Jasmine Elbekraoui
Stories (1/0)
Nature Is Engraved into Our Bones
A couple summers ago I went on a trip for one of my classes. We visited two farms; one used organic farming techniques, while the other was a large farming industry that produced cherries. We visited both places in order to see the different perspectives each farmer had on how they viewed money and the industry as a whole, and see what values they stand by and how that influences the way they do business. The organic farmer discussed the hardships of using natural processes and steering away from using pesticides and preservatives.Though it takes a lot more work and he receives less of a profit than his competitors, his respect for the land pushes him to continue utilizing natural methods that are beneficial for the crops and land. On the contrary, the owner of the cherry farm was very driven by keeping his production rates high and making a large profit. He did not find any problems with using pesticides and preservatives for his product, saying that the processes he uses on his farm has no implications on the land. He said that its a necessary means in order to please the consumer and have a better product than your competitor. His mentality was similar to an article I read, "Making Meat," by Boyd W. The article discussed how technology has changed the dynamic of biological processes and humans have found a way to alter things within nature in order to better suit their needs. Nature has become subjected to industrialization and is used and abused for the sole purpose of industries and large corporations to make a profit and spread their business globally. However; trying to fight and go against the structures of nature has implications on its own. As discussed in the article selective breeding reduces genetic diversity, creating genetic monocultures and the excessive use of antibiotics increases the risk of an outbreak of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
By Jasmine Elbekraoui5 years ago in The Swamp