I just wanted to add a couple of things to your list -- declining health
status and increasing obesity of the majority of the American population.
(Sure, we might be living longer, but we are living longer with diseases
such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, etc.) I feel that
the lack of physical labor (and poor nutrition) contributes to these
conditions. And this applies to many different occupations, not just
farming.
Lei
Gunthorp's Pasture-ized Pork
LaGrange, Indiana
visit our farm at www.grassfarmer.com
Bob had written:
> I agree, but have been wondering why none of the farm-philosophers on the
list have raised the issue of why we still view labour substitution so
favourably. After all, a strong case can be made that substituting
machinery and chemicals for labour has contributed to global warming,
accelerated rural depopulation (and the concommitent disintegration of
rural communities), increased unemployment, exacerbated soil
erosion/deterioration, promoted farm consolidation and otherwise engendered
many of the problems we discuss on this list.
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