Food Science: Beer

I'm working on a MOOC for WUR about Beer. There are several portions, but I'd like to post the two sections I'm working on: Culture and History and Cultivation Methodology (Storage, Preservation, Transportation). These are rough drafts, but it might be interesting to someone.

Zuylestein Soil Sample Analysis #1 (Internship)

Zuylestein Soil Sample Analysis #1

Medieval Medlars

Medlar Recipes

In the book, Food in Motion: The Migration of Foodstuffs and Cookery Techniques, an entire chapter on Medlars and their introduction to the Netherlands provides us with recipes and history.

The Future: A Sustainable and Resilient Rice System in India (week 6)

Click the picture to see the larger version of our Poster Project on what we want for the Future of Rice in India.

Big thanks to my teammates all grading period:

Nicholas Panayi
Samuel van Rozelaar
Parth Shah
Adrien Krouse

TEEB Analytics regarding SRI within the Indian Rice Production System (week 5)

TEEB Analytics regarding SRI within the Indian Rice Production System

Introduction

When designing an analysis (typology) to evaluate the hidden or overlooked aspects of a farming system one must look at the various impacts on the Health & Skills, Society, Economy, and Environmental spheres. These four realms are interconnected and many of the items to be discussed will need to be viewed under each subset to see the true benefit or cost of the externalities mentioned. The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) methodology to be discussed in this paper will be viewed from the lens of two distinct stakeholders: that of the Government/Research Institutes and that of the Community/Farmers in Indian rice production. SRI has promising results in terms of environmental benefits and is actively being introduced in India, which is why this papers aim is to investigate the hidden costs and benefits further within the Indian context.

A Culture of Change: Change Agents in Indian Rice Production (week 4)

HAFED, a Historical Perspective on Change Agents in India

HAFED, or The Haryana State Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Limited, began as a grassroots initiative by the farmers in the Haryana State of India who banded together to create a place-based cooperative where they could sort, manage, and sell their produce. The organization grew over the years as more pieces of the supply chain were added. They purchased inputs like fertilizer and seeds and resold them to other farmers creating a retail section of the co-op, and added processing mills, marketing agents, and storage and transportation agencies, all the while the co-op grew in influence and power. While the HAFED does not only work within the rice production system, they do specialize in it. They have multiple rice mills and specialized marketing schemes just for rice and work with farmers to track yields of different varieties.

Governance Relationships within Indian Rice Production (week 3)

1. Map different kinds of formal and informal (governmental) arrangements impacting the food system

SLM Management Practices in Prague

Well, this is going to be a bit of a weird post. This past weekend I went to Prague in the Czech Rebuplic. On the drive there I saw an amazing collection of Soil and Land Management techniques. I was really impressed that every area we drove around outside the city had these different practices: terracing, vertical drain lines, intercropping, agroforestry, etc. I also saw allotments in the smaller towns, but not much within the city of Prague itself. This is probably due to the fact that the city was built up a lot during its early years, then destroyed during WW2, and rebuilt during Communist times. Today there was a lot of construction going on; almost every street I went on/by had something being built, replaced, or fixed. The greenest areas I saw were attached to religious buildings in the way of small parks and cemeteries. I took pictures through the bus' dirty windows of the places outside of town so they are not the greatest, but I'll try and say something about each of them. 

The above image shows contour line planting up a hill with vertical drain lines and a forest topping the hill. Most places where there was agriculture you could find small forests and trees left intact with the crops planted around them.

Environmental Science: Soil & Land Management

My morning class this period is Land Degradation & Development. Each week we have a group project which normally culminates in a ppt presentation and sometimes a paper to go along with it. I'm going to post the powerpoints and documents we have done here to keep track.

Internships, Course Overload, and Vision Boarding

I normally post only finalized items here, because it gets confusing otherwise, but maybe a bit of stream-of-consciousness writing will benefit someone.

Global Embeddedness and Resilience in Indian Rice Production (Week 2)

Question 1: To what extent is Rice in India embedded in and shaped by globalized sets of relations, such as global commodity markets and the agroecosystem?

Rice Production Systems in India Background (week 1)

In my current class, Social Transformations Towards Sustainable Food Systems, we are focusing on a specific crop in a specific region. My group chose Rice production in India. Each week we then focus on a different aspect of that food system. The first week we just gathered background information, the second week we looked at the extent to which Rice is embedded in and shaped by globalized sets of relations, such as global commodity markets and the agroecosystem and how that effects resilience, and this week (week 3) we are looking at governance, actors, and relationships. So, I thought I'd start posting our projects/reports. Some are PPTs, which I will attempt to make into pictures, and the rest will be some version of a paper. I'll post each one separately so as not to get confusing. We also, just to make things more difficult, only have 2 class periods to create these and then on Fridays, we meet as a larger group and have to pull 4 different groups together into a new presentation. We only get 2 hours to do this.

The Background we pulled is rather messy. We have a group folder we put things in, but here's an idea of the information we are working with...

EcoSystem Services and Other Types of Sustainability Rant

This was originally a 2 second FB rant because I was studying for my Organic Agriculture and Sustainability exam and I realized we spend so much time preaching "organic, organic, organic", but what we really need to be saying is "sustainable, sustainable, sustainable".  Organic doesn't mean anything if it dies every year or can't be adapted to different environments. In Europe, hydroponics isn't considered organic because the plant needs to be in direct, unimpeded contact with the soil. There can be no barrier to the roots and any soil, so if you have contaminated soil (let's say in an urban environment) and you put a waterproof membrane down and clean soil on top, you can't call it organic....how pedantic is that?

The Fall of the Holy: Collapse of the Khmer Empire in Southeast Asia in the 15th century A.D.

Class: Sustainability and Resilience in History
Grade: 9.5/10
Year: 2017

Introduction

It’s 1431 in South-East Asia; in an area we now call Cambodia. At the time it was the Khmer Empire, one of the largest and most technologically advanced civilizations around. We’re standing in Angkor, the religious capital, and a sprawling “urban landscape…cover[ing] an area of about 1000 square kilometers” (Stone, 2013, pg. 2). Miles of waterworks stretch out from the temple at the center of what is known as the West Baray. Angkor Wat, “the largest religious building ever constructed on the planet” (Mithen, 2012, pg. 195), raises several stories into the sky, the red sandstone glittering in the evening sun in hues of gold, orange, and yellow. Standing here now, the vast waterworks seem sluggish, clogged with years of silt and sand, their walls broken down and in some areas blocked off. There is blood on the ground, smoke in the air, and great swatches of deforested hills all standing eerily silent. What happened here to bring about the destruction of a civilization over 600 years old? What happened to the great city that Jayavarman II founded in 802 C.E. (Stone, 2013, pg. 1) and why couldn’t such an advanced society stop it in time to save them from collapse? To discover this, we must return to the mid-1300s when things started to go wrong. Yet even before there were subtle issues arising. At the center of the Khmer’s demise was the mistaken the belief that humans could act as Gods and alter the landscape to whatever point he wished. In the case of the Khmer, the combination of climatic change (specifically drought conditions) and the hostile activities of neighbors was the tipping point that led to collapse.

Anthropologist/Historian/Agriculturalist

So, as part of my Sustainability and Resilience in History course, we have to read two books:

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jarrod Diamond and  Something New Under the Sun by John Robert McNeill.

While I am not a fan of teachers requiring certain books to be read as part of their coursework, I finally figured out the best way to do so...supplemental video resources. Namely, CrashCourse World History 2 and Big History and The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of The World by Niall Ferguson.

The Medieval Cookbook by Maggie Black

Tudor Monastery Farm: 01

Professional Background

Educational Background

Comments on Organic 3.0 paper

Commentary on the Organic 3.0 IFOAM Paper:

Okay, first off, I have a problem with the idea that Organic 1.0 is when we started realizing what we ate and how we grew it effected things like our health. I mean, really? We really had to state that in a paper and we put the date at 100 years ago (1917? I've got agricultural books dating back into the 1600s, come on)? Hunter/Gatherers realized that when they died after eating something near contaminated water. Pasturalists realized it when their animals ate something bad for them and died. See a trend? So, let's get back to the paper.

Teaching Resources for All Subjects

With school back in session for many, I thought posting some of the resources I've used would be helpful. All of these are free and online, so you can use what you want or share with your kids. The Multiple Subjects section is probably the most useful of all of them, but take a look around and use what you want. I'll keep updating as I come across sources.

Have fun!

Anthropology: Magic & Religion: Blood of my Blood

I found a stack of some of my old papers from my Bachelors in Anthropology that I thought would be fun to share. They are from two of my classes: Magic & Religion and Theories of Culture. Enjoy.

Course: Magic & Religion
Title: Blood of My Blood
Year: 2003
Grade: 12/12

Education: Wageningen University (Netherlands)

Next month I am moving to the Netherlands to begin my Masters in Organic Agriculture at Wageningen University & Research. My goal is to complete the Double Degree which involves going to school at WUR and also attending ISARA in Lyon, France. The Double Degree will be in Organic Agriculture and Agroecology. At this point, I do not know if I will be able to complete the program due to enrollment, but it is my hope that after I speak with my adviser at WUR I will have a better idea as to if this is an option for me.

Food Science: Stuffed Quail and Three-Sister's Soup Recipe

As I prepare to move to the Netherlands for Grad. School I am taking advantage of more time to cook for my family at home. Tonight I am making a First Nations inspired meal: Wild Rice stuffed Quail in a Cranberry-Bourbon Sauce, Three-Sister's Soup, and Naan. Granted, Naan isn't Native American, but it's very close to Flatbread and quite frankly, I already had some so it's silly to waste the food. I'm also going to serve with a Backhand Chutney and Pickled Carrots, both of which I made previously.

Animal Science: Gestation Crates

A gestation crate is a pen where the sow is held away from other pigs during pregnancy. The pen is usually 2 foot by 7 foot. This allows for individualized attention and an area free of the close quarters of the general housing area. The farrowing crate is a two pen system where the sow is on one side of bars and the piglets on another. This is so the mother doesn’t accidentally step or roll on the young, and so the farmer can assist in the births, as well as heat/cool each area separately (Allan Schinckel, n.d.). The pens allow for the pigs to move forward and back a few inches, but not turn around. They are also big enough for the sows to lay down. Pork producers say the pens provide security for the sows and produce “bigger litters, heavier piglets and reduced workforce costs” (Jackson & Marx, 2016). The industry says that if the sows are placed together in communal settings they will fight for food and establish a hierarchy where the weakest may not eat at all. If they are in the crates, they say research shows that “feed can be precisely calibrated to the pig's stage in her life cycle, and workers can easily track the well-being of individuals” (Jackson & Marx, 2016).

Animal Science: Food For Everyone

There are a few ways we could work out feeding 9 billion people. Some of it comes down to what we are eating, some to how much, and the rest to our moral and ethical stances on items like medications and Sustainability. The first issue is what we are eating. Most sources list ‘meat’ as beef, veal, pig, poultry, sheep, and goats. They do not take into account other protein sources, such as seafood, buffalo, camel, alligator, kangaroo, or rodents like beaver, Guinea pigs, or rabbits. If we included these and other ‘non-standard’ meat sources we could increase the availability of meats to specific regions where they are already consumed, such as the Guinea Pig in South America or the Camel in the Middle East. Other alternative meats include insects. “Insects are not harmful to eat, quite the contrary. They are nutritious, they have a lot of protein and are considered a delicacy in many countries,” said Eva Muller, the Director of FAO’s Forest Economics, Policy and Products Division (Welsh, 2013).  Of course, Asia and Africa have a long standing tradition of utilizing insects, but most Westerners still cringe just thinking about it.

Animal Science: Golden Spirit Alpaca Ranch

I was able to attend an amazing tour at the Golden Spirit Alpaca Ranch. After learning about alpacas we were given a tour of the ranch that included opportunities to feed, pet, and take photos.

Agricultural Science: Argentinian Meat Industry

Argentina. The country conjures images of rancheros on horseback herding cattle across sweeping grasslands, but Argentina means something quite different to the American Pork Industry. For the last few years’ excessive tariffs (15%) on local beef production dropped Argentina from the third largest beef producer, to the tenth (Schuele, 2016). This change meant that the local population was eating more beef and minimal imported meat products such as chicken and pork.

AP Computer Science Principles: Syllabus and Timing

One of the classes I taught this past year was Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles. The format of the class was more college-level than high school and I believe that if done correctly, the students can get a lot out of it. I decided to post my syllabus and timing sheet so that any other teachers or parents can run through the course as well. You will notice that I use a lot of outside sources (crash course, bbc, cs4fn, csunplugged, etc.), these are great stand alone or in sequence opportunities for anyone interested in CS or someone who just wants to understand what John Oliver is ranting about.

I'm going to take off the contact info for my school, but I'll leave all the other non-fun bits of the syllabus in case a teacher wants to grab them. I'm all about sharing resources, so if you see something you like on my teaching pages, feel free to grab it.

MSc Experiment concept #1: Aquaponics

Initial Concept:

Aquaponics based farming practices for rural villages. Vegetable based pellet feed for Tilapia to increase nutrients in meat.

Purpose:

To identify ways of increasing nutrient intake in the populace via small-scale, sustainable agricultural practices.

Agricultural and Animal Sciences: Cattle Bedding Techniques and A.I. Rates

There are a different cattle bedding formats: deep-bedded sheds, where the straw is built up each day and then the bedding is removed after a certain timeline (1 week, 1 month, etc), free-stalls, where there is a shed set up for each cow/calf and the bedding is removed each day, and tie-stalls, which literally chain the animal in place. There are also calf sheds and bull sheds to keep them separate. It really depends on what the size of the herd is and the format the farm uses. A small farm might house the cows and calves together due to space issues. In almost all of the farm formats though bulls are kept separately because they are aggressive. "Stock Bulls are dangerous, bulls were responsible for 59% of fatalities caused by animals from 2000 to 2010 according to a recent HSA report" (A Stock Bull vs Artificial Insemination (Beef), n.d.). As for rates, it depends, one study showed in Ireland infertility rates around “25% of all working bulls are sub-fertile or infertile (10%** are infertile)” (A Stock Bull vs Artificial Insemination (Beef), n.d.). Veterinary manuals show A.I. rates between “50%–60% …[on the] first service, the same percentage on second service” (Statham, n.d.).

**Objective comparison of artificial insemination and the stock bull in Irish dairy herds - Donagh Berry*, Andrew Cromie†, Sean Coughlan† & Pat Dillon** Teagasc Moorepark, †The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation April 2005.

References

A Stock Bull vs Artificial Insemination (Beef). (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2017, from Progressive Genetics: http://www.progressivegenetics.ie/Blog/Post-Detail/Beef-A-Stock-Bull-vs-Artificial-Insemination

Statham, J. (n.d.). Breeding in Cattle Reproduction. Retrieved February 5, 2017, from Merck Manual Veterinary Manual: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/management-and-nutrition/management-of-reproduction-cattle/breeding-in-cattle-reproduction

Agricultural Science: A Land of Delight Natural Farm Review

My father is a turkey whisperer...

We had turkeys and chickens when I was little. The turkey's pecked my hand once and scared me, so I never went back in their pen, but my father treated them like dogs. They would even sit in his lap. They loved him. Even decades later he seems to be a turkey whisperer. :)

Agricultural Science: Beef Cattle Breeding Management

When creating a management plan for breeding beef cattle, one must look at both the genetics and breeding of the bulls and heifers equally. It is just as important to keep track of the mother’s data as the father’s. First data points should, of course, be the genetics of each. You do not wish to breed too closely within a group; fathers bred to daughters is not desirable for a variety of reasons. Once you have a clear line as to who is related to whom you can move on to their EPD’s (Expected Progeny Differences).

Agricultural Sciences: Protein Supplements?

Protein supplements can be an easy and fast way to metabolize nutrients, but depending on the breed, species, and condition, can have different effects. In humans, protein supplements are not regulated as harshly as for animals. This leads to substandard regulation and oversight which can lead to contamination results such as Consumer Reports found in 2010. "The amount of lead in a single daily serving of eight of the protein supplements we tested would require that the products carry a warning in California (Consumer Reports, 2010)". They go on to say how teens are especially prone to marketing and that pregnant women are the most at risk.

Agricultural Science: Agriculture in Amsterdam

In 2014 I was fortunate enough to travel to Amsterdam for my husband's work. We visited Zaanse Schans while we were there. According to the Dutch Website: "The Zaanse Schans is a residential area in which the 18th and 19th centuries are brought to life. Stroll past the bakery museum and enjoy the smell of fresh bread, or take a look at the warehouse where clogs are made. You should be sure not to miss the cheese factory, pewter foundry and the various windmills. The Zaanse Schans is a unique part of the Netherlands, full of wooden houses, mills, barns and workshops. Make a cycling or sailing trip, browse the shops or treat yourself at the pancake restaurant. A day out at the Zaanse Schans in North Holland is fun and educational."

Agricultural Science: Silver Spoon Anime

Well, you probably didn't see this coming, did you? An anime? How professional is that? In this case, very. Silver Spoon (Gin no Saji in Japanese) is probably one of my favorite animes. Other than the fact that it's a fabulous manga-ka (artist), the anime adaptation of the manga books is great and the entire theme is agriculture, which doesn't show up much in anime.

Environmental Science: Boyd Hill Raptor Demonstration at Weedon Island

I was fortunate enough to go to Weedon Island to see a Raptor Demonstration by Boyd Hill Nature Preserve. They brought ten different raptors to show and talk about including a bald eagle, turkey vulture, american kestral, barred, screech, and great horned owls, red tail and red shoulder hawks, and a falcon. While most of the information they discussed I already knew, one of the interesting bits that I didn't was that Kestrals can see in the UV spectrum and often hunt mice by following their urine tracks! Eww but kind of cool too. Another bit of info I didn't know was that hawks don't typically grab their prey, they punch them with their closed talons, then follow them to the ground where they kill them by biting through their spine.

Agriculture as Propaganda

In WW2 especially propaganda pieces came out showcasing everything from corn and fish to dig your own and backyard rabbit keeping. Here are some that I've found over the years that are either awesome or depressing depending on how you see them. I especially love the School Land Army posters.

Animal Science: Genetically Engineering the World

Goats on a Berkeley hill in Ca.

Genetically Engineering the World

Genetically engineered plants and animals are those that have had their DNA changed by man-made processes (also known as biotechnology). Historically, humans have been doing this for thousands of years by breeding plants or animals that had certain desirable traits together. Gregor Mendel became famous in 1866 for breeding different types of pea plants through observing how their genetics changed from parent to child (O'Neil, 2013). These hybrids laid the foundation for genetic engineering.

Animal Sciences: Meat Consumption

Meat consumption in the US is excessive. According to the World Health Organization between 1997 and 1999 Americans ate twice the amount of meat than the rest of the world (World Health Organization, 2017). Meat consumption is likewise shown in our book as being 27% of the total food energy in the developed world and 17.2% in developing countries (Damron, 2013). While countries like India and Somalia, where religion excludes part or all meat consumption, obviously account for a much smaller amount of the overall count than more liberal industrialized countries like the US and China, areas in Africa and South-East Asia are the lowest consumers of meat according to the FAO with India consuming only 7.1 lbs of meat per person per year vs. the US with 270.7lbs (Barclay, 2012). The discrepancy in usage can come from religious practices, agricultural growth and cost of new technology implementation, historical divisions amongst casts or socio-economic groups, preference in using animals for draft power instead of food, etc. In countries where animal protein is not utilized as much, alternative protein sources such as beans, legumes, soy, and peanuts are used to supplement the dietary needs. These countries also show an increase in milk consumption. For example, Somalia, a predominantly Islamic country, consumes roughly 7% of its diet in meat and 24% in dairy and India, a predominantly Hindu country, consumes only 1% meat and 8% dairy (National Geographic, 2017). In many countries there is a stigma on animals as food sources due to religious beliefs, however, one can look back and many times find that the religious constraints were from a time when refrigeration or preservation methods were unavailable or set down in places where a large portion of the populace had a genetic anomaly that made them ill from the food source, such as many Asians being lactose intolerant; there would, of course, be a smaller dairy consumption in these areas.

References

Barclay, E. (2012, June 27). A Nation Of Meat Eaters: See How It All Adds Up. Retrieved January 11, 2017, from National Public Radio: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/06/27/155527365/visualizing-a-nation-of-meat-eaters

Damron, W. S. (2013). Contributions of Animals to Humanity. In W. S. Damron, Introduction to Animal Science (p. 9). Upper Saddle River: Pearson.

National Geographic. (2017, January 11). What the World Eats? Retrieved from National Geographic: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/what-the-world-eats/

World Health Organization. (2017, January 11). Nutrition. Retrieved from World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/3_foodconsumption/en/index4.html

Animal Science: Digestive System Differences

Potbelly pig

The differences in digestive features between horse, cattle, and pigs comes down to compartments. There are four types of animal digestive systems: monogastric, avian, ruminants, and pseudo-ruminants (CAERT, Inc., 2016). For this question I am focusing on all of the above except avian.