Agriculture

 Agricultural Field Experience

History of Agriculture

Society is most familiar with the modern non-sustainable model of industrialized farming aka Big Ag. These are the corporate farms that have gotten so far away from a natural permaculture, and epitomize the clear cutting mentality of farming. "In a sustainable system, farming works in partnership with the environment. The system is driven by the sun and maintained by natural water and nutrient cycling. Crops are rotated, water and nutrients are restored, land is allowed to rest, and animals graze the land. In contrast, industrial farms require large inputs of fossil fuels, water, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Intensive farming leads to environmental impacts, such as air and water pollution, decreased soil fertility, habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, and erosion." We also must consider the unending use of fossil fuels on corporate farms. 

"The goal of agribusiness is not only to grow food crops, but also to create profit for shareholders. The high costs of irrigation systems, pesticides, fertilizers, and hybridized and GMO seeds makes it difficult for small scale farmers to complete with large industrial farms, particularly in developing and third world countries. Many farmers are deeply in debt, which in many cases results in loss of their farmland" To me, this is the reason to ditch the equation of lawn = wealth, and return to take care of your food needs, and teach others how to do so. 

Fair Trade and Equality; The Class Divide that No One Talks About

Fair trade certified products ensure farm workers have economic security and fair labor standards. These certifications help with transparency in the food industry and empowers communities. There is respect for not only the planet, but also the people involved in agricultural production. One such local advocacy group is the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which launched its Fair Food program and an anti-slavery campaign in 2011. This campaign is credited with prosecution of agricultural slavery operations across the Southeastern U.S. Buyers who sign on to the Fair Food program agree to purchase produce from growers who provide various rights and protections for farm works. These rights include the payment of an additional penny per pound harvested, the ability to leave the fields during lightning storms or the spraying of chemicals, and protection from retaliation for reporting sexual harassment.

*Coalition of Immokalee Workers

Permaculture is Preferred, but not all Permaculture is Created Equally

It's truly a misnomer that all early farming communities practiced these methods. ECHO is reviving old methods that were almost forgotten, but thankfully there is a revival of going back to the food forests as we see in the Amazon.  Some of their methods include:

Appropriate technologies, Biofuel, Compost, Sustainable Agriculture, Hunger solutions, Water safety and water quality, Irrigation techniques, Empowering third world farmers, Importance of Seed Storage/ Seed Banks, Agricultural techniques for different ecosystems, Neem, Chaya, Moringa, Live fencing, Benefits of small animals - the five "Ms" - Manure, Meat, Milk, Money, Muscle, Urban Gardening techniques, and Deforestation.

"ECHO farms in North Fort Myers seeks to address world hunger by teaching sustainable farming techniques, promoting nutritional plants, and introducing appropriate technologies in poor areas around the world. Agricultural systems such as permaculture, seen at FGCU’s Food Forest, utilize sustainable approaches to food resources. Permaculture mimics the patterns and features observed in natural ecosystems rather than using the resource-intensive practices seen in industrialized agricultural. Agriculture is an excellent case study to demonstrate the triple bottom line in sustainability, as it balances numerous aspects of environmental impacts, economic profit, and equity issues."
 

Where ECHO works

What I did take away from ECHO was the love it takes to feed other people, the importance of land rest and regeneration, and methods of permaculture that can be applied toward more native gardens as well. 

However, I'm probably one of the few people among my conservationist friends that is not enamored by ECHO Farms. While I agree with their philosophies for farming; seed banks, feeding/educating people, their permaculture practices, etc. I am incredulous that they chose to use our exceptionally taxed and sensitive environment to grow/harvest largely exotic crops. We have endangered native crops here in Florida that could have benefitted from being cultivated such as Paw Paw (a nutritionally dense food). Or, our exceptionally well adjusted Seminole pumpkin and Everglades tomato. Add in Smilax shoots, local berries, tubers, and some eggs, fish, or lean protein of another animal (Swamp Hare are readily available) and you have all of your nutritional requirements for the day. However, they chose more water loving exotics. Part of a permaculture system is to allow the land to do what it naturally does. Crops such as Jackfruit require a continuously wet soil, are prone to disease and insect infestation here, and are less nutritionally dense than the slightly hybridized native sweet potato. Which requires far less water, soil nutrients, and is far less bothered by bugs and disease. Neem is considered invasive in many of the areas it was introduced to, as far north as VA as it quickly displaces native flora. "Neem is difficult to fully remove and the best management is to not plant neem trees in the first place. However, once they are established, mechanical removal is the only option. Mature trees can be cut and seedlings can be pulled manually. Neem coppices readily so follow-up herbicide treatments are also recommended." (US Dept of Forestry, USVI). Or, we just don't plant them in the first place. 

We want folks to learn to why indigenous foods are important to grow. To follow a cycle that includes what has coevolved with both indigenous flora and fauna. ECHO does exactly the opposite. They have brought in water loving exotics with a smattering of indigenous flora, and then ship the majority overseas. Being a religious based organization, I would also hope that assistance doesn't require a sermon as so many other missionaries are required to push on Indigenous populations. When people just want to eat and feed their families.

YOUR FOOD FOOTPRINT 

Which leads us to how we grow our food effects everything around us. "Understanding your impact on the agricultural system is important to creating change. One such way is to contemplate your food footprint. Consider the resources needed to supply you with your food. This includes the greenhouse gas emissions from growing, processing, transporting, storing, cooking and disposing of the food you eat. There are multiple ways you can lessen your impact while improving your health and the health of the planet. Examine food labels, looking for products that are fair trade certified, locally grown, organic, or humanely raised. This empowers you to vote with your dollar to shift the industry."

Please remember that if you are looking to cut meat out of your diet, that it is still a best practice to make any meat substitutes at home from local produce, grains, and lacto/ovo sources if that applies to you. Commercial meat substitutes leave large carbon footprints from the plastic they are sealed in to the fossil fuels and emissions used to transport it, and everything in-between.  This chart will help explain why it is important to keep the source of your food in mind.