There are
three major elements of sustainable farming
1. Environment protection
2. Social responsibility
3. Economic viability
Once you
know the three elements, you can understand how ecological principles are woven
into sustainable farming's framework. For example, to protect the environment,
you have to protect the natural resource base on which agriculture depends. You
also need to protect water pollution, and energy conservation.
Social responsibility, at its basic level, is protecting the farmer’s
health and safety. I would go as far as including workers pay. Within
social responsibility, there needs to be care for society as a whole, not
just workers on the farm. By this I mean taking into consideration the
pesticides or other chemicals being used that could harm any human.
Economic viability is the third factor that basically means the farm is
meeting the needs of the consumer who is willing to buy their crops. Without
sales, any type of farming would deplete. It should be noted that there are
many more costly aspects to sustainable farming then industrial. More
restrictions on crop production methods, traceability, inspections,
certification and separate storage and distribution effect the consumer. This
is why industrial farming does so well, more people are willing to shop at Wal-Mart
to get their produce (EWW!!).*
Buying
Organic? Is it worth it?
Even
before taking this course, I was skeptic towards over-priced organic foods.
Because I am a poor college student feeding just myself, I don't buy organic
fruits or vegetables (a pesticide is a pesticide and organic/non-organic
foods both contain them). When I prepare meat (which is infrequent) I will
splurge making sure it's free-range/organic or that it comes from a local farm.
Who knows if free range/organic is better. My decision came after watching
a documentary on the meat market (most of my theories, ideas, and thoughts for
these blogs come from documentaries...good or bad.)
Because
my survival is dependent on the supermarket, I feel very disconnected from the
food system. More now then as a child. I know I've mentioned being from
Michigan before, but it bares repeating here because my northern roots have
really made me who I am. My mom has always had a garden in our backyard,
this is where we got most of our veggies and herbs for meals. If we had to buy
anything (including meat) we would go to the local farmer's market to pick up
the remaining ingredients. There we had a connection with the farmers. We knew
them by name, knew where their farm was and how they grew their crops or
handled their animals. Now being in SWFL, I have felt deprived of
the land. The connection I once had and loved had been torn apart until, I
heard about the food forest on campus. This space on campus (even just knowing
it existed) brought comfort to me. I love that there is a group of people who
find the importance of growing your own food.
Until next time,
Annie
*Resources
Agronomica
Research and Consultancy, http://www.agronomica.org/SF.htm
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