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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] NO-TILL FARMING OFFERS A QUICK FIX TO HELPWARD OFF HOST OF GLOBAL PROBLEMS

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: Liz <liz@allslash.org>
  • To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] NO-TILL FARMING OFFERS A QUICK FIX TO HELPWARD OFF HOST OF GLOBAL PROBLEMS
  • Date: Sat, 15 Dec 2007 20:01:10 -0500

At 07:00 PM 12/15/2007, you wrote:

You're right, Liz. But that raises the next question: how sustainable is
going back to the bank every year to keep farming in the first place?
Spending your life farming to repay debt (with interest) is a clever modern
invention, and incidentally gives the financial elite absolute control over
your food. Thoughts?

Couldn't agree with you more. That's just one of the major shortcomings of modern agriculture. But it's what many farmers are accustomed to doing. Combine a fear of change with the marketing tactics of Monsanto and their ilk, and it's hard to overcome.

I personally think that market gardening is the only really viable alternative to agribusiness, or even the small to medium family farm. It bypasses banks, fertilizer and pesticide manufacturers, and to some extent even the commercial seed producers, if you can save some of your own seed. It's much more flexible than monoculture in its ability to respond to seasonal weather changes. As you've pointed out, it allows the grower to have a personal relationship with the consumer. It encourages the production of local favorites best suited to the area, since they aren't going to be shipped across the country. And it encourages community relationships too, I think. The small rural stores that I inspect almost always have some of "Mrs. Williams' cabbages" or "John White's sweet potatoes" for sale during harvest season. Everyone knows who grows the best tomatoes or the best peppers or cucumbers, and where to buy them.

In fact, there aren't many places with a farmers market because *all* the little stores sell produce that came from local farmers. The established farmers' markets in some of the larger towns are seen as places where the rich folk go, unfortunately. I expect that will change as supermarket food becomes more expensive. But I fear that what I call the pasta-and-pastry diet will continue to prevail wherever people's food budgets are being squeezed. It can be hard to justify buying fresh produce even when you know better, if you can take home twice as many bags of sugared cereal and boxed pasta mixes for the same amount of money. That's the fundamental problem--people have been brainwashed to think that stuff is food.

Liz in SW VA
http://life-as-a-spectator-sport.com




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