The Pros And Cons Of Farm Tragedies

On the topic of environmental impacts due to “industrial farming”, Bill McKibben and Blake Hurst share completely different perspectives. McKibben believes that industrial farming has simply left an unexcusable bad impact on the environment, saying that it is unethical and that the meat we eat is potentially killing our environment and us as well. McKibben states that “we should simply stop eating factory-farmed meat, and the effects on climate change would be one of the many benefits.” (page 201). McKibben addresses that the techno fixes brought in industrial farming are simply not enough to help our environment.

What makes a perfect Utopain society crumble into a dystopian society? This story highlights the plight of a group of animals and their endeavor to great such a place. It begins on a farm called Manor Farm and a pig with a dream, known as Old Major. He has a need to tell the animals to hear about a dream he had, where there is a world where all animals live free from the shackles of Man. He blames man for all of the animals problems and urges the animals to stage a rebellion and strive for a utopian society, free of Man. He puts in place Rules( 7 Commandements) the animals must follow, so that they are never mistaken for Man and most importantly he stresses that one rule was the most important, “that all animals are equal”. Unknown

The opposition claims that, “when you buy local, you give those with local open space--farms and pastures--an economic reason to stay open and undeveloped” (Source A). This is true, yet only on a small scale. Source E points out, “the number of small farms has increased 20% in the past six years”, however compared numerous number of people that these farms would have to sustain, this number is still insufficient. For example, there are about 317,419 peopling living within the city of St. Louis, Missouri and nearly 1,001,876 in St. Louis County. If even half of this amount were to convert to a local diet, the local farmers would be unable to sustain them. This would lead to the overworking of the land and overcrowding of plants, which would devastate the soil. Furthermore, it would take a long amount of time to mend this damage and return the soil to its previous

Peterson, E. Wesley F. A billion dollars a day: The economics and politics of agricultural subsidies. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.

In recent history, farming in America has changed dramatically, and Naylor’s farm is representative of many in the American Corn Belt. Though it began growing a variety of crops and keeping livestock too, Naylor now only plants corn and soybeans. In Naylor’s grandfather’s days, the farm fed the whole family with just enough left over for twelve others. Now, Naylor indirectly feeds an estimated 129 people, but this does not mean his farm is any more successful. In fact, Naylor’s farm cannot financially support his family.

"If we'd kept our land in wheat, the fixed costs for equipment [and] fertilizer would have played havoc with our budget," North Dakota farmer Lyle Sjostrom told The New York Times in late August (the Times' Elizabeth Becker has done tremendous work on the topic). He dedicated 40 percent of his 4,000 acres to the federal government's conservation program, a move he credits with allowing his son, a full-time seed peddler, to become a farmer in his spare time. (When women on welfare work a job on the side to supplement their government checks it's considered welfare fraud, but when farmers take outside jobs, such as selling seeds or legislating farm policy, it's considered noble.)

Anupama Joshi is the co-director of the National Farm to School Network, and is based at the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College. She has invested in building and strengthening the Farm to School movement in the U.S., drawing from several years of food systems work in various countries. She has authored several publications and articles and speaks regularly at national and regional conferences. Food Justice is her first book.

As a consumer, I have been searching for ways to acquire what I need in the most ethical and ecological way possible. For example, though I like to eat bananas, I am aware of the great social and environmental injustices of banana plantations. I know that by eating at many fast food chains, I am supporting cattle ranchers in South America who deforest land that has little top soil, and graze it until all nutrients in the soil have been depleted, making the land barren in a number of years. One solution to these concerns is a recent development in agricultural strategy, known as community supported agriculture, or CSAs.

To really begin to understand this complex topic a person really needs to understand the basics of agricultural subsidizing. A subsidy is defined as a grant by a government to a private person or company to assist an enterprise deemed advantageous to the public (Mish, 2003). More specifically, in the agricultural industry the government provides financial assistance to producers in the farm industry in order to prevent decline in production. The government does this by providing financial assistance to farmers and by managing the cost and supply of certain commodities. There a few reasons for this. One reason is to provide assistance to family sized farm owners who have trouble competing with commercial farms. This is supposed to maintain an efficient market balance. Another reason is to control the prices of commodities and keep the global food prices low. There are two main ways that payments are made. The payments may be made directly based on historical cropping patterns on a fixed number of acres. Or they can also be made depending on current market prices. Farmer’s may be guaranteed...

Envision a farm with an abundance of animals and crops. The farm that most likely comes to mind is not one of giant machinery and smokestacks of pollution, but a vision of the old red barn and cows grazing freely. Sadly, these types of farms are mostly gone in the United States. These ‘family farms’ are being replaced every day by bigger, more industrialized farms. It is sad to see such a staple of the American culture being washed away by a type of farm that is being used purely for economic reasons. Family farming is slowly disappearing from the American landscape. We, as Americans, need to realize the importance of family farming because it produces high quality foods and helps economically for the local community.