Food & the Environment: Extra Credit Blog

I predict that global warming will have many impacts on global food production in the future. Some of the
impacts will be the push for reduced-tillage or no-tillage agriculture, the need for improved irrigation systems, the growth of heat and drought tolerant crops, and an increase in organic agriculture. I believe that some areas will need to use greenhouses to grow their produce and some areas will lose production all together. There will also be a push for more energy efficient machinery and renewable energy for agricultural production. The food produced from the oceans could be lost or severely altered and climate variations will change the way of meat production. There are many aspects that are yet to be seen, but global food production will be changed in many ways and quite dramatically.

Globalization Blog

The only positive aspects of globalization I can think of might be free trade and being able to buy foods that are out of season or that can't be grown in the United States. Globalization impacts my life by allowing me to purchase foods that are out of season and foods and spices that are not grown in the U.S. Globalization also impacts my life because my family and I own a small farm and the cost of running the farm far exceeds the profits. We have recently downsized and we are farming only to produce our own food and food for our neighbors in our small mountain community.

Food Safety

Food safety is everyone's responsibility. It is the governments responsibility to ensure that the producers and handlers comply with safety regulations. It is the producers and handlers responsibility to provide safe products to the consumer and it is the consumers responsibility to safely store and handle food after it is in their possession. Food safety must be a fore thought not an after thought. It should be given the utmost attention from the beginning of production all the way down the line to consumption. In my opinion, every effort should be made to educate consumers on the importance of safe food handling and ways to ensure food safety in their homes.

Organic Food Production

When talking about organic agriculture, it is important to define the term "organic". Let's start with the definition provided by the USDA. according to the USDA, "Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation" (1). I feel that it is good for the food industry that the term organic was legally defined because it allows organic food producers to sell their produce for higher prices and to grow higher-value crops. It is also good for the consumer because it assures them of safer produce, meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products that have not antibiotics or growth hormones. I believe that organic food is better for people and the environment because it is grown, produced, and handled in a safer manner and is a sustainable agriculture that is environmentally friendly. Organic agriculture, as defined by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) is, "an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain, and enhance ecological harmony" (2). The only drawback I can see of organic agriculture is that it is more labor intensive. I feel that the "big business" of organics should take over and become the norm in the food markets. We need to have more whole foods and safer produce and other food products. Organic agriculture can produce enough food to sustain society in a healthier and more environmentally sustainable manner.

Biotech Quiz Replacement

I strongly believe that foods produced using biotechnology should be labeled fo consumers. The consumer should have the right to know what they are eating and the right to decide if they want to buy biotech products. The good side of labeling foods produced using biotechnology arr that consumers would know what was in their food, for the most part. They might also know how the crop was altered. The bad impactsd of labeling food produced using biotechnology would be the cost for the whold food production chain, the new regulations that would need to be implemented, and the possibility of needing separate facilities to process and package biotech food products. The cost is the major negative impact because there would need to be separate trucks, storage bins, processing plants, and packaging facilities just to avoid commingling of biotech food products. Then, there would be the problem of not being able to export those products to some other countries and some consumers would not buy biotech food products either. The higher cost would be passed down the line and ultimately end up at the consumer. The environmental impact would be an increase in transport (ie., pollution and fuel usage), more packaging and labeling and an overall use of more resources. Even though it would create many negative impacts, I still belive that if food produced using biotechnology is going to be put out there for human consumption, consumers should know what items are made with biotech produce and have the right to choose rather to eat it or not.