Why did farming become such a profit-making business, especially with the global system that ships it all over the planet – if you can afford it that is. Can’t afford it? Just die because you are not a customer – even for that cheap stuff we process and euphemistically call ‘fast’ food. Food, unlike any other commodity we have now, should be a common good, available to all. Exotic foods could be a pay-for luxury, but letting literally millions die because they are not paying customers is just plain evil. Yet once we moved into the high-end consumer society after WWII, everything including food was now a commodity. Economically, our system believes that unless we force people to work for their food, they won’t have any incentive. Hang on, that’s how we got into this hierarchical control (planetary management system) in the first place.
Aldo Leopld clearly saw back in 1949 what too many, fail to see today. He said, “There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.” This quote highlights the importance of understanding where our food and resources come from. We have been conditioned to largely ignore the natural world in favor of a belief in the anthropocentric technological world. In 1962, Rachel Carson warned us of a Spring, silent of bird song, because of overuse of pesticides. I already alluded to that same problem now with a dearth of bees buzzing. It is now June and I do see bees buzzing around the many wildflowers in my garden, but nowhere near the numbers I usually see. I have been busy pollinating my emerging crops with a Q-tip to ensure that they do get pollinated.
When I talk about growing your own food, I am not talking about setting up your own farm. I have a colleague here in semi-arid north-central Colorado who claims he grows enough food on his 1000 sq ft (93 m2) food plot to feed his family for the year. I’ve not had that success yet, but my focus has been on experimenting with various growing conditions and irrigation to see what works best for Colorado’s harsh, dry summer heat, and understanding the amount of water needed for successful crops yield. And of course, getting the soil conditioned. I don’t add chemicals or pesticides. I do use a probiotic soil conditioning solution as well as mulch from two mulch bins. Throughout the year, I have no food waste, but do have food scraps from cooking that go into the mulch bins. One bin is a rotary bin for the summer months for fast mulching and the other a bin that sits on a patch of soil for all year round – that allows the worms, etc., to dive deep into the ground when it is too cold for them.
When you look at the world today and the chaos, it is good to think about the odds of it staying clam and orderly. This is important, because the supply chains we take so-much-for-granted are the first things to suffer when political unrest and geopolitical chaos rear their ugly heads. Now add to that all the problems of Big Agriculture with its toxic brews used to grow our ‘foods’ and the reason for re-localizing food systems ought to be obvious. Continuing to trust the Big Money scientists and the misleading call to trust the ‘cherry picked and edited’ science can, and does, lead to health problems, and ecological collapse problems. As author and activist Terry Pratchett says: “Science is not about building a body of known ‘facts.’ It is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good.”
When you look at biological systems and the interconnected ecological components, you quickly realize that food scientists that work for Big Money corporations are simply looking at the financial bottom line, no matter how idealistic they may think they are in solving world hunger. Think about it, we produce so much food in the developed world that we throw at least 40% away while 20% of humanity remains permanently hungry or simply starves to death every day. After that sobering perspective, let me reiterate that this is all while the world is relatively stable. And that still doesn’t address the ‘monoculture problems’ of modern Big Ag, that not only ignore biodiversity solutions, but dismiss biodiversity as an inconvenience to profit generation. “Nature doesn’t just accept diversity – it survives because of it. Strip that away, and ecosystems collapse. Maybe it’s time … people stop pretending humanity works any differently” Paul Avellino. We make the choices. It’s up to us, because no one else is coming. I’ve said this so often (e.g., see link).
“The apocalypse is not something which is coming. The apocalypse has arrived in major portions of the planet and it’s only because we live within a bubble of incredible privilege and social insulation that we still have the luxury of anticipating the apocalypse” Terence McKenna.
It’s late spring in the northern hemisphere, so still time to plant seeds and seedlings for your crop garden. Then get your neighbors to do a small plot as well. Help each other – it doesn’t have to be a solo effort. Meanwhile, visit farmers markets and talk with local farmers – do they need help in exchange for food baskets as crops ripen? This is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Garner and build the relationships for local food production. In your own neighborhood, once food starts to ripen, start bartering with your neighbors on fair food exchanges. In many villages in Switzerland, neighbors all grow something unique and then all share their harvests, and practice food preservation systems together. It’s not that much work, certainly better than suddenly finding yourself hungry.
Ever been hungry? And I’m not talking about that minor hunger pang after a workout when you are ready to scarf down a juicy burger. No, I mean hungry enough that snails on a garden wall start to look like great eating – raw. My father had a rough childhood, and I recall him telling me of eating raw slugs because he was so hungry and not giving it a second thought! I always hear that so many people would never, ever, under any circumstances, eat horse, dog, cat, rat, goat, insects, etc., but then they have been truly hungry.
I have been blessed never to have been in a state of starvation. But I have been hungry enough on long backpack and climbing trips in remote areas to feel close. I’ve talked with refugees (environmental and war) who have experienced starvation. They didn’t wake up one morning and think, I’m going to be a refugee today, just to feel what it’s like. When the apocalypse happens, you will be thrust unwillingly into it. To avoid that, you need to be prepared and self-sufficient. The time to prepare is now, not afterwards. If you can accept that the global food growing and distribution system is extremely fickle, then starting your own garden will not be a hard thing. Yes, it takes some work, but not as much as you might think. Becoming really hungry doesn’t take much effort, but it really, really, sucks.
The future of technology in large agriculture is still going to be there, but you had better live within reach of a high yielding organic food region. I read recently, that, “A tiny country the size of the State of Maryland, U.S. exports more food than any nation except the U.S. and Brazil. Dutch farmers use high-tech greenhouses to grow food with 90% less water, while robots and computers control the climate and irrigation.” So, even localized agriculture will enjoy AI systems, which will mean that future farming will not be the haphazard system it has always been. There’s a reason we went with ‘Big Ag’ but sadly we didn’t have the foresight to understand the system we were bent on destroying was the very one we needed to maintain in a more pristine state. One thin not mentioned in the article was how much the Dutch government subsidize their farmers. Reality check: most governments don’t subsidize organic farming, only Big Ag.
Let’s wrap this up for today. Use best principles of Permaculture to maintain organic soil structure and integrity. Plant your own organic polycrop garden. Help neighbors plant their polycrop gardens. Help local farmers develop and maintain organic farming systems – invest in these farmers, especially if you live a dense urban environment – these farmers are literally your lifeline to a successful and thriving future. Help build greenhouse systems for local food throughout the year. Help finance this locally – local governments are still an option, if you can get their profit-margined heads out of their asses. You don’t need to look at Big Government for help. In all likelihood, if you’re waiting for help from high, then it may already be too late. I don’t see a nasty apocalypse as in a bad movie, but I do see global systems breaking down, propelling everyone in to localized systems. If they already exist, like parallel societies, then everything will transition smoothly enough. While we have functioning systems, there is a lot of help available in whatever country you live (e.g., link)
The big picture question here is not if there is going to be the proverbial apocalypse or not? If for no other reason, locally grown organic food not only tastes better (literally) but also is better for your health since it will not have all those wonderful agriculture chemicals that make Big Ag and ‘sickcare’ such profitable ventures at our expense. And the bigger benefit – it will be the start of a true Sustainable society.
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