Visualizing Ecology

The Fatal Harvest Reader Edited by Andrew Kimbrell

Chapters to read for seminar, week 8.

The Whole Horse by Wendell Berry pp. 39-48

Agricultural Landscapes in Harmony with Nature by Joan Iverson Nassauer pp. 49-57

Farming in Nature’s Image by Wes Jackson pp. 65-75

Industrial Agriculture’s War Against Nature by Ron Kroese pp. 92-105

Our Forgotten Pollinators by Mrill Ingram, Stephen Buchmann and Gary Nabhan pp. 191-198

Can Agriculture and Biodiversity Coexist? by Catherine Badgley pp. 199-207

Farming with the Wild by Daniel Imhoff pp. 308-316

Hope by Wendell Berry pp. 317-321

Writing Assignment for seminar week 8. Commentary posted by 5 PM Sunday Nov. 12, replies posted by 5 PM on Monday, Nov. 13.

The field trips to Helsing Junction Farm and Oyster Bay Farm, together with the selected readings from The Fatal Harvest Reader, have introduced students to environmental problems associated with modern agricultural practices. The general goal in writing your short essay (3 pages, double-spaced) is to relate an environmental problem to human induced causes and potential solutions. Specifically, begin by describing an environmental problem and its ecosystem impacts that can result from agricultural management practices. Then, using examples from the field trips or Fatal Harvest Reader, label and describe farming practices(s) that can cause the problem, followed by alternative farming practice(s) that could be used to solve the problem. Make sure that you cite specific people and dates for oral communication, or the author(s), chapter, and page number for written evidence used in your essay.