permaculture

["Kirby Fry" <peace@totalaccess.net>]

Jamie,

>>  While many of us, myself included, wander our 'acre' feeling a diffuse,
warm glow at the successful integration of PC, nature-centered ideas, the
large farms that produce nearly all the food consumed in the West and have
so damaged their environments, remain largely untouched (and possibly
untouchable) by PC in its current guise.  <<

Right, well before we toss aside our ethics (which still hold in my opinion,
no matter the scale) consider, that perhaps industrial agriculture as we
know it is untouchable because it is anathema to permaculture.  Industrial
ag is more the result of politics, designing around machines and influence
peddling on the part of corporations.

Perhaps the only change we should be worried about is taking care of
ourselves.

>>  How do we reach out and begin to make a change on these farms when
farmers are so squeezed for time and money as it is.  <<

Personally, I think it's too late, unless one wants to go into politics.
The aggies are the ones relentlessly destroying the land and will no doubt
continue to do so until some sort of crisis reaches a head.

Does anyone out there actually devote their time to influencing commercial /
industrial farmers?

The one area that could use our attention includes all of the family farms
going out of business and turning to CSA's for a new source of income.

>> Is PC a precious, suburban, faintly elitist movement that has much to say
but little practical to give these larger farms?  <<

Quite the contrary, the Pc movement is best suited for the rural, southern
hemisphere where people are the poorest.  It's not elitist at all.  As a
matter of fact, last time I spoke with Bill Mollison, North Vietnam was
working to make permaculture its national form of agriculture.


Kirby Fry

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