Eng2150

            We have seen many different factory and farm systems that produce our food supply.  They all have one thing in common, producing food in mass quantities to feed our expanding population. Although, few things that we’ve witnessed that’s different is how they choose to treat the environment and the quality of the food they create. There is a constant that I’ve noticed, environmentally friendly farms and factories tend to produce more nutritional foods that are less likely to harm our health. Gary Hirshberg’s Stonyfield farm and factory is based on a different system than what we have seen in other examples in class. At Stonyfield, they follow a strict culture of sustainability which enables them to create a better product for their consumers. Hirshberg, his partner Samuel and everyone at Stonyfield are always finding ways for the factory to be self sufficient by not relying on fossil fuels; reduce waste by reusing and consuming less, being responsible to the environment and to create a better product using the highest quality ingredients.  Based on the ethos of sustainability, Gary Hirshberg’s Stonyfield Farm and factory is a different system that many different companies are beginning to replicate because it’s proven successful.

            There are many ways that Stonyfield is different from other factories we’ve seen in class. In the book written by Gary Hirshberg, the “CE-Yo” of Stonyfield Farms, “Stirring It Up” shows us the many steps taken over the decades to make the company a leader in sustainability. The factory produces organic yogurt and other yogurt-based products that are very popular among health and environmentally conscious consumers. The most important aspect that sets it apart from other factories we’ve seen is the belief that sustainability will increase profits. Hirshberg writes, “at the heart of every thriving business is a unique selling proposition.” Other factories believe they can profit from producing more products and cutting prices to sell at a cheaper cost. For example, we’ve learned in Tannahill’s book that during the industrial revolution, factories would mix in cheaper non-food ingredients to increase profits.  This common practice called the adulteration of food eventually lead to rules and regulation created by the government to control the quality of the food supply. Hirshberg proudly admits that he encourages the government to regulate standards and visit the factory. This “selling proposition” alone, has generated Stonyfield’s customer loyalty.

            Gary Hirshberg’s Stonyfield farm is different from other factories we’ve seen in class because it is sustainable. It means everything is done with care to the environment. The first step they took to become sustainable was to free themselves from fossil fuels. They installed solar panels, and added insulation to their refrigeration systems to reduce energy consumption which prove profitable by saving millions of dollars. The second problem with their factory was the amount of waste they created. Solid and water waste problems were solved when they created systems to treat the waste, and then used the methane produced to power their factory. We learned in the video by HSW, “Industrial Revolution 1750 – 1915” wind and water powered grain mills were replaced by steam engines because it was more reliable but it also created pollution because they had to burn coal. They have also kept their consumption at a minimum by using less plastic on their yogurt cups and the least amount of packaging needed. Stonyfield continually searches for ways to be sustainable, their creativity and perseverance has lead to their success.

            Stonyfield creates high quality products by using organic ingredients and little to no additives. They pay their cow farmers and cane growers above the market prices to ensure that they are following strict organic guidelines. Using organic milk from local farmers, organic cane sugar from Brazil and other organic fruits has proven to be better for the health of the consumers and the environment. Other factories aren’t as conscious of the consumers’ health or the environment.  For example, in the documentary “King Corn” by Aaron Woolf, we saw that to increase profits, big farming companies use a genetically modified corn seed, chemical fertilizer and herbicides to grow an abundant crop of corn that doesn’t even taste good. This crop of corn would probably be used as additives to other foods and it would probably cause health problems for the consumer. The chemicals used will pollute the local water supply and create water shortages. At Stonyfield, they always strive to use the best ingredients while creating little impact on the environment, even if it costs more. Hirshberg stated, “organic is, quite simply the best way to do business” and proves to us this is true with the example of his own company and Seth and Barry’s Honest Tea.

            Gary Hirshberg’s yogurt factory has been very successful not only because of their sustainability and high quality products. They remain very connected to their loyal customer base and they continue to make the “indispensable handshake connection with everyone” as Hirshberg said. In the HSW video mentioned earlier, it stated that most factories don’t have a connection with their consumer, which can also be said about most of our food supplies today.  I don’t know where most of my food comes from. This is obviously not the case with Stonyfield since their website is dedicated to connect with and educate their consumers on organic living. They can participate in blogs, sweepstakes and even see videos of the cows from farms that supply their milk. In the past, they used their lids and yogurt containers as a way to connect with their consumer. By adding educational facts and starting the “adopt a cow” program on their containers they were able to recruit their consumers to join in on the sustainable and organic lifestyle.

Problem solving and critical learning is used in everyday of our lives. It is used to define and to observe answers to questions that require a deeper level of knowledge and exploration. To show how important problem solving and critical learning is in our daily lives, I will use as my example, the documentary “King Corn” by Aaron Woolf in which two college graduates set out to figure out why there was corn in their hair and what were the causes and effects. The two college graduates, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis were stunned at the finding that corn was in their hair. Not just pieces of corn in their hair, but deep down in the organic chemical composition of their hair. It was then learned that this can possibly cause them to die at a younger age than their parents, but they were still puzzled as to why and how. Through problem solving and critical learning they eventually discover the truth behind their question and use it to inform us, the viewers, why corn is part of a bigger problem that we all must do something about.

Problem solving can be used to find the most obvious questions and discover to a deeper meaning. The first problem they faced was to figure out how corn got in their hair. Figuring how it got there was easy- they must’ve ate it. But corn wasn’t part of their daily meals, which led them use problem solving to answer their question. They learned that corn actually was in everything they ate. Ian and Curt took us to the supermarket and showed us there was a little bit of corn in everything from sports drinks to snacks. This led to the next question- why there was so much corn and where is it all coming from. Learning that the corn was being grown in the heart of our country, Greene, Iowa, they set out to experience it for themselves.

Critical learning provides a broader lesson of what is to be taught, showing deeper knowledge than just reading a book. Ian and Curt were closer to their answer as they used critical learning to experience the corn growing industry for themselves. They moved to Greene, Iowa to rent an acre of land to grow their own corn. Through their hands on learning experience they learned how much corn has changed since their ancestors were farmers. With the help of the people from Greene, they realized the corn being grown today is different from the native corn from Mexico and also that Americans are growing them at an overflowing rate. The corn itself has deteriorated in protein and had replaced with starch making it less nutritious and more useful for other things like sweeteners and animal feed. Also, because its demand was high, America’s farmers are growing more of it, so much that its inventory levels are overwhelmingly high. The deeper question then became why corn was so important to America’s farmers. It turns out corn farmers are subsidized by the U.S. government, meaning they make money from the government for growing the corn not actually selling it.

After learning all about the corn industry they still needed to know why corn will cause them to have shorter life spans than their ancestor, the biggest problem so far. Ian and Curt connected the dots, and realized that it must be because Americans were consuming so much of the less nutritious corn. It was in everything from the beef hamburgers made from corn fed beef, soda made with corn syrup and many other foods which we would’ve never expected to find corn. To show us how much it affects our heath, they brought us to Brooklyn, NY where we learn that soda is causing obesity which eventually leads to diabetes. Obesity, a widespread problem amongst young Americans, is preventable but will cause shorter life expectancies if not treated.

Through their whole experience to solve problems and answer questions, Ian and Curt have taught us why corn was related to how long we live. Our health depends largely on what we consume. Corn turns out to be the biggest part of our diet and it is not as nutritious as we first thought it was. We also learned the biggest culprit to our corn over load is our own government. Ian and Curt, using problem solving and critical learning has persuaded us to look at the problem with corn. Knowing how the corn got in our hair and where it came from leads us to a new problem. We could now use our own problem solving techniques and critical learning to figure out how to solve this problem of getting the corn out of our hair.

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