I came across it a few years ago when I was working on the economic impact
of the screwworm eradication program, along with some of the genetic
diversity that caused the recurrent outbreaks. This was published in
Science 215:361-370. 1982; and "The Screwworm Problem" published by Univ.
Texas Press 1978. (This has been one of the most significant biological
control projects ever, and impacted the livestock industry in the US to a
massive extent. It is uniquely responsible for the displacement of cowboys
from ranchlife to urban life, particularly to the area around Houston.
This created the "urban cowboy" by their influence on the urban teenagers
who learned the sport of rodeo from the displaced cowhands. But this is
another story.)
The reference is:
"The Corporate Invasion of American Agriculture" by Victor K. Ray,
published by the National Farmers Union in 1968. It outlines with numerous
examples how the legislation on taxation and commodities shifted the
production basis from family farms to the cooperate operations. Indeed, it
was no accident, but was orchestrated from the days of President Eisenhower
and Sec'y of Ag Earl Butz. Of course, Wendell Berry's "The Unsettling of
America: Culture and Agriculture" (1977) details these same years in the
historical context of history from the days of first European settlers.
Anyone who thinks that the shift was based on efficiency and market
processes is not thinking about the reality of the economic and political
system. We have tended to lose sight of this planned reorganization as
the decades passed, and now "youngsters" may believe that it was just a
story mis-remembered by the "oldtimers". Now Democrats and Republicans
alike continue to accomplish the same objectives, just using different
ribbon on the package. I salute the great job of mind control
("salesmanship") that Ol' Earl Butz pulled off!
=========================================================================
R. H. (Dick) Richardson * (512) 471-4128 (w)
Zoology Department * (512) 471-9651 (FAX)
University of Texas * (512) 476-5131 (h)
Austin, TX 78712 * d.richardson@mail.utexas.edu