Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Exploration 9

The film Fresh opened my eyes to organic farming versus large scale production. It gave lots of information that brings up lots of reasons why organic farming is the only way to keep a sustainable agriculture system in the world. Our current system will only keep us afloat for so long before changes need to take place. The most important themes in the film that I saw included: sustainability, ethical standards, and cheap products versus relatively expensive, better quality products. Our current agriculture system supports our current population, but we have to import lots of products. If something happens to a country that we import products from, we have no control of getting that product or the quality of product that we receive. What is ethical in our country and what is not in reference to animals? Where should the line be drawn to have animal rights? Those are a few questions that this film really brings out for me. Some of the practices used in the large scale agriculture shows some cruel things, but are necessary if these companies want to be able to compete with other companies with a lower production cost. Consumers want the lowest price, and when you get a $1 McChicken nobody cares what that chicken went through. So if people want to complain about how the animals are treated then they have to deal with a higher price at the consumer level, you can't have both. The last theme highlights what is more valuable to the consumer, a product that is cheaper and a lower quality or one that is more expensive, but healthier. In the film they mention that "As we cheapen our products with less expensive ways of production, we are reducing the nutrients that we get from the food, and every step of processing food makes that food less nutritious."

The evidence is most convincing about how our current food system is maximizing its limits, but eventually we will need more food. "Currently 70% of the grain that we produce in this country is used to feed our animals." This shows how inefficiently we use our land today. As Joel Salatin, Russ Kremer, and Will Allen have shown that organic farming is far more efficient than large scale agriculture, and it is a lot friendlier to the animals. By using the grass to feed your animals you can have a rotation of different species that can create kind of a natural ecosystem that benefit from each other. The only doubt that I have in organic farming is that the only way that organic farming could work is with a huge input of small operation farmers. Currently there are only a small number taking up the ideas of organic farming because it goes against traditional ways. We can apply these ideas to our own culture by trying to be more self sufficient. If everyone began to grow a little bit more food by themselves it would go a long way to a better agriculture system.

4 comments:

  1. I think its astonishing how inefficiently we use our land, but in the movie they made it look so simple and easy to create a plan to switch around crops and grazing areas for the animals.

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  2. It really surprised me when they were discussing just how much grain was put to waste by feeding the animals. They could simply live off the land and the grain could be made for the people instead. Rotation is absolutely necessary, I agree.

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  3. I agree with you that its stupid how we complain how the animals are treated but at the same time we get upset with the cost of food rises.

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  4. I agree that people complain about the high costs of food but then turn right around and say its cruel to do this and that to animals. Pick a side. You may have to pay more in order for things to be done the right way and i think that people need to learn that.

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