Interviews

Kristin's Interview: I decided to interview my friend Stephanie, she is a Graduate student here at Salem State University. I discussed the issues with farms and pesticides and the affects that pesticides have on our environment, our health and foods. I started by asking her,

Is this a problem you think is important?  Why/ Why not? She agreed that there is a definite problem with the food industrialization, she mentioned how when she was younger her Abuela always made her double wash all the veggies and fruits before anyone eat them or else she could get sick. She said why is it that the food we are in taking needs to be washed or else we will get sick, do you really think washing will do anything?

Do you think others in our community this is an important problem? why/ why not? Stephanie said that yes there are others in the community that think this is a problem but not enough. Many people just let the topic pass by until it affects them personally. We see changes trying to be made but are the rules being enforced?

What policy, if any, does government have now to deal with this problem? She wasnt really sure of any specific policy, had just only been introduced into the topic with me.

We went on and just talked about the different acts that have been brought on by the EPA and it seems she has formed a real interest in the topic. Maybe all we need is a little more information and talking being brought to the general public.

Greg's Interview:
My Dad Peter
　
Is this a problem you think is important?
“Yes because we are all eating this stuff“. After further coaxing I got another answer. “ If I don’t care the liberals will hunt me down.”

Do you think others in our community think this is a problem?
“Yes but I do not think many people know or care about it. It is a problem though and more people should think about it.”

What policy, if any, does government now have to deal with this problem?
“ I do not know anything about government policies.”
I confirmed that my family usually blanks out when I start talking about farms and other various horrible practices we currently support. My Dad is more into Philosophy than govermental policies. He also knows more about farms and what systems we currently have but I feel in ways does not like to acknowledge that he does. I also learned that even myself actually know very little about policies that have been passed on most any issue. The fact that these things are problems is directly linked to people not knowing what happens behind closed doors. If there was a slaughter house open the the public down town anywhere I gurentee this facility would be cleaner and more humane.

Katlin's Interview: I interviewed my co-worker Jen. We worked at Children's Island Day Camp (located in
Salem MA harbor) during the summer from 2008 to 2010. After and overnight I saw Jen using fresh water to clean off strawberries. Since the island's water is from the ocean I knew she was using her own supply. I asked her "Why are you doing that?" and she exclaimed, "Do you know how many pesticides are on these?"

I asked Jen the following questions and she replied:

Is this a problem you think is important? "Yes this is absolutly a concern! This is a problem because of all the health risks related to pesticides and hormones especially to those who work on the farms, live near the farms, and people who consume their products."

Do you think others in the community think this is an important topic? "I have met many people who agree that it is an important problem, but I also know many people who do not know about it."

What policy, if any, does government now have to deal with this problem? "I don't know of any specific policy, but I understand there are rules in redards to the use of pesticides. New research shows that corn produced by the super company Monsanto shows organ failure in rats. Hopefully scientists can keep up the good work and persuade the government to change agricultural policies."

Do you have anything else to add about this topic? "I drive a truck for http://www.farmdirectcoop.org/ on Tuesdays getting locally grown produce. This includes vegetables, fruit, cheese and bread. They are organic or IPM (integrated pest management) which means they are minimally sprayed when necessary.