in poverty, sometimes it is not their fault. Often, unfortunate events that are out of someone’s control can set them up for failure. For example, the poverty rate for disabled adults from the age of 18-64 is 28.5%, while disabled 18-64 year olds only make up 7.7% of America’s population (Proctor, Semega, and Kollar 16). Therefore, poverty disproportionately affects disabled adults. The stories of those living in poverty are incredibly diverse, as Sasha Abramsky points out in The American Way of Poverty:
Poverty is a potential outcome for everyone. It’s sneaky and many people fall victim to it every year. No one believes that they have the potential to fall into debt, but it can happen through a string of bad luck, time running short, and other possibilities that can’t be controlled. People who are struggling with difficulty believe that there is no way out because no one will help them. However, there are ways for us, as a society, to help those who are short on income receive the help that they need. Many of the impoverished are thought to be slackers, addicts, or self-destructive to their lives. Society can help each other by dismembering the stereotypes given to people who are underneath the “Poverty Line” that they used as wedges between the classes. Labels given to those who’re poor have nothing to do with who they are as humans.
A private well, for example, means you do not have to rely on your local government to provide you with water. Raising your own produce and livestock allows you to control what chemicals are used to repel pest and what antibiotics are fed to the livestock. You have more control, but you still need many of the things that up until this point someone else provided.
At first he discusses why many believe that the introduction of agriculture was a positive step. Many believe this because they think of our ancestors and how we are now better off than them in many ways (Diamond, 1987). This is true when it comes to various aspects such as technology and the simplicity of obtaining food and shelter. Then he states how an agricultural based society is healthier, easier, and is less time consuming than a hunter-gatherer society because they lived on a day to day basis. It is easier but it proves to not be healthier and is more time consuming. The primary reason why humans converted to an agricultural society is because of the growing numbers in population; there was no possible route to feed so many people while being hunter-gatherers.
Agriculture is the science and practice of producing crops and livestock. The primary aim of agriculture is to use the land to produce more abundantly to feed and clothe the world at the same time protecting it from deterioration or misuse. Humans had to improve agriculture as they became more dependent on food, creating a solitary evolutionary connection between plants and animals (Campbell and Reece, 2001). In this day and age, so many people have forgotten the authentic premises of survival. It is easy for some to believe that the grocery stores produce food and clothing is produced by shopping centers. These inaccurate presumptions are being made due to the lack of knowledge of how agriculture truly works. There are also significant differences in the levels of understanding between rural and urban communities.
off the work of other people and they did not put any effort forth to change their state of poverty.
...nnected to nature and have the responsibility of providing the world food, clothing, and a great deal of other things as well. Through it all farmers are a tight-knit group of men and women who have a mutual respect of nature and each other regardless of what type of farming they choose.
It is estimated that 37 farmers leave the land every day to pursuit in different field (Herro 2006). The decline in rural farmers is from the consequences of industrialization of agriculture. Only 1 percent of the UK workforce is now employed on farm, compared to 35 percent in the last century (Herro 2006). Many of these workers are being weaved out by better technologies that can do the same work at a faster and more efficient rate. On the contrary, organic farming relies more on people for knowledge, daily monitoring, and production. A study by the Soil Association shows organic farming can potentially provide 32 percent more jobs per farm than conventional farming in the United Kingdom (Herro 2006). However, critics have argued that human labors will lead to higher food prices, which makes the shift infeasible. But while this may be true in developed country, a full scale shift to organic farming in developing countries, where labors are much cheaper than pesticides, can lead to a much higher profit for the farmers. Organic farming attracts younger employees than any other work industry. Currently, the average age for conventional farmer is 56 (Herro 2006). If a full scale shift to organic farming were to happen, it would draw a more vibrant and enthusiastic workforce who are food conscious than that older generations, setting up a platform
Do the poor in this country have a choice not to be poor? Do the less fortunate have the same access to opportunities as the middle and upper classes? Do government programs designed to help the impoverished actually keep them in the lower ranks? These are all difficult and controversial questions. Conservatives and Liberals constantly battle over these issues in our state and federal governments. Local and national news media provide limited insight to the root causes and effects of the nation’s poor. There is obviously no simple solution to resolve the plight of these often forgotten citizens. Most of us associate poor as being in a class below the poverty line. In fact there are many levels of poverty ranging from those with nothing, to those with enough to survive but too little to move up. I believe many of our nation’s poor are so by their own doing. I will share observations and personal experiences to support the argument that being poor often is a result of individual choice. One needs merely inspiration and perspiration to move up the socio-economic ladder in the United States. We live in the land of opportunity where anyone with the drive and determination to succeed often can.
(The Sustainability of Irish Agriculture, n.d.) Sustainability is very important on my home farm. Practices have been put in place that won’t cause harm to the environment. My home farm is a small, family enterprise and I feel that new approaches are needed in order to maintain the farms sustainability status. Non-renewable inputs that are harmful to the environment or to the health of farmers should be minimised. As well as this, farmers have knowledge and skills that could be put into use, therefore substituting human capital for costly external outputs. Sustainable agriculture outcomes can be positive for food productivity, reduced pesticide use and carbon balances. (Agricultural Sustainability: concepts, principles and evidence, 2007) In this essay, I will discuss the principles and practices of sustainable agriculture, identifying how they may relate to my home farm. I will then discuss whether or not present activities can change to more sustainable methods in the
As agriculture has become more intensive, farmers have become capable of producing higher yields using less labour and less land. Growth of the agriculture has not, however, been an unmixed blessing. It, like every other thing, has its pros and cons. Topsoil depletion, groundwater contamination, the decline of family farms, continued neglect of the living and working conditions for farm labourers, increasing costs of production, and the disintegration of economic and social conditions in rural communities. These are the cons of the new improved agriculture.
Every time a person goes to the store and buys some food that food was grown by a farmer or contain ingredients from the farmer’s crops. A farmer is a good job because the work they do helps to provide the world with food. Without farmers many people would go hungry not knowing how to grow their own food. Without farmers many other products other than food would be gone. Farmers work hard long days and often go unnoticed; however, without them life would be much different.