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Animal agriculture effects on environment
Animal agriculture effects on environment
Animal agriculture effects on environment
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Michael Pollan’s alternative to Factory farming has given a huge insight into a better ethics on food. In “The Animals: Practicing Complexity” Michael Pollan writes about a polyface farm and how it works. The goal of a polyface farm is to emotionally, economically, and environmentally enhance agriculture. Everything on a polyface farm has the potential to be helpful to something else on the farm. Pollan states “The chicken feed not only feeds the broilers but, transformed into chicken crap, feeds the grass that feeds the cows that, as I was about to see, feeds the pigs and the laying hens” (Pollan 345).
The three essays assigned this week had several common threads running through them. The strongest core theme is the rapid change in the food cycle in America and the vast changes that have taken place in the way by which we grow, produce, and process the food that average Americans eat. The food we eat now is drastically different from what our grandparents grew up eating and the three essays each examine that in a different way. Another theme is the loss of knowledge by the average consumer about where their food comes from, what it is composed of, and what, if any, danger it might pose to them. “Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear” by Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele is a harsh look at the realities of food production in a country where large corporations, like Monsanto, have been allowed to exploit laws and loopholes to bend farmers and consumers to their
The procedure of how food is made does not come into concern, only the results do. That is how large industrial farms are accepted, because they provide proficiently. The outcome of industrial farms outweighs the negative impacts, at least to industrial farmers. Pollan responds to Berry’s statement by agreeing with him on the issue of the current industrial model being acceptable to some consumers, only due to the fact that
This project was chosen to investigate the decline of the honeybee and the impact on Australian agriculture. The honeybee decline is interconnected with environmental sustainability with key environmental challenges threatening the future of the honeybee and the industry of beekeeping. Some of these factors such as land degradation, limited water availability, loss of plant biodiversity, climate change, pests and pesticides loss of public lands such as National Parks, State forests and reserves, all impact on the sustainability and ecosystems which the honeybee depends and likewise, the ecosystems depend on the honeybee. With the disappearance of land to urbanisation and government restrictions on access to public lands some 70% of Australian
“Industrial agriculture characteristically proceeds by single solutions to single problems: If you want the most money from your land this year, grow the crops for which the market price is highest.” - Wendell Berry Many people question whether or not the morality of treating animals in a humane way outweighs the morality of cheaper food for a nation where 1 in 6 people are facing hunger, and/or starving in any way. Back in the day, a while after World War II, industrial agriculture was applauded as a technological success that permitted an ever growing population to practically feed themselves. Now, many farmers and scientists see it as a blind alley, rather made for factory work.
Grazing and growing feed for livestock now occupy 70% of all agricultural land and 30% of the ice-free terrestrial surface of the planet. If these current events continue, meat production is predicted to double between the turn of the 21st century and 2050. Yet already, the Earth is being overpowered by livestock that consume massive quantities of energy and resources, whose wastes contaminate waterways and farmlands, and when eaten excessively, degrade our health. Pollan makes a considerable point when discussing concentrated animal feedlot operations, “The economic logic of gathering so many animals together to feed them cheap corn in CAFOs is hard to argue with; it has made meat, which used to be a special occasion in most American homes” (pg. 67, An Omnivore's Dilemma).
The article was written in response to the statement farming and food production is leading to climate change. Niman, being a rancher who raises cattle, goats, and turkeys, effectively frames the situation logically by providing credible statistics and examples to help the reader better understand the impacts of different methods of food production. She does this by providing specific information regarding the greenhouse gases involved, being carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides. Niman, the rhetor, has written this article to try and inform the readers about the differences between traditional style and industrial style methods of food production. She has directed the article towards those concerned about the carbon footprint, we as individuals, are leaving
To be a grass farmer means that one raises animals for meat, eggs, wool, etc.; however, the farmer views these animals simply as a single part of the food chain and sees grass as the “keystone species” in the whole process. The farmer Joel, in The Omnivore’s Dilemma” said he would even venture to call himself a sun farmer because grass is simply the way we capture solar energy. Grass is the key component of his farming because grass is the only source of food for the animals. A grass farmer believes in the advantages of grass fed meat and practices the strategy. In this kind of food chain grass is the base; then animals are added; the animals eat the grass; the animals produce (wool, eggs, meat, milk, etc); their wastes (fecal and slaughter) create a compost; which is used on the soil to grow grass that will continuously provide food for the animals and indirectly for humans.
In the movie Food Inc., company representatives were asked to make known the products that Genetically Modified Organisms are present in, and the food companies were not willing to give up that information. Because people are not allowed to know the full extent of what is in their food the consumer does not have full control of what they are eating. Food during the 1900’s did not have things such as Genetically Modified Organisms added into their food so they did not need to be worried about extra things added to their food. The meat packing industry during the 1900’s was better at making known what was in the food they were producing because they did not have the different things added in like industries do
Many companies and people had failed to label foods and drugs properly claiming that they are something they are not. “Before the act, companies could alternate ingredients for a more inexpensive, low quality substitute. This made for a better profit for the producers” (“Results/Impact.”). However, with the Pure Food and Drug Act these “companies could either shut down or label the foods properly” (“Results/Impact.”). Many were against consuming products that were harmful to them which is why “[t]he House vote was 240-17” (Robertson, Derek, et al.), making the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 “one of the most daring demonstrations of bureaucratic autonomy in the history of the United States” (“Pure Food and Drug Act (1906).”).
Michael Pollan exposes this by suggesting three main ideas to the future President of the United States. The first idea that Michael Pollan has, is to make farming as natural as it can be again. Currently, CAFO’s are being used to produce our food, which is very unhealthy. CAFO stands for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, which basically means animals
He explains that the main impediment is the Florida Tomato committee and their regulations over the tomatoes as they should look and how they should have a long shelf life. Within this paper, I will discuss different issues and other examples as to how although there has been a change in the tomato industry, they are still following the Florida tomato committee regulations rather than trying to change the rules. Also, smaller farms can be part of the solution to a more sustainable and ethical way of farming. Like most, we learn that this industry’s primary purpose is profit. As their weight sells tomatoes, they are trying to produce as much as they can force ripe them by gassing them with ethylene gas after only ten or fifteen weeks of planting (28).
Teresa and Kevin Springs, the owners of TKO Farm go to great lengths to educate the new generation on sustainable farming, but there is some resistance. In history, farming was a means of growing all the food one needed, and in one place, but for Black farmers, it means something different. Many young African Americans resist the idea of farming because “the thought of farming leaves a bad taste in their mouth, but we believe farming is the key to independence” (“More than Just a Farm” n.d.). Teresa says. The Springs have found countless benefits with farming, and they want to pass down the knowledge they received from their co-op elders.
This spittoon encompasses ideas that keeps energy and animals in mind while also mimicking the natural symbiotic relationships in nature. These relationships are utilized on Joel Salatins farm, and has shown to yield a much better product that produces little ..… Richard Manning’s article brushes over different aspects of farming and is centralized towards examining the agricultural downfall relating to energy and sustainability. While Manning is not opposed to the food producing industry necessarily, he is completely concerned with the amount of energy this commercialized industry wastes and weighs if the effects are worth it. One major concern that is explained is the concept of energy.
Food security is one of the greatest problems faced the world. There is fact said that food is enough for everyone in the world but because of the great changes which happened rapidly in the world the rate of food become less than before and it is difficult to secure it. Food security is very important to ensure that everyone has enough to eat and families can build their communities without worrying about securing their live. To meet global needs, food production must be doubled in the next years in order to solve many issues such as: starvation, malnutrition and associated health. According to The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain
