Industrial Farming

Your thoughts about the vanishing of bees (what else have you heard/seen about this issue?)

• This issue of vanishing bees is one, like many others I have learned about in this course, that I had heard about but never really put much thought into. Before watching this documentary when I heard about vanishing bees I always assumed they were dying off and I remember seeing many dead bees on the ground over the past few years. However now I know that although some are dying, what is basically happening is that they are disappearing without a real concrete explanation and scientists are calling this phenomenon "colony collapse disorder". The problem of bees vanishing not only impacts the production of honey but also crops which depend on bees to pollinate them such as almond crops and as result bees are being exported from other countries like Australia. This documentary attributes monoculture to this issue of vanishing bees. Farms are no longer diversified, which makes it very easy for insects and other pests to thrive in this environment requiring the use of pesticides in order to control them. 

Dirt!: The Movie 

• This movie brought to my attention the importance of dirt and composting. It's easy to forget the importance of dirt specially when living in large cities where everything is covered in asphalt or cement. Dirt is essential to sustaining life as it grows the food we eat and contains many rich nutrients. Often we think that our own efforts are so small that it really wouldn't make an impact if we switch to reusable bags or recycle or compost, however collectively we have the power to make great change. I think that having composting programs for inmates as well as school children is beneficial to them in different but equally powerful ways. If more buildings in cities had rooftop gardens I believe people would be more inclined to compost because they would be able to see the fruit of their labor and know that they are contributing to growing the food they eat, not to mention the fact that it would be organic food. This film encouraged me to continue composting and hopefully start doing so when I move back to Los Angeles as well. 

Were you able to discover if there is a factory farm near you? Were you already aware of farms near you? What do you think about this? 

• According to the map, California has a large number of factory farms for cows, chickens, and pigs. However, I could not find exactly where these farms are located. I do know that I have seen huge cow factory farms on my drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco along the 5 freeway passing Kettleman City. These farms hold hundreds of cows in very small and confined places, there are no green spaces whatsoever, they are sitting in fields of dirt and mud and barely have enough room to walk. A few miles north of those farms I noticed other farms however here the cows seem healthier, they have plenty of green grass to eat and space to move around, and they are not piled up on top of each other. 

Composting: Do you currently compost? Have you composted in the past? Do you know anyone who composts? Would you consider composting, after learning about its benefits from the movie? 

• Back in Los Angeles my family and I do not compost because the LA Department of Sanitation does not provide a container for composting. Our front and back yard was renovated a few years ago so we do not have space or need to use compost. Here in San Francisco, the Department of the Environment provides a container for compost. They also provide small buckets with compostable baggies to make saving food scraps and other compostable items easier in our individual apartments. This makes composting much easier, so since I moved to the city I have started composting. Personally, I find composting enjoyable because after separating all the items that are compostable and recyclable and placing them inside their respective bins, I can see the actual trash that I am throwing away and I was surprised to find that it is much less than I had thought.