Well the internship has been over for exactly two weeks now and I finally have time to sit down and reflect about what this summer has meant for me. I came into this internship expecting to do research almost everyday and be working at the dairy the rest of the time. What I got was completely different and so much better. What I got was an opportunity to learn about sustainable agriculture from a scientific, social, political, and local level. I received a scientific background in the form of lectures, and research that I was doing on reproductive efficiency. I learned about the social issues behind sustainable agriculture in our weekly student-led discussion and community days. And I learned how all of the other categories impact individual farmers through working at the small farm unit and interacting with the agricultural community of Goldsboro. But perhaps most importantly, I was continuously learning throughout the summer about all issues, scientific and social, as well as crucial life concepts from everyone I interacted with, especially the other interns. Being from completely different backgrounds with different educational paths, all of our conversations were intellectually stimulating and really made me think about how sustainable agricultural issues apply to me and my life, not just the rest of the world. I know this sounds like it should be reversed, but in all actuality I more often then not consider the impacts of sustainable versus conventional agriculture on a much larger and global scale, and because of this I neglect to think about the impact it has in my life as well as the changes I should make on a personal level. Sustainable agriculture is more than just making our food "organic" and "natural".
It's about scaling down.
It's about crop-animal rotational systems.
It's about increasing soil organic matter.
It's about integrated pest management.
It's about being concerned with the produce part of production.
It's about building communities.
It's about composting.
It's about pasture raising.
It's about health. Our health and the health of the world. We are so concerned with the idea that we only get one body so we should treat it the best, but what about our world? Aren't we only given one world?
This internship was a gathering of great minds and people that will make change happen in the world for agriculture. Let's get started!
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