Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

Reply to comment

lwscott's picture

To believe or not to believe?

I have always been a very trusting person. I like believe in the good of society and therefore trust that when I leave my door unlocked that no one will come inside and steal my stuff. However, when it comes to what goes in my mouth I am a little more wary. As I read Pollan, I am less and less trusting of the industrial food industry and the food that claims to be organic. I have to keep in mind that he is a writer trying to sell books and make money and I shouldn't fully believe everything that he says. So as I try to use my own judgement (which I trust less than the "expert") I think about my own environment and how it may differ from Pollan's.
This summer my brother worked at an certified organic farm called Even' Star. I got the grand tour and was given the opportunity to talk to the owner of the farm. The farm is about 8 acres but only half of it is used for farming the rest is woods. Even' Star is organic in the sense that it doesn't use pesticides or fertilizers and considers how the treatment of their crops will effect the environment. I truly believe that Even' Star's practices are genuine because it's my own brother planting and picking. However I am not naive enough to believe that all organic farms can be as great as Even' Star. To some extent Pollan's accusations have truth to them but for now I'm sticking with my own instincts.

 

 

Lydia Scott

Reply

To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
4 + 9 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.