M6.4: Industrial Farming
The Vanishing of the Bees and Dirt!: The Movie
Before watching "The Vanishing of the Bees", I had only heard about this issue. I never thought to look deeper into it, but after watching this film, I see that it is an extreme issue that is directly related to our actions. "Dirt!: The Movie" further reveals that as a species, we are causing extensive harm to the planet and the environment. One thing that stood out to me was the use of pesticides. Pesticides harm our bees, and other pollinators, but they also harm the earth. As we continue to use these harmful chemicals, we kill our pollinators, destroy our soil, and ruin our environment. Big agriculture seeks to create monoculture and sustain human demand, but in reality, none of this is sustainable at all. From the dirt, to the bees, to the water, to us, we need to think of ways to preserve the environment and work with it to improve for the future.
Factory Farms
According to the map, there are no factory farms near San Francisco county. That's good news. Coming from Southern California, I did another search. Los Angeles had a high level, but only dairy (from 2012). San Bernardino county had an extreme level, with only dairy and layers. Factory farms are clearly not great, but I also think that not having access to organic food and local farms limits an individual's eating choices.
Composting
I do not currently compost. My friends and family do not compost, but I do volunteer for a camp on Catalina Island each summer and we would teach our campers to compost. I was told that most of Catalina Island does composting, which is great. Since moving to SF, I find that composting is made more available to me - I have seen a composting bin in my apartment complex, which I (hopefully) will use.
Before watching "The Vanishing of the Bees", I had only heard about this issue. I never thought to look deeper into it, but after watching this film, I see that it is an extreme issue that is directly related to our actions. "Dirt!: The Movie" further reveals that as a species, we are causing extensive harm to the planet and the environment. One thing that stood out to me was the use of pesticides. Pesticides harm our bees, and other pollinators, but they also harm the earth. As we continue to use these harmful chemicals, we kill our pollinators, destroy our soil, and ruin our environment. Big agriculture seeks to create monoculture and sustain human demand, but in reality, none of this is sustainable at all. From the dirt, to the bees, to the water, to us, we need to think of ways to preserve the environment and work with it to improve for the future.
Factory Farms
According to the map, there are no factory farms near San Francisco county. That's good news. Coming from Southern California, I did another search. Los Angeles had a high level, but only dairy (from 2012). San Bernardino county had an extreme level, with only dairy and layers. Factory farms are clearly not great, but I also think that not having access to organic food and local farms limits an individual's eating choices.
Composting
I do not currently compost. My friends and family do not compost, but I do volunteer for a camp on Catalina Island each summer and we would teach our campers to compost. I was told that most of Catalina Island does composting, which is great. Since moving to SF, I find that composting is made more available to me - I have seen a composting bin in my apartment complex, which I (hopefully) will use.
Hey Loren,
ReplyDeleteThat's great your apartment has composting bins. I wish my apartment had that. Would make me more likely to do it. It's nice to see that you looked at the farms for where you lived now and where you lived before. I never knew SoCal had a high level of dairy farms.