Sunday, February 16, 2014

Nikhil Exploration 4

One of the themes of the film is that the most efficient and fastest way to produce food is not always the best quality. But another theme the film reveals is that there are ways for everyone to take part in the healthy food movement. As author Michael Pollan stated in Fresh, "Efficient is not good for environment, farmers, and community". Cities of animals, such as cows are the most efficient way to raise large amounts of meat. The only problem is those cities of animals create many health problems like pollution and E. coli. With all the quick cheap food industries, we are diminishing foods nutritional values but 40%, which Pollan also mentioned. People like Will Allen and his Growing Power organization in Milwaukee are showing it is possible for all kinds of people to eat healthy. Will Allen said his goal with Growing Power is to "change the food industry that works for everyone", whether it be in terms of location or financial stand point. People often avoid healthier foods due to price or being in a "food dessert", which is being in an urban environment no where near naturally grown foods. But by growing and raising some of your own foods can help solve this problem.
The film uses comparison and contrast by presenting the many ways to approach the agricultural industry. Whether it be by comparing: healthy vs. non healthy, efficient vs. quality, large space vs. minimum space. As it was seen Mr. and Mrs. Fox, use animal cities with the chickens in enclosed environments, which are the most efficient but least healthy. As opposed to Joel Salatin, who lets his animals free graze through out his massive land, which is the healthiest option and produces the highest quality of meat.
I think we could apply this to our lives by growing our own produce in a mini garden, which I have done before. My only question is how do people who live up north like us maintain a garden during the cold months? Is there any way to do this indoors? Another thing we could do in our own lives is instead of going to fast food chain restaurants, try going to the marketplace and buying a meal there with higher quality products. I did this last week and got plenty of fresh food for a good price.

7 comments:

  1. Maybe I can help answer your questions about gardening. My family has been farming for a while and we've always had even a garden (though now we live in the country and our garden is about an acre in size).
    "My only question is how do people who live up north like us maintain a garden during the cold months?" Typically what people do is grow during the warmer months and can/freeze the excess foo they produce. It works really well and if preserved well tastes amazing. My family has a garden every year and I love being able to have homegrown fresh tasting corn in the middle of winter.
    "Is there any way to do this indoors?" Yes you can grow certain foods indoors, such as herbs, spices, and other small foods with counter gardens. Other options would be to use a sunroom were they would be indoors and protected from animals and you would have easy access. I hope this helps!

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    1. That is helpful! What is the best way to freeze the produce?

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    2. Typically what we do is freeze it in zipplock freezer bags after squishing all the air out. Mason jars also work really well for freezing more liquid objects, such as broth or stir fries.

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  2. "My only question is how do people who live up north like us maintain a garden during the cold months?" This is a really good question. It is very logical and I find myself wondering the same thing, but I think that some people might use this as an excuse to not eat healthy. I think that people who don't grow their own produce should do what you did and go to a marketplace to get high quality produce.

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  4. "My only question is how do people who live up north like us maintain a garden during the cold months?" It is interesting how you mentioned how gardens would fair in cold weather. In my opinion if the plants do get harmed, I assume indoor gardens could be an option. For example look at Will Allen's indoor garden/renewable food source. It was a great example of what you could do with food even if it is not outside. The only issue would be how would the temperatures be coordinated at reasonable prices.

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  5. "The only problem is those cities of animals create many health problems like pollution and E. coli. With all the quick cheap food industries, we are diminishing foods nutritional values but 40%, which Pollan also mentioned." I wouldn't say it's the 'only' problem with these cities. It's bad for the animals themselves, as far as being mistreated, given unnatural diets, low quality (and to me) unfair lives for the animals in these farms (not to mention slaughter), and diseases. But yeah even though this is a seemingly more effective way, it takes away from the well-being of the animals, introduces diseases to the animals and the people who eat the products produced in these areas, significantly lowers the quality of the food itself, and also takes away from the benefits the animals have on the land the video mentioned: animals on good land can benefit the land itself and produce a beneficial environment for other animals at the same time. The "seemingly" part of these city's being the "most" efficient is that these factors, land and other animal benefits, aren't taken into account. Even though the mass numbers are more, it could potentially be more efficient if they made better use of a more natural, higher quality environment, and factored other parts into the equation.

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