M6.4: Industrial Farming

• Your thoughts about the vanishing of bees (what else have you heard/seen about this issue?)
• New information that I learned about bees was that they are key players in roughly 35% of global food production and responsible for 40% of the world's supply for vitamin A and folate.
• I had already heard that bees were dying out and also heard that if we were to do nothing, the human population would seize to exist since there would be no food available for consumption. One of the reasons that bees die is because of pesticides, specifically herbicides. The herbs/weeds are the target, however the harsh chemicals such as Round-Up fly in the air and impact surrounding plants as well, thus killing bees as they fly to other flowers which they pollinate and try to obtain pollen for their hive. 
• My significant other's mother and father buy bees so that they can use their honey for mead. They were experiencing the same scenario mentioned in the "Vanishing of the Bees" where the hives they would buy would fly away - even as they provided plenty of flowers and water. One of their hives died from a neighbors pesticides and the other just disappeared. So I've seen their hives and how they disappeared. 
• It's saddening to see that the bees are vanishing. The reason for bees disappearing has to do with our current environment and farming practices -- global warming which has resulted in the rising waters, droughts, nature dying, and excessive carbon dioxide in the air which might not be suitable for bees & excessive herbicides and medicine. As for farming, there is no diversity in crops, thus limiting the food supply for bees, as well. And there is no further research about systemic pesticides impact on generations of bees.

• Were you able to discover if there is a factory farm near you? Were you already aware of farms near you? What do you think about this? 
• Below is a map about factory farms in Santa Clara County (SCC). SCC is in the moderate - none level when it comes to farms. However, the surrounding counties such as Merced, San Benito, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Stanislaus are all counties in the severe and extreme categories. I was aware about the farms in the surrounding counties because my parents used to work in those agricultural counties when I was a kid. I think that the counties who have the most extreme factory farms is because there is much empty land and harsh weather making it difficult for communities to grow anything else other than animals. It saddens me to see just how much we are dependent on animal for our food. This is an additional reason why bees might also be vanishing. 

• Composting: Do you currently compost? Have you composted in the past? Do you know anyone who composts? Would you consider composting, after learning about its benefits from the movie? 
• I don't currently compost. I used to compost in the past because my family had made a wooden garden box for an avocado see that grew into a 6 foot tall tree. However, where I live the policy changed to where we couldn't have any plants in our backyard, so after that, we didn't go back into composting. I know one of my coworker composts as she uses it for her small window garden and other potted plants. I would consider composting again, if my landlord would allow us to have plants and a composting bin. I think renting and owning a home can make a huge difference in the opportunities available to people. In my case, I am limited by where I live even as I know there are great benefits from composting. Once I have my own place, I would go back to composting as it made healthier soil for plants and reduced waste.