I remember hearing about vanishing bees when this news first came to light. It was a big concern as they pollinate so many of our foods. I never considered bee farming as a concern from this issue as I was more focused on the extinction issue. It's so sad to consider! I know we've talked about coal miners losing their way of life, but this paints a new picture as a loss of value in one's expertise. I can really empathize with that.
For Dirt!: The Movie, I am even more convinced to steer away from meat now. Over the past year I've been struggling more and more with consuming it, then I spent the hard at work with my vegan colleague forced to come face to face with my choice and the alternative, then I started this class. I'd say 94% of my meals over the past month have been vegetarian as a result.
I grew up in Sonoma County so I know I grew up near factory farms, I just never saw them. While there are not surprisingly none in San Francisco, I found out from this map that Sonoma County is "extremely" densely populated with them. I wonder what happened in the fires? Was any of the waste from them burned up and inhaled by my family and residents of all the neighboring counties?
Regarding composting - I sure do :) Happy to give it back, even if that movie gave me pause seeing how many chicken carcasses were added to it with who knows how many antibiotics in their system.
I have also changed my diet/lifestyle since this class started! I took a course on environmental health during my undergrad. We had watched a movie on the meat/poultry industry but that did not make me change in any way. This class has really made me more aware of everything I buy and consume!
ReplyDeleteThe Vanishing of the bees definitely painted a new picture for me as well. I knew they were disappearing, but I definitely did not know to this extent. Those are really good questions to ask regarding the factory farms in Sonoma!
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