ARCHIVE - Visualizing Ecology - Week 7: Omnivore&#039;s Dilemma, pp. 185-411 http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/taxonomy/term/23/0 en ARCHIVE - Ari Sigglin http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/ari-sigglin-4 <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">“Grass farming done well depends almost entirely on a wealth of nuanced local knowledge at a time when most of the rest of agriculture has come to rely precisely the opposite: on the off-farm brain, and the one-size-fits-all universal intelligence represented by agro-chemicals and machines.”</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in"><br /> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">- 191</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in"><br /> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Once again, industrial agriculture remains the important role as the obstruction which prevents us from achieving a healthy and balanced ecosystem. Not only ecosystem, but in some circumstances, a healthy agriculture because of its widespread appeal due to cheapness and abundance. In developing nations, it is understood that healthy agricultural practices are being encouraged by non-profit organizations, but what if the cheapness and abundance of an industrial product allures other developing countries into the trap? It may seem plausible that it is the best way to fight their nation&#39;s hunger, but how do we [the U.S.] try to export our ideas when they&#39;re a mix of “good” and “bad”? Other countries may find priority in feeding a population, which from their perspective, may be considered “good,” and in regards to an agriculture that is sustainable, they may find themselves indifferent. Is the American government stepping up to the plate in becoming a role model that offers the most environmentally-safe image for other nations to adopt? While organic foods are becoming popularized, this sort of widespread trend is encouraging industrial organics, which consume their own hefty amount of fossil fuels in the transportation and what not involved with distribution. Another thing to consider is the nation&#39;s political impression on other countries. It is well known that because of the current administration, we are not thought too highly of, and how many other countries would allow our exporting of agricultural practices to their own lands? How do we address issues elsewhere in the world when we seem to struggle with getting the message across to our own nation? Do we start at home, while the rest of the world seems to do themselves in just as we did? Or are all eyes on us, and we are naturally the automatic example that other nations must follow?</p><p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/ari-sigglin-4">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/ari-sigglin-4#comment Week 7: Omnivore's Dilemma, pp. 185-411 Wed, 28 Feb 2007 03:39:56 -0800 sigari25 482 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - Andrew Desmarais http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/andrew-desmarais-2 <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">“As I write, a team of sharpshooters in the employ of the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy is at work killing thousands of feral pigs on Santa Cruz Island… the slaughter is part of an ambitious plan to restore the island’s habitat and save the island fox, an endangered species found only on the islands off the coast of Southern California.”</font></p><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>                                                            </span>-Michael Pollan <em>The Omnivore’s Dilemma (p.324)</em></font></font><em><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></em><em><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></em><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"><span>            </span>I found this section of the book to be very interesting, especially the idea, that the decisions we make in terms of which animals to raise and things of that sort can have such a huge impact on the environment.</font></font><p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/andrew-desmarais-2">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/andrew-desmarais-2#comment Week 7: Omnivore's Dilemma, pp. 185-411 Mon, 19 Feb 2007 09:42:41 -0800 desand19 411 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - Mitch Gines http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/mitch-gines-5 <p>(Humans changed biologically, too, evolving such new traits as the ability to digest lactose as adults.)- Pollan, (p 320)<br /></p><p> Wait a minute, milk has lactose, right? So, doesn&#39;t that mean that humanity also had to evolve to be able to handle some of the things that domesticated animals provided us? Well, that explains why some of us are allergic to cow&#39;s milk. I find that interesting. Now I wonder what other adjustments humans had to go through to accommodate the domesticated animals, just as they had done so for us. </p><p> In other news, the second half of &quot;Omnivore&#39;s Dilemma&quot; is very interesting compared to the &quot;Conspiracy of Corn&quot;. This is actually about the evolution of the human omnivore, and the things we still face today that&#39;s left over due to our primal roots. Micheal Pollan decides to go on a journey of sorts through the old ways of the omnivore to present to his family. He is reluctant on this journey, but I can tell he&#39;s learned a lot in the experience. The most shocking of these discoveries is when he learns of his alter ego as the hunter.</p><p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/mitch-gines-5">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/mitch-gines-5#comment Week 7: Omnivore's Dilemma, pp. 185-411 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 21:37:01 -0800 ginmel01 397 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - Cody Cohan http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-4 &quot;In an ecological system like this everything&#39;s connected to everything else, so you can&#39;t just change one thing without changing ten other things&quot; (Page 213)<br /><br /> <p class="MsoNormal"><span>            </span>When Joel is describing the relationship between industrial and biological agriculture, this is the quote he used. I couldn’t help but be reminded of another ecologist we studied earlier in the quarter who talked in great detail about the importance of a balanced ecosystem. The biological ecosystem is one the nature has naturally evolved itself into that is quite balanced and beneficial for every species living there. An industrial view of agriculture is the polar opposite of what I just described. To domesticate any species to provide for our comfortable lifestyle is just full of problems. How can an act so full of selfishness and neglect reap any benefits? I am not saying that all ecosystems should never change because change is what keeps our earth spinning. Without variation and natural selection, who knows when any virus or shortage of resource would send an entire population to extinction? The reason why I am making such a show of pointing out the differences between the two is simply that I find one to be unacceptable. Why does humanity feel that we can change the world to suit our needs whenever the thought arises? Our earth already bears many scars from the countless years of torture that we have unwittingly unleashed upon her. It is time to stop making excuses and start making solutions. Perhaps this is nothing more then a hyped up movement but I feel we are running out of options, resources, and time. What do we really have to lose from eating a more balanced diet or encouraging compassion for every organism? I just don’t see a reason not to try. I suppose that no one can truly every be right or wrong when it comes to morals or ethics but that surely doesn’t stop us from making excuse for our actions. </p><p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-4">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/cody-cohan-4#comment Week 7: Omnivore's Dilemma, pp. 185-411 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 19:12:01 -0800 cohcod02 389 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter ARCHIVE - shaun libman http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/shaun-libman-3 <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">“So there are a great my reasons American cattle came off the grass and into the feedlot, and yet all of them finally come down to the same one: Our civilization and, increasingly, our food system are strictly organized on industrial lines. They prize consistency, mechanization, predictability, interchangeability, and economies of scale. Everything about corn meshes smoothly with gears of this great machine; grass doesn’t.” </font></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; tab-stops: list .75in" class="MsoNormal"><font face="Times New Roman"><span><font size="3">-</font><span style="font: 7pt &#39;Times New Roman&#39;">          </span></span><font size="3">Michael Pollan </font></font></p><p><a href="http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/shaun-libman-3">read more</a></p> http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/shaun-libman-3#comment Week 7: Omnivore's Dilemma, pp. 185-411 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 16:43:21 -0800 libsha19 384 at http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter