Dirt!

media type="custom" key="7479933" Dirt!

I truly enjoyed this documentary. Made in 2009 and directed by Bill Beneson, //Dirt //! Is about the complex relationship people have with the ting we all take for granted. In our modern society we have forgotten dirt, burying it under asphalt and concrete. The documentary goes on to say that we have been raised in a “sterile” environment, devaluing dirt, which is the most fundamental component to our existence. No dirt, no food.

The video exposed a few points from the matrix, but the most important in my mind where peoples perceptions of dirt, government regulations on the use of chemicals, and corporate pressures. Personally, I grew up playing in the dirt and I would not have wanted it any other way. I learned how to grow flowers and vegetables in my backyard from a young age, as well as compost vegetable scraps and yard waste. This education I would trade for nothing in this world. The fact that people are so “wired” to the internet and TV culture means that they lose this very essential education. Even in the video, the point this issue out and highlight two distinct movements that are trying to help change this. The Edible Schoolyard, is a project headed by Alice Waters, their focus is on turning the concrete playgrounds in schools into edible gardens, for children to learn and to connect with the dirt (The Edible Schoolyard, 2010). Another example is the green house project at New York state prison on Riker’s Island (Riker's island has a Farm, 2005) . When people think of farming, the nostalgic image of the family farm maybe the image that you think of, but the family farm is long gone. Corporate farms are the model that is feeding America. Working the soil, and growing one or two crops, robbing the soil of most if not all of its natural nutrients, because of this chemical fertilizers are needed to increase crop production. Mono-crop farms are more susceptible to insects, so to fight back farmers spread massive amounts of insecticide, as well as spreading pesticide for weed control. All of these chemicals get into the soil, and “infect” it, making runoff water highly contaminated and the soil ill suited for other endeavors. Corporate farms don not have the connection with the earth, needed to sustain it. Corporate farms help shape agricultural research, and legislation.

Government legislation on the banning of certain chemicals from farming practices takes a long time, due impart to corporate lobbying and corporate science, two other distinct nodes in the matrix. Agricultural research is directed toward the corporate model, which demands near immediate results, as opposed to long term effects. The best example of this was pointed out in the video, about a small farmer using his neighbor’s leftover oyster shells and a calcium fertilizer for his fields. The extension agent told him that it was a terrible idea because the shells would break down for a year; which is what the farmer wanted, a dependable, renewable source for calcium for years to come.

This video was a highly entertaining and educational documentary. At times a little childish with the animated dirt monster. But overall a great film, for all ages. =Bibliography= Beneson, Bill (Director). Dirt!, 2009 [Motion Picture]http://www.dirtthemovie.org/pages/all-about-dirt

//Riker's island has a Farm//. (2005). Retrieved Novemeber 2, 2010, from Corrections History: http://www.correctionhistory.org/html/chronicl/rikersfarm/rikersfarm4.html

The Edible Schoolyard. (2010). Retrieved November 1, 2010, from http://www.edibleschoolyard.org/