Ending the GMO Debate

Ending the GMC Debate

If you're like my girlfriend, before I convinced her otherwise, you might think that GMO crops are straight from the fiery pits of hell brought to our grocery stores to cause debilitating diseases to the human population. But I am very happy to inform you that the opposite is true. GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism, but when we specifically talk about agriculture, we refer to them as GMCs- Genetically Modified Crops. 

In an article on grist.org, the author Ramez Naam claims that "the GMO debate is often an emphatic and barely-disguised metaphor for our larger debate about whether technology is destroying the world or saving it, whether we should try to control nature or live within it." 

The fact of the matter is that GMCs are essential to the human race. Our population expands every single day and farmers need to produce more and to support this population. Since the 1950s, the agricultural output of the United States has more than doubled. There are two main reasons for this development is the advancement of mechanical technology and the use of stronger and more efficient crop seeds. 

Not only do GMCs increase productivity, but they also reduce waste. GMCs call for fewer amounts of herbicides and pesticides to be applied. They also reduce soil degradation and carbon dioxide emissions. 

In the long run, GMCs will need to increase output by 70 percent by 2050. Since we have already utilized all the arable land on earth, it's up to GMCs to feed the world.

Prompt 5- Observing Community: The Men of Farmhouse

Observing Community: The Men of Farmhouse

As I know you are all well aware, this is an agricultural blog. And what better organization to follow on a land grant university's campus than the Farmhouse fraternity? Farmhouse is an "agricultural" fraternity spread out across North America. Farmhouse was formed around a set of ideas that bring together men with a common interest and love of the earth. The men of Farmhouse come from all walks of life. More specifically, in my pledge class, we have a brother from Flaa Norway. 

The general assumptions that I'm sure most people would have of a "farm frat" are that we're a bunch of rednecks and backwoods guys that care more about drinking beer, than hitting our books. But this is all so far from the truth that is hysterically funny. 

Yes, we do have farmers. We do have some good ol' boys. We do have guy that are first generation college students. But all of the guys in MSU's chapter of Farmhouse are good men. We've got mechanical engineers. We've got high ranking members in FFA, We've got guys that go home to the farm every weekend to work their jobs. I can't imagine there being many other fraternities or sororities that can claim all these same things.

Farmhouse is very much a democracy. Every Monday, we have a house meeting with a print out itinerary and our president who keeps order. All events, dates and money allocations get voted upon by the members. It feels like a courthouse when you're in a meeting. Members can't talk out of line and committees are established to overview things like philanthropy and event planning. And if a final decision can't be made in one meeting, it gets tabled for the following Monday.

To people outside of the agricultural world, farmers look like a goofy crop of people. But they are the salt of the earth. Without them, we don't have society as we know it. So don't make assumptions about what Farmhouse is like because the truth is, it's probably much different that what you'd expect.

Pollution and Farming

Pollution and Farming

The world is warming. You can run and you can hide, but the truth remains the same. This is a problem almost exclusively because of the exponentially large amounts of carbon monoxide that us humans continue to pump into the atmosphere. And after doing research for a different prompt, I found a pair of articles further enlightening me into the world of agricultural pollution.

The first article I read, "A huge amount of air pollution comes from farming, not just power plants", is honestly quite horrifying. It says that deaths from smog and soot in the air are responsible for 3.3 million deaths per year. This problem has to do with all of the ammonia, fertilizers, animal waste and burning of fossil fuels that occur on farms around the world. 

The second article I read was titled "Reply to 'No-till agriculture and climate change mitigation'", explains that no-till farming does little to reduce the effects of climate change. First off, I'll give a brief explanation of what no-till farming is. An example would be a farmer planting corn and after that corn has been harvested, the farmer neglects to plow the ground and remove the remaining stalks. Thus, not tilling the land. The argument is that if a farmer chose to practice no-till farming, then the amount of diesel saved after not going over the land another time would have a large impact on climate change. 

The world we live in is in desperate need of change. We demand more food to feed our growing population, but to grow that food, we destroy our planet. There is no simple fix. This is one of our generations monumental problems that we don't have much time to solve.

Prompt 4- Considering Delivery and Style in Ag

Considering Delivery and Style in Ag

Scholarly articles written in regards to agriculture are written for a more select group than a newspaper publication. At first sight, this might be an obvious claim, but if one is to think about other professions, they would see that even scholarly articles are read by large amounts of non-professionals. Take for example the medical field. It seems like every week we see on the news or in our news feeds that there is a new study showing that some food or diet isn't as good or bad for us as we thought before. Or perhaps we see something related to the business/economics fields. During the Great Recession, we were bombarded with unemployment rates and calculations of the Big 3 bailout totals. These reports came out of the CNN newsroom as well as fresh print articles from university professor and professionals in the field offering their projections.

But in agriculture, the culture itself is a bit different. Scholarly articles are written for the fields academics. Maybe to improve on technology or perfect an  industry practice. Some scholarly articles published within the last decade have a lot to do with farming's relationship with global warming. Other examples include if no-till farming and climate mitigation are related, ag around the world or publications related to urban farming (because a lot of the agricultural world doesn't care so much about the city).

On the flip side, there are many different works that farmers read "religiously". When planning their future crop rotations, weather reports are essential as well as commodities prices. If corns is expected to be high in value, more farmers might plant more corn and inversely if the opposite is true. Farmers also read about new technology developments in agricultural machinery. Some ways to cut costs, save money and the environment are directly related to a farmer's machinery.

It isn't that one source is more trusted than another, but one may be more relevant to one worker in the ag industry as opposed to someone else. A farmer is more likely to read something directly related to them and their crops while a professional at a university will want to know more about the evolution of plant seeds and ways to create more efficient pesticides.

Prompt 3- Communication

Communication

I'll be quite honest in this post; I know how the agricultural industry works. Specifically the sector I work in. I emailed my boss three basic questions and got three simple and to-the-point answers. Agriculture, unlike the medical or engineering fields, doesn't have a whole lot of specific and intricate writing. So I'm sorry to disappoint, my dear readers.

Here are my questions to my boss:

1.) What is your job title and what do you do?

2.) Do you, or the other employees at Star of the West have to write anything (reports, memos, etc.). If so, can you explain to me how?

3.) Do you use writing to dispel and misconceptions about the agricultural industry?

Here are my bosses responses:

1.       Job title is Plant Manager which encompasses over seeing all operations of the facility to make sure it operates safely, profitably for today tomorrow and the future.  Plant Manager would be responsible for hiring and employee discipline as well as dismissal, approving all bills, drafting a yearly budget,  continue to work towards being less energy dependent, and a general mediator for employees as well as customers.

2.       General speaking most if not all reports are written in email fashion between all parties concerned.  Easy to keep track of as well as better accuracy.  We do have other reports that hourly employees do monthly like inventory, housekeeping logs, fire extinguisher check.  These reports are easier for people that have no access to computers to follow.

3.       We are not scientists to disprove or approve what the media may put in print.  What we do is when a party has a burning question about agriculture we present the true facts that we can defend and present them and let the other party make up their mind.

Ag in the Election

Ag in the Election

This year's presidential race is, for lack of a better word, frightening. Some of the radical ideas that have been thrown onto the table are extremely scary and unsettling. Make's one question where our nation's "leaders" are taking us. So for this week's blog, I decided to filter all of the ideas out there and focused on, you guessed it, agriculture in the 2016 presidential election. After reading a few articles, I saw some fearful things.

Donald Trump. Kind of makes you sick just thinking of the guy. And this has no longer become a republican and democrat disagreement. This is a horrible man that will destroy the agricultural economy (among other things) of the US if elected president. 

It's no secret to anyone that Mr. Trump wants to build a wall down on the Texas and Mexico border. This, in theory, would effectively keep out thousands of illegal immigrants that come across the border every year. He claims that he wants to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. But many farmers in California could see their farmhands, and livelihoods be shipped out of the US. According to politico.com, 1.4 million undocumented immigrants work in the agricultural industry. That accounts for 60% of the ag workforce. Farmers in the US would be put out of business because if immigrants do get sent back, or if lawmakers make it more difficult work immigrants to get work visas. Documented citizens just do not want to do the back-breaking work of being out in the fields from sun-up to sun-down, bending over and pick tomatoes, or dig carrots. 

In short, if Trump is elected, say goodbye to America as we know it.

Prompt 2- Agricultural Ethics

Agricultural Ethics

The world of agriculture is always changing. New developments in technology make farming practices faster, more efficient and more productive. But with all of these strides forward and stress on production, farmers and agricultural suppliers are forced to question if what they're doing is ethical. 

First off, let's figure out what the agricultural code of ethics are. There is no actual definition, rather, agrowingculture.org claims that agricultural ethics are shaped by our culture. "Society tells us what is good and bad, right and wrong by facilitating, rewarding, or punishing certain behavior." 

With growing stress on farmers to produce more food on the limited amount of land, we must find ways to improve on what we have. This brings, herbicides, pesticides, GMOs and what consumers wants into play. Furthermore, we must treat our animals with respect. Some of these things like GMOs have caused a lot of arguments in society. Many seem to think that they aren't ethical because it is tampering with nature or God's creations. I argue that GMOs are essential for the stability of the worlds food supply. But issues like this are no black and white. There is no clear and definitive answer. 

I would have to say that the agricultural code of ethics align with every decent human's code. Simply put, we treat the land with respect because it provides for all of us.  

All Eyes on Iowa

All Eyes on Iowa

Whether you #FeelTheBern, or you want the billionaire to build a wall, all of the presidential candidates start the primary process in Iowa. And in Iowa, there is an uneasy movement of small farmers being bought out by BigAg businesses. What's even more unsettling is that none of these candidates are talking about it. According to the Esquire article I read, large land-owners are buying up small farms and creating unsafe work environments for their employees. Furthermore, private farmers are being swept under the political rug by large corporations with the money to control legislation.

The fact of the matter is that not enough people are talking about agriculture. This article raises and interesting question because Iowa is one of the many agricultural states that has been forgotten about. Farmers are also facing the problem of supporting the world's population as it continues to grow and grow. 

This upcoming generation will have to look deeper into the way that this article from Esquire (http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a41713/iowa-farming-struggles/) does. The way we all get our food is struggling to survive and there is no clear solution to the problem. But a good start is for politicians to keep their sights out of their bank accounts, and focus all eyes on Iowa.