Chapter 2: The Farm

In this chapter, I felt that there was one particular quote Pollan included, that articulated what I have recently began to think about the world. This quote, by Naylor goes: "They're messing with three billion years of evolution"(36). In here, Naylor was talking about planting GMOs, which are "genetically modified organisms." People are planting altered seeds to grow hybrid plants, so that they can maximize the amount of corn being produced. But I think that this quote also applies to many other aspects in life. Industrialization has taken over everything that is natural. Everything that has been provided by the Earth is being taken over by the businesses and their need to earn more green paper. (e.g. Two units ago, we saw that hospitals and normal births drew people away from natural births). It is as though people with money are taking property of all the natural resources, and are altering it into a form that eventually evolves into more money. As Naylor said, "they're messing with three billion years of evolution."

After reading this chapter, I take on a new perspective of farmers. I have always viewed farmers as the hardworking people that allows everyone to eat carelessly. I always saw them as those who are untouched by industrialization because they deal with the Earth. But now I learn that they aren't any different from any business owner. Following Pollan to a farm run by George Naylor, through his book, we see the commonalities between farms and big corporations, both of which control majority of how we live our lives. In a farm, having a "high yield" is significant to making maximum profit. "The higher yield of modern hybrids stems mainly from the fact that they can be planted so close together, thirty thousand to the acre instead of eight thousand in his father's days" (37). By having a higher yield, the farmer is able to take advantage of the land that he has, and is able to maximizing his profit off of something other than himself. So while the farmers abuse the Earth, everyone else abuses the workers to make more money for themselves. My previous thought of farmers being hardworking was also proven wrong, in that they don't do much besides sitting around spreading seeds through a vehicle ("the field George and I planted that day would produce 1.8 million pounds of corn. Not bad for a day's work sitting down..."(36)).

Questions
1. On page 44 Pollan wrote, "Haber's story embodies the paradoxes of science: the double edge to our manipulation of nature, the good and evil that can flow not only from the same man but the same knowledge. Haber brought a vital new source of fertility and an awful new weapon into the world..."
Do you think that the usages of nitrogen and fossil fuel on crops are more beneficial than harmful, or vice-versa? Does the convenience outweigh the damage?

2. Naylor "has a gut distrust of the technology" (36), but aren't the seeds that he use, Pioneer Hi-Bred's 34H31 GMOs as well? Are the seeds, in any way, modified or altered before he bought them?

Comments on Other People's Blogs
John's "The omnivore's Dilemma Chapter 2"
In your second paragraph, you asked why we, the outnumbering "regular citizens," do not overthrow the farmers. The problem with this is that we need suppliers. If we overthrew all of the farmers, the whole system would collapse, which most people cannot handle or accept. Without corn, there will be less beef, and we all know we can't live without beef. Without corn, our soda will not be sweet, and we all know that we can't live without soda. The thing about "overthrowing" is that it will cause instability and nobody wants to contribute to it. We may be the group with the larger number, but only a small percentage will actually take action. If we can actually have everyone devote themselves to accomplishing one goal, farmers wouldn't be the only thing being overthrown.

Vincent's "optional assignment on Omnivore's Dilemma"
One thing that stood out to me was when you said, "Because of the break through of fertilizers and technology, it allows a farmer to produce a lot of corn and keep using the same land over and over again." The way that I interpreted, and possibly the way you meant it, was that you are assuming the land cannot reproduce crops on its own, without fertilizers and technology. The use of fertilizer and technology only began in the early 1900's when Fritz Haber discovered fossil fuels as a replacement for solar energy. I am pretty sure that the same land can be used over and over, even without the technology and fossil fuels, since it's been producing corn and other crops for billions of years, long before Haber was even born.