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  • From: Thamnophis <thamnophis AT gmail.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Now......GMO sweet corn
  • Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2011 07:32:23 -0500

Just a quick note regarding "population control" Short of government coercion, the only effective population control is economic development.

Men and women in developing countries choose to have children to compensate for the lack of social systems: social security, insurance, elder care, unemployment insurance, training programs, etc. With out these systems of support, and because one's well being is largely dependent on the labor provided by one's children, these people make the intelligent choice to have large families. The same choice you or I would make if we were in their shoes.

Economic development that provides young people (particularly women) economic opportunities - an education and a career path - changes the cost / benefit equation and population growth declines drastically.

Joe
Boone County, IA


On Tue, Sep 20, 2011 at 7:09 AM, Richard Stewart <rstewart AT zoomtown.com> wrote:
"Additionally, in the Rodale studies previously cited..."

I downloaded Rodale's "Full"  FST Report and I have yet to see the data that backs up their claim.

My experiences planting heirloom corn (Kruggs Yellow and Boone County white) and beans (Black Turtle) on three acres or more is that the yields are far less than conventional and much more highly prone to weather conditions, mainly because of weed and cultivation issues.  Once weeds get in your labor requirements to get them out go through the roof and it becomes, in some cases, more economical to simply plow them under.  Keep in mind that I am selling corn at 25-150.00/bu (based on milling the corn and selling between .50 and 2.50 a pound).  I know that amy sound ridiculous, but its true.  Translate current methods of growing corn these days.  How do you hand cultivate 6000 acres with an unskilled labor pool that demands 10.00 an hour or more?

I will also argue that be it conventional or organic you will deplete your soil resources.  One simply does it faster than the other.  The problem is population.  The math simply does not add.  I have no idea what the solution to that is nor do I want to play "Global Earth Lifeguard" but at some point we will need to do so.  The alternative is continued divide between the "have" and the "have nots".


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