Notes
livestock and poultry: meat dairy and eggs utilize land
agriculture: growing one crop or many
aquaculture: raising aquatic organisms for food
malnutrition: condition caused by not consuming enough nutrients needed
famine: a food scarcity widespread causing severe malnutrition
why do people go hungry?
crop failure
drought, soil deterioration, disease
populations size > crop yield
overnutrition: food energy intake exceeding energy use
similar effects to those who are underfed
lower life expectancy
greater susceptibility to disease and illness
lower productivity and life quality
how have we farmed in the past?
first agricultural revolution 9000 BC
nomads-settlements
cross pollination first began
grew enough to support family and trade
goals:
stop hunger
increase crop yield
minimize crop losses/failure
methods:
new, high-Yield grain variety of crops
pesticides
fertilizers
better management practices \more technologically advanced machinery
vision:
agriculture as business
plant a large amount of single species
drawbacks:
too expensive
air soil and water pollution
uneven distribution
practices of conventional farming:
maximize output - high efficiency
minimize space
concentrated animal feeding operations
genetically modified crops
heavy equipment
chemicals
sustainable farming:
sustainable output
takes more space
rangeland feeding
incorporate human/animal labor
minimize chem usage
polyculture
benefits
lower fod cost
fast production time
meets increased demand
sustainable: healthier for humans and organisms alike
higher quality foods
conserves energy and water resource
lower biodiversity and environmental impact
risks:
degrade habitat
soil water and air pollution
erosion
energy and water loss
contamination of human foods
pesticide
higher food cost
low yield
decreased availability
more susceptible to environment
The Meatrix I
The Meatrix II 1/2
1. At this factory, how many cows can be processed in single day? 5000
2. What often happens to the workers in the processing factories? Factory worker are often injured
3. Profit is the “name of the game”.
4. As a job, meat-packing is one of the most dangerous in the nation.
5. Due to the speed of the processing, what gets all over the meat? What bacteria does this substance contain? What problems can this cause? Manure, E. Coli, sickness and possibly death.
- What is “The Meatrix”? where most meat and animal products come from
- What is a factory farm? where most eggs meat comes from animals packed close together to maximize space and profit
- What happens to the animals on a factory farm? susceptible to disease, death, no light, fights
- Why are the animals given antibiotics? What is the problem with this? can cause sickness and can harm the animals when just trying to keep them alive
- What is happening to family farms? dissappear
- What has happened in regards to sustainable eating in the past few years? starting to buy healthier products gotten better
- What happens to cows in dairy factories? given hormones, antibiotic overuse, artificial hormone,s mad cow disease, have tails cut off
- What is rBGH? Why is it given to cows? hormones to make them grow bigger and make more milk
- What happens to the calves? separated from mothers fed milk with blood of other cows
- What can be caused by this? mad cow disease
The Meatrix II 1/2
1. At this factory, how many cows can be processed in single day? 5000
2. What often happens to the workers in the processing factories? Factory worker are often injured
3. Profit is the “name of the game”.
4. As a job, meat-packing is one of the most dangerous in the nation.
5. Due to the speed of the processing, what gets all over the meat? What bacteria does this substance contain? What problems can this cause? Manure, E. Coli, sickness and possibly death.
- The precautionary principle- used to prohibit the importation of GMOs, says that if research isn't conclusive, we shouldn't implement it
- Feed- cows used to be fed grass, but now they are fed more of a corn-paste
- Policy & legislation- FDA has standards set to be considered "organic", but companies use other fancy labels
- Health- the animals and people can get sick from the hormones and pesticides used in agriculture
- Community- often forgotten for profit, turning trends around by caring more about how agriculture is upkept
- Family farms- often bought out by big business
- Cows- often abuse and kept in cages all day except to be milked, get tails cut off and are kept-half alive
- Milk- added hormones and minerals, often taken from cows from machines
- Processing- work that was once done by people is now done by machines and it can get unsanitary
- Workers- often injured without proper compensation, one of the most dangerous jobs in America
- Downer cows- its a concern because if a farmer slaughters a downer cow with mad cow disease, it could spread into an outbreak
- Pesticides- insects can grow immune to the pesticides, chemicals can make people sick
- Antibiotics- animals are pumped with these to keep them alive, can make people sick
- rBGH- antibiotic that makes cows bigger, can make them sick
- Agribusiness- in it for profit, little to no regard for the health and safety of the animals and consumers
- Waste Recycling- ways that farms can be more eco-friendly
- Waste- if not properly managed, it can spread and cause pollution in water and air
- Water Pollution- run-off from pesticides can end up in stream and other water resources, getting the public sick