This documentary is about farmers and how the American food supply chain is changing. The movie starts with interviews of farmers giving their opinion on consumerism and the how farming has changed over the years. They believe that the nutrition’s being fed to the chickens now is greater than what was being fed before and that is why they are growing bigger and faster now. However, the farmers are not sure of what are in the mix of the food other than that some antibiotics for the health of the chickens. Michael Pollan suggests how industrial food system is unsustainable because of monocultures, which means a lot of the same species are grown together and that’s only possible by using antibiotics to keep them alive.
One Thing At a Time There are many changes of the world and farming is one of the big ones. Farming is not anything like it use to be, it’s all about industrial agriculture. In Solvent Green, there is evidence that maybe just someday the world might run out of meat. In The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals Pollan does a great job of giving an explanation on how farmers don’t farm the old fashion way nowadays. In Solvent Green, it shows that if industrial agriculture continues on then people may resort to eating it inhabitants.
While traditional farming choose to grow organic produce and struggle to keep their businesses alive. In Jeffrey M. Smith book, Genetic Roulette the intro talks about the experements they had with animals and the GMO foods. Many of the animals organs were becoming defecting or mutated over time. After looking at the results, animals that consume the modifications continusly it can lead to serious health risks. In addition the animal’s lifespan was shortened and their offspring a lower chance of survival.
The factories are very dangerous places to work and most workers, hired specifically by the companies are undocumented citizens. These people feel that because they don’t have the proper papers for work, they don’t have proper rights, so they complain less about unsatisfactory working conditions. By supporting these huge companies we are not only harming the animals rights but we are allowing these companies to treat their employees with the same lack of respect as they have for the animals. I would now like to go on and explore an alternative meat processing industry, the organic one. People nowadays know that eating organic is usually better, not only does it taste better, but it is more beneficial for the environment, our health, and ethically.
You still got all the nutrients and vitamins from foods that are not local. Plus they still taste good. If our community were to start a locavore movement it would affect everyone because we would have to make more space for crops and farmers. Also farmers from around the world would also have fewer costumers. As Source C shows, it actually takes just as much fuel—and thus, just as much pollution—to ship a small load from a local farm as to ship a large load from a farther location.
With so many trees being cut down for the growing population, many different types of species that live in the forests are being killed or forced to move from their homes. The majority of these problems with population growth can be either prevented or lessened with minor changes. The problem with homes and buildings being built for the increase in human population and for the expanding of new businesses can be fixed by sustainable development or building vertically. By constructing taller buildings, rather than wider buildings, fewer trees need to be cut
There are solutions to better “well-being” of animals such as finding an alternative system to intensive animal farming; genetic changes the behavioral or physiological nature of the animal and therapeutic help such as tail docking or beak trimming. In this scholarly research about animal well-being in intensive production systems, Swanson (1995) argues that even with better animal management, handling and care, public acceptance will be uncertain. With the help of mechanization and new technologies, farmers have increased their production efficiency to meet the demand. He states that intensive animal farming is the process of raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density, in which the farm can be compared to a factory. Swanson notes that intensive animal farming first started with the poultry industry and now, hog farming is following the trend.
This act towards animals, have two sides. Many believe it to be inhumane and many believe it to be humane. The facts are endless and the arguments are ongoing, is factory farming cruel to animals or is our government allowing factory farming just to make a profit? The term factory farming is used in various government agencies. It is also known as industrial agriculture as well and factory farming (intensive livestock production).
Genetically modified organisms are the forefront of scientifically modified crops in the food industry today. Genetically modified means organisms that has had it genetic makeup altered using genetic engineering. This type of genetic engineering has mixed response with the food industry and people who are involved in sustainable development, meaning there are people who think that it is the forefront for the next generation and there are also people who think that it is the worst thing to do for our generation. In today’s society there is many different views on the matter especially when it involves the big chain supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose, Marks and Spencer’s etc. Big supermarkets like Tesco, Waitrose has expressed that GM crops are banned in their supermarkets due to their customers wanting the purest products available on the market therefore their customers will not buy their products if they sell GM products.
Genetically Modified Foods Genetically modified (Gm) foods are integrated into products that we are not even aware of such as vegetables, fruits, grains, est. GM is a new way for creating foods, therefore scientists do not know ALL of the health and safety risks from eating genetically intergraded foods. The process of producing GM foods is difficult and the failure rate is high. This is why we (my partner and I) feel GM foods should be banned until scientist’s know ALL the affects Gm foods has on humans and the environment. Genetically modified foods use the latest molecular biology techniques and are commonly used for growing crops for human or animal consumption.