Reading #10 - Reflection on Vandana Shiva

I found reading about biodiversity from Shiva’s perspective quite interesting. I agree with many of her arguments. Before I read this excerpt from her I knew a little bit about the world hunger issues in India however after watching her speak and hearing what she had to say, I found that what I knew was only half of the issue. I have heard of companies exploiting natural resources such as water for profit however I was unaware of how corrupt the agricultural and seed market is. The only point I slightly disagree with Shiva is when it comes to genetically engineered seeds. I believe genetically engineered seeds can prove to be very useful if created for the right reason. Currently companies are just looking to turn a profit which is the reason I believe they are producing seeds which are not striving in harsh environments. If their intentions were to actually help the people then they could produce a seed that required less water and little to no pesticides. However because they also sell the pesticides it is in their best interest not to produce such seeds as it would lower their profits. If this cycle continues then I agree with Shiva that natural organic seeds should be used as they are of much less cost to the farmers and actually survive better in certain climates. Overall I agree with Shiva. There is a problem in the agricultural industry when those who produced the food have to buy it back from the companies they were forced to sell it to at much higher price.  

Reading #9 - Tale of Two Farms - Personal Reflection

A Tale of Two Farms was an interesting read and I enjoyed the perspective that Jared Diamond gave.  When learning about the two farms I was surprised to find out that Gardar farm was currently uninhabited and has been so for 500 years,  and that the society surrounding the farm has all but ceased to exist.  This made me think about why the most technologically advanced farm of its time failed. It also made me wonder if the Huls farm was destined for such failure in the future. Beyond the farms themselves I began to think about society in general  and how advanced civilizations have failed in the past.  Past civilizations have failed usually as a result of war in which they were outnumbered or in which their strategy was poor.  It has only been recently (the past 300 years) that technology could turn the tide on a war.  In this sense technology has become a center  point in society.  However, coming back to the example of the two farms it can been seen that technological advances are not enough to save a society (or in this case farm) from collapse.

                This lead me to question the future of America. Jared Diamond did state he was not implying that the Huls farm would fail or that American society would fail as a result of technological advances.  To this point I agree. It is not Technology that will be the undoing of advanced societies but rather their dependence on unsustainable technologies which have ever increasing cost as the natural resources are being depleted. It would be unreasonable to deter from technology entirely but rather it would be more practical to make our technology sustainable and this I believe will save our society from collapse in the future.

FIELD TRIP: AGRICULTURAL ENVIRONMENT-ECHO (May 28, 2011)

ECHO is an amazing place to visit and I am proud that this organization is located in Fort Myers.  ECHO’s mission is to provide agricultural practices that will help people feed themselves and possibly provide them an extra source of income through the production of surplus crops.  ECHO is a non-denominational Christian organization which is dedicated to fighting world hunger. The founder of ECHO realizes that people need more than just a one time hand-out.    After working with the Haitian people for many years he realized that giving a man a fish helps feed him for a day but teaching him how to fish will provide food for a lifetime.  People need knowledge and training to become sustainable farmers and they need to work with the resources that are readily available to them in their countries. 

            The demonstration of farm models and sustainable agricultural approaches help people grow their crops in various climates.  ECHO models farming in dry climates, rain-forest climates, mountainous terrain, and even models how to plant an urban garden where soil is scarce.  Because resources are scare in many communities, ECHO models how living fences can be used in gardens as well as the planting of bamboo to provide building materials for fences, homes, and furniture. People around the world face many agricultural challenges.  Poor farmers are being pushed off of good land with rich soil to the Rocky Mountains to farm.  Soil erosion is a problem and it is difficult to grow many crops.  ECHO is researching ways to use layers of plants and tires to stop soil erosion and show missionaries, who will go to these areas to teach the local farmers, how to stop erosion and what crops to plant in their mountainous soil.

            The lack of water is also an agricultural challenge for the farmers of the world.  ECHO models how to makes wells with common items found in these countries such as bicycle wheels.  The techniques they have developed do not require electricity.  Rather than use precious water to flood rice paddies, new techniques using much less water are being studied at ECHO.  This technique is yielding 30% more rice crop than the traditional method of flooding fields.    Bad water kills many people each year around the world and the introduction of the plant chaya into a local community can help purify the water the people drink.

            Getting the proper nutrients for good health is also a problem many people face throughout the world.  The miracle tree Moringa, which has proven to grow in various climates, provides many of the nutrients needed to remain healthy.  There are more nutrients in the leaves than are found in other foods such as citrus, carrots, vegetables, and milk.  The introduction of this food source to farmers around the world is a focus of ECHO.  This plant can help provide nutrients while eliminating hunger and missionaries are encouraged to introduce this plant to the rural farmers they work with.

            ECHO also models how ducks, fish, rabbits, and goats can help a community by providing protein to families through animal meat and eggs.  Huts are modeled that house the ducks, goats, and rabbits.  The animal huts are built in such a way as to catch the manure for farming and provide necessary nutrients for fish to flourish.  Goats are an excellent animal for families to raise because they provide meat to eat, manure for crops, muscle to pull small wagons, milk to drink and make cheese, and money when the animals or their by-products are sold to others. It is also comforting to know that if a world disaster should occur and plants around the globe are destroyed, ECHO has a seed storage area located below ground in Colorado.  They have a plan in place to help the world grow agriculture so the remaining people can survive.

            ECHO is providing solutions to hunger without any on-going government financial assistance.  The work done is supported by donations made from individuals and churches.  Occasionally ECHO does receive small grants to conduct research but the grants are “few and of small dollar amounts” stated my tour guide.  It is inspiring to me to see the significant work this small Christian organization is performing to help eliminate world hunger and teach small farmers to be sustainable.

READING #6 - Moving Ecoagriculture into the Mainstream.

Chapter 2 was an interesting chapter about ecoagriculture. I have heard about ecoagriculture before but I never really knew what it entailed.  I found that this chapter helped solidified  what I learn during my visit to ECHO. It also helped me understand some of the practices that ECHO was utilizing in order to make farmers in developing countries more productive.  I also found it refreshing to know that environmentally sustainable practices are being implemented in developing countries not only out of necessity but also because it produced larger yields in crops. It interesting that the more sustainable methods are actually the more productive ones. This poses the question of why did we use the other methods in the first place? Either way the push to be more sustainable is becoming a more prevalent issue each day and if we can adapt ecoagriculture practices not only in our country but around the world, then we will be one step closer to being a sustainable ecosystem.

READING #5 - Charting a New Path to Eliminating Hunger

Chapter 1 of State of The World was an interesting read. Many of us take for granted the availability of food in this country. Most Americans are unaware or have just never thought about the food situation in other countries.  I was surprised at some of the statistics in this chapter.  It is refreshing to see that the number of undernourished people in the world dropped from 1020 million in 2009 to 925 million in 2010. However, there is still much more that can be done. The chapter covered some innovative ways that hunger is being combated in these countries such as urban gardening. Urban gardening seems like a promising method to produce crops for the poor in highly urbanized areas where poor families cannot afford food. Probably the most important contribution we can make to these developing countries is educating them on agricultural practices so they can sustain themselves.  Methods such as urban gardening and educating the poor on agricultural practices are the some of the first steps in combating world hunger, but there is still much that can be done.

Sand Live Oak (Quercus geminata)

Habitat - Scrub, Coastal Hammocks & Dunes, Sandhills
Description - Growth habit may be as a large shrub to a medium sized tree, usually with contorted, twisted trunks. Open canopy, somewhat sparsely branched. Leaves are alternate, thick and leathery with rolled under, entire margins. (information from http://www.floridasnature.com/florida%20trees1.htm)

Pinus elliottii (Slash Pine)

Pinus elliottii, commonly known as the Slash Pine, is a pine native to the southeastern United States, from southern South Carolina west to southeastern Louisiana, and south to the Florida Keys.^[2] It is fast-growing, but not very long-lived by pine standards (to 200 years), and prefers humid climates and moist soil. Slash Pine is named after the "slashes" – swampy ground overgrown with trees and bushes – that constitute its habitat. This tree reaches heights of 18–30 m (59–98 ft) with a trunk diameter of 0.6–0.8 m (2.0–2.6 ft). The leaves are needle-like, very slender, in clusters of two or three, and are 18–24 cm (7.1–9.4 in) long.
(information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_elliottii)