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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lfl@intrex.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] The future of sustainable agriculture
  • Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 15:15:42 -0800

GlobalCirclenet wrote:
Absolutely a valid consideration, isn't it.
Yes #1
> Especially for commercial operations?
Yes #2
I'd venture that pollen drift would be less likely in separated
individual or community gardens than large commercial field operations near
other growers or growing other varieties that might be GMO contaminated.
Yes #3
Which would argue further for grow your own.
Emphatically Yes#4
There's probably some chance
of drift contamination in seed being sold now, but if it's going to get
more widespread I'd get into serious seed saving with heirloom varieties
from small isolated growers.
Yes #5
Heirlooms aren't newly bred varieties, and if
they appear to breed true from seed then my guess is they wouldn't be
comtaminated, would they?
I would not think so but periodic spot checking for gmo dna might be a good
idea.
I wonder if a new market will develop for
organic seed produced on geographically isolated farms with no chance of
GMO contamination.
I would certainlyhope so and would think that would be inevitable. Operations
of this type should develop a niche market
as a grower network who are regular customers who could check for genotype
(?) consistency. Johnny's is a good example of
a seed business with a large reliable customer base. I would think they would
be on the front line in preserving non-gmo seeds.

As for the dominance of agribusiness and fiat money investment capitalism
that props it up, I don't see what we can do without a complete collapse of
the industrial agriculture system. Which may be coming. What's your take on
this?

My take is to ignore and avoid all aspects of "agribusiness and fiat money
investment capitalism
that props it up" and spend whatever time, money and energy that might be
wasted opposing them on
developing, stabilizing and preserving independent community based food
production networks and associated niche markets
consisting of farmers markets, csa's, coop-sca'a, farmer's market-food
coop-coop csa-csa's, food coops and neighborhood food buying clubs
and any other marketing method that is appropriate, efficient and economically stable. Also farmer's buying cooperatives and farmer's marketing cooperatives (both of which can be integrated with the aforementioned marketing options. Restaurants will buy from coop-csa's. There are many variations to use to arrive at creative solutions for farmer and consumer.

herb@largocreekfarms.com

First, thanks for your input to this forum, Herb, glad you subscribed. We
need more of this sort of discussion.
I've started another list for pure eco agriculture and associated activism,
ecoag. Maybe you'll join this and help
discussion along. Its a good place. Go here to subscribe or let me know &
I'll subscribe you myself:
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ecoag
Here's a little from the list's web interface:
<+>
Ecological Agriculture

Locally grown produce for local sales within a marketing system that honors
fair play, fair pricing and equal access
to market resources by all growers using production methods that rely on natural materials with minimal external inputs within systems that respect nature
and natural processes and ensure the highest possible quality and safety of
food products grown by that operation for sale to customers.

Within a local food production network customers are within easy reach of the
growers, whom they can get to know and whose farms they
can visit so they can decide for themselves whether that operation meets
their own standards and whether they want to do business with them.
<+>



--
L.F.London
lfl@intrex.net
http://market-farming.com
http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech





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