new way of farming

http://www.verticalfarm.com/

check out that website, but then also do a general search for 'vertical farming.' this relatively new idea has been all over the news lately. to solve our current and future problems of, not only having enough healthy food to feed the ever growing human population (birth control, people), but also provide city dwellers with fresh, local food, we need to radically rethink the way we grow food. vertical farming would take up less land, thus putting less pressure on deforestation and habitat loss. a farming 'high rise' could be in the middle of the city, not an hour or two away...people would have no excuse for not eating healthy, fresh, local produce. having a farm in a city would also allow people to be more involved in the growing process. they could volunteer 'on the farm' a few hours a week....planting, weeding, watering, harvesting. they could realize how much work it takes to run a farm and appreciate farmers more. there are a huge number of benefits to this idea.

i am sure there are disadvantages to this idea, as well. it could be very expensive to initially create a vertical farm. it would use a lot of electricity to give all the plants all the light they need. how would plants get pollinated indoors? the website says there would be no pests, but what if a bug or fungus attacked a crop? what is to keep it from attacking all the crops? and since the crops are in such a small place, it seems it wouldn't be long before everything could be wiped out

the people who came up with this idea might have answers for all these issues...i hope they do. i think a lot of problems could be solved with this one solution.

'eating animals'

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114298495&sc=fb&cc=fp

i have given my opinions on eating meat before, so i don't completely agree with this author, Jonathan Safran Foer. but he does touch on several issues i do agree with...mainly, you should know where your food comes from and realize the consequences of your actions. he also mentions how humans eat much more meat than we used to and it has lead to an increase of many health issues. larger and more factory farms has put a huge strain on the natural environment, increasing water and air polluton, deforestation and habitat loss, etc. i haven't read his newest book, 'eating animals' yet, but it is on my list...

hamburger anyone?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/health/03beef.html?th&emc=th

check out those two articles...but not if you ever want to eat a hamburger again...

i am not a vegetarian, nor do i think everyone should be. our bodies were meant to digest meat and animals were domesticated and bred for eating purposes. i am not saying vegetarians are bad or crazy and i give them a lot of credit for doing what they do. but people can't go around saying eating meat is bad. however, people can go around saying factory farms are disgusting, animals are treated inhumanely, given unnecessary drugs (hormones, antibiotics, etc) and are slaughtered in a dirty, inhumane way.

so the compromise?? for one, eat less meat...a meal is still a meal even without meat. two, know where your meat comes from, just like you should know where all the products you buy come from. buy local meat, where the cows and chickens and pigs have led a good life outside, grazing, playing, being fed food they are suppose to eat, seen by a vet when they were sick...you get the idea. like with everything, think twice about your actions and the consequences of them. you are not the only one affected by what you do.

stuff

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

check out annie leonard's video on 'stuff.' it is a little long (about 20 minutes), but when you think about how much information and how simply she explains things, it is not that long. she explains from start to finish about the products we buy, who makes them, where they come from, what we do with them when we are done with them, etc. she explains it simply enough for kids to understand. she talks about environmental, social and moral consequences of our buying choices. she talks about how we have become best known as consumers, not by our professions. so when the news reports about how sales are down for the going back to school season, graduation time or christmas, you have to think...is that such a bad thing? do we really need all the stuff we buy and give as gifts?