Alex Rodriguez
Sue Briggs
English 1010 (1-2:20pm, TR)
17 December 2015
Annotated Bibliography: Vertical Farming
Introduction:
I would like to draw the attention to “What You Eat is Your Business” by
Radley Balko, this reading influenced my topic of research due to its variety and
questionability. Balko speaks towards a mass audience that essentially is concerned
about government interference with their food choice. Not only is this a current
situation, but this is happening now in schools, companies, and in other residences
that want to place a healthier option for the consumer. For example replacing giant
chocolate chip cookies with low-fat baked chips. Balko pointed out that our
government just wants to protect America’s health, but that they are doing it wrong.
Today, vertical farming gives people the option to garden their own
vegetation year around without soil and eliminates any restrictions from outside
sources. So Balko’s concern is with the government officials, who seem to be
regulating everyone due to an unhealthy lifestyle. This all matters since there is a
rise of people who want to be healthy, and also people who want to fight for their
freedom of choice. Another issue Balko brought to my attention was, the importance
of food in general. People need food, that’s a no brainer but due to government
regulating the privacy of the type of food people eat, people are taking action to
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make a difference. So how can vertical farming produce an abundant amount of food
in which it could bring back freedom of lifestyle in America?
Source: 1
Balko, Radley. “What You Eat is Your Business.” They Say I Say. 3rd edition. Eds.
Graff, Birkenstein, and Durst. New York: 2015. 466-470. Print.
Summary:
Balko the author of “What you eat is your business” which was published on
the website of the Cato Institute, aims to promote limited government regulations
with the freedom of individuals in the food market. Balko expresses discrete ideas of
what needs to be done to fight obesity in America. Balko states that people need to
take responsibility for what they choose to eat, as well as the future consequences.
Balko mentioned, “It’s difficult to think of anything more private and of less public
concern than what we choose to put into our bodies”(468). That being said, Balko
proposes that we should focus on increasing access to medical/health saving
accounts. Balko also believes that due to this potentially small change, this could
essentially increase our retirement investments and save medical expenses.
Rhetorical Analysis
Balko’s root rhetorical features would be based upon both pathos and tone.
For the reason why pathos is an influential technique is due to how Balko
represents his appeal to the readers. He covers the values, and emotion behind
personal ownership on food. For example, Balko undergoes a phase of truthfulness
when explaining the “fat tax”(467). Balko’s audiences are seeking answers, which he
gives in return. By mentioning a possibility of creating easy access to heath and
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medical accounts, this will effectively count as a valued assessment for his audience,
which acts as an attention getter for pathos.
Assessment/Insights:
So far in terms of how vertical farming could bring back personal
responsibility and freedom of lifestyle in America, could be based on the people’s
reaction. Balko’s choice of words and tone are connected to his one goal. Which is to
gain the trust and support of his audience towards this issue. In addition to this,
vertical farming seems to help both sides of this issue. Balko’s article brought
another concern, which was how the heath/medical care system in America is
currently operating.
Balko indicated a glimpse of how Americans are being taken advantage of,
due to how the current heath/medical care system is set up. Despommier, Dickson’s
“Vertical farming” article does go over a similar relating topic, which is the
migration of people. Despommier talks a little about how people are attracted to
prosperous and free environment. This relates with Balko’s issue for the reason that
the government could potentially attract or push away waves of people.
Source: 2
Despommier, Dickson. "Vertical farming." Encyclopedia of Earth, Washington, DC
(2008).
Summary:
Parasitologist/ecologist Despommier wrote, “Vertical farming”, which talks
about all the benefits of vertical farming. Mentioning topics from preventing deadly
diseases, restoring our earth’s landmass, and explaining how today’s society can
achieve in partaking an abundant amount of food. Despommier explains how
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traditional farming is no longer a positive benefit for both the consumers and the
environment. One important reference Despommier made was that there would be
a “creation of a sustainable urban environment that encourages good health for all
who choose to live there”(2). Meaning if a person doesn’t want to follow a vertical
farming community that promotes a healthy lifestyle, they can retreat from that
community.
Despommier briefly explains the methodology behind vertical farming,
which is a soilless gardening system. Not having soil can play a huge role in having
more control where we can plant. Despommier mentions, “insuring an optimal
growth rate for each species of plant and animal year round”(4). Meaning we could
grow various types of vegetables in arid lands, ice lands, or in outer space.
Rhetorical Analysis:
Despommier’s main rhetorical techniques are built up around logos, pathos,
and kairos. Despommier provides the writer with evidence and support that backs
up his statements. He claims that the world is running out of hectares of land to be
used for harvesting food. “As of 2004, approximately 800 million hectares of land
were in use for food production”(2). One appealing emotional reference
Despommier makes is the focus of starvation around the world, “With many
thousands of deaths per year attributable to this wholly preventable
predicament”(4). Not only does it impact the reader with an emotion impression,
but also supports his pervious statements by giving the problem of starvation.
Lastly he impacts the reader in informing them how relevant all these issues
and goals truly are. For example, waste management is a huge issue in many areas
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today. Another example that is highly relevant today is water usage; obviously water
usage is a problem in many places. Despommier explains, “Vertical farms will be
engineered to take in black or gray water, depending upon availability, and restore
it to near drinking water quality using bioremediation and other technologies”(8).
Assessment/Insights:
This source does a great job in rationalizing the possibilities on vertical
farming and what humanity can achieve with this technology. In terms of my
question, it looks like vertical farming can produce an abundant amount of food. In
the matter in which it could bring back freedom of lifestyle in America, maybe a
slight difference due to the goals Despommier wants to approach. There is a great
connection with Despommier’s and Balko’s articles, for the reason that they both
have propositions in wanting a specific group of people to support their plans. Yes
they have opposite ideas, but both have an alignment towards helping people.
Despommier implies in a healthier lifestyle, and Balko’s is a supporter in
freedom of food choice, which indicates that everyone should have the
accountability of his or her own bodies. Despommier’s article also has a segment
that resemblance a major part of El-Behairy, Usama Ahmed Aly’s article “Simple
Substrate Culture in Arid Lands”. El-Behairy’s article is mainly based on arid lands
and how they can grow vegetation, knowing that arid lands have high temperatures.
In Despommier’s article, he also mentions how vertical farming could help prosper
vegetation in arid lands. That being said El-Behairy conducted different types of
non-soil based garden. Even though this article seems distant from my question, it is
highly important to my question due to the fact that many people live in arid areas.
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Besides, like any other place they too may want an abundant amount of either
healthy or unhealthy food.
Source: 3
El-Behairy, Usama Ahmed Aly. "Simple Substrate Culture in Arid Lands." (2015).
Summary:
This article covers the types and methods of soilless based gardens
specify for arid lands. El-Behairy explains why arid lands need to move to this type
of cultivation. The question El-Behairy is trying to answer is what type of method is
better for arid lands. El-Behairy gathers information and experiments, which will
determine the answer. His article also goes into detail in the type of material the
system should be made of, the type of organic media, and the structure of the
garden.
All these variables play a huge role in deciding which one is beneficial for
arid lands. El-Behairy also covers in detail the sixteen chemical elements that plants
need in order for growth. Since arid lands have a lack of water, technology and
shortage of money for growers, El-Behairy concluded that substrate culture would
be the best fit. El-Behairy stated, “column polystyrene pot system for the small
plants and the single polystyrene system for the big plants”(96). This type of system
could help aid the plants from high temperatures.
Rhetorical Analysis:
El-Behairy’s two main rhetorical techniques that made his article more
trusted and creditable would be based on logos and a scientific style narrative. Not
only does he provide convincing evidence but also he lines up his reasoning. El-
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Behairy gives the reader many diagrams with a background meaning. He goes over
different types of gardening system from aeroponics to hydroponics. El-Behairy also
takes the arid environment into consideration. Due to the arid land’s intensive heat,
he analyzes the pros and cons of each gardening system in an arid land
environment.
Another logical assertion would be the chemical elements he provides. ElBehairy goes into detail and experimenting the water capacity in each media and
analyzing the characteristics of “airing and drainage capacity”(70). The style is a
mixture a formal academic scientific paper, which supports his word choices. The
articles literacy is based on scientific claims, which blends in good with its calm tone
throughout the article.
Assessment/Insights:
El-Behairy influenced my thinking by considering polystyrene pot system in
dry and hot areas in where vegetation is scares. Also going over the methodology,
chemical compounds, and various other elements that play a huge role in vertical
gardening. This reading pays off in order to understanding the technology behind
vertical farms. A little distant from my question, but does actually give me a great
understanding of the functions and important fundamentals vertical farms needs.
This article influenced my question by actually going into depth of the science
behind vertical farming, without that I will not know how exactly vertical farming
can physically produce an abundant amount of vegetation.
El-Behairy’s article has a good correlation with Peter Platt’s interview
session with Despommier. Which is much more different than the second source I
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looked into. Nonetheless, both articles cover the methodology behind vertical
farming. Filled with more questions regarding vertical farming, I am focusing on the
questions Platt is asking Despommier about how he is thinking of funding his ideas,
which requires politicians to intervene.
Source: 4
Platt, Peter. "Vertical Farming: An Interview with Dickson Despommier." (2007)
Summary:
This interview was conduced by Platt; the University of California Press
published this interview. Platt is interviewing Despommier about his vertical farm
ideations. He quickly gives a brief summary of Despommier by mentioning his
studies in environmental health, medical ecology, microbiology, and parasitic
diseases. Platt asks a series of twelve questions, questions concerning how
Despommier went from medical ecology into vertical farms, what can and can’t be
grown in vertical farms, asking how water could be recycled, the dangers and risk in
vertical farming and many other concerns. Despommier answers all his questions
with lengthy answers, but with a similar tone and style throughout the interview.
Rhetorical Analysis:
This interview consisted mainly of ethos, allusion, and a mixture of formal
and informal style. From the start of the interview Platt captures the audiences
attention by establishing the credibility of Despommier. Mentioning profession, “Dr.
Dickson Despommier is a professor at the Mailman School of Public Health and the
College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University”(80). As well as revealing
his studies in the past 5 years from 2007, “His teaching and research focus on
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environmental health, medial ecology, microbiology and parasitic diseases”(80). The
interview had a style that was blended in with a serious, calm, and humorous tone.
Throughout the interview Despommier responded both calmly and when the
time was right, in a serious tone. But when Platt asked him a little bit of his
background and interest in food, Despommier eased the atmosphere by cracking
some funny stories. Lastly, due to Despommier’s lengthy answers, he invested a
significant amount of time to deliver great allusions for the audience. For example
when Platt asked him about the envision of a vertical farm building, Despommier
responded with “I asked the students to design a vertical farm that could
comfortably feed fifty thousand people. I gave them no limits in terms of expense or
landmass”(83).
Assessment/Insights:
This interview consisted of different concerns and questions for
Despommier’s ideations on vertical farming. One question that did have a great
connectivity to Balko’s article was asked by Platt, “Let’s talk about money and
politics. What do you see as the necessary steps to move forward, both politically
and in terms of funding”(85)? In which Despommier responded with, “well, you can
forget about our government, because our food policies all come from the United
States Department of Agriculture. And if you look at who works there, they’re
former agriculturalists”(85).
Despommier indicates that these former agriculturalists are traditionally
mined individuals who are focused on traditional farms. That being said, the
connection between Balko’s government interference and fighting for freedom of
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choice (in terms of foods) has an incredible about of alignment with Despommier
thinking, which is shut down anyone who gets in the way of their rights. This
interview also made me think about bureaucrats and in how Despommier described
them to be somewhat closed-minded about vertical farming.
All these sources made me realize the different point of views people have on
regulating something that happens to be a freedom choice. Nonetheless government
regulations purposes are to reinforce rules that keep citizens safe. Although the
question relies on if they are doing it correctly, Balko clearly disagrees with some of
the regulations that are being placed on foods, which are restricting certain types of
foods. Despommier is consistent with a healthy and organic lifestyle, but does not
condone regulation to be put on food; in fact he seems to dislike the food policy
makers of the United States Department of Agriculture.
So how can vertical farming produce an abundant amount of food in which it
could bring back freedom of lifestyle in America? In terms of how to produce food,
Despommier easily described it as a “chemically defined diets”(86). If you want to
get more specific than that, El-Behairy describes the specific chemical elements in
“Nutrient solution composition”(95). With vertical farming, could it bring back
freedom of lifestyle in America? With one opposite view, that being an “unhealthy”
choice, and the other(s) could be considered “healthy”, both fighting for their
propositions, their combined thinking could potentially reshape our freedom of
choice in foods in the near future.
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