from roots to shoots

a discussion of various topics in scientific literature

[katiebennett1991]

How far is 100 miles?

Eating food within 100 miles of your home is challenging in a temperate area such as Kamloops, where long, cold winters make outdoor gardens a taboo. It also requires both the knowledge and expertise of how to hunt and garden, or deep enough pockets to afford relatively expensive novelty items from within a 100-mile radius. In a perfect world, eating foods within 100 miles of your home would be the norm as this would help to reduce carbon emissions and make people much healthier.

  During the summer, I eat many foods from the garden but less so in the winter months. Each year my mom spreads manure over the garden boxes and my sister, brother, and I help to pull weeds and turn the soil over. When we were little our favorite part was planting the seeds, but now I find enjoyment in things I used to despise such as weeding. I also still enjoy digging up the potatoes when they are large enough to be harvested, as it feels very rewarding. Plants we grow each year include zucchini, squash, peas, tomatoes, potatoes, raspberries, mint, chives, cherry trees, and apple trees. To supplement the fruits and vegetables we grow each year, we grow meat birds, cattle, and lambs. My dad also hunts during the fall and we are always guaranteed wild game meat throughout the following year.

  While we harvest what we can during the summer and fall from within 100 miles of our home, we still supplement it with foods bought from the grocery store. Canada is well known for eating foods from around the world; one night we might eat Thai, another Chinese, and another Greek. Along with the wide variety of foods we eat, the vast area of Canada makes it relatively difficult to eat foods within 100 miles. This is less of a challenge for smaller countries in Europe such as Scotland and England. While I would like to attempt to strictly eat foods from within 100 miles of my house, I don’t think I could sacrifice common foods such as wheat. The 100 mile diet is a great idea but not without sacrifices.

[katiebennett1991]

Future Farming Outlooks

Pollan M. 2006. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York (NY). The Penguin Press. p. 226-273.

In Chapter 12 of The Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollan illustrates his involvement in slaughtering day at Polyface farm. Though he does partake in killing the chickens, he seems repulsed by processing day and at one point says that “the most morally troubling thing about killing chickens, is that after awhile it is no longer morally troubling” (p. 233). I think it is natural for humans to become dulled to certain activities, such as slaughtering animals, when exposed to it enough. This is something I have learned through my own experiences with animals. Growing up on a farm has taught me that slaughtering animals for food is important if I want to remain an omnivore. Throughout my life I have seen lambs, cows, bison, deer, and chickens killed for meat by my dad, I have also seen these same animals served for dinner. Now it all seems like a cycle; chicks, yearling calves, and lambs come to our house in the spring and are fattened and killed by the fall. They are then eaten throughout the following year and in the spring the whole cycle begins again.

As Pollan described the chicken-slaughtering day, my mind conjured an image of everything that was going on from past experience. The smell of gas heating the broiler wafted up my nose, the sound of the chicken plucker spinning with a dead chicken bumping against it entered my ears, and my mind saw the line of cones hanging along the edge of the barn. It certainly isn’t an enjoyable experience but is something everyone should see and understand the necessity of it.

In Chapter 13, Pollan accompanies Joel’s brother Art to various restaurants delivering eggs. He sees how appreciative and appraising the local chefs are of Polyface eggs. I think that this helped to make Pollan more of a believer in the tactics of Polyface and Joel’s outlook on the food industry. Though Pollan does begin to see the results of Joel’s effort and the support he has from his customers, he still seems quite skeptical. I disliked how Pollan came across as being slightly arrogant, just as he did when writing about John Chapman’s believers in The Botany of Desire. Pollan’s arrogance was evident when, after a small disagreement with Joel, says “For my own part, this taut little exchange made me appreciate what a deep gulf of culture and experience separates me from Joel…” (p. 245).

Glover, J. D., C. M. Cox, and J. P. Reganold. 2007. Future Farming: A Return to Roots? Scientific American. August 2007 Issue. p 82-89.

In Future Farming: A return to roots? Glover et al. outline current farming practices with regards to the types of plants grown (annuals versus perennials). They discuss problems associated with the widespread use of annuals and the positive contributions perennial species would contribute to the health of agricultural fields. Some positive effects of perennial species are maintenance of topsoil, improved carbon sequestration, and reduction of nitrate and water loss. Currently, researchers are in the process of developing more perennial crop species that will contribute to greener agriculture.

[katiebennett1991]

The Roots of Tradition

Turner, N.J. 2005. The Earth’s Blanket: Traditional Teachings for Sustainable Living. Vancouver (BC). Douglas & McIntyre. P 19-39, 127-145. Every person, culture, religion, political group, organization, and family views the earth a little differently. Today, it seems as though the majority of people around the globe view the earth’s resources through a scope rooted in European history and culture. This scope through which people are viewing the earth, sees regions such as BC as places from which wealth can be obtained. Wealth in this sense is anything of monetary value, and may be obtained through forestry, mining, fishing, and other practices that eliminate a resource. This view of the earth as being a pot of gold that refills itself is detrimental to ecosystems and the plants and animals within them. It also reflects the greed and ignorance of the majority of society that believes the earth was built solely for human existence. The views held by much of society today starkly contrast the beliefs, values, and views held by BC’s indigenous peoples. In her book The Earth’s Blanket, Nancy Turner investigates the land use practices and traditions of indigenous people of BC including the Nlaka’pmx, Secwepemic, Okanagan, and Ktunaxa peoples. Specifically Turner discusses plants and animals once used by these peoples, many of which have declined to such low levels that they are no longer used by First Nations. In addition, she identifies problems in society and outlines the relationship that indigenous peoples once had with the land and the loss of their tradition in concert with the loss of native species. The metaphor “Earth’s Blanket” was first coined by a Scottish immigrant who married an aboriginal woman. The concept of earth’s blanket describes grasses, flowers, and other plants as being the blanket of the earth, that when plucked or removed, cause mother earth distress so she weeps causing changes in the weather. In contrast to the sense of ownership Europeans have over the earth, the aboriginal people of BC have great respect for mother earth. They are careful and methodical when extracting things from her and always replenish what they take. They thank her for provisioning them with food, medicines, and shelter. They worship her for her beauty, and they understand that she is the sole reason for their and every other humans’ existence. When Europeans began flowing into BC, they changed the way the earth was shaped through the use of plows, explosives, livestock, and axes. This was very worrisome for the indigenous peoples living in the area. I can only imagine the huge amount of sadness I would feel if strangers took over my home and started damaging the land, at times asking me to carry out some of the awful deeds. I don’t think I would ever be able to feel respect or friendliness towards the intruders. The effects of what happened many years ago when the Europeans colonized BC can still be seen today in many aboriginal communities. It is saddening to see the division between people of two cultural backgrounds. Many white people see the aboriginals as being unmotivated, messy alcoholics that rely on government funding to support themselves. Maybe this is true for some, but how would you recover from someone taking over your home, removing your culture, and preventing you to live your life as your ancestors taught you how to? One phrase that really spoke to me in The Earth’s Blanket was said by an aboriginal man to the Government of Canada in 1914, Xixne7 said; “Whose fault was it that I hadn’t sufficient food to eat this year? Who was the cause of our poverty- it was not my fault that to-day we are poor- I was stopped from providing myself with food- when they came to stop me [from fishing] they told me if I did not obey I would be put in gaol” (p. 38). I think Xixne7, to put it bluntly, ‘hit the nail on the head’. How can you be expected to provide for yourself when the things that your people have sustained themselves with for hundreds of years are suddenly taken away? A big part of the stratified division between the Europeans and aboriginals was their definition of wealth. I previously mentioned that Europeans thought of wealth as being anything of monetary value; this greatly differs from the meaning of wealth to aboriginals. Aboriginals associate wealth with family, food, culture, and a close association with the earth. I think that in today’s society this definition of wealth is appropriate to some extent. For example, it is difficult to have children and expand your family when you are unable to afford to buy them food or clothes, or enroll them in extracurricular activities. However, one hundred and fifty years ago this would have been much different, and wealth could easily have been solely based on the things that indigenous people value. The Earth’s Blanket really made me think about my own values and my relationship with the earth. This past year I have been thinking a lot about a career related to conservation biology because of my great love for the outdoors and every organism within it. Reading this book made me even more passionate about saving the earth from urbanization and resource exploitation. This book was incredibly informative and interesting and left me wanting more. It also made me want to go back in time and see what BC used to look like and to learn about how the indigenous peoples survived off the land.

[katiebennett1991]

A Large Problem

A recent study showed that of the world’s 31 largest carnivores, three-quarters are in decline. This includes animals such as pumas, lions, sea otters, dingos, lynx, leopards, and wolves. Large carnivores are particularly sensitive to human population growth because as humans expand into undeveloped areas, they cause the territory of large carnivores to contract, and the abundance of prey to drop. These animals require extensive habitat and so the loss of available habitat combined with hunting and poaching by humans, has caused many carnivores to begin or continue on a downward spiral in population size towards extinction. 

Dingos are found in Australia and travel extensively either alone or in packs with up to 10 others.

Available from: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/dingo/

  Adding to the problem of habitat loss and poaching by humans is that large carnivores require a great deal of energy to sustain themselves. Limited prey availability has lead to carnivores entering human-populated areas where they enter conflict with the people and livestock. Also, the long-held perception of carnivores being viscous and dangerous animals is problematic. Many humans living adjacent to large carnivores have little tolerance for the animals.

Grey wolves are found in northern parts of the world, at one time they came close to extinction due to hunting by humans, but conservation efforts have helped their numbers to rebound.

Available from: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/wolf/

  Large carnivores are at the top of the trophic cascade and are pertinent in maintaining biodiversity and ecological stability. For example, studies have shown that while wolf populations were low in Yellowstone National Park, the population of browsing animals such as deer and elk increased. The increase in browsers damaged vegetation and disrupted the lives of birds and small mammals. Similar cases have been demonstrated in other parts of the world such as Africa where the numbers of lions and leopards are declining. As the numbers of lions and leopards drop, the number of olive baboons is increasing. This is problematic because the baboons threaten farm crops and livestock.

  Luckily, the problem of declining populations of large carnivores has been recognized and organizations such as the Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe are working to maintain and restore the animals. It is important to preserve these species, in addition to the cute and cuddly animals such as pandas, because they are an integral part of a continuous network of trophic cascades. Not only does the preservation of these animals improve biodiversity, it also has positive effects on birds, small mammals, and the soil. 

  Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe (ICIE). Available from http://www.lcie.org/ (Accessed March 21, 2014)

BBC News: Science and Environment. Avilable from http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-25675002 (Accessed March 21, 2014)

[katiebennett1991]

Pot Encounters

Pollan M. 2001. Desire: intoxication / plant: marijuana. In: The botany of desire. New York (NY): Random House Trade Paperbacks. p. 113-179.

What does it mean to be high? Why is marijuana use illegal in many places when it has never killed anybody? (I’m not saying that we should wait for something to kill someone before making it illegal, all I’m saying is that it can’t be any worse than something legal like alcohol, which also originates from a plant).

In The Botany of Desire, chapter 3 exposed a different side of Pollan that I really liked. He was full of humour that I found very appropriate for the topic of marijuana and other plants used for their psychoactive properties. I liked hearing about his cat going into the garden each evening and hallucinating, I further enjoyed reading about Pollan’s close encounter with a police whilst he was growing marijuana plants behind his barn. The extent of Pollan’s humour surprised me in some instances, one example of this is when he is discussing plant use by witches and sorcerers and writes: “These ingredients would be combined in a hempseed-oil-based “flying ointment” that the witches would then administer vaginally using a special dildo. This is the broomstick by which these women were said to travel” (p. 119). I had to read these sentences twice because I thought my mind had fallen in the gutter! It seemed as though Pollan was quite relaxed while writing this chapter, perhaps this has to do with the nature of marijuana. Who knows, maybe he was smoking some himself while writing for inspiration! I certainly wouldn’t put it past him after reading about his experiences with pot.

I liked that Pollan asked bigger questions dealing with plant and human evolution, questions without a definitive ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. This was very different from chapter 1 in which Pollan comes across as slightly rude and doesn’t believe many of the stories surrounding John Chapman. He was much more open and fun while writing about marijuana which I did not expect before I began reading.

Throughout this chapter I found myself wishing that I had more experience or knowledge about marijuana use, especially being that I live in BC- home of ‘BC bud’. I have only ever tried pot once but the few tokes I had didn’t have an observable or noticeable effect. Supposedly this is almost like “beginners luck”, or maybe “beginners non-luck”, as it takes more than one sitting to feel the effects. When I told my mom about my first time smoking pot, she told me about how my grandma used to pester my mom to get her a hash brownie recipe. I asked why she never did and her response was that she didn’t want to be responsible for grandma when she got high. I think as I grow older and hear more stories about my parents and grandparents when they were young, I feel less and less self-conscious about the stupid and foolish things I have done.

[katiebennett1991]

There's a vaccine for that

Introduced pests can cause serious ecological and economical problems. Some species currently causing problems around the world include the eastern grey squirrel, eastern fox squirrel, white-tailed deer, kangaroo, and feral cats and dogs. The large number of young produced by these species leads to rapid range expansion; near Los Angeles, a study demonstrated that the habitat size of eastern fox squirrels is increasing at an average rate of 7 km per year (King 2004). Problems associated with the encroachment of pests onto regions previously unoccupied by that species include competition for resources with a native species, dilution of another species’ alleles due to interbreeding (if possible), and habitat destruction.

  Culling of pests has traditionally been used to reduce or eliminate their populations, however, this is often controversial. In Australia, culling has been used extensively to rid the country of multiple species of kangaroos. Kangaroos are problematic because they can damage habitats such as native grassland regions, but culling of this native and symbolic species is a very divisive subject for Australians. Another solution to overpopulation that has been employed for maintenance of some pests is immunocontraceptive vaccines.

  Immunocontraceptive vaccines can be injected into an animal and cause their immune system to attack hormones involved in reproduction. One vaccine recently tested on eastern fox squirrel populations in California is GonaConTM (Krause et al 2014). This vaccine was initially developed to manage white-tailed deer populations and has since been used to control wallabies, bison, elk, wild horses, feral dogs and cats, prairie dogs, and feral pigs. GonaConTM consists of a GnRH (gonadotropin releasing hormone) conjugated to a large foreign protein; the complex elicits an immune response causing white blood cells to attack both the GnRH in the vaccine, as well as other GnRH’s produced by the individuals body. This inhibits the ability of both males and females to reproduce, however, the study conducted on eastern fox squirrels found that treatment animals (both male and female) had significantly poorer body condition and large abscesses at the site of injection relative to control animals. This suggests that immunocontraceptive vaccines are not a ‘perfect’ alternative to culling, but further research may help to improve this method of controlling pests. 

The eastern fox squirrel is a destructive pest that is causing problems in California. GonaCon has shown to be 100% effective at sterilizing both males and females. Photo from: http://www.tooshytostop.com/2008/11/21/oversexed-squirrels-receive-birth-control/

  One constraint to using immunocontraceptive vaccines is the ability to catch enough animals to make this method effective, some animals are more difficult to capture than others. Other constraints include the cost of the vaccine and the duration of it’s effectiveness. It would be challenging to use this vaccine if it was only effective for 5 years, but the species could reproduce for 15 years of its life. Culling does not have a lag response but acts to constrain a population immediately. However, a large benefit to using immunocontraceptive vaccines instead of culling is that it is generally more accepted by people and considered to be more ethical. In addition, it doesn’t require methods of disposal of numerous dead animals.

  I think that public opinion ultimately determines how a population is maintained, whether this is always best is a big unanswerable question. Everyone’s definition of ethical is different. There will always be people for or against methods of species constraint, but it is important that we look at the big picture and ask questions in an attempt to foresee the outcome of each strategy.  

  Words: 579

  King, J. 2004. The current distribution of the introduced fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area and its behavioral interaction with the native western gray squirrel (Sciurus griseus). Thesis, California State University Los Angeles, USA.

  Krause, S.K., Kelt, D.A., Gionfriddo, J.P., Van Vuren, D.H. 2014. Efficacy and health effects of a wildlife immunocontraceptive vaccine on fox squirrels. Population Ecology, 78(1):12-23

  Article available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1002/jwmg.635/asset/jwmg635.pdf?v=1&t=hsmgp1hi&s=0aec2d8bc685dc82773a5565cdfe08c091aa6a39&systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+will+be+disrupted+Saturday%2C+15+March+from+10%3A00-12%3A00+GMT+%2806%3A00-08%3A00+EDT%29+for+essential+maintenance

[katiebennett1991]

Salvaging Culture

Nabahan, G. P. 1990. Gathering the Desert. Tucson (AZ). University of Arizona Press.  p 3-19

Take a look at the novelties and life styles of your parents and compare them to your own. You might notice both minor changes such as clothes and career choice, and major changes such as the available technology. If you look hard enough, one thing you might notice is the dilution of culture in some families. It can be difficult to retain culture when the structure of North American society is a melting pot, sometimes features that link us to our culture, such as food, can be lost. In places like the Sonoran Desert, people are straying from consuming foods that occur naturally in the area to eating foods found in the supermarket or served at restaurants. These food venues tend to be overwhelmed by common, stereotyped foods that come from another area of the country, or even another part of the world.

            I find it both alarming and sad that out of 425 edible wild plant species’ in the Sonoran desert only 12 are commonly used. This lead me to thinking about the plants I consume and where they come from, I then realized that I probably don’t eat any of the wild plant species from the Kamloops area such as the native balsamroot. Being that Kamloops is under a blanket of snow for a relatively large portion of the year, it is probably much more difficult to find foods that could sustain a family of five. But then again, maybe this is just my excuse.

Nabhan was easy to agree with in his book ‘Gathering the Desert’. While reading pages 3 through 19, I felt something stirring inside me, I felt an urgency to visit the Sonoran desert and meet the characters described, to learn from them, and gain a greater appreciation for wild plants. Nabhan articulated the feelings I had very well when he wrote, “Even if you don’t gather the desert, let it gather a feeling in you. Even if you don’t swallow it as medicine, meditate upon it: the desert can cure” (p. 8).

Another stirring I felt was the need for something that held the same meaning and uses for me as creosote does for the Sonoran Desert Natives. Despite being neither religious nor spiritual, I fully believe the tales of creosote curing all sorts of maladies. Maybe one doesn’t exist for me. It is odd to think that my ancestors all came from England within the past century yet I have never visited that country and know very little of their culture, (aside from crazy football fans, warm beer, and a pub on every corner). Nabhan raises very current problems and provides thoughtful insight into human society and it’s culture. He is very good at illustrating the link between plants, people, and culture. His book, ‘Gathering the Desert’ left me wanting more and kept me thinking beyond the last page.

[katiebennett1991]

A Fishy Situation

Reaching up to 14 feet in length and three-quarters of a ton in mass, the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna is a monster of the sea or “the king of all fish”, as Ernest Hemingway once referred it to. Not only is the bluefin tuna massive, but also its long, streamline body enables it to reach speeds of more than 25 miles per hour. While these speeds allow the bluefin to escape many predators of the sea, they have not made it capable of evading fishing by poachers and liscensed fishers. The popularity of maguro, or bluefin sushi, has lead to the bluefin tuna being one of the most overfished species on earth. An average sized tuna can real in between $10,000 and $20,000 depending on quality.

  Bluefin Tuna in an undersea pen in the Mediterranean. Photo taken by Brian Skerry.

Large declines in the sizes of Bluefin tuna populations are alarming; stocks spawning in the western Atlantic have been reduced by a shocking 64 percent since 1970. If their numbers continue to plummet, the Bluefin tuna may risk extirpation. In an attempt to prevent this, scientists working for the Tuna Research and Conservation Center (TRCC) are monitoring population sizes and tagging Bluefins to track their migrations. The tag used to monitor each captured individual is high tech as it can be programmed to corrode after a certain length of time and upon being detached from the Bluefin will float to the surface of the ocean. When the tag comes in contact with air, it emits information about the animal’s migrations, dive patterns, and other things to circulating satellites that transmit the data to the TRCC in California.

  Spanish fisherman catching tuna in the Atlantic. Photo by Brian Skerry

While scientists (such as those at the TRCC) are working to monitor tuna populations and determine catch quotas that will allow the numbers to rebound, the problem is that the International Commission for the Conservation of the Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) is not acting upon these quota recommendations. The ICCAT manages the fisheries for the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and has routinely set catch quotas much higher than those recommended by scientists. In addition to the declines in Atlantic Bluefin tuna populations caused by the high quotas allowed by the ICCAT, illegal fishing is having a negative effect. Contributing to the problem of illegal fishing are vast Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. These regions encompass approximately 64% of the earth’s ocean and are not claimed or governed by one nation, therefore the practices within these areas are not regulated. Luckily, the World Wildlife Federation and multiple other organizations have recognized this problem; these groups are attempting to improve the management of tuna fisheries in ocean regions that are not owned or governed.

  Brower, K. 2014. Quiksilver: Prized for sushi, the fast and powerful Atlantic bluefin tuna is being relentlessly overfished. National Geographic [Internet]. [cited 17 Feb 2014]. Available from: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/03/bluefin-tuna/brower-text

  Fisheries and Oceans Canada [Internet]. Canada: Fisheries and Oceans Canada; [updated 2010 Aug 25; cited 2014 Feb 26]. Available from: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/international/tuna-thon/management-gestion-eng.htm

  World Wildlife Federation (WWF) [Internet]. 2013. WWF. [updated 2013 Nov 04; cited 2014 Feb 26]. Available from: http://worldwildlife.org/stories/conserving-the-last-ocean-frontier 

[katiebennett1991]

Appleseeds on the frontier

Pollan M. 2001. Desire: sweetness / plant: the apple. In: The botany of desire. New York (NY): Random House Trade Paperbacks. p. 3-58 Sometimes the line between mythology and reality is jagged or incomplete. Such is the case of John Chapman. Chapman sits on the verge of real and imaginary, sane and insane, hero and shadow. There is little question that a man named John Chapman existed, but his true character and the stories surrounding his existence are questionable. Throughout Chapter One, Pollan holds an underlying skepticism of John Chapman’s character, particularly his supposed attraction to young girls as he brings this up multiple times. While Pollan does not question Chapman’s role in bringing apples to the riverbanks of Ohio, he is wary of many stories surrounding his existence. Some of these stories are so peculiar that it makes me wonder whether John Chapman was part imaginary character and part human (or part animal might be more appropriate). I mean, how many humans would “… sooner douse [their] campfire than singe the mosquitoes attracted to its flame”? (p. 28). The imaginative aspect of Chapman’s character is further underlined when Pollan compares him to Dionysus. The similarities between Johnny Appleseed and Dionysus are uncanny. While “… Dionysus had brought civilization the gift of wine” (p. 37), Johnny Appleseed had brought to America the gift of apples and cider. Along with many other similarities, Johnny Appleseed and Dionysus both had a wild side that was in tune with the natural world, and at the same time were a symbol for domestication and the marriage between a plant, and a group of people. Why anybody might let a strange man donning a loin-cloth enter their home, no questions asked, puzzles me. Wouldn’t you want to know where the heck (pardon my French) this crazy man came from? The only explanation I can see for this is (as Pollan suggests) is that “Johnny Appleseed’s words and seeds offered release from the long sentence of ordinariness, held out a hope of transcendence” (p. 40). Pollan ended the chapter by saying that “… if [he] ever [does] get around to making a barrel of cider from [his] Baldwins, a few of these nameless apples should add a sharp and racy note to the drink, a strangeness [he’ll] be looking for, and welcome” (p. 58). I think the important point he makes in this final statement is that he would like to try something new and different that has not been selected for by apple growers across America. This ties in with a sentence just a few pages previous that says “… as the modern apple’s story suggests, domestication can be overdone, the human quest to control nature’s wildness can go too far” (p. 56). Pollan could not have stated this better and its placement within the chapter was ideal because it ties in directly with the selection processes associated with modern day apples and the problems that these cloning events have posed. This chapter has had the same effect as Pollan’s discussion of the potato and corn in that it has made me change my view of what I am consuming. My perception of modern agriculture has taken a further negative downspin but which I hope may be uplifted in the future. The tale of the apple in America isn’t as sweet as it may seem.

[katiebennett1991]

To eat or not to eat

Pollan M. 2001. Desire: control / plant: the potato. In: The botany of desire. New York (NY): Random House Trade Paperbacks. p. 183-238 As I began reading Michael Pollan’s final chapter in The Botany of Desire, I found myself wondering why he would dedicate an entire chapter to such a boring plant. However, I soon became in awe of the conflict and effect that potatoes have or have had on humans. Who would have thought planting a nutritious crop could be so controversial as to cause a potato debate in Europe? The dominion views that people in the 1600’s and 1700’s held over plants was well explained by Pollan and helped me to understand why there was resistance towards the planting of potatoes. I liked reading about the acceptance of the potato plant in Ireland but no other European countries and found Louis XVI’s trick for getting peasants in France to grow this root vegetable quite interesting. Common sense tells me that any starving person would eat almost anything, especially one that is so filling and has some nutritional value. Prior to reading about Pollan’s visit to Danny Forsyth and Steve Young, inorganic farmers, and Mike Heath, an organic farmer, I viewed organic farming as an inefficient agricultural method meant to target uninformed consumers. However, upon learning about the extremities to which the inorganic farmers went to rid their potato crops of weeds and pests and the minimalist approach that Heath took my mind was boggled. I had no idea that inorganic farmers used chemicals as toxic and severe as Monitor. The fact that Heath’s farming method yielded nearly as many bags of potatoes as Young and Forsyth’s methods further caused me to change my opinion of organic farming. The only remaining issue associated with organic farming that has not convinced me to buy these products is the vast amount of plastic materials often used to package organic foods. This may not be true specifically for organic potatoes but have you ever looked at the packaging of other organic foods such as eggs at the grocery store? From my experience, the organic foods have an enormous amount of plastic covering relative to the inorganic foods. To me the amount of plastic already being tossed into garbage cans is already alarming, so why add to the problem by wrapping foods that don’t need to be wrapped? Anyhow, enough ranting on my part, let’s talk about the final chapter and Michael Pollan’s struggle to eat his genetically engineered NewLeaf potatoes. I can fully relate to Pollan’s view of his NewLeaf potatoes. Who would mindfully want to eat a plant that produces it’s own pesticide and that has not had FDA approval? And furthermore, feed them to someone else? The scary part is there is a good chance that I have unknowingly eaten one of these pesticide infected, beetle killing, and gargantuan russet potatoes. I saw Pollan as being a very moral person when he chose to not eat or feed these potatoes to another person. I enjoyed reading Pollan’s book because it was informative but not imposing thus allowing me to think for myself. Being the stubborn person I am, I appreciated not being told what to think and whether I was right or wrong as it made the read both relaxing and intriguing.

[katiebennett1991]

Lag-Effect of Wildfires

Global warming can have a large impact on the occurrence rate of natural disturbances such as wildfires.  This is especially true in Canada, a country with vast boreal forests that provide adequate fuel for fires. In recent decades, the number and size of regions affected by wildfires has been on the rise, this continual increase in the frequency of wildfires and number of hectares burned each year in Canada can in part be attributed to human-induced climate change. Gillet et al. 2004 demonstrated that greenhouse gas and sulfate aerosol emissions due to human activity have contributed to climate warming and in turn the area burned by wildfires each year. 

Strawberry Hill Forest Fire, 2003 (Source:http://www.cdart.org/disasters.htm)

Wildfires can present both costs and benefits to people, wildlife, and forests. Some benefits of wildfires include generation of habitat for certain species, increasing biological diversity, ‘activating’ seeds that require high temperatures, and soil rejuvenation. However, fires can also be detrimental to both people and wildlife. Fires in close proximity to towns can lead to evacuation of residents and destruction of homes as was seen in 2003 when the McLure, Strawberry Hill, and McGillivray Lake fires raided the North and South Thompson valleys leaving a trail of smoke and burnt forest behind them. The negative effects that wild fires can have on wildlife inhabiting the forests are not easily quantified as every species will respond differently to the disturbance and there is often a lag phase. Studying the area for several years pre- and post-disturbance is important to understanding the effect natural fires can have on an ecosystem. This is exactly what Hossack et al. 2012 did in Glacier National Park where they studied the effects of forest fires on amphibians.

Hossack and his colleagues looked at the occupancy of the boreal toad, long-toed salamander, and spotted frog in wetland areas that had either been affected by a fire between 1988 and 2003 or had not been affected by wildfire since 1967 or earlier (these acted as reference wetlands). Previous studies had shown that wildfires can terminate breeding, isolate populations, and increase the developmental rate of juveniles leading to reduced immune function. In this particular study, the landscape characteristics that might affect amphibian populations were recorded within a 500 meter perimeter of affected and unaffected wetlands. In addition, the researchers used dipnets to sample 268 wetlands for the 3 study species. It was found that the occupancy of long-toed salamanders and spotted frogs did not change within the 6 years after a wildfire. But 7-21 years after a fire they decreased by more than 25% in areas where more than half of the area within the 500 meter wetland perimeter was burned. In contrast, the occupancy of boreal toads increased by a factor of 3 in the few years after a fire but then experienced a slow decline. I found this study very interesting because it demonstrated that the effects of a natural disturbance may not be immediate and also because it provides support for conducting long-term studies on ecosystems.

Words: 499

Gillet, N.P., Weaver, A.J., Zwiers, F.W., Flannigan, M.D. 2004. Detecting the effect of climate change on Canadian forest fires. Geophysical Research Letters, 31:  1-4

Hossack, B.R., Lowe, W.H., Corn, P.S. 2012. Rapid increases and time-lagged declines in amphibian occupancy after wildfire. Conservation Biology, 27: 219-228

[katiebennett1991]

The Consequence of a Commodity

Pollan M. 2006. Industrial corn. In: The omnivore’s dilemma: a natural history of four meals. New York (NY): The Penguin Press. p. 15-119.

Michael Pollan is a phenomenal writer who was fully dedicated to the topic of corn in The Omnivores Dilemma. His dedication is demonstrated by his engagement into his research, I mean, who buys a steer, travels to Iowa, or eats MacDonald’s for the sake of a book? His dedication definitely rewarded the reader as the story of corn as told by Pollan is outstanding.

I thoroughly enjoyed Michael Pollan’s discussion of ‘Corn’s Conquest’ in chapter one. Pollan provided a concrete history and physiology of zea mays including both how the plant reproduces as well as how it sustained and contributed to the success of colonizing American settlers. He further delved into the topic of corn becoming the base of almost all foods found in a supermarket. By doing this, Pollan highlights problems in today’s food industry and culture. One such example is when Pollan writes that the working definition of industrial food is “… any food whose provenance is so complex or obscure that it requires help to ascertain” (p. 17).

In chapter 2, corn is no longer portrayed as just a food staple, but also as a tyrant of plants. It has caused a drop in the crop diversity in places such as Greene County, caused farmers to go bankrupt, and has also lead to towns dwindling in size and becoming ghost-like. These changes cannot be attributed solely to corn as Pollan points out, but it is a driving factor. The chapter also touches on the topic of fertilization and discusses the contribution the discovery of a chemical reaction to fix nitrogen, has made to the agriculture industry. I particularly liked Pollan’s description of George Naylor’s character; George seems to be a very traditional farmer who still shares the beliefs held by farmers in the early 1900’s as demonstrated by Pollan’s references to his Populist faith. Throughout the chapter, Pollan’s writing and thoughtfulness is stellar as demonstrated by this sentence: “By fertilizing the world, we alter the planet’s composition of species and shrink its biodiversity” (p. 47). 

In The Omnivores Dilemma, Pollan brings to light some political and economical problems associated with corn and the people who farm it. One major problem is corn as a commodity, which Pollan refers to as “… a filter, stripping qualities and histories from the harvest of a particular farm and farmer” (p. 60). This phrase exemplifies Pollan’s ability to not only see it like it is but also to get his thoughts across to the reader in an elegant and awesome way. A second problem Pollan talks about is the constant depression of corn prices that are influenced by two major companies. These companies have a great amount of control over the policies generated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. I liked how Pollan ended chapter 3 with a theatre reference as he writes, “Enter the corn-fed American steer” (p. 64).

Reading about feedlots was depressing and made me view humans as being ignorant, unintelligent, and cruel. In today’s culture, and in the corn growing and beef fattening industry, the phrase ‘less is more’ is far from popular. Instead, all society cares about is producing large quantities of a commodity as quickly as possible. Pollan demonstrates how this has lead to ignorance of health and environmental problems, as well as animal cruelty by humans. When written on paper, these issues are so obvious, so why aren’t more people concerned?

Following his discussion of feedlots, Pollan introduces and delves into the topic of the processing of corn and the food products it is found in (which is a lot!). While reading chapter 5, I found myself relating much of what Pollan was talking about to my own experiences with food and was very conscious of what I typically eat. This was especially true while thinking about what I eat for breakfast; a bowl of multi-grain cheerios topped with a banana as well as a piece of toast with peanut butter. To me it tastes good, seems healthy (multigrain hello!), and fills me up, but when I looked at the first ingredient in the cereal, it was corn! This was a little alarming as it brought to my attention that even me, a science student who knows what all or most of the ingredients listed on the box are, didn’t even know what I was eating. Despite that my beloved cheerios are made from corn, I will not give them up, but also vow not be swayed or seduced by more recently engineered, processed foods targeting uninformed people that, like me, enjoy eating cereal for breakfast.

The further I got into reading The Omnivores Dilemma, the more it seemed like the book was funneling into topics closer and closer to home. In Chapter 6, Pollan essentially refers to corn as the alcohol of the present because it is cheap to buy and people are consuming it in excessive amounts. This in turn leads to the topic of obesity, a health issue that has become an epidemic in the United States. While it sounds easy enough to educate people and help them eat less, it is challenging when corn products are economical, tasty, and filling and the marketing strategies used by large companies in addition to agricultural policies are encouraging people to eat more. Pollan really drives this message home when he says that “while the surgeon general is raising alarms over the epidemic of obesity, the president is signing farm bills designed to keep the river of cheap corn flowing, guaranteeing that the cheapest calories in the supermarket will continue to be the unhealthiest” (p. 108).

Reading Chapter 7 was an experience of conflicting emotions to say in the least. At some points I so badly wanted the taste of a MacDonald’s cheeseburger and fries even though I subconsciously know how unhealthy it is and despise fast food. At other points, that same cheeseburger and fries seemed like a disgusting concoction of ingredients whose exact origin is unknown. Pollan certainly stayed true to his topic and ended this section of the book in a way that left me (and probably many other readers) wondering. I was left wondering not just about corn, but about agricultural, economical, health, and social dilemmas that humans face every day. If this is what Pollan aimed to do, he definitely accomplished it.

[katiebennett1991]

A bombardment of facts and the spread of farming

Diamond, J. 1999. Guns, Germs and Steel. New York (NY). W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. p 85-113.

Diamond, J. 1999. Guns, Germs and Steel. New York (NY). W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. p 131-156.

Diamond is incredibly knowledgeable but lacks the ability to convey this knowledge to his readers in a manner that will hold their interest. In my previous blog I mentioned that he was very factual but a poor storyteller and this remains true in chapters 4, 5, 6, and 8.

  The portion of chapter 4 that captivated my attention the most was the story on the first couple pages about Diamond’s experience on a farm. In this personal account of his past, Diamond tells us that him and his friend Levi worked for a Swedish farmer named Fred Hirschy, whom Levi had negative feelings towards as a result of their ancestral history. Levi tended to remain quiet about his feelings except for an instance when he came to work drunk. Diamond writes that the incidence changed his perspective on what he had been taught in school and how he began to wonder why farmers had won out over the native Indians and their hunter-gatherer ways. I particularly liked how he used “… this chapter will trace the main connections through which food production led to all the advantages that enabled Pizarro to capture Atahuallpa, and Fred Hirschy’s people to dispossess Levi’s” (p. 86) as a mode of transition between the story he was telling and the rest of the chapter. However, I would have much preferred that Diamond continue on with the story throughout the remainder of the chapter rather than tell me about domesticated plants and animals. I felt that this was an interesting topic that Diamond didn’t do a good job of representing.

  Chapter 5 was basically a continuum of chapter 4 but much more boring to put it bluntly. I felt that Diamonds explanation of carbon 14 dating was unnecessary and did not contribute anything important to the chapter. I also felt that the photographs of people from different tribes were intriguing but horribly out of place and needed to be dated. They didn’t appear to serve a purpose as they were never referred to in the text and were not directly connected to what Diamond was discussing. Finally, I further disliked that Diamond seemed to ramble on and was unable to hold my undivided attention. History’s Haves and Have-nots was dry and jumbled. To prevent myself from an uncontrolled rant, I proceeded to read chapter 6.

  In chapter 6, To Farm or Not to Farm, Diamond asks a very valid question; why did people adopt food production at all? While there are some obvious answers that immediately come to mind such as to allow families to establish homes that they could live in year-round and to have a steady food supply, there are some less obvious answers that Diamond outlines such as a depletion of wild food resources and an increase in population size. I liked that this chapter didn’t raid my brain with numerous facts such as in the previous chapter; instead it allowed me to think about the world in a different way and lead me to formulate questions of my own. One thought at the forefront of my brain is what might the world look like if farming had never been introduced and we remained hunter-gathers. Would this help to keep our ever-growing population size in check? Would it also help to minimize our impact on the environment and reduce the need for conservation efforts? Or might humans have gone extinct if we had retained this method of obtaining food? This chapter encouraged me to look at farming in a different way, whether or not Diamond had intended this to happen. Originally I thought farming was a great success of the human race that revolutionized our way of life and is helping to preserve the planet by helping plots of land to remain green and not become covered in ugly developments. Now I think that in some ways farming has been detrimental to society and the planet because it has indirectly facilitated wars, habitat depletion, resource depletion, extinction of species, and a huge gap between the rich and the impoverished. While at the end of the previous chapter I was an unhappy reader of Guns, Germs, and Steel, I am now an enthused reader. I can only hope that chapter 8 is more similar to chapter 5 than to chapter 4.

  Reading chapter 8 was a frustrating battle as it bombarded me with facts and because everything Diamond talked about merely jumbled together in my head. It seemed as though he rambled on about the spread of agriculture, which he had already been talking about in the previous 3 chapters. The good parts of this chapter were like four leaf clovers, hard to find. Every now and then Diamond would draw on an experience he had while exploring for information on the topic of domesticated plants and animals. One example is his experience with a New Guinea tribe in which he was taught about edible mushrooms the tribe harvests; the story of this incidence was written well and drew me into the chapter. However, these rare stories are surrounded by and diluted by facts on dates, places, and crops. If Diamond could lace together his worldly experiences and limit the number of facts he inserts in the pages of Guns, Germs, and Steel, this book would be an exciting read.

[katiebennett1991]

If you build it, they will come

I have always had a great appreciation for the outdoors and all the creatures that inhabit, but in the past year I have become particularly intrigued by toads and frogs. Here are just a few reasons why I think that you should care about frogs; one, tadpoles eat algae and help to clean waterways that are used by other animals, two, adult frogs provide food for predators such as birds and fish including ones that we like to eat, and three, adult frogs feed on pesky bugs that drive summer vacationers mad. What many people don’t know is that frogs are also great indicators of environmental health because their permeable skin is highly absorbent; this should be of great concern to us because populations of frogs are drastically declining worldwide! In British Columbia alone, 64% of frog species are considered to be of special conservation concern. Luckily, the B.C. provincial government has recognized that this is a serious problem and has employed a B.C. Frogwatch Program to monitor local frog populations. The program is particularly concerned with tracking the spread of the parasitic chytrid fungus. This fungus affects amphibians on all continents and is rapidly spreading throughout western North America. The fungus is found in moist environments and infects the keratinized cells of amphibians thus interrupting their ability to osmoregulate. In a very short time period the chytrid fungus can cause mass amphibian mortalities. In combination with the spread of the chytrid fungus, frogs and amphibians are also severely impacted by pollution and habitat loss and degradation.

The fact that such a vast population of frogs are at risk in B.C. lead my to thinking about a project that we could do as a class to help local frogs. While researching frogs, I came across groups that had constructed frog ponds and thought that this would be a doable project that hasn’t been done in the past. The ponds appear to be easy to build and only a small amount of space is needed. Some digging is required but only to a depth of approximately 18 inches to produce the pond ‘bed’. Once the bed is dug, a resistant plastic sheet is used to cover it and can be held in place by either naturally occurring rocks or ones bought at a store. In addition, a few low-lying plants can be planted around the pond and features such as dead logs could be added. This pond could be both an economically and environmentally friendly project that will help amphibians in need!

Words: 430

References:

B.C. Frogwatch Program. [Internet]. Victoria (BC) [cited 2014 Jan 21]. Available from: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/frogwatch/

COSEWIC. [Internet]. [last updated 2013 Dec 02; cited 2014 Jan 21]. Available from: http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct1/SearchResult_e.cfm?commonName=&scienceName=&Submit=Submit&boxTaxonomic=1

Eco Snobbery Sucks. [Internet]. [cited 2014 Jan 21] http://ecosnobberysucks.com/2011/05/beautiful-diy-frog-pond/

[katiebennett1991]

On bumblebees and almonds

Diamond J. 1999. How to make an almond. In: Guns, germs, and steel. New York (NY): W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. p. 114-130

Pollan M. 2001. The human bumblebee. In: The botany of desire. New York (NY): Random House Trade Paperbacks. p. xiii-xxv

The effect that man has had on the evolutionary history of plants is vast and certainly not a black and white ethical topic. Pollan and Diamond approach the history and successes of plants from a different standpoint. Both write as though they are telling a story, but while Pollan is very intimate, humbled, and in awe of the plants he is discussing, Diamond is slightly arrogant. He writes as though humans are a powerful force that is able to control what happens in nature. In some sense, from Diamond’s perspective, humans are one step ahead of plants whereas from Pollan’s perspective, the plants are one step ahead of humans.

  A particularly intriguing and alarming quote in Guns, Germs, and Steel is found on page 120 where Diamond writes: “Thus, human farmers reversed the direction of natural selection by 180 degrees: the formerly successful gene suddenly became lethal, and the lethal mutant became successful”. This quote resonates in me because it is quite true and also scary that a single race has been able to manipulate and alter the evolution and nature of numerous other species. This ties in with Diamonds discussion of the genetic engineering and selection for fruits that don’t have seeds. It almost seems clever on the plant’s side of things to have evolved seeds as a mechanism for dispersal but which humans do not favour. The plants no longer need to rely on seeds for dispersal and reproduction because humans do this job for them. Smart right?

Diamond stays true to the title of his chapter ‘how to make an almond’. Firstly he does this by referring to almonds at both the beginning and closing of the chapter; initially pointing out the poisonous nature of wild almonds, and finally discussing the differences between almonds and acorns. Secondly, he stays true to the chapter title by walking the reader through the steps that humans have taken to modify plants and make them more desirable. Essentially it is the process by which wild plants were farmed and acted upon by very selective humans to produce the fruits we eat today, including almonds.

Some similarities can be drawn between The Botany of Desire, and Guns, Germs, and Steel. Firstly, both Pollan and Diamond incorporate artificial selection and the manner in which Darwin first presented his theory of evolution by natural selection to the public into their stories. Secondly, both authors discuss how plants, being non-locomotive, are able to reproduce and the role humans have played in this. Thirdly, both refer to the conscious and unconconscious acts of humans, only Diamond tends to overuse these two terms while Pollan reserves them for when they are needed.

The style of writing used by each author is quite different despite the similarities in the content of their books. Pollan is a very thoughtful storyteller who fully explains himself; by sharing what he is thinking with the reader he helps to form a bond with his audience. One sentence I especially enjoyed reading is: “I can remember the exact moment that spud seduced me, showing off it’s knobby charms in the pages of a seed catalogue” (p.xv). After reading just a short segment of his writing, it already seems as though I know a little bit about Pollan’s character. This is very different from Diamond who is very factual and doesn’t try form a bridge between himself and the reader. What I really liked about Diamond is how he ended his chapter with a quote from Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species.

In conclusion, both books serve to change the way the reader thinks about the natural world and the connections humans have with plants. Not only do they change the way you think, they also make you question the role humans are meant to have in nature.

[katiebennett1991]

A visit to the landscape of form

Hallé, F. 1999. A visit to the landscape of form. p. 41-124 in In Praise of Plants. Timber Press, Inc., Portland (OR).

Hallé, F. 1999. Evolution. p. 173-184 in In Praise of Plants. Timber Press, Inc., Portland (OR).

What I find most captivating about the book “In praise of plants” by Francis Halle is how he explores the living world through an uncommon perspective. Reading this book feels as though you are discovering a whole new way of thinking about the relationship between plants and humans and the ideas put forth by Halle are mind boggling and exciting! I particularly liked his description of animals being ‘confused plants, turned inside out like a glove, with infolded leaves and roots in their digestive tracts’ (p.50). The more I thought about this phrase, the more it seemed true! I also thought that this was an unusual yet intriguing description of animals because it paints a very odd picture. Seeing the digestive tract of an animal as a series of leaves and roots definitely prodded my imagination and got me thinking about other similarities between plants and animals. The idea of animals merely being plants with the ability to locomote even crossed my mind, despite how extreme this proposal was.

While some statements made by Halle were easy to read and understand, not all of his ideas were presented in an easy and relatively straightforward manner. He would often make complex statements that were difficult to understand, however, sometimes you merely needed to continue reading as Halle would delve into the particular subject in more detail. One example of a sentence that I found challenging is found on page 72 and goes like this: “The fundamental totipotency of the plant disappears horizontally under the force of gravity”. Initially I found this statement frustrating to read through and ended up going through it several times at a slower pace than I normally read at. After several failed attempts at trying to understand what Halle was pointing out, I continued to read the remainder of the paragraph. What I found was a discussion of the apical and lateral meristems of a plant, which, luckily for me, helped to clarify the sentence I was struggling to grasp a hold of.

I didn’t thoroughly enjoy Halle’s style of writing while reading “In praise of plants”; it seemed choppy, with very poetic language interspersed with common and scientific lanquage. Instead I thought one of the most powerful tools used by Halle were his cartoon drawings. The cartoons are both catchy and informative and help to illustrate and support the points he is writing about. I especially liked Figure 41 depicting a tapestry of colonial humans (p.119). The drawing clearly illustrates the challenges humans would face if we were colonial organisms; it also strongly supports his discussion of plants primarily being colonial and animals being unitary individuals.

Finally, along with Halle’s unique ideas and cartoon drawings, I further enjoyed how smoothly he transitioned between topics. In chapter 3 Halle began with a discussion of plant form and the mannerisms for capturing energy used by plants and animals and ended with a brief look at how organisms die. Throughout the chapter he touched on numerous subjects including growth, symmetries and polarities, development, and coloniality. Despite that many topics were addressed in this chapter, Halle was able to smoothly tie each one together and avoid any rigid transitions. This aspect of Halle’s book helped to make it a delight to read.

[katiebennett1991]

"The control of nature is a phrase conceived in arrogance, born of the Neanderthal age of biology and philosophy, when it was supposed that nature exists for the convenience of man."

Rachel Carson