agriculture
Tackling food waste, research and global debates about agricultural sustainability and how to feed our population while still saving some for later.
The Politics of Food
In the United State, the so-called free country, the citizen would think they have free thought and can do whatever they want, but is the U.S citizen being told what to eat? Although the United States government knows the food they feed their citizen is unhealthy, they have not done anything to help the people get more healthy.
By Miguel Flores8 years ago in The Swamp
Which Agriculture Practice is Eco-friendly?
Agriculture practice has changed a lot over the years in the evolution of plant science. Lots of different types of methods are used for agricultural production. Though these methods have helped in improving production to some extent, the use of chemicals has also risen. Today, there are hardly any agricultural products that are not grown without the use of pesticides. In fact, agricultural experts believe that it's impossible to feed the population without the use of pesticides. The use of chemicals in growing plants not only pose serious risks for humans, but the environment as well. For human longevity and protection of the environment, it's time to adapt eco-friendly agriculture practices.
By Carol Wilson8 years ago in The Swamp
Don't Have a Cow, Ditch the Beef!
Scientists are asking the question, but what is the answer? A subject that has everybody talking—from biologists to economists, everyone has a stake in what’s going to happen to planet Earth over the coming decades. There is much debate over the expected severity of climate change, but it can be agreed humans are influencing the speed in which cyclic warming and cooling are occurring.
By Emily Butterfly8 years ago in The Swamp
Why Veganism Sounds Like a Bad Idea
I will always be an interested advocate for the well-being of animals. Today in this world there is an unnecessary slaughtering of animals which, upon inspection, is overwhelmingly unethical when you look into it. Farm animals such as chickens, pigs, and cows to name a few are bred for slaughter; from being beaten and tortured to injections of hormones and in a dairy cow’s case, forced pregnancy. These are only but few of my many concerns of helpless animals. Every year, over 56 billion land animals alone are subject to slaughter. This is not just an animal welfare issue, this is also an environmental and world hunger issue. California is currently in a drought, yet somehow, they find a way to feed all livestock. Kip Anderson Howard, director and producer of the movie Cowspiracy, states that “you can produce 37,000 lbs. of vegetables on 1.5 acres of land but only 375 lbs. of beef on the same [amount] of land.” The main point of his film was based on the theory that we can solve world hunger if all farmers across the world use that plot of land used for farm animals and instead apply it to producing foods that we can feed to the hungry From the environmental perspective, our precious rainforest which statistics conclude, "If we continue on this path, as much as 55 percent of the amazon rainforest could disappear by the year 2030” (Bennet).
By Kenya Carpenter8 years ago in The Swamp
The World's Most Expensive Food?
The Telegraph reported this week that a group of Japanese students were charged around £970 for a simple meal of steak and fish washed down with mineral water. We can only imagine their bemusement on receiving the bill, and congratulate them on having the sense to involve the police.
By Jo Wolforth8 years ago in The Swamp
Canada Has a Major Bread Scandal. Top Story - December 2017.
Canada is currently experiencing a major bread scandal. I know that may sound absurd and slightly dramatic, but hear me out; recent revelations have exposed collusion amongst the country’s supermarket giants that have cost Canadians millions. At the centre of the scandal is Canadian grocery giant Loblaw and one of its subsidiaries, George Weston, which reportedly engaged in price-fixing between 2001 and 2015 on brands such as Dempster’s, Wonder, Villagio, Weston, Stonemill, and D’Italiano. Statistics Canada, cited by CBC, noted that during this timeframe, the consumer price index on bread products in Canada rose 96 percent, compared to an 45 percent for all other foods. Loblaw says they fired all involved employees and turned themselves in to the Competition Bureau in 2015, but in being the first to come forward and cooperating with the bureau, are immune from criminal charges. This is convenient given that price-fixing can be met with punishment as severe as $25 million in fines and 14 years in prison.
By Logan Carmichael8 years ago in The Swamp
A Matter of Survival
We are entering an increasingly dangerous period in the history of mankind. Our world, our oceans are so precariously close to causing unimaginable, catastrophic disaster for all life on planet Earth. Ever since the dawn of man all of humanity has survived on various sources of food. But the one source of food that has dictated the rise of all the others came from the world's oceans. Today, our oceans, our food, and man's own existence depends on the vitality of life and the sustainability of our oceans to maintain and support that vitality of life. So catastrophic the demise of the vitality of life in all the worlds oceans caused by mans selfish and aggressive instincts all life on this planet is indeed in jeopardy. The depletion of the vitality of life in our oceans has been sharply increasing every year with no apparent reversal in sight. Just within the past 50 years mankind has wrought humanities own survival into question.
By Dr. Williams8 years ago in The Swamp
US-Mexico Relations & the Avocado. Top Story - December 2017.
If you’re a millennial, chances are you love avocado and will never be able to afford a house. I can’t take credit for this idea — it came from Tim Gurner, an Australian millionaire who, earlier this year, claimed that millennials will be unable to ever buy a house because they buy “smashed avocado for nineteen bucks.” But I digress. The moral of the story is that avocado everything (from the world’s first "avocado bar" in New York City, to the all-avocado restaurant "The Avocado Show" in Amsterdam) has become a phenomenon, and at a price. If you’re an avocado lover like me, you were probably disappointed to see avocado prices skyrocket this summer. Thankfully this has calmed down somewhat, but at the very root of this issue — and many other avocado-related incidents over the past century — there is a deep-seated linkage to the historic relationship between the United States and Mexico. This relationship has returned to the forefront of public consciousness under the leadership of Donald Trump, but is by no means new. How is it that everyone’s favourite green fruit (yes, it’s actually classified as a berry) is so highly politicized, and so closely linked to US-Mexico relations? Allow me to explain.
By Logan Carmichael8 years ago in The Swamp
How To Cope with Overpopulation
There are roughly 7 billion people on this planet. No one knows exactly cause it's a little hard to keep track. But for every two people that die, about four are born. The world's population is growing by about 2.5 people per second. Now 7 billion people is a lot to take in. Let's put it this way, if you were to say a number a second, it would take over 220 years to count to 7 billion. However, we have plenty of space on earth to fit all 7 billion people. So if there's enough space for us all, then what's the big deal?
By Alissa Budzinski9 years ago in The Swamp
Conversation with Robert Kennedy Jr.. Top Story - May 2017.
It is no secret that we are currently in an unprecedented environmental tailspin. Carbon levels are rising dangerously, the polar ice caps are melting, and species are rapidly disappearing etc. While the rest of the world has taken steps to mitigate the damage humans cause the planet, The United States has taken a cynical and irresponsible path towards climate change.
By Michael Lee Nirenberg9 years ago in The Swamp
A Divine Obligation
" He who hath come into this world has a divine obligation to serve humanity." This quote sums up what mankind should do, and should continue to do for the betterment, enrichment, and enlightenment of every human being on earth. To often though mankind has deviated from this path and instead caused, is causing, and will continue to cause horrific suffering of unimaginable magnitudes upon all living things.
By Dr. Williams9 years ago in The Swamp
The Ultimate Conspiracy
Through-out the ages there have been catastrophic plagues, pandemics, and diseases that have decimated whole populations. Going back to the Middle Ages the scourge of mankind was the Black Death, the Bubonic Plague that ravished Europe wiping out more than two thirds of the population, killing untold millions. In the 20th century there was the Spanish Influenza pandemic right before the end of World War I that again killed millions world wide. We would be wise to remember that the Nazi's from 1939-1945 carried out the most ruthless genocide on mankind in the 20th century. An ethnic extermination unprecedented in modern times. In 2009 the Swine Flu pandemic is just the latest occurrence that signals that the threat of another pandemic is as real as it gets. And yet, there are those who today hide behind cloaks of deception willfully aware of their diabolical intentions that cannot wait for another pandemic to strike. Now, to uncover a more sinister plot more deceitful but just as ruthless as the Nazi's all in the name of global population control. So sinister, so deceptive that we the unsuspecting population have been oblivious to the greatest conspiracy of them all.
By Dr. Williams9 years ago in The Swamp
