I think the discussion we have had on food labels was both  really enlightening and educational. It is a real eye opener to think about how great of an influence food labels have, and how just one icon can change a consumer’s feelings and decisions on purchasing that item. As mentioned over and over, I think it is important that consumers across the country become more educated in the agriculture industry so they know what really happens to their food, and don’t just believe something they see on social media.

I think a pro to food labeling is easily finding a useful piece of information quickly without reading the details on the back of a package. A very good point was brought up in class today regarding the Gluten Free labeling. A classmate said that it shouldn’t be allowed to have the gluten-free label on a product that cannot contain gluten at all. I think this label is important  because some people do have gluten intolerance, so they do need to know if they are consuming it. But I think this should just be for products that can come in a form that does contain gluten and was just produced to not. For example, if 2 different companies produce a product and one says gluten free and the other doesn’t, the consumer might be inclined to purchase the gluten free labeled product, even if the other product doesn’t contain gluten either! So as a con, some producers can be hurt by not including this label while their competitors do, even though it is not useful information for that specific product!

Dave Mayonado’s lecture this morning was very interesting and gave me more insight on technology in agriculture. Before this class, I never realized how much research went into the agriculture industry and how that directly effects me personally with the food I eat. I think everyone should become more educated on this industry so they have full knowledge of what it entails, instead of some distorted views on certain topics that are misrepresented.

One example that Dave touched upon were GMO’s. This has been a topic brought up repeatedly in this class. Before, I would purposely buy food products that were labeled “nonGMO”, but now I see how beneficial GMO’s are and how they are a form of technology to help increase yields with less pesticide products but inserting genes. Another example of technology in agriculture that he mentioned (which I did not know was used in agriculture as well) was RNA interference. While you can add a gene to make a specific protein expressed, you can also turn off specific genes by introducing something the cell recognizes as a “threat” and is able to turn off that specific gene. These technologies are  useful, and the example he gave about the corn root worms painted a picture on how it is exactly used by having the protein the corn root produces, protect it from this worm.

I think with all the technologies and research we have, and how it is continuously improving, the agriculture industry is benefit tremendously. Crop yields are increasing, soil quality is way better, less pesticides have to be used, and overall we are able to provide all the food we have in this country, which is amazing. I really enjoyed this guest lecture and having my knowledge on this industry continue to expand!

Not only was Mark Lynas’s lecture about GMOs a very eye-opening, educational video, it also showed how one person who served so much time and energy being against GMO’s was so able to switch his views and be so promotional  due to his new knowledge on the topic.  He was a very passionate environmentalist who was originally against GMO’s. Now, he realized that even though the name genetically modified organisms turns people away because it doesn’t sound “natural” or “healthy”, the science speaks for itself.

The benefits of GMO’s include the ability to not use as much pesticides on the crops, have the plants able to withstand more drought like environments, and increase the yields of the plant. There is still no knowledge of these products being harmful to humans from consumption. If someone can be very open about there complete switch in thoughts about this topic, it is important that people are able to draw their own conclusions but only after receiving all the knowledge that we have accessible. I think with more time and information on this topic, as a country we will be able to get to a point where GMO beliefs are universal and not just misconceptions. Personally, I admit that I looked at GMO’s negatively simply because of the name and how unnatural it seemed so why would I want to put that into my body. However, through this course, this video, and some researching I have done on my own, I now am for GMO and think it will be a good way to provide food for everyone in our country. I feel like products that advertise that they are “nonGMO” is similar to the poultry companies that advertise that they are “hormone and steroid free”. They advertise this and consumers think it is a valid and prominent piece of information, when in fact if they just had more knowledge on the situation they would be able to look past the marketing strategies.

Overall I think hearing this video was beneficial and personally swayed some of my thoughts and grew my knowledge on this topic that I will continue to share with those close to me. With more education I believe the unknown will come to light and peoples views will shift on this topic, as Mark Lynas’ did.

Ed Kee’s second lecture was a very interesting eye opening lecture on the two Agriculture Giants: Iowa and California. His lecture before he talked about Delaware’s agriculture, which was surprising to me how much goes on agriculturally in this state that I was not aware of before. However, his second lecture about the 2 biggest agriculture producers of our country taught me more about this industry relating to our whole country. I just recently visited California for the first time this summer and remember driving by tons of vineyards and farms but never realized the extent of the contribution this state had regarding food production. The most interesting fact to me, and the most important to California’s agriculture was how all the water comes from the mountains. I remember my dad saying countless times how there was such little rainfall in this state, but I never related that back to its agriculture production until shortly after when taught that all the water comes through aqueducts from the mountains and is able to provide all the water! Another thing that stood out to me was how milk and cream were the biggest commodities for California at about $6.3 billion, followed by almonds. California exports 26% of its ag production by volume, meaning that the majority is used within our own country, and was interesting to have some insight on this large industry that provides so much food that we eat!

I had such an amazing time on our field trip to Fifer’s Orchard. It was so interesting to see some behind the scene’s of such a big operation.  I have been to other orchards for apple picking and such that seemed similar to Fifer’s, but I have never experienced more than just the fruit picking and “fall fest” activities that have been offered.

There was so many interesting things that I learned on our trip, some of them specific to Fifer’s orchard and others about agriculture in general. The thing that stuck out to me the most was how a $14 million operation from 2800 acres relies mainly on hand harvesting. Every crop besides the sweet corn and wheat is hand picked. That amazes me that every crop is picked by someone, when I thought it was mainly by technology. It was fascinating to hear about the program that brought employees up from Mexico on a working visa to give them the work that they are willing to do, and is obviously so crucial to Fifer’s. Another interesting thing for me was seeing the cold crop trial; all the kale, broccoli, and cauliflower. I eat kale and broccoli on a regular basis and seeing them in the field growing (picture attached) and learning that the kale will keep growing and growing even after being harvested while the broccoli gets cut and doesn’t grow back again. Then, I was able to purchase the biggest head of broccoli I have ever seen, and a bundle of kale after seeing where it was grown not too long ago. (Also I had the broccoli tonight for dinner and it was delicious). The last thing that really amazed me was the information on the apple orchard. I had no idea that there were over 20 types of apples there, and how even though the holes for the apple trees are created by a machine, that even those are still hand planted. Lastly, Mr. Fifer explained how when he was a child they planted red delicious apple trees and 35 years later those trees are still producing fruit!

This was not only an educational field trip, but it was also very fun and interesting and I was able to bring home a lot of goodies from the store. I also am going to look into the CSA club because that is a great way to get fresh produce while supporting such a great business!