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Corporate Farming

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  • #16
    I have also been doing research on Wendall Berry and "The Unsettling of America".

    What I found was that the Sierra Club loves him and a description of the book on Amazon.com.

    And, then I found his website which helped a bit in understanding what appears to be the theme of his philosophy from his own mouth (shy of reading his book):

    http://www.css.cornell.edu/courses/190/ ... cally1.htm

    Source: Berry, Wendell. 1986. The body and the earth. p. 97-140. In Wendell Berry (ed.) The unsettling of America: culture and agriculture. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA.

    In this essay, Berry discusses how a series of disconnections between the body and soul, husband and wife, marriage and community, and the community and earth are harmful to the world. His apparent goal is to stress how culture and humanity are destroying the land. He points out that all people are at fault and responsible for what happens to the earth and thus, we should change what we are doing. Berry argues that we should treat the earth as we treat our bodies. He says that people strive to be healthy, but we have forgotten that to be healthy we must also be whole. According to Berry we are no longer whole because culture has caused a separation between the body and the soul. The soul controls our feelings of grief and joy. If the emotions of the soul become separated from our body, we replace these emotions with greed, scandal, and violence. These emotions cause us to become abusive to ourselves, others, and the earth. In order that this does not happen, people have to see that what we do affects the earth and the life on it. Berry sees the divisions of the roles of men and women as leading to the exploitation of the earth as well. These roles have caused men and women to become disconnected from each other. This combined with how society has misled young people as to the sacrifice and commitment that must go into love and marriage leads to discontent. This in turn can lead to infidelity. Berry says that there are parallels between the breakdown of the household and marriages and the disconnection and disrespect of the people for the land. He points out that people must first learn to be faithful to each other so that they can be faithful to humanity and the earth. Berry also finds it important that fertility is no longer in the hands of the individual person. As fertility of people, and the control of that fertility, has been given to doctors and drugs, the fertility of the land has been taken over by the use of chemicals. Berry believes that if agriculture is to succeed, then it needs to preserve "wildness." Order created by humans must also include the order created by nature, or wild nature will not survive. People need no longer grow their own food and food production has become ruled by the economy. He believes that people would be better off if everyone again had this responsibility of producing their own food so that each person could see the impact that every individual has on the earth.

    Here's a link to a speech he gave on the subject of agriculture in the 70's:


    http://www.tilthproducers.org/berry1974.htm


    From what I've read from him he seems to be what could be termed a hippy with an imagined sense of utopia concerning the days of yester year. I think I agree with some of what I've read by him - but his words come off as a bit naive. He, himself, points out that he is not a farmer, nor does he have any expertise on the subject of agriculture. Rather, he appears to define himself as a poet and novelist.

    Jennifer
    Who uses a machete to cut through red tape
    With fingernails that shine like justice
    And a voice that is dark like tinted glass

    Comment


    • #17
      Originally posted by jloreine
      You know, crackpots like him can certainly detract from any kind of decent argument, huh?

      The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has for a number of years researched the myriad of reasons why the crabs and oysters are dying- and have found that a lot if it is nitrogen run-off from the huge chicken farms on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Yuck, yuck, yuck!


      Jenn
      You know, I think that there is validity to concerns posed about our environment. After all, it's possible to kill anything that is living and we're much better off as a civilization if we don't kill things that we need to survive and thrive.

      But, I'm back to my problem of finding truly factual information on the subject - not stuff that comes from poet-philosophers, dooms-day propaganda, or crackpots. It's frustrating at the dearth of reliable information on the subject.

      Jennifer
      Who uses a machete to cut through red tape
      With fingernails that shine like justice
      And a voice that is dark like tinted glass

      Comment


      • #18
        Originally posted by Rapunzel
        Originally posted by jloreine
        You know, I think that there is validity to concerns posed about our environment. After all, it's possible to kill anything that is living and we're much better off as a civilization if we don't kill things that we need to survive and thrive.

        But, I'm back to my problem of finding truly factual information on the subject - not stuff that comes from poet-philosophers, dooms-day propaganda, or crackpots. It's frustrating at the dearth of reliable information on the subject.

        Jennifer
        IF you haven't yet, I suggest you read Fast Food Nation. It spent months in review with lawyers and from what I understand there has yet to be one disputed fact. The meat-packing conglomerates have kept their mouths shut on this one which is surprising considering they tried to sue Oprah for claiming she wasn't going to eat hamburgers anymore. The book certainly doesn't do much for the Republican party but I don't consider anything in that book to be propaganda.
        All of it's sources are documented and well written. There is also another book written by a university (Wisconsin?) PhD that is supposed to be quite good but the name I can't remember...when I do, I will post it.
        I think everyone should read this book, especially those with children in public schools. It's not just full of facts, it's a very interesting read. You will learn a lot, enjoy and be disgusted all at the same time!

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        • #19
          Rapunzel,

          Here is a report published by the NRDC and Clean Water Network that you might find interesting: http://www.nrdc.org/water/pollution/factor/aafinx.asp

          Following is an excerpt:

          Human Health Concerns
          Human health is also at risk from animal waste pollution. Some of the main concerns include pathogens and excess nitrogen.

          Animal waste can contain pathogens (including fecal coliform and other forms of coliform bacteria) that can, for example, contaminate drinking water and cause gastrointestinal illnesses. In some groundwater surrounding factory farms bacteria are present, which demonstrates the potential for microbial contamination.[23] In 1993, cryptosporidium, a pathogen found in Milwaukee's drinking water, made 400,000 people sick and led to the deaths of more than 100 people. A suspected cause was dairy manure.[24]

          Pathogens in hog waste are 10 to 100 times more concentrated than they would be in human sewage which is diluted with water in sewage treatment plants. Additionally, human sewage is treated to reduce the nutrients, organic matter and pathogens and is then usually disinfected. In contrast, hog waste is typically stored in anaerobic lagoons, which scarcely reduce the microbial indicators of fecal contamination.[25]

          High levels of nitrogen leaching into drinking water supplies increase the risk of methemoglobinemia, or blue-baby syndrome, which can cause deaths in infants.[26] In 1996, the Centers for Disease Control linked the high nitrate levels in Indiana well water near feedlots to spontaneous abortions in humans.[27] High nitrate levels may also foster the growth of harmful organisms like Pfiesteria. In humans, exposure to Pfiesteria toxins in the air or water can cause skin irritation, short term memory loss and other cognitive impairments.[28]

          Two studies have looked generally at the medical conditions of residents living near swine factory farms. One survey of residents living in the vicinity of a 2,500-sow facility found much higher reports of respiratory problems than those recorded in neighborhoods of farms where no livestock was raised. Another study from North Carolina found behavioral changes in individuals living near large-scale confinement operations.[29]

          The intensive use of antimicrobials (including antibiotics) is an integral feature of industrial animal agriculture. Over 40 percent of the antibiotics sold in the United States are used in agriculture, more than 80 percent by weight for growth promotion and the rest for treatment of animal disease. Scientists now believe that agricultural use of antimicrobials has major implications for human health. There is growing evidence that animal use of antimicrobials is tied to the evolution of multiple drug resistance in food-borne disease agents and the loss of efficacy of drugs important in human medicine.[30] Concern about antimicrobial resistance has led scientists and public health officials to advocate curbs on antibiotic use in animal agriculture.[31] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also concluded that animal use of antimicrobials has adverse human health consequences and is targetting animal use in its campaign to halt the spread of antibiotic resistance.[32]
          I do believe Singer went too far in his "nondiscrimination" argument, but I do agree with his argument that all sentient creatures have the right not to suffer. Animals who are raised on factory farms go through great suffering...chickens are forced to live out their lives in a battery cage that isn't large enough to even turn around in (these wire cages cause deformities to their feet), pigs suffer from pneumonia, cholera, dysentery and trichinosis because they are confined to a very small, indoor living space, cows are given rbST to double their milk production, causing frequent bouts with mastitis........Animals have the right not to suffer. Period.


          Rapunzel, you mentioned this about Berry:
          He, himself, points out that he is not a farmer, nor does he have any expertise on the subject of agriculture. Rather, he appears to define himself as a poet and novelist.
          Wendell Berry is actually a small-scale farmer in Kentucky....not a factory farmer....but a farmer nonetheless. But, I certainly don't need a farmer to tell me that drinking extremely high levels of nitrates and breathing in airborne manure particles are hazardous to my health, my family's health, and the health of the environment.

          Comment


          • #20
            Actually, I'm not sure that animals have a right not to suffer as much as we have a responsibility to ensure that they don't.

            In 7th grade we raised rabbits in my Animal Science class (since shut down by protests from PETA, but remember the DC burbs were farmland until VERY recently). Our bunnies were raised in relatively humane circumstances, until they had the baby bunnies, and then all of them would be crowded in these cages and it was gross. My bunny ended up squishing her babies. (to death) (sorry for those of you who are reading this over your am coffee)

            The bunnies were sold to NIH- which I inherently don't have a problem with, as long as it's medical research that can be conducted NO OTHER way. Lot's of cures for lots of horrendous diseases have been found that way. But, I try to buy cruelty free products whenever possible because there is a point that animal experimentation becomes ridiculous.

            As for current corporate farming practices, if any over you (Jill and Luanne and the other east coasters) have driven through Philly, Delaware or the Eastern Shore of MD to get to the beach, you have to pass the Purdue factories. (and the farms that supply the factories) Row after row after row of HUGE chicken houses- no buffers, no waste management systems and the smell is horrid. One hot summer day stuck in a traffic jam to the beach and you're seriously a goner- people used to have to pull over and puke it could be so bad. Now, the chicken farmers have started to realize that here, the Bay means a lot more to people than an occasional chicken wing so they are implementing some changes- and the effect has been great.

            The dairy farmers need to jump on board, too.

            Jenn

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            • #21
              interesting book

              Mad Cowboy : Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat by Howard Lyman

              This is written by a former cattle rancher. Although I don't go as far as he does with the veganism I respect his reasoning based on his own experiences (I'm a vegetarian). I agree that it is important to know where your food is coming from. Organic, small farms def. better

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