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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] loss of small farms

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Dan Conine <dconine@dotnet.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] loss of small farms
  • Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 12:43:57 -0500

Bobby G wrote:
one 'n all,

i have a hunch, and it is only a hunch, without
historical data to back it up. my hunch is that the
global peak of oil production, now scheduled to occur
on 12/21/2012, will probably in rather short order
take the giant corporate farm model right off the
table as an option. we have just 76 months to prepare
for this event...

Less than that, probably. The real problem with peak oil isn't the loss of the oil. It's the price structure vs. our economic system. Once the reality REALLY sets in (based on debt load/housing bubble/investment perceptions: this fall), the failure of the Economic Growth-as-God scenario will be a slippery slope to worldwide depression. The countries that are agrarian-based will fare better because they won't have as far to fall off their high-price inflatable oil horse.

The 'bright' side is that the value of local food products on the local market will actually increase more due to trucking companies going out of business than due to the price of fuels. As the economy falls, the demand, and thus price, of fuel will also go down, but once the economic growth stagnates or falls, then the perception of perpetual pie inflation (service economics) will end, and along with it, the businesses that depend on instant gratification.

This becomes critical to people on this list because you have to not fall for the 'buy gold' idea. Your best investment is yourself, and your ability to grow food for the people you know. In the Depression times, there were a lot more places to get a cup of milk for a child, or a pot of stew from a garden. People invested a quarter of their income into food back then. It was an investment that was carefully planned. We need to be able to ride that investment wave (so to speak) when it comes again, even if most people won't have money, but will have time to invest when they don't have those advertising jobs anymore (I only hope).

Dan C
Belgium,WI




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