As a co-op student who worked for Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, I was out in the field in the research center located in Saskatoon surrounded by fields and upon fields of canola planted and harvested for the purpose of research and furthering science. I saw tons and tons of water being used for irrigation as well as the clearing of other fauna unrelated to the species of plants being researched. I found it also very surprising how much waste was produced in terms of how after data and sample collection, the fields of canola were no longer useful and would all be discarded to then repeat the following year. Today’s class really allowed me to reflect back on this system where monocultures of canola are planted and then later discarded repeatedly for research. This showed how deeply rooted this problem of unsustainable farming is where even research performed at a federal government level follows the same "problematic" systematic approach of farming in monocultures etc. I hope for a future where agricultural food production coexists with the pre-existing natural flora and wildlife. Rather than uprooting and clearing large acres of land to grow and farm food, I think the natural integrity of our wildlife that Canada has to offer can exist alongside the managed crops used for food production. I hope for this way of farming to further extend into the agricultural research field where scientists adopt this way of farming even when performing their research.
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Hey Celeste, I get what you're saying because I'm taking an APBI course this term on domestic animals and my professor is really knowledgeable about cows - he told us breeders control cows' estrous cycles to make sure that enough cows get pregnant each cycle, etc...the fact that we can control biological processes so precisely is almost scary. We don't discuss the animal welfare aspects in that course but it still makes me feel like we're exploiting nature and the animals themselves by conducting breeding. The same can be said for agriculture. Humanity is taking everything for granted and Earth will not be able to sustain our excessive demands for much longer.
Hi Celeste!
That's so cool how your co-op got you so close to what we're currently studying about. It's very sad to hear that the canola planted for research are just thrown out after every cycle. I also believe in that our agriculture should co-exist with the animals in the ecosystem. We shouldn't have to kill off animal lives just to feed humans. It's unfair to the animals that we take over their land and then displace them.
While it’s shocking that the crops are just discarded, I think this clearly shows that there’s land and funds for research available in the country that doesn’t immediately need to be financially productive. If they could be put towards studying and refining regenerative practices, we can hopefully avoid further biodiversity loss due to agriculture.
Crazy that they don't even harvest the canola for food, that's super wasteful. Is the canola sprayed with 'experimental' pesticides or something like that? Your post has made me think that another avenue for change is to change the allocation of research dollars in agriculture, not just farm subsidies!
Hi Celeste thanks for sharing! It is absolutely sad to see that even government researches are also producing waste fields. I also hope we can achieve sustainable researches soon and apply the methods to actual agriculture
I really like how you reflected on your past experiences and coop!
Thanks for sharing your experience Celeste! Your experience at AAFC has reminded me of the time I have to help throw out racks and racks of oyster samples at my Co-op at DFO after they finished a shellfish aquaculture research project. It is bizarre yet sad to the how monoculture (no matter on land or in the ocean) is so ingrained into the Canadian system, and how the government is spending tons of effort on researching industrial monoculture, rather than investing in a sustainable/ regenerative mode of farming.
Hi Celeste! I love how you used your experience as a co-op student and reflect it back to the course content. I also agree that we have a lot of work that needs to be done to reach a sustainable future, protecting natural integrity and wildlife has an impact on our food production and I hope to see us reach this goal one day!
Hello Celeste! I also agree that preserving what nature has to offer and producing food without impeding it is essential to reaching a sustainable future.
Research definitely needs to shift towards developing a new model of farming with sustainable polycultures, rather than trying to force the issue in monoculture practices!