Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

Without getting into politics too much, let me add that the free market you 
describe is something that has never been and never will be. Empires have 
robbed and pillaged subject peoples since time immemorial, and all empires 
fall. Government and corporate power is abused everywhere. I want a better 
world too but - funny thing - the world doesn't listen to me. Instead of 
running around trying to put out fires everywhere, I just try to improve my 
little corner and find a right livelihood with honest labor and sustainable 
food that doesn't poison people or waste what natural resources we have left. 
Best I can do.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.
--Henry David Thoreau

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

On 4/28/2008 at 1:56 PM Diane Kann wrote:

>I believe we need to let supply and demand take care of itself.  It has
>always worked.  We as individuals should not let people starve, of course,
>but if we keep playing with the system, we may all anyway.  If a society
>needs to learn to feed itself, there are ways for groups to help them
>(notice I said groups, not governments).  It is NOT government's role to
>feed people, let alone in other countries.  I'm not being harsh; in fact,
>our family assists many very cheerfully.  But our government multiplies the
>problems when it pays farmers to grow (or not to grow) certain crops, then
>turns around and guarantees them a minimum price, then buys the product at
>the government's price, uses more tax dollars to ship it overseas (and more
>to distribute it)....in the end, no one is actually being helped, except
>for
>the government itself (more money flowing through it, more control).
>
>A better solution would be to allow private groups/individuals to help
>those
>they see need help, allow farmers to grow what they feel will sell, allow
>farmers to sell at whatever price they can (if we run into a rice shortage,
>the farmers selling rice sell at a higher price, then more farmers decide
>to
>grow more rice and the price stabilizes again....it IS supply and demand,
>basic economics).
>
>An added bonus is that our government can run on much less money and we can
>use our own $$ as we see fit!
>
>Diane K
>
>On Mon, Apr 28, 2008 at 12:41 PM, <activism98201@verizon.net> wrote:
>
>> As tragic as this all is, I believe that it is necessary.  At first
>glance
>> it may appear that the big folks are winning but it's really their death
>> that's happening too.  Big AG is doomed to fail.  By lobbying that it
>"has
>> lost touch with its most basic goal: that of feeding people" we're
>playing
>> into their hands of obtaining yet further control over our food supplies.
>>
>> We shouldn't have our "representatives" in other parts of the world
>> telling people what they should and shouldn't grow.  And don't believe
>that
>> the loss of exports is going to affect people's ability to feed
>themselves
>> ("economic health"); dollars aren't necessary.
>>
>> It's the people's job of feeding themselves.  If we let this hemorrhaging
>> take place it'll result in more local control of food by the people
>> themselves.
>>
>>
>> -Mark Nagel
>> Everett, WA
>>
snip