Monday, June 20, 2016

Understanding the Human Factor: Life and Its Impact

And times, the Gary Sojka can come across as a little pandering. However, he balances it with quality communication and a great story to tell. The bulk of the lectures deal humans' domestication of plant and animal species.

In one intriguing lecture he details how our grocery stores present a wide variety of products all originating from a few small "wild" parents. I had realized that a large amount of out processed products come with multiple different corn products. However, I did not realize that our vegetables also come from a few common origins. Many of the vegetables have descended from the same few parents, with different parts being selected for.

He also presents a balanced accounting of large scale farming. Many farmers see large corporate feeding operations as a benefit to allow them to keep their farms. Consumers like the uniformity that the factory farms provide. The large scale farming also allows humans to feed more and more people. (But you have to wonder, with all these animals in close proximity, will some eventually rise up and overthrow their masters? Sounds like a great science fiction work.) However, they do have costs, especially with antibiotic abuse and waste disposal. How do we balance people's food needs with the environment? Will we eat and breed too much and drive ourselves to extinction like the Elk on the northern island?

No comments:

Post a Comment