Week 4: Our Field Trip(s): What We Learned, @ What Cost?

After walking three minutes this morning I approached the white tents that comprised the farmer's market. One particular tent stood out to me, Wilmer's Organic, manned by two post-college-mid-twenties guys. Phil Smeltz was one of these said guys who was more than willing to talk to me about the free range chicken eggs and organic produce. 

The free range chickens are an experiment in its first year. Wilmer's Organic has around 400 chickens in six different varieties kept in a mobile home unit. Before this experiement went underway, Phil spoke of his chicken house that seemed to be more effort than it was worth. The mobile home unit is moved to different pastuers and the chickens can feed on fresh grasses and pick at bugs. However, Phil emphasized that grass alone does not have all the nutrients the chickens need to survive and are also fed an organic feed. Passionately, he discussed in length the slated floor of the mobile home that allows the chickens' feces to give nitrogen back to the Earth.

Both people manning the stand reminded me of the people in "King Corn," very earnest individuals who had great intentions and were passionate about their foods.

This morning around 10 AM, I walked to the Saturday morning Farmer's Market; a parking lot featuring a few stands selling produce, plants, breads, and novelty items such as goat milk soap. The first stand hung a sign above their produce advertising "Livengood's Family Farm, Lancaster, PA, Organically Grown Produce" in bold letters. I interviewed one of three brothers who happened to be running one of two stands active that day. A brief history of the farm goes something like this:

The father of the brothers was raised on the original 12 acre (8 additional acres are rented now) farm growing a variety of vegetables and selling them on the traditional road-side stand. As the three brothers grew older, the father increased the variety. About 16 years ago, more road-side stands started appearing in the area, prompting the father to sell his produce from an additional stand in Reading Market. Today, the family runs various stands at different farmer's markets in the area on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The farm's main focus is retail, although some whole-sale dealing is done with a couple restaurants. The oldest of the three brothers plans to take over the farm after their father retires. He has already expanded the farm to include a grass-fed beef herd, renting another 50-60 acres of land.

When asked how important organic is to the farm, I was given an anecdote about why the farm became organic. Before the birth of the second brother, a baby girl was born, but died a few days later. The family believes it was because of cold medicine given to the mother before the birth. After that, the father began using organic methods on the farm. Mr. Livengood states that organic is about “being responsible” and becoming a good “steward” for the land and for the people.

What this farm means by being organic is by following a certain style of farming. The manures used are always composted and, while some sprays are used, they are organically classified by federal institutions. An example would be a spray made of ground up seashells that would make climbing the plants harder for insects. The institution that regulates the Livengood Farm is PCO or Pennsylvania Certified Organic. Organic doesn’t just relate to farming methods, but, for Livengood, it means the building of relationships between consumers and producers. People are acknowledging where their food comes from, they understand more intimately about what they are purchasing. Although Livengood admits to having some conventional products at the stand, he relates that all foods not grown on their farm, even the conventionally grown produce, are bought from neighboring farms, not from an entirely different country. Products not from the family farm are sold for the benefit of business and the happiness of customers.

The Livengood Family Farm presents an example of an organic farm that partakes in some conventional methods in order to stay in business. It presents the idea of the farm as a full-time job that needs to follow at least some capitalistic approaches to business to stay in business. However, Livengood sums up the basic attitude of the farm; “What you see is what you got.”

Personally I didnt think our field trip equaled the carbon foot print we left behind. the information we learned although interesting wasnt complelty new or something we couldnt find out by looking at Pete's website or calling him up and asking him if we were complelled to do so. Granted being able to visit the farm and see everything was an interesting change of pace it didnt really change anything for me.

 I found the farmer’s claim that growing organic commercially was almost impossible on the East Coast very interesting. As he went on to explain the difference between organically and inorganically grown crops, I couldn't help but agree with him. I realized that organic food products were not commercially viable as the effort both in terms of time and labor required per acre would itself make the task impractical and very expensive. I felt that possibly the organic food industry was actually a “niche” industry which has gained a lot of popularity because of the fact that it does not pollute its surroundings. In fact it would be incorrect to even call it an industry. An agricultural industry generally implies monoculture and extensive use of chemicals (but then again it is not that organic food is not “sprayed”) and in my eyes organic food is anything but that.

This weekend I went home, back to rural and suburban New Jersey.  I went to a farm that was located near my house in a small town called Chester.  The farm was called Stony Hill Farm and featured a corn maze, fresh produce, and a petting zoo.  When I asked about the produce, the girl at the cash register was very informative.  She told me that Stony Hill Farms only grow certain vegetables and fruits seasonally, and sprays only in the beginning of each plant's season.  Rutgers University comes up every other week or so, I was told, to asses the health of the plants and tell the farm when to spray.  The plants are harvested at their peak and refrigerated for only one day before being transported to other farms within the county. Although not entirely organic, the farm did its part to be earth-conscious and friendly.

My personal carbon footprint was difficult to determine accurately.  I know that Septa Rail and New Jersey Transit run on electricity, but that electricity is derived, mostly likely, from coal plants.  Of course neither trains' site would answer any questions I had about energy efficiency.  Once arriving in New Brunswick, I commuted 49 miles back to Rockaway, NJ.  From Rockaway I traveled another 40 miles to and from Chester. And going back to New Brunswick was another 49 miles. So altogether, I traveled 119 miles. Unfortunately carbon footprint counters were unable to determine what my specific carbon footprint was for this trip, but I fear that it was quite hefty.

 I really enjoyed our trip to Pete's farm. The reason being, I think that it was a great chance to experience a different atmosphere for a period of time. However, I feel that a lot of the things we learned from Pete were things that we could have talked to him about in an e-mail or over the phone. That is why I was a bit skeptical when the question arose about whether or not our trip was worth enlarging our carbon footprint. I loved seeing the farm but I felt that it was what I expected a farm to look like in Philadelphia. I did not expect that it would be very large, however, I was surprised to find out that Pete is able to continue farming on the land because of the West town school. For some reason I was also surprised that Pete was not an organic farm. However, after he explained his reasoning I found that it made perfect sense. If Pete is doing fine and making enough money, why would he spend money to become organic? With the economy the way it is, sometimes it is better for people to stick with what they are doing. Why change it if it works right?  I agree with some of the other commentators when they said that they found some of Pete's remarks a bit offensive, but perhaps that somewhat surprising honesty carried over into some of the other things he was telling us about his farm. So, overall I think it was a good trip, especially for those who have never had the chance to experience what a farm looks like. However, I also think that people did not really get a chance to see the way in which a produce farm operates. I think it would have been a more worthwhile trip had we seen people in action, and even learned how to do a bit of the work ourselves! 

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I was excited to go on this trip and expected t learn more about life on a farm and the behind-the-scenes of this local farm. I actuallexpected the farm to be a lot bigger than it was. It was interesting learning that differences between toxins and chemicals that certified organic farms use as oppose to more industrial farms.
It was all great to me until Pete uttered the words, "Watch out, Mexican drivers." I was quite bothered by his remarks towards his six Mexican workers. I found it interesting that his produce was considered local. His workers, however, were far from local. It made me wonder if that contradicts Pete's whole idea of locality, since the workers have a carbon footprint of their own. Why didn't he have more local workers as opposed to six Mexican immigrants?
I loved the market! That produce that looked like geese were really appealing to me and it was the first time I had ever encountered a white pumpkin. I looked around, seeing fruit from Puerto Rico, taste-testing everything in sight. The prices were quite high, too high for my budget. I noticed that a quarter of a seedless watermelon was four dollars. I thought well hey, I can buy a whole seedless watermelon at my supermarket for half the price. I refrained from buying anything as I watched my peers eat their delectable-looking caramel apples (which were $7!)
Despite the comments that Pete had about his Mexican workers, I felt enlightened after the whole trip. After seeing what my peers reported about the amount of gas it took to get there and back, I still believe that it was worth every gallon of gas. Knowing that we only went once doesn't bother me that we did in fact leave quite a big carbon footprint. However, knowledge is golden and I'm sure my peers got as much, if not more, out of this Saturday's adventure than I did.
 
 

 Our trip to Westtown was much like what I expected.  Knowing in advance that it was not an organic farm, I was still excited to go on the trip and learn something new, but I wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary for a farm.  Since I’ve lived in the North East all my life, I’m used to seeing farms like Pete’s and going to local markets like his.  The most striking thing to me on our trip was Pete himself.  Like we discussed in class, his comment about the Mexican workers caught my attention and through me off a bit, but what followed I found even more interesting.  The in depth way he discussed the science of cows and their digestion process showed me that he isn’t just another slightly racist farmer, but he really knows what he is doing!  Not only did he also give intelligent reasons for not being an organic farm, but he also showed us that he is a good person inside because of his contributions to the food bank and employment of students in his shop.   By the end of the trip, I had a good impression of Pete.  I thought it was interesting listening to what he had to say and I enjoyed meeting someone so honest and willing to tell us the “real deal” on farming.   

I also think it was worth the amount of gas we used to take the trip for 2 main reasons.  1) If we always did things based on how much gas we were using, we would never go anywhere and never gain real life experience that is almost always more important and interesting than just sitting and discussing in class. And 2, although like I said I have seen farms like Pete’s before and therefore could picture most of the farms we’ve been discussing in class, we have a lot of international students in our class and I think it’s great that they were able to witness Pete’s and get the experience of a true American farm. 

I was actually very excited to go to Pete's Farm but I ended up being a little bit disappointed after we reached there. The farm that I pictured in my mind was totally different (maybe I am just bias because I have never seen a farm in United States and have only seen the farm in Indonesia). To me, it looked more like a 'garden' than a farm and there were not many plants too.

There are few things that I learned from this field trip. First, now I have the idea and picture of how farm in United States look like and how they run it. The farm here is more 'modern' compared to the farm in my country where we still plow the soil using cow and water buffalo. Apparently, my country is very outdated and traditional. Second, I learned about the black cover that they used on the plants and how they water their plants (i know i'm so off the topic but I just want to share what I learned). I think the farmers in Indonesia should learn from Pete about 'modern' farming.

I totally second Lilie's comment about the farm stand. It looked like common whole food store. I did not see anything special about the farm stand though I have to admit that I saw a few things that I have never seen in my entire life. I found the goose (I think it is a fruit or something that is dressed as a goose) very cute and attractive. I bought the fresh mozzarella cheese and bread (which I shared with Maiya). They were awesome! I have never eaten fresh mozzarella with plain bread and I really love it.

Even though I was quite disappointed with the farm (not the field trip though), I still enjoyed my time there and learned new things from there.

*hail to the fresh mozzarella!*

According to the American School Bus Council, mpg for school buses is 7. Since we traveled 28 miles, it took us 4 gallons of gas to get to the farm. Based on the calculation done on http://www.infinitepower.org/calc_carbon.htm, we've put 88 lbs of carbon dioxide into our air. And to get rid of the pollution we've created, it would take four trees to do so for a year--365 days.

The gas would be worth the amount we learned only if we put our knowledge into action. It was definitely nice to ask questions to Pete, who actually works in a farm, but it wouldn't be worth anything if our habits don't change.

By going to the farm, I realized how the line between organic and non-organic can be very confusing and now I don't see so much difference in organic and non-organic. I feel like it just all depends what the government defines as "safe" chemicals. And looking at what kinds of produce were there at the market (for example, mango, which probably didn't come from the farm), I realized that even farms that promote buying local produce work against their principle. From that, I felt the need to find something I can do for sustainability, and now I try really hard not to waste any food at dining halls. Maybe the amount of pollution that would've been created from food I would've wasted without this field trip would make the trip worth it? haha.

My first thought is that, if this field trip helped us process the information we've been discussing in class regarding the impact of our food and our lives on the world, it was worth its environmental impact, since without it we might not have gained the same degree of awareness of that impact. The more I consider it, though, the harder it gets for me to try and quantify our collective learning. Does progress the trip helped us make in our own private thought processes count, or must it somehow translate into actions that can be equated to the Blue Bus's carbon footprint? If, as a result of what we learned at Pete's, we make choices that conserve as much gas as we used to get there and back, does that even things out? I feel like I'm probably overthinking this question, but I am not sure how to go about it better.

I was struck at the farm by Pete's account of his partnership with the food bank that takes his extra produce, and that he grows food for specifically. I think he made a good point that cheap food is most often unhealthy food, and that it takes effort (and money) to provide hungry people with food that won't kill them. To me this is one of the nastier parts of the food industry we've been learning about-- it traps people who need and expect cheap food into ill health and bad nutrition, because it's cheaper to produce food that's not good for you. Pete acknowledged that it's mostly richer, more educated people who buy his produce, because they can afford to make choices they feel are healthy and environmentally friendly.

For the average american school bus, 1 gallon of gasoline, worth $2.60, can take you 7 miles. Thus, on our 28 mile round-trip journey to Pete's Farm (assuming that the Blue-bus is similar to the average american school bus) used 4 gallons of gasoline, which cost about $10.40. While the economic cost of transporting 20+ people to Pete's farm is fairly low, this doesn't factor in the environmental cost. In the combustion of 1 gallon of gasoline, 19.64 pounds of CO2 are released into the atmosphere. This means that our 28 mile mile trip, which used 4 gallons of gasoline, emitted 204.26 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere! 

However, I feel that what we learned from this trip compensates for this large amount of (harmful) gas released into the atmosphere. I thought that it was very interesting to hear Farmer Pete's view, especially on organic vs. inorganic farming. One thing i found very interesting was when he talked about monoculture-farming to be extremely efficient. From an APES course i took last year, we learned all about how monocultures WEREN'T efficient (because they generally deplete the soil much faster and much more erosion/degradation of the land occurs) and how polyculture farming was a much more sustainable option.

I thought it was very interesting to hear him talk about why he chose not to farm organically (especially when he mentioned that even organic farming includes 'chemicals' -- H2O=chemical :O!). Hearing it first hand and BEING at the farm made me realize how it is simply not feasible (or at least extremely difficult) for large farms to be organic. I visited an organic farm in Singapore, however, compared to Pete's Farm, it was tiny! So I think visiting his farm made me realize how difficult it being 'organic' is on a big farm.  

This is where I found the stats for the avg. school bus:
http://www.americanschoolbuscouncil.org/index.php?page=fuel-calculator

This is where I found the stats for CO2 emissions:  http://www.rprogress.org/energyfootprint/energy_footprint/?id=1b