Unit 7 Dawg

Forestry Discussion

Although many people have a negative connotation to fire this is not always the case, forest fires although dangerous, can be beneficiary to a forest. Fire helps to clear the forest floor of debris or fuel and encourages new growth however if a fire is uncontrolled it can easily reach things that shouldn’t catch on fire such as houses, animals and people.

Global Nutrition Discussion

In America you can buy a hamburger for $1.00, however this luxury is something that is unavailable to people in the world because of the costly production of meat. In order to produce this large amount of meat you must have an abundance of land to bring these animals up on, this is not a problem but the excessive amounts of runoff and the awful smell. The meat industry also has a significant impact on global warming. Livestock production accounts for 18 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, including 9 percent of carbon dioxide and 37 percent of methane gas emissions worldwide. Grain production is overall better for the land because it will not be polluting the land with animal waste or taking up large masses of and it will also benefit Humans to be healthier and decrease the amount of processed foods.

Genetic Engineering Discussion

Genetically modified crops can be good and bad. The modification makes the crops repellant from insects, which benefits the producers and making them able to collect more money for their crops but however causes these important insects to die off because they begin to not have anything to eat. GMO foods can have allergy risks to people. Genetic modification often mixes or adds proteins that weren't originally in the plant or animal, causing new allergic reactions in the human body. In some cases, proteins from an organism that you're allergic to may be added to an organism that you weren't originally allergic to, prompting the same allergic reaction experienced from the first organism. This can lower the amount of consumers of this product, hurt the customer and open the door to many lawsuits.

Sustainable Agriculture Discussion

The dust bowl was the ultimately tragedy in America, however this is something we can prevent, and here’s how! Farmers can practice “Minimum tillage.”  The less you tear up the top layers of soil, the more resistant that soil is to water runoff. By controlling erosion on the farm, you preserve the value of your land and prevent yields from declining over time. By not letting the water run off Farmers are able to make more money off of their farm and it keeps the earth clean. To improve soil quality, the website “ www.smallfarm.about.com suggests that farmers “Add organic matter. Increasing the amount of organic matter is probably one of the most important things you can do to improve your soil no matter what its current type. Compost, animal manure, grass clippings, leaf mold, and green manures (cover crops) are all great organic matter to add. At least three inches of organic matter spread over the surface to be planted should be added - and four to six is better.”

Pest Management Discussion

Integrated pest management (IPM) is a process you can use to solve pest problems while avoiding risks to people and the environment. IPM can be used to manage all kinds of pests anywhere. IPM has many ways to solve pest problems but there are two very effective ways of dealing with these pests and that is Monitoring and Identifying Pests. Not all insects, weeds, and other living organisms require control. Many organisms aren’t harmful and some are even beneficial. IPM programs work to monitor for pests so that appropriate control decisions can be made. This monitoring and identification removes the possibility that pesticides will be used when they are not really needed or that the wrong kind of pesticide will be used. To ensure even more safety you can use prevention. As a first line of pest control, IPM programs work to prevent pests from becoming a threat. In a crop, this may mean using cultural methods; these control methods can be very effective and less pricey while also lowering the risk and cost on the environment and people.

BIG Picture Discussion  

Human Impact- The way the food industries are running at some times is hurting people especially here in America. In America millions of people suffer from obesity, which is such an American thing to be eating too much food when people on the other side of the earth don’t even have food to eat. However you do not have to be obese to be negatively effected by the food industry as we saw in the documentary Food Inc. A toddler died after being infected with E Coli, which he received from eating a burger. All Americans know where their food comes from but because of the low price of the food they choose to accept it and the people who are getting more and more rich by the day because they are the ones selling this nasty food are the source of human Impact, however within the last few years, many nutritionists have been trying to make an impact by putting out documentaries such as Food Inc.

Environmental Impact- As shown in the above blogging, mass production of meat is ultimately hurting the earth. The people who are running these mass-producing factories are not thinking of the environment when they are farming so many animals, but instead they are thinking about the money! In order to keep the earth clean the farmers will have to stop pollution from farming and start using techniques to improve their soil so that humans can benefit without the earth being hurt.

Economic Impact- although through the notes in class and Food Inc we have seen the negative effects of the food industry but one thing to consider is how the food industry is a never-ending money pot. Americans are infamous for loving food (a little too much) but big businesses are thriving from this addiction. The food industry positively affects the economy but can hurt the people.

Legislation- the government has “regulations” they force the food industry and farmers to use as they are mass-producing the food to make sure that it is safe for the citizens of America. The government also owns the National Parks, which use the forest farming technique to better the forests. The government provides some legislation but as an aspiring nutritionist I believe that the government should be passing more regulations to ensure the health of America.