SmokenFire said:
I would submit that I do not think the products brought to market by these firms are that much more valuable than what we've got on the tableau. Further I submit that these very products are far more dependent on those very pesticides and fertilizers said vendors sell for acceptable yields, and that those also harm the environment. I rebel at being grouped into 'you folks' but I do not deny loathing pesticides.
It has been shown than proper crop rotation can easily outpace factory agribusiness production in the right circumstances, and I'll spend some time finding the studies to support that claim should it become necessary. What I'm mostly saying is that ADM & Monsanto & the rest are total greedy f**king bastards - no better or worse than any other company in the agri business gov't supported conglomerates - and that through their greedy bullshit patent crapola have conspired to limit and impede natural biodiversity for profit and gain - to the ultimate loss for our global race.
Among the first rules of running a profitable business is to eliminate competition. No wonder they defend their 'patents'. Stop acting like it's an act of science that should be revered - a bunch of stoned hippies could likely do the same given some time and proper conditions/generations. The bullshit comes with the genetic splicing, and we really need to take a long sober look at IF that is really necessary before those crops get out into the biosphere. Oh wait. too f**king late...
I also take issue with your generalization of most farmers being 'petty capitalists' brother quee. Most farmers I know are only trying to hold onto their family farms and their way of life. Sadly most of those people bought into the county extension office's version of 'what they need to do' a few decades ago - and nearly all of them are bankrupt and gone or a very thin harvest away from being so. And when the bank forecloses on their land who buys it? Agribusiness of course. Cause we all need to consume corn and soy products that have been synthesized into a buncha other foodstuffs they never were meant to be. Cause otherwise hungry children right?
rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow...
edit: my apologies. this stuff has effected my family in a personal way so I'm not speaking from an objective viewpoint here.
the GMO crops i am aware of use far less pesticide than their conventional counterparts, this is a fact.
compared to the wholsome organic farms, conventional GMO farms use LESS pesticides per unit of land.
however what they use more of is herbacides, why? because they are spraying roundup instead of plowing under the soil every year to control weeds. why? because plowing weeds under with furrow plows or what ever plows they use... causes huge issues with soil erosion and dust and what ever else... it probably costs a shit load too.
with the roundup and other herbicides used in post emergance cases, they just plow the surface and spray turned up soil prior to planting.
also its important to note that glyphosate is very low toxicity to mamals. its also important to note that application rates of glyphosate is far higher than many of the far more toxic herbicides that are used at far lower rates.... so its not necessarly a bad thing that some farmers spray more glyphosate per acre than they would otherwise.
conventional agriculture is not meant to be the end all of efficiency. i think you misunderstand the business aspect of big farming. simply put...they are producing the most they can with the least amount of capital.
there are a SHITLOAD of systems that could far and away outpace conventional large scale agricultural practices with respect to land efficiency, however they will likely come nowhere close capital efficiency... that is to say, they will not generate as much money per unit of capital invested in labor, consumables, etc.
sure when food prices increase, there will be more interest in further increasing the land usage efficiency.
what monsanto does, i would argue, is in fact an act of unbridled business acumen combined with cutting edge science. i would argue that what they come up with should infact be admired, as they create a whole lot of new technology, and not just with respect to GMO seeds. See monsantos "seed chipper"
by "petty" capitalists, i was referring to the fact that almost all farmers are trying to turn a profit, and grow/expand so they can make more money... like all of us.
the "petty" adjective was a friendly jive, meant to poke fun or juxtapose the supposedly evil farmers against the wholesome and entirely altruistic organic farmers.
lol i love amazon... All this talk about plowing and weeds piqued my interest.
i bought...
The War on Weeds in the Prairie West: An Environmental History
for 8 bucks just now.
incase anyone else is interested, ill post the link. just click on the used selection. new the book is 30 bucks... a costly sum imo.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1552380297/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
i love these small paper backs... you can beat them to death in just a weekend if you have the free time.
check out project Azorian if you are so inclined... its another good cheap used book you can get for like 6 bucks on amazon.
