Patrick's pedigree includes his Ph.D. from IA State's Economics Dept.
where he was reputedly the `fair haired boy' of the graduate program. His
career was in the belly of the beast, and he worked in a discipline long on
theory, very short on empirical research, and infamous for its delusions of
omniscience. In the 1970's Patrick had achieved considerable stature among
the 'old boys.' I can only imagine the heat he received in those circles.
I am embarrassed to admit that I don't know Willie's training, but I do
know that in the 1970's he was working with Barry Commoner who enjoyed
considerable respect in the general literature on environmental decay.
Its not surprising that Commoner's shop could attract NSF funding during
the 1970's! Nor is it surprising that it would find an avenue into the
AJAE-there have always been a few prominent ag economists with open minds,
and Harold Briemeyer of the U of Missouri is one of the first that come to
my mind-especially among those active in the mid 1970s.
I would venture a guess that Willie's closest colleagues took his
work on organics seriously, and did not find it threatening.
If your work attracts vitriolic responses form those outside your closest
colleagues, its not so hard to `keep a sense of humor.' By contrast, if
your closest colleagues and old friends intimate that `you must be loosing
it,' its harder to stay light.
It interesting that Patrick was responding to Donnella Meadows whose
Limits to Growth work received not just vitriolic criticism from the
likes of MIT and Yale economists,--but I have it on good authority that
those economists were successful in blocking funding for the Forester
(the Meadows' mentor) group at MIT. Again- she speaks from bitter
experience.
The moral? The organic movement is making inroads. [My colleagues like to
attribute this to 'hysterical' consumers].
But so is the FDA making headway in its attempt to discourage smoking.
Yet we have Big Tobacco claiming (STILL !) that smoking is `good
for us,' (No joke! See the current issue of the U Calif. Berkeley
Health Newsletter for this item). I suppose we can be `light,'
about this one too, but the annual death toll from tobacco in the
US is 400,000! Note, too, Dole's recent remarks on behalf of
the Tobacco Industry.
Just because we are paranoid doesn't mean noone is out to get us!
Ed Sparling
Professor
Ag Econ Dept
Colorado State University
Ft Collins, CO
*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*
Sue Anderson
Ag. and Resource Economics
Colorado State University
970/491-5706
970/491-2067 FAX
sanderso@ceres.agsci.colostate.edu
*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*==*