Reading response

After reading the two articles and listening to the TED talk with Rob Finley I realized that there needs to be a change not only in the way we view food, but also where we get our food from. Will Organic Food Fail to Feed the World by David Biello talks about the not so well known negative side effects of farming and agriculture. Then Biello goes on to talk about Organic food appearing to be the obvious solution to counteract the effects of a more conventional farming. The main issue with organic farming is that this type of farming leads to less food being produced. In the second article Biotechnology Isn't the Key to Feeding the World by Frances Moore Lappe, Lappe talks about genetically modified seeds being the solution  in the eyes of "Biotechnology companies and even some scientists" (Lappe, 249)  although this is something Lappe disagrees with. Lappe also discusses the issue of food, grains mainly, that could be given to the population are given to livestock stating that " Thirty years ago, one-third of the world's grain was going to livestock; today it is closer to one-half."(Lappe, 249) Although food production has been made easier over the years sometimes it may be better to just go back to conventional farming in order to know where our food is coming from and provide the best food for our families. Finally in the TED talks with Rob Finley, Finley shows a creative way to garden in the "food desert" (Finley) that he lives in. He plants gardens on the side of the sidewalk in order to provide food that is healthy and free to the community. Finley shows the viewers that it is possible to provide healthy food to an entire community. I think the video was my favorite out of all of these pieces because it provided real life examples of a community benefiting from this garden Finley created. Considering these gardens are put together with the help of volunteers it shows that often times people have this desire  to eat healthier or be able to provide more nutritious food for their families. Sometimes it just takes one person to step up and start this movement to better their community.