http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/02/hutan-bets-organic-agriculture-is-the-road-to-happiness.html
Eco students, read and comment on this article:
http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/02/hutan-bets-organic-agriculture-is-the-road-to-happiness.html
26 Comments
Tchelet Segev
2/27/2013 10:04:45 am
It only talks about a very limited amount about GDH, it's main focus is the organic food goal, which I don't think will be very achievable because it is hard to enforce. I've actually never heard of a country called Bhutan before, but I would agree that GDH probably should come before GDP.
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Korte
2/27/2013 01:09:13 pm
Bhutan's claim to become 100 percent organic would be a giant leap in modern attempts at preserving the earth and our bodies, but this will be difficult to accomplish, especially with the press its getting. Despite the fact that Bhutan has been apparently organic "for centuries," the pressure from the Bhutan government on the farmers to reach certain production quantities in order to accomplish this lofty goal might force poor farmers to turn to chemical enhancers. GDP is a much more reasonable approach to measuring a country's standing, though it doesn't account for spiritual, mental, and environmental levels as GDH could potentially do.
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2/27/2013 04:52:03 pm
This article actually seems to only lightly focus on the gross national happiness prior to how Bhutan thinks it (GNH) should be weighed more than GDP. As Leu said that the process of becoming 100 percent organic "just need a few more years of research to come up with some more effective solutions", it may be more efficient to be less engrossed in the idea of trying to be a "100 %" organic country. Rather, this determination may ironically affect the happiness of Bhutanese farmers as they may be pressured and influenced in their own ways of farming. It may be encouraging or helpful to set a goal of becoming a 100% organic nation, however, reaching this goal step by step without having to go a sudden big change in agriculture my be more beneficial to the GNH. In fact, trying to achieve this strenuous goal may be implying on the inside that Bhutan actually considers GDP as more important and is finding a way to be less of a net food importer, and more of a "known" exporter of their food being 100% organic.
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Danny Shin
3/1/2013 11:39:20 am
Nice!
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Joshua Sunghoon Lee
2/27/2013 09:17:19 pm
Bhutan's 100% organic will be predicted as GNH > GDP. This has both disadvantages and advantages. Advantages are that pesticides will no longer be used, both reducing the pollution around the surrounding and more organic means the consumption of the pesticides will be reduced both leaving the farmer benefit and the consumer benefit. However, farmers will be put under the pressure for not using pesticides and changing the way they farmed in the past. Pesticides demand will decrease but even though the decrease of demand, when this goal is reached, there will be agricultural breakthrough and bring benefit to GNH.
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Andrew Kim
2/27/2013 10:01:07 pm
Bhutan's new eco friendly policies will have two contrary claims for it. Reducing the use of pesticides will definitely aid the environment to be more robust, but it will alter the way farmers had produced their product previously. Use of pesticides have brought up the efficiency of producing the crops, working as a capital in producing their product. However, when policies restrit the use of pesticides, the output that farmers will get will be far less. This will impact the demand for the crops and pesticides. I personally think that in a economic losses and gains, government should consider more thoroughly on reflecting the consequences it will have on the GDP.
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Isabell Park
2/27/2013 10:29:55 pm
This article has positive bias towards the Bhutans being an 100% organic country. It shows that there are limitations for it being a 100% organic country however, there are trying to find solutions to make it perfect as possible. This is actually a good idea as it will increase in production however it might be hard to maintain it through out many years because there will be weather issues and others.
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Sally Chung
2/28/2013 12:30:53 am
Bhutan measures prosperity by gauging its citizens' happiness levels, not the GDP. The country has rejected GDP as the only way to measure progress. In its place, it has championed a new approach to development, which measures prosperity through formal principles of gross national happiness (GNH) and the spiritual, physical, social and environmental health of its citizens and natural environment. Their movement toward implementing an organic agricultural system can be both disadvantageous and advantageous. First, it would be detrimental for Bhutan because by not using pesticides and chemical fertilizer, it would be harder to grow crops and less efficient. On the other hand, by changing to organic agricultural system, it can be more healthy and eco-friendly. Nevertheless, the problem is that there aren't an effective way or solution to organic agricultural system and we still need to research a method that can be an effective organic agricultural method.
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Danny Shin
3/1/2013 11:37:50 am
Bhutan has only 700,000 people- most of them are farmer- is challenging to become the first country to transmute 100 percent organic agricultural system. Andre Leu, claims that this is plausible because majority of agricultural land is already organic. I believe that this is a phenomenon challenge in which can bring happiness to people and bring healthier approach to people in the nation.
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Jun Kim
3/1/2013 04:51:12 pm
I find this very interesting that Bhutan can become an international fame with their agricultural system. We never really realize but all the food especially the fruits and vegetables are all made from the synthetic chemical and fertilizers and is used widely in countries all over the world especially ones that have a very big population. In the near future all of our food products mainly the vegetables and fruits will come from Bhutan and being a farmer will give tem much money. The Bhutanese farmers mainly grow the main big food products that everyone all around the world eats which is rice and corn, and potatoes and oranges. It is amazing that Bhutan is a net food importer. Other synthetic made vegetables and fruits can start giving our bodies the ability to gain more dangerous diseases from these man made chemicals.
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Austin Noh
3/1/2013 07:38:26 pm
Quite honestly, I never heard of the country Bhutan. However, through this article I can imagine what kind of place it would be. Bhutan aims to be 100% organic country, they already have majority population of farmers and the conversion will be quite easy, This program is launched not only to protect the environment but also to maintain the traditional ways of farming. However just as much as there are strengths there are weaknesses as well. Some products such as apple, farmers rely heavily on the fertilizers and they could be reluctant to giving up those type of modern methods.
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Seung Hyon Lee
3/1/2013 07:39:53 pm
The fact that Buhtan is trying to champion its approach in turning the nation into a 100% organic state is definitely very engaging and interesting to read. However, in order for this to be achieved, there's an urgent need for more recognition regarding Buhtan's farmers and the products that they are yielding with much effort. Given the soaring number of demands from wealthy nations, it will be hard to constantly maintain/restore that level of esteem and confidence within these farmers if the current trend were to stay as it is- decreasing the use of chemical fertilizers. However, I believe Buhtan will progressively strive forward but will need support externally and the world needs to give more attention and support, as well as value the efforts these farmers are putting in- if it wants to succeed. Less demand, more patience to nurture the nation and its long term goals that will bring a constant level of effective results.
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Seung Hyon Lee
3/1/2013 07:43:25 pm
* constant levels. ( Increase the GDP and GDH ) both at the same time!
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Woojin Yeo
3/2/2013 04:38:40 pm
I can see that Leu is quite determined to change Bhutan into a 100% organic nation. In my opinion, due to the fact that Bhutan exports a lot of food to other nations, making it organic is a good thing. So pesticides won't be used anymore (the demand of it will fall) and if things go well, the demand for food will go up even more since most people would prefer organic food than non-organic food.
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Katy Oh
3/3/2013 05:34:25 am
Bhutan is a country that drew attention by saying gross national happiness should be the factor to determine a nation's growth rather that gross national product. With such unique thinking the Bhutan people requested the government a unique policy. Since the nation is so small and based on the fact most of the people live their earning on agriculture, the people wanted their entire agriculture system to be organic. This quite a radical idea comes from the people saying "by working in harmony with nature, they can help sustain the flow of nature's bounties". 100% organic production in a country is something that hasn't been done, and something that the international community should pay attention to since we dont know how it will turn out.
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Yesol Jung
3/3/2013 09:29:07 am
It is so interesting to hear that there is a nation out there that is going all organic. I really think GDP's limitations is that it does not count the 'well-fare' of a nation. Bhutan should have a higher GDP however since GDP does not include happiness levels, Bhutan is still on the bottom of the list.
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Basically in this article, the people in Bhutan are trying to make good on a recent pledge to become the first country in the world to convert to a 100 percent organic agricultural system. However they are claiming that gross national happiness should trump gross domestic product when measuring a nation's progress. This I believe would not be very accurate since GDH is more based on people's opinion more than data of demand which would not be very accurate
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Suho Choi
3/3/2013 09:30:37 am
To be honest, I have never heard about the country, Bhutan;however, by reading this website,I changed my mind. Bhutan is a country that provides people 100% of organic food, which hard to find in actual 100 of organic food in city. But, people, who live in Bhutan, might not able to maintain the prime quality of food in the future because they are exporting the food to another countries. Thus, they must find a way that they can receive and export food manageably.
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leo Kim
3/3/2013 09:32:34 am
Bhutan is a small country which contain lots of organic food. they want to be a unique country where no other countries can be. In Bhutan, there are lots of sunlight and they have water to grow plant. If they succeed in being the number one country in he world to be 100% organic. There GDP will rise because other countries will start consuming from this country for organic food. Eventually Bhutan will earn lots of money in order to improve and develop the country. THen they will have more space to grow organic food after buying land from people. Overall, i believe that planning to become a country with 100% of organic food is a great profit for the country.
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3/3/2013 09:34:12 am
Before reading this article I didn't know that a country called Bhutan had existed.But now i can see how the country looks and how they live in. The article is telling us that this country has been selling agricultural goods too other countries, Bhutan s goods are organic that is why other countries are buying Bhutan s goods.
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Jeesoo Lee
3/3/2013 01:10:55 pm
If Bhutan were to switch to a 100% organic country, i think that the GDP will decrease. GDP, when calculated by the expenditure approach, consists of consumption, investment, government, and net exports. The article said that currently Bhutan is a "net food importer" meaning that their net export is a negative value. If Bhutan switches to a 100% organic producer, producers won't have any more aid from chemical fertilizers and pesticides to boost their supply. This would cause the overall supply to decrease, causing the country to rely even more on imports rather than domestic products. However, Andre Leu also mentioned that "the majority of the agricultural land is already organic". This means that there would be minimal affect on the supply if the 100% organic policy is enforced. If the government were to allocate more land and labor as they are doing currently by "training extension workers in organic methods", in the long run, this policy may be a beneficial to the national income of Bhutan. Furthermore, there seems to be a growing trend in America for more organic and "healthy" foods. Bhutan, if turned 100% organic, might be able to quench this growing demand causing their exports and therefore their GDP to increase.
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Michelle Jang
3/3/2013 01:24:40 pm
It seems to me that the government of Bhutan and its National Organic Policy is demanding what is impossible for some farmers in Bhutan.
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Helen Jeong
3/3/2013 01:28:56 pm
It is interesting to see that there is a country, trying for 100% organic food. It may take few more years to completely have things 100% organic. They might have opposing ideas. However, I support Bhutan and their effort to live a healthy living life.
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Ribby Suh
3/3/2013 01:42:03 pm
Bhutan is a country where organic agricultural system is in operation. The National Organic Policy the Prime Minister is implicating does not quite go along with the policies most developing countries would follow. Developing countries would usually industrialize rapidly to first catch up with the elite countries and then raise concern about the environment. However, Bhutan struggles to "work in harmony with nature to help sustain the flow of nature's bounties" even when it is not in the top GDP ranked countries. Farmers would have had a difficult time in producing organic crops, but the government providing subsidies were a good policy in making them continue their efforts.
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John Song
3/3/2013 04:41:42 pm
Bhutan, which is a small kingdom in southern Asia that runs an organic system, is promoting to turn as a 100% organic producer. It is an interesting article to look over. In order to achieve this goal, the country should carefully recognize that farmers and the producers had to go over some boundaries and need much effort to approach. Leu mentioned, “it will take few more years of research to come up with some more effective solution”; this shows that it will take time. Bhutan will make an effort; however, it will need a lot of supports to achieve this goal. 0.7 million Bhutan people, who are mostly farmers, should focus only in farming that can cause the mental pressure on the farmers. In addition, if the country turns into 100% organic producer, the other supplies except organic related good will decrease. This seems un-beneficial; however, when it is viewed as long-term, the goals that will bring a constant level of effective result. Bhutan is considering GDP as more significant and in search of a way to be less of a net food importer and rather become a known for 100% organic producer. If it is successful, GDP will increase because countries America will be likely to import healthy organic food.
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Joseph Park
3/24/2013 11:53:13 am
I don't think that it is an easily feasible idea to make 100 percent organic Bhutan considering the opinions among researchers at the Ministry of Agriculture and many farmers who grow export crops. However, I disagree with the people who are totally pessimistic about the idea. I actually think that it is possible with a help of government and possible organic methods of Bhutan's burgeoning organic agriculture research centers. Meticulous planning, plenty of research, and some more effective solutions will be crucial in solving the barriers of making 100 percent organic Bhutan.
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