M6.4 Industrial Farming

Bees

I thought the bee documentary was quite fascinating, but also quite somber. I was I was surprised to learn that honey bee health is a reflection of environmental health.

Throughout most of the documentary I was very intrigued by the fact that the bees vanished for no apparent reason. While bees are susceptible to many viruses, this wasn’t the root cause of the vanishing bees.

The Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) affects the livelihood of honey bee keepers, but also greatly impacts our food production when pollination rates are compromised.

In the end

I found it interesting that one of the honey bee keepers said that the EPA doesn’t actually protect anything. The statement was made in reference to the fact that research from the EPA comes from sellers of the chemicals/pesticides.

Monocultures in agriculture killing bees. Overall I enjoyed the documentary and again see how the dangers of monocultures and pesticides are evident across many organisms.  

Dirt!

I did not realize how precious dirt could be until I watched this documentary. We think of dirt as somethings that is almost in the way in American and First World culture. The truth is that it is the basis of all living things. It is concerning to think about how much land is being destroyed by man in exchange for profitable business. In reality, we are losing an essential mineral we will not be able to replace.

Factory Farms

I live in Kern County, and like most of the counties in Central California, there are an “extreme” amount of Factory Farms. I was not aware of this. I am saddened to discover that my home, and much of California, allows Factory Farm practices. I discovered that most of the farms are cattle and dairy farms. I will definitely do more research on these products before purchasing them at the grocery store.

Compost

I do not currently compost and do not know anyone who does. I would consider composting after learning about it. Although it doesn’t seem like much work, I think most people would hesitate due to the amount of time it would take to maintain.