HumdrumPG’s Recent Comments

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  a ha!

  I was honestly worried about our beloved Tom Philpott.  It's all well to be active in a variety of areas, but I was worried he was headed for burnout with all the writing and the farming.

  Anyway, the incubator program is great.  Just the kind of thing we need so direly nowadays.  It's very encouraging and inspiring to see others in my generation with a passion for farming.On A new generation pilots the farm's operations as it transitions to training others posted 1 year, 6 months ago 1 Response

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  he/she/it

  I assumed JC Dwyer's male.  Hope I'm right.  If not, sorry JC.On How should sustainable-food advocates respond to the latest farm bill proposal? posted 1 year, 6 months ago 25 Responses

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  Damn

  Can I go back and change my vote?  I voted to start over from scratch, but after reading JC Dwyer's comments, I'm convinced he's right.

  Of course we want more change, and we want it really soon (2009 as opposed to 2013), but maybe we just have to learn that patience is a virtue.  Claim victory where we can and keep plodding along trying to get more done.  Tortoise v. hare, etc.  You get the point.On How should sustainable-food advocates respond to the latest farm bill proposal? posted 1 year, 6 months ago 25 Responses

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  Survivalism

  There's a difference between being self-reliant and selfish.  As a society and as individuals, we could all benefit from a good dose of self-reliance, in order to create greater sustainability.  However, the survivalist mindset (to the extent one can speak about it collectively) seems to be "my self-reliance will serve me and my loved ones alone when the shit hits the fan."  Though I do hope to be able to provide for myself were I ever presented with such a situation, I think a more productive mindset would be to work to effectuate positive change in the here and now, so that we can prevent a "shit hits the fan situation."

  Survivalists would turn their backs on the very society which provided them with the means and technology to create their illusory cocoon.  

  Moreover, the survivalist goal is a whack-a-mole attempt to control every possible contingency.  I don't doubt many survivalist types would survive longer than I would if the shit hits the fan.  But the fact is they will likely die soon enough, for lack of preparation in some key area or another.  The energy exerted in pursuit of these selfish ends, then, would be put to much better use developing a truly sustainable society.

  I also disagree that Mother Earth News has anything to do with survivalism, other than what a survivalist might read into it.  The magazine seems to me much more focused on making positive changes for the environment, and to the current lifestyle of its readers, rather than preparing for some post-apocalyptic/bad-Kevin-Costner-movie world.On More than peak oil or financial crash, I fear angry men armed to the teeth posted 1 year, 7 months ago 31 Responses

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  Here, here to spaceshaper's comment

  I am in 100% agreement with spaceshaper's comment that we cannot ignore history when talking about sustainable agriculture principles.  If anything, I think "organic" is a red herring and a term that alienates and isolates the masses.

  When I talk to my friends who eat "conventional" food, I think it's lost on them that the "conventions" have only been around for basically the latter part of the last century.  I think that should make them more skeptical of what they're consuming.  The opposite, however, seems to be true.  They tend to think of organic as the "other," the alternative, the "weird" way of eating.

  In fact, I felt this way when I first started eating organic.  I was led to believe for far too long that the sterile crap I was shoveling down my mouth was somehow better for me than foods produced as they have been for ages.

  "Organic" is also a red herring, as it allows the multitude of conscientious consumers who do care about the planet's wellbeing to assume that because their Earthbound (or any number of other producers') lettuce is organic that they have done enough.  I am certainly not putting down Earthbound or others, as I believe progress is gradual, and it is better to make small positive changes than to give up.  But I do not want the positive changes of large-scale "organic" production to end there.

  Our society needs to adjust so that choosing the "organic" option at the grocery store, simply because it saves more time than visiting farmers' markets or joining a CSA, is not seen as the better option.  We need to take back our time as individuals so that we can direct our energy towards making smarter, healthier choices all around.

  I could go on, but I'm already babbling.  Anyway, I agree with spaceshaper that we need to recognize, in fact highlight, the fact that conventional is new, certified organic production is newer and better, but organic is timeless.On As energy, healthcare, and feed costs skyrocket, organic dairy farmers get squeezed posted 1 year, 8 months ago 6 Responses