Sustainable farming is farming that does not destroy the land. It is a great thing, but not always practical in the current times. Sure, if everyone switched over to a sustainable way of doing things it would be cost effective and a whole lot easier, but that will probably never happen because there is too much money to be made other ways. The major elements of sustainable farming include a no till or a minimum till way of getting the land ready to plant which helps reduce soil erosion. Farmers also can plant legumes or cover crops, employ the use of crop rotation, and use solarization instead of fumigation. All of these help make sustainable farming more earth friendly.
I have not really bought too many organically labeled foods in the past, but as part of a project for my Culture and Society class I have decided to try to expand my food choices to more organic foods. It’s going to be a little hard at first because I am on a tight budget and organic foods are more expensive, but I think it is something worth trying. I have never really invested in organic foods before because I never really knew or cared what the difference was between organic and regular. But now I have taken a few classes that have introduced me to the importance of trying to be more sustainable and support those who are sustainable as well. I honestly do feel very disconnected to the foods I buy right now because I don’t know where they come from or who grows/raises them. The “Third Frontier” plays a role in this disconnect. Louv notes the characteristics of the third frontier are a severance of the mind from food’s origins, a disappearing line between machines, humans, and animals, an understanding of the relationships between animals and ourselves, the rise of the new suburban farm, and the invasion we create on the wild. Obviously we are seeing all of these traits in the current times, especially not knowing where our food comes from. It is something everyone needs to reevaluate and try to consider alternative methods to what they are doing now.
If there was space on the FGCU campus, I would definitely be interested in starting a little vegetable garden or fruit space! It’s funny because my friend actually wanted to start a club to try to lobby the school to let us have space for a garden of sorts. I think it would be fun and exciting to be able to show people what it is like to see your own hard work come around full circle.
AMAZING !
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