Reflective Essay # 1: Danny Forsyth

• In my group, I was in charge of looking for information about the different farmers. After reading the chapter, Maddie, Yasmine, and I randomly chose to be the organic, chemical, or pro-GMO farmer for our election. The three of us were initially in charge of the historical section of our presentation, but we decided to do a skit instead of simply presenting the information because we know that can be boring. Since I was the chemical farmer, I focused on Danny Forsyth. Forsyth thoroughly explained the numerous chemicals he used for his potatoes. After we decided to do a skit, the three of us were also in charge of being Inca characters that discussed the history and significance of the potato. I was also one of the “children” in Daniel’s historical skit.

• I learned a lot about potatoes in this chapter. For example, I knew that potatoes were originally from Latin America, but I did

The pro-chemical farmer argued chemicals are necessary to control pests and weeds. However, the farmer had an organic section for his own consumption and states he doesn 't like chemicals and “None of us would use them if we had any choice.” (218) He did not eat his own product because he was aware of the number of dangerous chemicals applied. He also mentions an organic farmer. The organic farmer only uses ladybugs to control any pests, but there are some unrealistic sides to organic farming. Organic farming does not produce enough product as regular farming does. Pollan states, “A farm like Mark Heath’s simply can’t be reconciled to the logic of a corporate food chain” (224). Organic farmer’s focus is on the process of organically growing the potato crop, rather than growing large quantities. When discussing GMOs, he states “…genetic engineering is also a powerful technique for transforming plants into private property…” (Pollan 208). In other words, the potatoes no longer become a product of nature, but of human