Will this decade see the end of Agrarian Farming? Certainly I am not the only writer, farmer, eater-of-things-grown to pose this question in the past 20, 30, or 40 years, but for some reason this year, at this time, it seems like the cards are stacked against the small farmer and market gardener in a way like never before.
In order to have nutritious, wholesome foods with a low carbon imprint, from as close to their source as possible for both freshness, and flavor we must see a resurgence of a local, agrarianism which has long been under the heel of the Agri-Industrial complex. At a time when “local”, “Seasonal”, and “Sustainable” are the current buzz words there seems to be a tide of opposition to these movements both in the industrial food sector, and by very partnership, the government.
Two things came to me this week, and I am still reeling in trying to grasp their meaning. The first is a completely non-sensical plan by the EPA to tax Cow Farts.¬† Yes, in an overzealous attempt at seeming to do something rather than nothing in the face of Global Climate Change, a government agency has written yet another blanket, one-size-fits-all mandate. This very plan will only serve to benefit the Industrial-Agricultural complex in squashing their minor, but annoying counterpart–the organic and sustainable small farmer. It will do this for two reasons. Firstly I am sure there will be exemptions for Big-Ag, carbon-offsets and the like, and secondly, the fines and fees for this carbon tax seem to be orchestrated to penalize the very people who are trying to make a difference.¬† By making no distinction between grass-fed cattle, which do not create nearly the toxic gas problem, and Feed-lot cattle, which cause numerous biological and environmental problems, an unfair playing field is struck. Most organic, grass-fed, carbon sensitive farmers do not receive government subsidies to do their honorable work. They would pay the tax wholly out of pocket and totally unfairly as they are a major part of the solution and not the problem. Meanwhile, one might suppose that there will be hand-outs, exemptions and the like for the subsidy driven Industrial Agriculture model so that the taxes won’t seem to cut into the marginal operations that feed-lots have become. No thanks. It won’t solve the problem and it will make the growing food crisis in this country far worse before it becomes better. But then, perhaps the EPA has been talking to my local county Health Department. . . .
I am still verifying the facts, but as they have come to me, certain members of our local government are recommending that citizens and business NOT buy local! They are on a campaign against local farmers and local foods, not because of any outbreak, or seeming disaster–there have been none. But purely for the inane reasons that “local” isn’t regulated and Industrial is. If it comes from a far and is wrapped in plastic and passed through all the right channels, then it seems it is Okay to be served in restaurants. This is putting a crimp in a local foods campaign whereby restaurants commit to using a certain percentage of local produce and meats in their cooking in order to participate in a Certified Local scheme. I just cannot fathom the sort of persons who think that industrial is better than local, or home grown when they are exposed to the quality we have here locally. It is beyond reason and unacceptable. These things must change if we are to survive into the future with safe, bio-secure, wholesome, edible foods.
Technorati Tags: agrarianism, local foods, sustainability, peak oil, epa, cow tax, global warming, climate change
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