Similarities In the Criticisms of Industrial Agriculture Made by Michael Pollan, Wendell Berry, and Vandana Shiva and Their Visions of Better Farming

855 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: impact of pesticide use in agriculture

With the continuous evolution of global industrialization and mechanization of agriculture since early 20th century, traditional farming that relied heavily on the labor of humans and animals has been gradually replaced by a modern form of capital intensive farming, considered more “efficient” through the application of science and engineering. Despite the fact that industrial agriculture has brought a rapid increase in world food production, it has also attracted criticisms and demands for a better form of agriculture. Michael Pollan, Wendell Berry, and Vandana Shiva, the three environmental activists, have all claimed in their essays and speech that, industrialized agriculture has negative impacts on our environment, farming economy, and the survival of traditional farmers. They all call for a better kind of agriculture that is more sustainable, resilient with natural biodiversity.
Michael Pollan, Wendell Berry, and Vandana Shiva have all claimed that the massive use of chemical herbicide and fertilizer in industrial agriculture has contributed to the environmental degradation such as soil erosion and water pollution, as well as the adverse effects on agriculture. Pollan concludes, in “Mass Nature”, that the “cheap” industrial food does not count “costs charged to the environment, in the form of soil depletion and water pollution”. Similarly, Wendell Berry, in his “The Agrarian Standard”, said “the continuing unsustainably high soil erosion rates” has uncovered the fact “We continue to pollute our soils and streams agricultural poisons”. What’s worse, the rise of “super-pests” as the resistance to pesticides, has forced the farmers to use ever-stronger pesticides which have put the already vulnerable environment into an ...

... middle of paper ...

.... Perf. Vandana Shiva and Drs. Mauro.Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swocVkwTEvo. N.p., 2013. Web.

Pollan, Michael. "An Animals' Place." New York Times 10 Nov. 2002: n. pag. Http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/an-animals-place/. Web.

Pollan, Michael. "Power Steer." New York Times 31 Mar. 2002: n. pag. Http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/power-steer/. Web.

Pollan, Michael. "When a Crop Becomes King." New York Times 19 July 2002: n. pag. Http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/when-a-crop-becomes-king/. Web.

Pollan, Michael. "When a Crop Becomes King." New York Times (2002): n. pag. Http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/when-a-crop-becomes-king/. Web.

"Seeds of Freedom" Dir. Jess Phillimore. Perf. Vandana Shiva and Jeremy Irons. Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-bK8X2s1kI. Gaia Foundation and the Africa Biodiversity Network, 13 June 2012. Web.

Show More
Related

  • When Corn Becomes A King Rhetorical Analysis

    495 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the New York Times article “When a Crop Becomes a King”, author Michael Pollan argues there is an overproduction of corn that does more harm than it does good. He writes this in response to a farm bill signed by then President Bush to increase the budget for corn production which caused much controversy. Pollan uses an infuriated and frustrated tone in order to convince American consumers that corn has taken over their environment and economy. Michael Pollan uses rhetorical strategies to challenge conventional views of corn and to argue against additional corn production.

    Read More

  • Will Allen's Profession

    519 Words  | 2 Pages

    Will Allen (2013), a multi-talented, meticulous man who turned his profession from a basketball player to a professional salesman and then finally, into an urban farmer, in his book THE GOOD FOOD REVOLUTION precisely elucidates the significance of being patient in everyday life and how farming played an important role in teaching him this extremely important life skills.

    Read More

  • Agrarian Woes in the Late 19th Century

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... American agrarian empire was defeated by railroads issuing rebates and drawbacks, foreign competition, and a booming population that pushed the farmers west to a point that arid conditions strangled profits. However, in some cases, these farmers complaints were not justified. Many of the threats farmers thought monopolies posed to them, such as the idea of unfair and unreasonable price increases, rarely were a reality. The debate between silver and gold also proved to be unrelated to the farmers troubles, as silver couldn’t serve as the means to end deflation and lower crop values. Although the farmers did manage to bring politics closer to the people, and politicians face to face with the problems of the country, they failed to preserve their lifestyle, resulting in the world we live in today, where the distance from the farm to the dinner table continues to grow.

    Read More

  • Crop Circles: Hoax or Truth?

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    Silva, Freddy. Secrets in the Fields: The Science and Mysticism of Crop Circles. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Pub., 2002. Print.

    Read More

  • Agriculture In American Agriculture

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    Corn is a part of American farming. However, American farming has been changing drastically over the past century. With new technology and greater demands, agriculture has needed to modernize itself. This requires corn to fundamentally change in its structure and purpose. Not only does this change the quality of corn or its usage, but it also affects corn’s quantity. There is a yearly over-abundance of corn yet corn still keeps getting produced. The honesty of genuine farming has been lost over the years. Farming is not a way of life anymore. It’s a business that takes away from the farmers themselves and only focuses on their product.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Sustainable Farm

    1075 Words  | 3 Pages

    The cutting down on the uses of pesticides and fertilizers is one on the next great step we have to make as a society. It will take a long time to implement these changes and there will be Problems along this journey. The sooner we start this long journey. The longer we have to work out the Kinks in sustainable farming. We at least should think about the future generations that will live on earth. This is the one place we all have to call home and it’s our job to take care of it for the next generations. We can’t give them a problem that take a long time to fix because it could be too late to fix the problems in a generations or two. This is why we need to push the world to a sustainable farm

    Read More

  • Chinese Government and The Environmental Problems

    1344 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Zhang Zhimin video diary it stated that, in the last hundred years, agriculture has become the biggest source of pollution. For example, in the early twentieth century farmers used terracing, irrigation and multi cropping techniques, plus a large amount people to tend the crops (Morris, 2009, p. 76). Also, animals were used as food and to maintain the nutrient cycle, which was beneficial to the farmers crops (Morris, 2009, pp. 80-82). Tools such as the iron mouldboard plough was also used for dry-land cultivation, which is believed to have been used for centuries (Morris, 2009, p. 84). Techniques such as these were said be a sustainable method of farming, although some people may have been suffering from malnutrition (Morris, 2009, p...

    Read More

  • The Challenge of Global Food Production

    658 Words  | 2 Pages

    Food production has many challenges to address: CO2 emissions, which are projected to increase by two-thirds in the next 20 years, as the global food production increases so does the number of people going hungry, with the number of urban hungry soaring. The environmental issues are not the only ones to face; politics and economic globalization take also the big part in the food world. These days agriculture and food politics has been going through many changes but mostly under the influence of its consumers; back in the days people wanted as little as safety, variety and low costs of food. Now consumers demanding way more – greater freshness, nutritional value, less synthetic chemicals, smaller carbon footprint and less harm to animals. And that’s the time when urban agriculture emerged quite rapidly delivering locally grown and healthy food. Within the political arena, there are a few still in charge of defending the conventional food industries and commercial farms to retain the upper level. Against the hopes of nutrition activists, farm animal welfare defenders, and organic food promoters, the food and agriculture sector is moving towards greater consolidation and better sustainability. Although in social and local terms, food-growing activists know their role is under attack. Caught two words in the middle, is it possible to satisfy both?

    Read More

  • Sustainability of The Global Food System

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    Roberts, Paul. "Spoiled: Organic and Local Is So 2008." Mother Jones 1 (2009). https://blackboard.syr.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-3188122-dt-content-rid-8212178_1/courses/33750.1142/Spoiled.pdf (accessed March 25, 2014).

    Read More

  • Americans and Agriculture

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Organic Farming vs Factory Farming

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Sad Farmers in The River Warren

    1750 Words  | 4 Pages

    Berry, Wendell. The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1996.

    Read More

  • The French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution

    1293 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is to be noted that farmers in England are among the most productive farmers in the world. The new methods of farming brought mass production in the early 18th century, leading to the Agricultural revolution. “In the early eighteenth century, Britain exported wheat, rising from 49,000 quarters in 1700 to a massive peak of 950,000 quarters in 1750”. The whole benefit of the Agricultural revolution was shared among aristocratic landholders. They were the only top authorities, as the English throne was already overthrown by the aristocratic class in 1688 during the Glorious Revolution.... ...

    Read More

  • Effects of Agriculture on the Environment

    2078 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Benefits Of Sustainable Agriculture

    2176 Words  | 5 Pages

    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:

    Read More

More about Similarities In the Criticisms of Industrial Agriculture Made by Michael Pollan, Wendell Berry, and Vandana Shiva and Their Visions of Better Farming

Open Document