Environmental and Health Impacts: Biodynamic Farming Impacting the Health of People and the Environment
Section 1
https://www.amazon.com/Farmacology-Total-Health-Ground-Up/dp/0062103148
I chose to read Jubilee: What a Biodynamic Farmer Taught me about Rejuvenation for my article because the name and subject caught my eye. As a Sustainable Product Design & Innovation major sustainability is really intriguing to me and it is starting to become somewhat a passion. I really resonated with the author. I myself would love the opportunity to intern at a biodynamic farm.
In the article the author describes her found understanding of biodynamic farming as a farm that is self sustaining. It is like its own co-existing ecosystem that gives and takes through the circle of life, food, waste, and caring for the land. I really love that there are people out there that have a passion for growing food that is truly good for you, the land you are using, and the creatures surrounding and occupying the land.
The land that the farmer had to work with was in very poor condition to begin with. The land was littered with such things as old tiers and concrete blocks. The farmer was determined to figure out how to make the land usable and tried a method called “test and replace”. He purchased tons of mineral and vitamins to dump onto the soil. He tested it and dumped more on it and tested again. He tried this over and over without the outcome he was truly looking for. The farmer wanted healthy, natural, nutrient rich soil. So he went back to the books and found biodynamic farming. You make your farm into its own self-sustaining ecosystem. He finally got the good “tilth” that he was looking for. In the reading the author made this soil sound like something out of a fairytale compared to the soil that is used to grow our everyday produce from big factory farms.
The author then connected these lessons that she had learned at the Jubilee Farm to a patient that she has named Allie. Allie was a very sick woman. Crippled with fatigue, allergies, depression, and several gastrointestinal problems. She was so sick that she couldn’t even work. She had been to several doctors with nothing to come out of it other than being prescribed a pharmacy worth of pills to take daily and an overwhelming pile of inconclusive lab results and medical bills. No one could figure out why she wasn’t getting better.
After the authors visit to the farm she asked Allie to come back and talk what she had learned. She told Allie to start eating from local farms and even participate in farming locally. So she gave it a try and it helped her tremendously. Her mood and test results improved dramatically. There is something magical about eating farm fresh, nutrient rich foods; and also being part of helping grow them. It helps to give one a sense of purpose and community.
There is a huge difference between the farm in the reading and the farms thaw we get most of our foods from. A few of the detrimental impacts that modern agriculture had on our environment would be: conversion of land, loss of indigenous animal habitats, overconsumption of water resources, and soil erosion/ degradation. At the Jubilee Farm the farmer worked really hard to make sure that he is farming in a sustainable way that has a harmless impact on the environment.
I chose to read Jubilee: What a Biodynamic Farmer Taught me about Rejuvenation for my article because the name and subject caught my eye. As a Sustainable Product Design & Innovation major sustainability is really intriguing to me and it is starting to become somewhat a passion. I really resonated with the author. I myself would love the opportunity to intern at a biodynamic farm. The part that I found most interesting was that his farm is like a small ecosystem that sustains itself.
Here is a link to a little more information about Jubilee Farm: https://www.biodynamics.com/nabdap-jubilee-biodynamic-farm
Section 2
Click the video to view the content associated with this section.
Having watched the TedTalk Charles Moore: Seas of Plastic (link to original TedTalk). I am appalled at what humans have done to this planet. It is shocking that we have let this kind of pollution happen and go on for so long. I was surprised to learn that the plastic that we "recycle" doesn't even actually get recycled. It makes me sad that the speaker doesn't think that there is any help for the oceans other than stopping the plastic at the source. It doesn't appear to me that this will happen any time soon, especially because this TedTalk is from 2009 and It has been nine years and nothing has changed. If anything I think maybe it has gotten worse. I don't think that the use of throw away plastics is going to stop anytime soon. Plastic is a convenience that we have all become accustomed too and people don't like change unless it can be marketed to them in a way that will make them want to make a change. For example when throw away plastics came onto the market they branded them as easier on wives because they wouldn't have to do as many dishes.
Connecting this to the reading the Jubilee Farm seems to do everything they can to recycle their waste back into the earth and not make waste that can't go back into their little ecosystem. Most of the workers on the farm eat the food from the farm. There is no need for plastic packaging if you just eat it fresh from the farm. I would assume that the farm probably does produce plastic waste but probably not as much per person as there would be of all of the farm workers brought their produce from a grocery store.
Plastics in terms of modern agriculture I think is best viewed if you go to any grocery store. There is plastic packaging everywhere when you do to the grocery store. No matter what the produce is there is most likely an option to buy it packaged or wrapped in plastic. Some examples would be cucumber (wrapped in plastic), bell peppers (on a piece of foam with plastic wrapped around it, or in a bag of plastic or a sleeve), berries (plastic snap container), clementines (plastic mesh bag or wood box with plastic mesh over it). A lot of these foods are prepackaged so it is "easier" for you to just grab what you need and go. But it is not easier on the environment. Now compare this to when you go to a farm stand and they have cardboard, wooden boxes, or reusable bags to put the produce in.
This is an image of the Deule River in the Northern France polluted with plastic waste, particularly plastic bottles.
Section 3
Click the video to view the content associated with this section.
I chose to compare the article I read about Jubilee Farm to a TED talk called Birke Beahr: What’s wrong with our food system (link to original TedTalk). Birke is an 11 year old boy who knows more about our food system than most of the people that I know. Which to me is actually kind of sad. We are all kept in the dark by these big box companies so that they can make a buck or two off of us. Birke spoke about how these days most of what we eat is processed and genetically engineered. And we don’t even really realize it. It is not good for us and it is not good for our environment. The incredibly over processed and over engineered foods that we consume are killing us. Birke even said that genetically engineered foods are proven to cause several health problems and even cancer (and we all probably know or knew more than one person who has/ had cancer). And that is just scratching the surface of how it affects us and our environment as a whole. He continued to describe how most farms these days spray their food with a ton of different chemicals that runs off and pollutes our water supply. And also the animals that we eat are kept in horrible condition and aren't fed what they really should be eating. It all adds up to an unhealthy planet and unhealthy people.
Both of these sources agree that sustainable/ biodynamic farming is the direction we need to move in for our own well-being and for our environment. Birke had a really good quote in his TED talk that really resonated with me, “We can pay the farmers or we can pay the hospital”. I know that a lot of people are under the misconception that eating farm fresh vegetables is more expensive. And I know it may seem that way but would you rather pay a little more for food that is going to make you healthier, happier, and live longer; Or would you rather pay the medical bills when you are sick and can’t work like Allie who had a mountain of medical bills and didn’t even make progress on what was causing her condition.
Section 4
Personally I don’t think that Keene State has the healthiest options when it comes to clean eating. And I know that I have no idea where their food comes from except the Prime Roast Coffee. I only know that that is roasted in town but coffee beans can only be grown in the “Bean Belt” so they are definitely imported like everything else. Personally I rarely eat on campus because every time I do I end up feeling sick. I feel like that is not a good sign. I appreciate that now the DC composts but I still do not know where the compost is going. And also how good could it be to use when the food itself is not very good for you.
I have some friends that eat on campus most of the time and most of them have a weight problem. It is hard to go into the DC and only eat what would be good for you and also only eat a modest portion size. I know that we overuse the food resources that are around us at Keene State. I also have yet to see anything that comes from a local farm (like the family owned one in Winchester, NH) or even things sourced by the Monadnock Food Co.Op.
I would love to see Keene State host the local Farmer’s Market sometime or have the Co.Op. come in and encourage students to shop there for healthier, local food options. Or even start a gardening club and have the students grow their own produce. That to me would be an amazing and fun step in the right direction for a healthier community.
I also notice a lot of plastic waste on the Keene State Campus. Even in our class there is always someone there with some kind of "throw away" container. For example: chip bags, water bottles, other canned or bottled drinks, paper waste like food containers or coffee cups, the plastic lids on the coffee cups, and plastic food containers from lloyds. I would really like to see more of a movement on campus to bring our own containers or even a "tax on a reusable container and then we get our money back for it when we return it. I went to Germany last year and got a hot chocolate at this local ice rink and they charged me two euros extra because they game it to me in a mug. This way if the mug gets stolen they don't lose money but it also is an incentive to return the mug and get your money back. It is the same way with shopping carts over there. I think it is actually a very intuitive way to reduce waste a atleast a little bit at a time.
This is a picture that I took outside of the science center at Keene State College. If you look closely there are several plastic bags, a pop tart wrapper, and a plastic bottle visible. And that is just on the top. We have been learning in class how bad these "throwaway" plastics are for the global environment but we still use them constantly every day.
This is another picture that I took that is just outside of the science center. There are a few plastic bags visible in the back, a polystyrene foam food container, and a plastic cup. Again that is just what is on top.
Photos
This photo is of the potatoes that I helped him plant last year.
This photo is of his tomato plants. I helped him instal the poles and strings that they grow up.
These last two pictures give a more full view of his garden.
This is a nice post, and your recommendations sound like a great place to start! Do you know that there is a permaculture group on campus? They are doing a fair amount of work particularly in the courtyard of the Science Center, slowly converting it to a permaculture garden. The vision is that the permaculture can expand out from there to other parts of campus, too. They get together to work every Friday at 11am in the Courtyard.
ReplyDelete