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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] From Food Crisis to Food Sovereignty

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  • From: dan conine <dconine@bertramwireless.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] From Food Crisis to Food Sovereignty
  • Date: Sat, 05 Mar 2011 16:09:48 -0600


Pego wrote:
I am going to have to firmly stand on policies, rather than overpopulation as
primary cause for famines.
?
While overpopulation, drought and primitive farming methods are the popular
flogging boys of politicians and corporate pundits for famine,? most, if not
all of the last 200 years of major famines have been all about colonial
take-over of food production systems for export.

I have to agree for the most part. Overpopulation is a symptom of unnecessary growth, and its existence is evidence of a lack of moderation during the growth phase, as with all bubble and bust scenarios (in Darwin terms, it is a lack of 'fit' with the environment). Everyone wants to work on the "crash" problem, but are indifferent to the growth problem, as it is presented as "success" rather than failure to moderate behavior in the first place, which is a failure of policy and culture: the tools of our mindset.
Humans think in terms of an imaginary model of the universe that they keep in their heads. They don't let the real universe interfere with that model until it crashes in upon them, and sometimes they can weasel their way back out of the problem by throwing energy at it (For example: grow more food to feed more people).

You see where that ends up when energy isn't of infinite supply: the population grows until it overexploits the source of its food, then the population crashes.
The only "cure" is to go back in time, which we cannot do. Reducing population intentionally goes against all current morality, and it ignores the inability of people to actually perform actions based on sensible, reality-based intentions (see above paragraph).

Once we start living as though our behavior is the thing to keep us alive, then we simply live simpler lives and let population take care of itself. We won't change the outcome very much outside our sphere of influence (our Monkeysphere), and if we spend our energy trying, we end up not taking care of our local needs. It isn't up to us to 'teach' everyone how to live. It is up to us to live well and for them to find out for themselves also. If we can do it, so can they. Now is the time for all humans to recognize this fact. If the critical ones realize it, then we will create a form of human that hasn't existed for millennia (one which fits its environment): if they don't, it won't matter. In the meantime, live well and prosper, my wonderfully useful friends.

Dan Conine
Belgium, WI





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