Thinking about Farms, Permaculture, and What's On Your Plate?

This week we began focusing more on our theme of, "Farm to Table." Moving beyond a simple description of what one might see when visiting a farm, we worked in small groups and made use of the following concepts and questions as a lens to focus our inquiry:

Distinctions - What qualifies as a farm? Could a farm be indoors? Is a garden a farm and if not, when does a garden become a farm? 

Systems - What are the parts of a farm and how do they contribute toward the whole? Who and what are required to maintain a farm?

Relationships - What relationships are there between farmers and the animals and crops on a farm? What relationships exist between farmers and their community both local and global?

Perspectives - From the perspectives of the farmers, animals and consumers what perceptions or feelings might be evoked, specifically when we examine the differences between factory farms and smaller, local farms?

For more on our focus on these patterns of thinking, see the TED Talk below:



On Tuesday, we took to the woods of County Farm Park with Nate Ayers, of Chiwara Permaculture, for an introduction to permaculture, including the idea of biomimicry, monocultures vs. polycultures and waste management in nature vs. human systems (There is no "garbage" in nature!) This way of looking at nature for inspiration when thinking about design has the potential to make a powerful impact on the way we approach problems related to Food, Energy, Water, Building, Transportation and Waste and attempt to solve them in a sustainable way. We examined the differences in soil from monocultures (the american lawn) vs. polycultures (the woods of County Farm Park.) The differences were dramatic! Something to think about as we think about the vast fields of corn that can be seen on a drive across the country.

On Friday, we watched the film, What's On Your Plate?, a documentary made by two middle schoolers as they investigate issues related to food including where their food comes from, the impact that food has on individual and community health, the challenges that low income communities face in gaining access to healthy food and how individuals in these communities are working to overcome these obstacles. We discussed the shift in thinking, from "wealth to health," that has to take place in order to meet these challenges. Below is a link to the trailer - well worth the time.