Hello Everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and took some time to enjoy the beautiful weather that we have been having. For this next piece, I would like to delve into the topic of interest in agriculture and barriers that we face with engaging a new generation of farmers in modern society. Children are pushed to perform well academically so that they can obtain rewarding careers, typically those that are not very labor intensive. In our culture, occupations in fields such as technology/computer science, medicine, law, etc. receive more respect than other fields. Therefore, there are many types of work, often pivotal to sustaining our way of life, that are completely undervalued. Agriculture is a perfect example of a profession that is greatly undervalued. This translates over to the amount of resources that are available to people doing this type of work. Considering that at one point in human history, just about everyone was farming compared to now where approximately 2% of the US population is employed as a farm laborer. A couple of things that I would like you to keep in mind while going through this material deal with the amount of labor that goes into sustaining yourself/others through growing your own food. How much are you willing to sacrifice to eat healthy, sustain this kind of lifestyle?
Supplementary Materials:
What nobody told me about small farming: I can’t make a living (blog/article)
Jaclyn Moyer operates a small to medium farm and grows ten acres of organic veggies just east of Sacramento, CA. She writes about her experience running this farm and some problems that come with it.
(Note: Amy wrote an essay in response to this article a couple of years back. In case you are interested in reading the article use the link below)
https://harvestofjoyfarm.wordpress.com/2015/02/18/what-my-parents-told-me-about-small-farming-you-cant-make-a-living/
(Note: Amy wrote an essay in response to this article a couple of years back. In case you are interested in reading the article use the link below)
https://harvestofjoyfarm.wordpress.com/2015/02/18/what-my-parents-told-me-about-small-farming-you-cant-make-a-living/
This computer will grow your food in the future
Caleb Harper runs the open agriculture initiative at the MIT media Lab. His ultimate goal is to connect growers and potential growers with technology and its potential role in farming for the future.
Questions to reflect on will be italicized
As you could already tell, both materials are quite different from each other. The one from Jaclyn Moyer speaks to some of the many problems that small/medium farmers face and act to limit the amount of interest in farming. I would like us to think about some of the limiting factors that she mentions in her post and how public opinion on farming may reflect or complement them. What value would you place on this kind of farming? The Ted Talk by Caleb Harper focuses on an alternative form of farming that more closely pulls together the world of organic farming and technology. I would like us to think about how this new technology could impact the future of farming. What value would you place on this kind of farming?
Francisco’s Reflection
As a child, My parents would tell me that I had to study hard so that I do not end up in the fields like they did. My mom would tell stories of the back breaking labor that she had to do in order to sustain herself and the family. They would tell me that I could not go backwards, they suffered so that I could have a life far away from the fields. Recently, I have struggled with the value I hold in terms of growing my own food and even the value it has in terms of a profession (source of income/full time). I think that it is a noble profession and one that is severely undervalued. Although, it is not one that i see myself doing full time. There are just too many barriers for farmers, especially if they are not large scale farms. Another part that I feel would stop me from doing working in agriculture is the perception that I would get from my family and loved ones. I would be seen as the one who could have had a successful career in another area but choose to throw it all away. I guess it is seen in my family as a profession that you do when you are not able to successful. If things weren't that way, I would just move out to some tropical island and start my own farm where I could live out my life in peace and serenity. Thinking about how technology seems to be merging or connecting with farming, I would take a different approach. I feel as though I could do this type of farming on the side as I would be able to grow food in any climate and in the comfort of my own home. Not to mention much of it will be done with technology and there will be less barriers to this type of farming.
Thanks Francisco, for providing the second half of our materials for the week. I had a lot of fun with this combination! You’re right that the two things are completely different, but I think they pair together in a way that makes for some fascinating conversation.
ReplyDeleteMoyer’s article made me think about what kinds of work are treated as valuable within our society. When I was growing up, so much emphasis was placed on getting good grades so that I could go to a “good” school and have a “good” career, and I’m sure that this experience is one that a lot of people can relate to. The older I get, the more I grow concerned about what types of jobs and experiences that people have decided are “good.” So often, it seems like this hinges on money, with “good” being defined as high-paying. Tragically, this means that careers and jobs that are absolutely vital to our communities – like teaching, nursing, childcare, art, and yes, farming – are not considered important or valuable. If our society is to continue on, I think that it’s vital for us to find ways to redefine “good” careers.
We all have to eat. This is such a simple fact, but our society is structured in such a way that it is often easy to forget this. Without our farmers, we simply cannot survive. Farming (and especially healthier, more sustainable farming) is of utmost importance. As Moyer points out, our famers are often not getting the support that they need to run sustainable businesses. So much of her article highlighted that often, the money just isn’t there. This left me thinking about grants and subsidies. Why is it that we’re willing to subsidize the mass production of food, but not local farms that are trying to grow in healthier, sustainable ways? How do we shift where this money is going? I think we need to radically rethink how we spend money and what projects we choose to fund. We need to find ways to respect the value of food, including the labor that it takes to produce it.
Harper’s TED Talk was completely outside of my area of knowledge, but I loved it. It’s so cool to think about the innovations in technology that are changing the ways that we do things. What I especially loved was how interconnected it all was – I adore the idea of cross-country communication about our growing practices. I think that we often talk about globalization as a negative. (And, to be fair, it has had a number of negative impacts.) This, however, was globalization in the best possible way. The idea that we can share our knowledge – and use this information to positively impact how we do things – is incredibly powerful. I know it’s easy to get caught up in the horrors of scientific advancement. (We can talk about the development of chemical pesticides and GMOs and how all of this has a negative impact.) However, I think this served as an important reminder that technology can also be a powerful force for good.
Thanks again for selecting these materials – I really loved looking through them! I look forward to seeing where discussion takes us in class.
It's so interesting that you chose Moyer's article to share, Francisco! I wrote an essay a few years back in response to it. Here's a link: https://harvestofjoyfarm.wordpress.com/2015/02/18/what-my-parents-told-me-about-small-farming-you-cant-make-a-living/
ReplyDeleteAfter I published this on my blog, a friend shared it on an farming listserve and several people reached out to thank me for writing it. They said it reflected their experiences with small farming as well.
I found the Moyer piece to be thought-provoking and I think it adds an important dynamic to the conversation. I also really appreciate Amy’s blog response which helps shed light on her understanding of it as a fellow small, organic farmer. I’m from Ann Arbor, where there is this very specific public opinion on being pro-organic and in favor of the local food movement. All the hottest new restaurants are “farm-to-table” and the Saturday farmers market is definitely the place to be seen. One of my fellow ANSO majors (also from Ann Arbor) actually wrote his SIP about the social capital that is gained by eating local, organic food in certain communities. However, I also think there is this sort of paradox where bougie, white people love buying their expensive organic produce but also have the “thank goodness for local farmers, they must really love doing it because that job seems honestly terrible” mentality. Moyer’s interactions with community members demonstrates a similar mindset. To me, this represents the dichotomy of understanding and subtly recognizing that the agriculture system is exploitative and unsustainable while not actually wanting to be personally involved in enacting change beyond “thanks for the produce” and it’s something I find quite troubling.
ReplyDeleteI am still not quite sure what to make of Harper’s Ted Talk. I’ve never heard of these “grow computers” even though the Ted Talk was published back in 2015, which makes me wonder where the technology is now. The whole concept makes me kind of uncomfortable, but I’m having difficulty explaining why that is. I think it may have to do with the fact that it takes transforming everything sort of ‘natural’ about the food growing process and technologizing/digitalizing it in order for people to respect it. I think we should work on understanding traditional farming and reconceptualizing the value placed on that labor rather than adjusting to modern ideas of what deserves respect.
I think I'm having a similar reaction to Harper's talk. I appreciate his enthusiasm and recognize in it my own excitement over learning new growing techniques but the idea of growing food completely indoors makes me a little uncomfortable in ways that I'm struggling to articulate. This sort of farming may certainly have a place and if it connects people to their food who otherwise wouldn't have those connections that could be good. And--I guess I worry that this type of farming could perpetuate the disconnect we experience with our ecosystems since it is based on the idea of being able to completely control growing conditions through indoor technology. I'm wondering who would have access or be able to afford this technology, what the "downstream" costs of it might be, and also if we became dependent on it what would happen should the technology experience problems such as electrical grid failure. But of course all of those questions apply to our current agricultural systems too! Maybe it's like a lot of things--this technology might have a place in our food system though it might not be good to base our whole food system on it! (Not that that's what he's advocating.)
DeleteMoyer's piece is certainly thought provoking about the labor that goes into small farms with little reward and how that labor is viewed by the consumer. She brings up the movement toward farm-to-fork restaurants and farmer's markets that appeal to bougie white people. I think there are a lot of bougie white people who like the idea of supporting small organic farms but they only want to do it for the lowest price possible. They check it off of their list to-do list to be a good person but aren't actually informed about the reality of some small organic farmers who are struggling. I wonder what would happen if this were a broadly discussed, well-known topic. Would we, the bougie white people, approach things differently and what would that look like?
ReplyDeleteHarper's Ted Talk seems like it's on the opposite side of the spectrum. I never would have imagined technology to grow food and I am really uncertain how this would effect the future of farming. If we were to shift entirely to technology-based farming there maybe would be less labor exploitation in agriculture, but there would also be significantly fewer jobs and many traditional farmers would be forced out of business during the transition. Plus this just feels like giving into the societal under-appreciation of farmers instead of trying to fix it. The more I think about it the more perplexed and conflicted I feel about this dichotomy. I will be interested to hear everyone else's opinion during class.
Farming does take a lot of time and labor. I see it as a respectful career because it is needed in society and I love small farms and eating local. And even though, it is not the career path I chose, I still hope to grow my own food and have my own garden. Its important to me to eat sustainably, organically, and a healthy diet. I realize that there is immense privilege in this, but I don’t agree that that lifestyle should have unequal access.
ReplyDeleteBoth Amy and Moyer pointed to the incredible amount of labor that goes into farming, how owning a small-farm can’t make a livable wage. Money isn’t everything, but money is something. People have to make enough to live. Hard work and dedication are usually thought to bring about success, both financially and socially. However, for a small-farmer this does not seem to ebb true. And that isn’t fair. Especially considering that they are trying to make the world a better place through increasing the value in the food that is available for us to eat. I would place a high value on small farming. I see it as a necessity for society. I think it is incredibly sad that farming does not pay the farmers or enough to live, have vacations, and relax in life. How can we as a society change this? How can people help farmers? With the organic food movement and increased interest in farmer markets, there are buying customers. Is the answer to get more customers or is the problem rooted deeper in society?
Caleb Harper’s Ted Talk shook me. On one hand, it seems to me almost dystopian to be growing plants in computers and servers. There’s no natural beauty in that for the environmental elements are lost. But, on the other hand, small farmers are unable to make a living while using the lands’ resources. The world population is growing too rapidly for everyone to be fed from the land and the earth’s natural resources are depleting. We are running out of time for us to be able to sustain a food system from the land. So, although Harper’s lab scares me as it is another way humans will become disconnected from the environment, I think it is only natural as it follows our previous behavior to use technology over other methods. I am surprised that I have not heard of Harper’s lab before, maybe that’s because the current agricultural system is trying to keep it quiet so they can continue to profit from the current agricultural system.
I think farming is very undervalued in our society. I think the readily available options we have for food such as Meijer's (which is open 24/7) people have forgotten about agricultural and how is should be valued. Without farms and agricultural none of us would have the food on that is own our tables. Especially since we live in a society where intensive labor is considered and underachievement farming is under appreciated. With the rise of technology we are living in times that are very interesting. Many labor jobs are replacing humans with robots. Wars have even moved from face to face action on the ground to cyber attacks. Before this blog I had no idea about the things going on in Harper's lab. Its mind blowing that even the agricultural system is moving to technology. This makes me wonder what will happen to l farmers who make a living off of selling their food. If the agricultural sect is slowly being take over my machines how will they survive?
ReplyDeleteI think that Jaclyn Moyer’s article tackled some of the challenges that many farmers in the United States face, especially when it came to speaking more about financial difficulties, such as her farm not being completely sustainable due to she and her husband’s income. When I think of farming, I don’t really think about the financial impact made on farmers, which was interesting learning morrow about within the article. Thus I had an opportunity to learn more about farming as it related to serving as a career. Initially, when I think possible careers, farming does not come in mind (As pointed out in the article when students were asked who was interested in being an agricultural farmer).
ReplyDeleteIn comparison, the TED Talk allowed me to think about technology as it relates to the future of farming. The progression of farming as it relates to farming is exciting yet alarming. It makes me think about how many jobs will be take away from agricultural farmers. It also makes me question who will have access to be involved in this new form of farming (Ex. What education would be required and what type of consumer would be able to have access to such farming). However, the changes with technology as it relates to farming is exciting as well. I believe that new technology such as this one could provide a more innovate way to farm that could potentially improve the way the new generation thinks about food.
I personally think this discussion is about the advantage and disadvantage of traditional farming and industrialized farming. Compared with traditional farming, industrialized farming is more efficient, which is larger production, lower cost for producers, and these factors leads to lower food price for consumers. Compared with industrialized farming, traditional farming is less efficient, it needs more labor, more time and the production quantity is lower, so the food from traditional farm is more expensive. However, farmers can grow organic and non-GMO food in these farms. The choice of food is usually related to people’s incentives, and according to law of demand, people like to buy the food with lower price, which is food from industrialized farm. On the other hand, the wage of farmers is associated with the price of food, and the price of food is determined by how people value the food. In hundreds or thousands of years ago, people must eat for living, and there was not much food available at that time, thus the social status of farmers were high. But nowadays, as there are enough food is developed countries, eating is not a big concern any more. Most people would rather spend more money on other things like entertainment, which would bring them more utility than eating expensive food. For me, I am just this kind of person. I can eat everything and don’t care about the price, because eating for me is just a required task in order to live, but if I run a budget, I would probably choose to eat cheaper food produced from industrialized farm.
ReplyDeleteMan, these are tricky topics!
ReplyDeleteI do agree that farming is undervalued and misrepresented in this country as well as in many others. There is a general notion that farming is simple and requires only manual labor without much critical thinking. My parents, whenever I go back to Korea tells me that I should try to keep my skin lighter (i.e. not tanned) so that I won’t look like a farmer. In today’s society, agriculture is the career of the poor, those who didn’t make it far enough on the linear of path of human success. (Side note: I think such view is repeated on a bigger scale, when we start talking about ‘developing’ and ‘developed’ countries. The implication here is that mostly agriculture-based economy is simply lagging behind economy that is based on manufacturing, etc) Farming becomes something to escape from.
That said, I am not a farmer. I have no experience of running a farm. I have never had to depend on a farm entirely for my living. When I read articles like Moyer’s I am often left wondering if my perception of farming is still vastly romanticized. I think back to talking to one of the organic farmers back in Thailand – there was a whole community that have gone back to organic practices and were very proud of what they have achieved in the past couple of decades. However, I met a farmer from this community who could still not make enough money for his household- he is now in Korea working in factories to support his family. While I do feel the need for the folks to respect farming and be more responsible in their interaction with the food system, I recognize that being a farmer can be extremely challenging.
Which is what makes me sympathize a little (very little) bit with Harper’s talk. Efficiency is the most enticing word when it comes to human labor. It is nearly impossible to justify doing things the slower and more labor intensive way; after all, who would want to do 5 hrs of work if certain technology can help you finish it in 2 hrs (especially when how much work is being down dictates your livelihood)? Then again, farming for me is all about connection- it is the ancient mode of interaction between human and the rest of the natural world. When we do it right, we become one of numerous other legitimate residents of this planet. Harper’s vision to me is still 1) isolationist, because crops have been removed from its natural context 2) ecologically unsound because it ignores the traditional knowledge that makes sense in each small areas around the world.
But then again, at the end of the day, can I shake my head at a farmer who is trying their best? Probably not.
Ok, first of all, thank you Francisco for a really captivating topic and supplementary reading materials. The topic is both intriguing and sharp, cutting deep into the harsh reality.The article from Moyer does not hold back, and is blunt, whereas Harper sounds more idealized. Maybe it’s Na-Young-who-is-sick-of-laboratories-counting-flies talking, but the idea of having computer controlled warehouses makes me hiss at how sterile the whole layout sounds.
ReplyDeleteA repeating theme I see is how technology and science is placed on a pedestal, and it always has been. From Ancient Egypt to present, spanning western and eastern civilizations, intellectual activities and endeavors have always been for the rich or privileged. But then what even is intelligence and knowledge? How is knowledge about natural cycle and farming any less valuable? And this might seem like a weird example, but back at my high school, biology was the easy science because it was just about memorization. Those who took AP Physics, AP Chemistry, they were the real scientists and we had weird politics about it (my high school was so so so snobby ew ew ew). But… does there need to be a value? Some sort of vertical hierarchy? Who decided that medicine and computer science is more “important” or “better” compared to farming? And is farming more valuable “spiritually” compared to medicine or computer science, when farming is also a labor, a means to an end when it is a career for many people? People can find spiritual moments in computer science too (not me personally but some of my friends). Can’t we assign inherent value in these activities for what they are the the role they play in the society?
I really enjoyed the Jaclyn Moyer article. Outside of the content, which I thought was fascinating and intend to talk more about, I thought it was really well written. To stick with the theme of story telling, I think Jaclyn utilized her own story to make a larger point about how we assign value to farms and farms and I found it really effective and moving. I was especially struck by Jaclyn’s description of self-exploitation referring to how hard she works for so little and how she feels she can’t acknowledge this as a facet of exploitation within our food system, because she perpetuates it herself. I was also particularly troubled by how we we value the aesthetic of farms in our community, how organic farms, food-to-fork, farmers markets etc are all framed as cool/hip but that’s not making them more profitable. We somehow think the satisfaction and joy should be taken as pay. We revere farmers and we think the work they do is important and beautiful and meaningful, and when we say things like You must love what you do, or not much profit in farming, but what a great lifestyle, or, well, you’re not in it for the money, right? we’re placing some other value on the act of farming. But it isn’t monetary value, in the way we value other things in our world, and I’m wondering where that disconnect comes from? I thought Amy’s follow up piece in response to Jaclyn was further illuminating and at least gently more hopefully. I really appreciated her point about the value she places in being part of a movement for larger change, and while that’s hardly enough and farmers should of course not just work for some point in the future where things might be different, but it does feel like a start I guess.
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree that the public's opinion is an important factors that affect it. The issue is, many people not able to figure it out or realize too late about it. Again in the former post everyone says that Food and Agriculture education is really important.Not only school, but also the Government, media are responsible for it, too.It will significantly affect public ideas on farming.
ReplyDeleteFuture Techonology is a debatable issue here. We know the new technology improve the food production and solve problems of hungry. Human beings used to be struggled with eating issue. While now it does not happen that common as in ancient ages. At the same time many people doubt that the new technology is bad for the food quality
Thank you for this topic, Francisco!
ReplyDeleteMoyer's article really brings to the light some of the challenges and adversities that farmers face (assuming there are more that weren't part of her story), and a really "ugly reality" of farming that most of us who consume the food aren't conscious of. The value of this type of farming, however, is truly in the relationship between man and nature, the relationship between man and himself because he is getting to be more in touch with a building block of himself, food, and specifically plants, and therefore more in touch with himself. Although there are challenges, I hypothesize that this type of farming brings about a certain personal happiness and fulfillment due to the connection to man and his own reality, one that he creates or that the natural world creates; rather than man and a matrix-type reality of the society that we live in especially here in modern U.S. where most of our connections lie in materialism and success in terms of wealth. I believe the value in this type of farming is personal and individual-- abundance and health, and unfortunately our society does not give much financial value to these types of values. I wonder how/if we can ever incorporate or expand such values to include these?
In terms of the new technological farming, this was a very novel idea to me (so thank you so much for sharing!), but more specifically, it seems so COOL. At first I was really put off and scared because the thought of straying away from nature and using more technological advances to sustain ourselves scares me, but then after weighing in on the reality of the human population and climate, I believe that this type of farming really could be valuable in providing adequate nourishment for the masses. It would, however, continue to take away from the fulfillment a man would feel in his relationship with his surrounding environment (true nature) and his own self, and I wonder what that would do to mental health in the U.S. because I see these things as very related.