> >I don't mean to disagree with what you're saying but I would add that the
> >problem is us. We already have the choice. Why are we buying processed
> >foods, grown and prepared somewhere we've never been by someone we don't
> >know. Stop it and you won't have to worry about labelling and contents.
> >Grow and buy whole foods from as near as possible. Get to know the
This is exactly what I have been saying over and over and over for years
in sanet and in other lists and newsgroups. People can learn how to do
this entirely from the Web and from selected books, mailing lists and
newsgroups. Just look at the number of posts in
misc.consumers.frugal-living and alt.permaculture for a clear indication
of the public's interest in good health, nutrition, self-sufficiency,
greenbuilding and growing your own food.
> Hi Don. I agree with everything else you said, except for "the problem
> is us". It is only partly true. The bigger problem is the
> chemical/industrial food industry, who use their immense economic
> power and hold over the government to make it extremely difficult for
> organic growers to flourish and for us to make the switch to organic.
>
> Sal's plight is a good example: as an organic grower, he is being
> taxed to death. The government then uses the taxes to subsidize the
> chemical firms.
You vote with your feet and wallet. Its a simple matter of diverting
customers from supermarkets to Sal's farm. How? Make the public aware of
the availability of locally grown products, introduce them to growers in
their locale and let them know that there is a difference between Sal's
and the supermarket's and that its affordable, especially in the long run
because there are no hidden costs to them as taxpaying citizens
(no pollution, agricultural subsidies, pesticide residues to put their
health at risk) and that the benefits are numerous: clean nutritious
food, long storage life, enhancement of the environment, enabling a
skilled businessman to make a living and contribute positively to the
community he lives in.
> It is not only us. It is the system. They have successfully made
> chemical farming the "default" system. If you want to do otherwise,
> you have to go through all kinds of bureaucratic hulla-hoops,
> documentary mumbo-jumbo and pay all kinds of fees and taxes, while the
> chemical industry enjoys all kinds of subsidies, research grants, etc.
> We have to change not only "us", but also the rotten system.
It's mostly getting "us" to buy from small and large local and regional
farmers whose farming methods are natural. "They" will change if we take
the lead and set the example by producing quality products for
increasing numbers of satisfied customers year after year, without
subsidization, as our fields get greener and greener and as our customers
lives are enhanced by doing business with us.
Lawrence F. London, Jr. Venaura Farm
http://metalab.unc.edu/intergarden
/permaculture /intergarden/orgfarm /ecolandtech
lflondon@mindspring.com london@metalab.unc.edu
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