During our semester in Iceland, we discussed many aspects of life relating to sustainability including energy and electricity, transportation, water and sewage, food, and general consumption, among others. One topic we have revisited several times in just the three weeks we have been here in Sólheimar is the origin of our food. I had a basic knowledge about how massive the carbon footprint of my current eating habits is, especially regarding seafood, beef, etc., but I did not know much about the agricultural processes of it all. More specifically, I had no idea how farming could happen in a low energy, ecologically friendly way.
We watched a documentary called “A Farm for the Future,” and it focused on how current agriculture depends heavily on peak oil. They showed a packaged sandwich and described all the processes and energy input necessary to produce each part of it. Not only are the literal crop harvesting, transporting, and processing operations reliant on oil, but the pesticides and fertilizers used are also derived from fossil fuels. Additionally, any meat in the sandwich requires even more energy because the animals feed on grain, which requires large amounts of water and energy. Finally, the crops that are not native to the area need to be grown in energy dependent greenhouses or shipped from elsewhere on fossil fueled ships (A Farm for the Future).
The crew visits many farmers who have different approaches for designing their low energy farms, but there was a consistent theme among all the examples showcased in the film: to be more sustainable, the farms should be modeled after nature. For example, the film talked about promoting biodiversity instead of monoculture and relying on bird droppings as natural fertilizer. This is a topic in which I hope to delve deeper, since agriculture has a massive impact on the earth, and my eating habits and food choices are something I can change.
Alyssa Toye (CELL Iceland, Spring 2017)
A Farm for the Future. Directed by Tim Green and Rebecca Hosking, 2009.