ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS: FARMACOLOGY - BIODYNAMIC FARMING:

 "WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE ORGANIC????" 

• Jubilee: What a Biodynamic Farmer Taught me about Rejuvenation, by Daphne Miller, M.D. The role of agriculture and the microbiome in ecological and human health, from the book Farmacology, was an article that really interested me. The main topic was calcium, and how taking two daily vitamins of calcium is not anywhere near natural, and how the metabolic effects of the vitamin of calcium are not the same effects as calcium in food. These vitamins can be found in stores such as CVS, natural food stores, and the like. Most places claim that calcium supplements can positively affect your body, but your body does not recognize calcium in a manmade product, therefore, your body does not use the manmade calcium, and instead it turns into waste product. I learned this in my Nutrition Science class last semester, which was a very interesting class. Overall, the article stressed how biodynamic farming contrasts with a different types of farming. This is a map of the farm that was talked about in the article on the left. The reading goes into further detail about what is in a vitamin bottle, such as retionic acid, which is a nutrient that in higher does causes bone loss at high doses. It goes into further explanation on how in most bottle in the store claim to have nutritional benefit that no other supplement has, but all ingredients that are listed are almost all in each bottle found on the shelf. This 

• is very disturbing to me personally, because I used to take daily vitamins because I believed that they had somewhat of a nutritional benefit, but some have no benefit at all. This is why it is extremely important to eat the right kinds of food, and to not rely on a bottle to give you a healthy immune system, or whatever they claim to give you thats listed on the bottle!

A beautiful view of an organic farm.
image from Pixbay.com:
https://pixabay.com/photos/plants-crops-maize-corn-young-768687/

Taking Care of Plants. What to expect???

   Taking care of plants is much like taking care of humans. Nurturing them is much like nurturing a baby. You need to build a plant on a nutrient dense foundation, much like you feed a newborn baby with milk for him/her to grow properly into a healthy human. Like a newborn's milk, the plant's soil needs to be nutrient rich, and if it is not, then crops will not grow into nutrient dense crops. Soil is like vitamins for the crops themselves. When soil is full of nutrients and is ready to support these crops, the soil is called, "good tilth." Good Tilth is a saying that farmers say when they recognize if the soil is healthy or not. Just like when a doctor sees if a patient as "good health." For the soil to reach proper health, certain things need to be done. Cows help by grazing the area, and "releasing" microbes into the soil that is being grazed on. This process is one that makes crops, "organic." All of this information I have just talked about was found in the reading listed at the top of the page!
"What is promised?"

A beautiful sunset at a beautiful organic farm.
Found on Pixibay:
https://pixabay.com/photos/countryside-harvest-agriculture-2326787/

   What are you promised when given an organic vegetable or fruit? The farmland that your fruits and vegetables that are on your plate had to have came from soil that was not treated with synthetic fertilizers. COWS are organic fertilizers!!!!! When your crops come from an organic farm, they are not from a man made seed, and they are not made with hormones (including meats)."What is NOT guaranteed?"What are you NOT guaranteed when giving certain crops? Well, local farming in your grocery store is not promised. The crops could contain pesticides if not organic, and if you are buying meat, there are loads of things to worry about. I am vegetarian, so I do not have to wonder if what I am eating comes from an outdoor farm or a processed farm. Most meats come from being raised indoors and in not great conditions, So you have to worry about those things when picking out your meats. ALWAYS look for an USDA sticker saying if a crop or meat is organic or not, because if you don't, you don't really know what you are eating, or where it came from.How does this relate to a topic we have talked about in class? Well, when reading this little story, it really reminded me of the topic of cotton that we went over in class. It is so overlooked, much like how we overlook where our crops and meats come from. One topic that we talked about in my Global Change class was the topic of t-Shirts. A single T-shirt wastes SO many resources, and in reality most humans do not really give a care. Which sucks. A lot. We waste so many materials for our financial benefit, but in reality 20 years from now we will be regretting it because we will have zero resources to waste because we wasted them all. Much like the production of crops, cotton can be "organic." If you think about the Earth and your purchases and how they have an affect on your future, you will be more willing to spend just a little more out of your pocket and you will be more pleased with what lies ahead for the Planet's future. There are many places where you can buy ethically sourced cotton t-shirts, like a place in the city where I live near, Providence, RI. There is a store that I always shop in called "IMPACT EVERYTHING," and they sell reusable environmental friendly goods, tolietries, and organic cotton clothes. If you buy from a store like that, or buy from any stores like "Savers," or even any thrift stores, you are helping the planet by spending less, and reusing old clothes for better use.

An up-close picture of what needs to be protected: nature.
Taken by Pixibay:
https://pixabay.com/photos/field-cereals-rye-agriculture-196173/

KEENE: "WHAT DO WE DO HERE??"    

 In a typical day at Keene, I do not think most people care about where they get their food from. In a typical life of a Keene student, most students here wake up, and go to the DC. They eat food and do not care where it is from as long as it seems to give them the nutrient they need.  I do know that there are a lot of clubs on campus that have people that care, but I have realized whilst being on this campus that most people do not care about much. Most people on campus are not vegetarian, or eco-friendly, or even worried about if they are eating healthy or not. Being surrounded with people like that is hard, especially when we all share the same main place to eat: the DC.  Most college kids only care if their food tastes good, not if it came from an organic farm. Honestly, I do not think half of the DC food is organic. How can people change on a college campus? Well, buying your own food in local stores such as a the Co-OP, a local natural food store is always a wonderful option. I get most of my food from there because I know it is ethically sourced, and has nutritional benefit. So why care where your food comes from? BECAUSE your body is YOURS. You are feeding disease when you eat unhealthy, or from anywhere but an organic farm. Not to be snobby, but it is true. So check your labels, and do NOT eat the mystery meat.