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Across the Fence:  Help! Read my paper please?  |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 03 2008 : 3:12:14 PM
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Hi Ladies!
This is a research paper I worked on this after noon. It's a rough draft. Could you please read it through and tell me what you think?
What is happening to our food source, and what can we do about it?
Our food supply is in a predicament, and most people don't know the depth or breadth of it. According to Don Hinrichsen of The Johns Hopkins University School of Health, in his report Winning the Food Race “Despite the discovery of some 50,000 varieties of edible plants, only 15 varieties provide 90% of the world's food energy intake.” This presents us with a rather alarming picture. Because we only use limited varieties of plants for our food needs, each year we are loosing plant varieties at an alarming rate. Looking forward to the future, it would behoove us to diversify our diets and conserve plant varieties.
Historically, when a population relies heavily on relatively little genetic diversity for their food consumption, they are setting themselves up for eventual disaster. For example, The Irish Potato Famine which stretched from 1845 to 1852. A blight ran rampant through Irish potato crops- a crop that roughly 30% of the population was dependent upon as a main food source. Estimates of loss of life runs around 25%. If a similar catastrophe happened today on a global scale that would mean a loss of approximately 1,675,000,000 lives. Within the past year the world has seen rice shortages due to rice blight, and wheat shortages from a combination of wheat blight and drought.
Right now the world's food supply is inundated with genetically modified food organisms. In the US alone, we are planting a large majority of genetically modified crops. In 2008, according to the USDA's Economic Research Service, 92 percent of the soybean crop, 68 of cotton, and 63 of corn were planted to Herbicide tolerant genetically modified varieties. Genetic manipulation sounds good on the surface. The farmer will have to spray less pesticides and herbicides to produce the type of crop that most people expect to see in the marketplace. Some of the varieties are even transgenic- where non plant genes have been spliced into the plant to increase resistances or increase growth. So what is the problem? Testing on these new varieties has been short and the impact research is still limited. Initial research from 1999 shows that genetically modified foods might cause alterations in the digestive tracts of rats, and plants that are spliced with other plants can trigger allergic reactions in unsuspecting consumers.
Barbara Kingsolver, in her nonfiction book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,” states that genetically modified crops often lose nutritional and taste values in the exchange for more resistances to disease and pests. She also highlights several studies that show that heirloom or natural varieties of plants hold more of the antioxidants that are need to fight free radicals in our body as well as the flavinoids which give the food it's flavor. Flavinoids are microscopic organic compounds that are very volatile- meaning they break down easily. Though our genetically modified tomatoes might grow perfectly because no bug dares to touch them, they often don't taste like much at all.
Another concern facing our food supply is ownership. While exact numbers of food control are impossible to obtain, farmers who buy genetically modified crops enter into a contract with the company who created it. If a non contracted farmer is “caught” growing seeds saved from a genetically modified crop, he is subject to large fines and possibly litigation. Several court cases have been lost by farmers who's fields were planted to non genetically modified plants but then were pollinated by a neighbors fields which were planted to genetically modified plants. Farmers wishing to grow genetically modified crops are not allowed to save the seeds and must re-buy his seeds each year. This drastically cuts into profit margins where in the past, the farmer has kept a portion of his crop to replant as seed the next year. This cycle is killing farmers financially all over the world, and quite literally killing them in India. MaryJane Butters states: (Butters, 2008):
“In futile attempts to relieve themselves of debt, some [Indian] farmers have sold their own organs. When these attempts fail to rectify their financial situations, many farmers find no way out but suicide. Over 25,000 farmers have taken their own lives.”
So what can we do? Buying organic food is a great first step to make. Organic farming puts and emphasis on using heirloom seeds. Heirloom seeds are not hybrids, nor have they been genetically engineered. Not only does organic farming use heirloom seeds, it is a sustainable farming plan that is less harmful to the earth. Organic fields are actually less susceptible to blights and fungi that could cause a catastrophic crop failure because the natural organisms in the soil help fight away the unwanted organisms. Another option is to plant and keep alive plant varieties that may not be mainstream. Several seed repositories exist that keep seeds in near perfect preservation, ready to plant should the world need them. And lastly, we need to diversify the food varieties that feed the world.
Until more research is completed to prove these plants are safe, and until the economic monopolies are broken, our food supply is in serious danger. Even if genetically modified foods are our future, we should not loose the plant varieties that have taken thousands of years to evolve to what they are today. We fight to not loose different species of animals each year, and yet we are loosing thousands of food plants each year with out the majority of the population being aware of the predicament. In closing I would like to leave you with lyrics from the song “Big Yellow Taxi” By Joni Mitchel-
“Give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and bees please!”
References
Butters, M.J (2008,August/September). Organic Cotton...Raising Jane's Standard of Living. MaryJane's Farm The American Organic Original, 7(5), 82-91.
Hinrichsen, D. Winning the Food Race. Population Reports, Series M, No. 13. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Population Information Program, December 1997.
Kingsolver, Barbara (2007). Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. New York, New York: Harper Collins.
Frankhauser, D. B. (1999, September 30). HAZARDS OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS AND FOODS . Retrieved December 3, 2008, from HAZARDS OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS AND FOODS Web site: http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Society/Gen_Engnrg7Oct99.html
Martinez, C (2008). The maya seed ark project. Retrieved December 3, 2008, from The Maya Seed Ark Project Web site: http://themayaseedarkproject.org/
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our blog: www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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MsCwick
True Blue Farmgirl
775 Posts
Cristine
Farmville
Virginia
USA
775 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2008 : 3:20:01 PM
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Love it. Sounds good to me, you are a very eloquent and to-the-point writer. Maybe even to buy local to the area. It's silly to want some things that cost so much to import/export. If it grows well here, buy it from here, not the fancy kind that comes from mexico/brazil. Support the local farmers because their impact is so much less.
I just realized the other day that the Joni Mitchell song is the one you hear on the radio:)
"they put all the trees in a museum and made us pay to see em' "
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Edited by - MsCwick on Dec 03 2008 3:24:43 PM |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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MsCwick
True Blue Farmgirl
775 Posts
Cristine
Farmville
Virginia
USA
775 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2008 : 3:58:31 PM
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I was reading something about what people had to eat in the winter 150 years ago. Bananas? NO Lettuce? NO Pineapples, NO. they made due with what was available. But that just has to do with people wanting what they can't have and that extreme desire for everything they want to be soooo convenient.
People are demanding things that are unreasonable, while not supporting the reasonable. |
Edited by - MsCwick on Dec 03 2008 4:00:49 PM |
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ruralfarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
4309 Posts
Rene'
Prosser
WA
USA
4309 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2008 : 4:35:53 PM
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Awesome job Alee...
Rene~Prosser Farmgirl #185
http://farmchicksfarm.blogspot.com/
Circumstances made us FRIENDS; MaryJane's has made us SISTERS :) |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2008 : 5:33:59 PM
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I like the part about the perfect tomato that no bug will touch. But people will??? That makes no sense to me at all. Give me a tomato with a bug bite in it or an apple with a worm hole any day. I always tell my farmers market customers, they will not get perfect produce from me. But it sure tastes good! If they want perfect produce, go to Walmart.
Good job, Alee! I hope you can make a difference.
Kris |
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K-Falls Farmgirl
Chapter Leader
2096 Posts
Cheryl
Klamath Falls
Oregon
USA
2096 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2008 : 8:09:51 PM
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Good job Alee.. I think we as Americans could learn alot from the European communities. The farmers markets are held weekly in England (I lived there awhile ) and are looked at as Essential to the family budget. Fresh produce and meats. Eggs and Cheese. Not just during the summer months. I loved going to the market. Supporting the local farmers was a priority.
http://www.k-fallsfarmgirl.blogspot.com/
Cheryl #309
Farm girl sister
Enjoy the little things in life....someday you'll look back and realize they were the big things. |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2008 : 9:02:59 PM
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Alee, I was just reading the last issue of MJF on page 37. It said that Monsanto bought Siminis, the world's largest vegetable seed co. in 2005. I think I had heard that before and I'm sure you have, but it says seed companies have not ventured into GM veggies yet, but that will likely change in the next few years b/c of this.
This is really something to think about. And I am going to try to find heirloom seeds for this next season so I can start saving my seeds for the future. Isn't there a topic about seed savers here somewhere? Or seed swapping? I'd like to know more about that. It'll be spring before we know it!
Kris |
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DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2008 : 10:42:49 PM
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Good job Alee, and it's essential to educate those that will listen. Think what would happen if there was no corn successfully grown anywhere in the world for one year...or worse, wheat.
Kristin - I tell my customers the same thing...I grow food, not art!
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lisamarie508
True Blue Farmgirl
2648 Posts
Lisa
Idaho City
ID
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - Dec 04 2008 : 05:17:04 AM
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Very good paper, Alee. Just one typo that I picked up:
[Organic farming puts and emphasis on using heirloom seeds.] The word "and" should be "an". Sorry, I can't help myself when it comes to proofreading!
Farmgirl Sister #35
"If you can not do great things, do small things in a great way." Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
my blog:
http://lisamariesbasketry.blogspot.com/
[size=1]My apron website:
http://lisamariesaprons.bravehost.com [size=1] |
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bbteacher
True Blue Farmgirl
134 Posts
Bonnie
BALTIMORE
Maryland
USA
134 Posts |
Posted - Dec 04 2008 : 05:59:43 AM
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Alee,
Oh my! After reading a semester of papers from "young" college students, it's so refreshing to read a paper with substance! Only a couple minor changes I caught:
Paragraph 1-When you were talking about the potato famine, an event from the past, the sentence "Estimates of loss of life runs around 25%" should read ran around 25%.
Paragraph 2-..."that heirloom or natural varieties hold more of the antioxidants that are need to fight"-should read that are needed to fight.
Paragraph 2-"This drastically cuts into profit margins where in the past, the farmer has kept a portion"-omit the word has.
Overall this is a great essay. I hope you get a good grade. Here's wishing that next semester I get more students like you.
Bonnie
Farmgirl sister #333
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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rabbithorns
True Blue Farmgirl
544 Posts
Allison
Fort Scott
KS
USA
544 Posts |
Posted - Dec 04 2008 : 08:51:37 AM
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I used to teach exposition at Hunter College in NYC...The first paragraph should definitely list/mention your supporting points of proof to your thesis. Then the reader knows what points will be discussed in the following paragraphs.
It seems like the thesis you are trying to establish is that by reducing our uses of plant varieties, we are shortchanging ourselves nutritionally, culturally, and economically.
(thesis/3 points)
I can see those facets running through the essay, but it is never stated so succinctly. I know lots of people tell you it's not necessary to be so oversimplifying, but some professors don't like to have to "write" the thesis statement themselves by gleaning from what you are so beautifully saying (and you are). A clear thesis statement and clearly defined points make for an easy "A".
I used to teach mostly students from other countries whose accepted organizational formats for essays were much less linear than ours. Once they got this crazy thesis and points thing down, I saw them all get A & B grades instead of "F"s. Why "B"? Their grammar still stunk due to the language barriers. But I also saw many "A"s because the professors didn't mind the language issues, if at least they could follow the logical arguments presented.
Nice topic. Timely and important. Thanks for writing it and sharing it!
http://www.rabbithorns.etsy.com |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
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vermont v
True Blue Farmgirl
194 Posts
Victoria
Chester
Vermont
USA
194 Posts |
Posted - Dec 05 2008 : 7:37:58 PM
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Dear Alee,
I would make sure to use scientific sources based on research from more scholarly journals; this is guaranteed to impress.Barbara certainly wrote a wonderful book but I would not use her as a reference in a college paper. What is the class you are writing for? If I were you I would narrow and concentrate your topic to one of the areas you mentioned which are all interesting and timely.As for the validity of the advice, I am a college professor. Slightly off the topic I enjoy reading all of your posts and looking at pictures of your lovely daughter. Best of luck with your paper. |
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Across the Fence: Help! Read my paper please? |
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Help! Read my paper please?
