Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

That's like saying there was no shortage of food in the Irish Famine. In
fact they grew enough, including wheat, even with the potato blight.
History tells us British soldiers shipped very large amounts of grain and
potatoes out to England and left Ireland without enough for themselves.
Which is eerily similar to what's happening here with increasing exports as
they inflate the dollar against the Euro and Asian currencies. Which is
also why China-Mart and the like are facing eventual bankruptcy. Their
cheap food is already going up - haven't you noticed? It's in the news, if
you follow the news. And more and more our own exports are cutting into
what's left for food banks. Ten percent of our people don't get enough, and
millions more are malnourished on empty calories from fast food and
commodities. And those "super farms" you count on are using up our land and
freshwater, and some areas are already feeling the pinch like central
California. We know better ways. 

Actually foreign food is costing us more than it has, not less. Where it's
been cheaper it's because corporations can take advantage of starvation
wages in poor countries with globalization treaties. Even slave labor
picking Florida oranges, literally. 

Far from a novelty, the stats tell us farmers markets have grown ten fold
in the last twenty years and show no sign of slowing down. And those making
a good living on little land would be interested in hearing why they can't
do it. I say millions more could do the same, but not all at farmers
markets obviously. In some locations farm stands are quite lucrative. Many
family run operations also add income with value added products like
breads, cheese, wine, or some wholesaling of high value specialty products
such as strawberries or garlic, free range chickens, grass fed beef, or
winter greens for restaurants. Thousands like Eliot Coleman and Joel
Salatin have shown the way. As I've shown it doesn't necessarily take a lot
of capital for startup, and it doesn't need to take several years to show a
profit either. 

To say it can't be done is giving up without trying. Now that's a real
gloom and doom scenario. If you think you might someday "get blugeoned for
what food you might have" then I simply suggest you sell to them or teach
your neighbors to grow their own.

Thank you for the opportunity to toss out these pointers.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 12/2/2007 at 10:10 PM Johnny Stansell wrote:

>First there is no shortage in food in the USA.  We grow more than needed
>on super farms or import food cheap.  We can now buy foreign food much
>cheaper than we can produce it. 
>   
>    Farmers markets are a novelty, interesting places to visit once or
>twice a year and buy a few things for fun.  Yep you can make a living at
>the framers market, but rarely.  People buy from WalMart and a few other
>Super Stores.  So if you can't create a walmart your spinning your wheels
>in todays market.  There might come a day where food is scarce and you can
>get a great price for all you can produce, but are more likely to get
>blugeoned for what food you might have.  
>   
>  Johnny
>