Really lol'd at "meatposting". Farm kid, ag major, and farmer of organic produce for seven seasons here to say that I agree with this post AND that we need to differentiate industrial agriculture from mid-sized, diverse, regional farms that do their best to mimic nature.
Industrial ag is not ag at all. Back in the day, all farms were org…
Really lol'd at "meatposting". Farm kid, ag major, and farmer of organic produce for seven seasons here to say that I agree with this post AND that we need to differentiate industrial agriculture from mid-sized, diverse, regional farms that do their best to mimic nature.
Industrial ag is not ag at all. Back in the day, all farms were organic before we took nature out of the equation and replaced it with industrial input supply chains. We're just at the extreme end of that spectrum now and it is good for nothing and no one but the massive food and fiber corporations that set the system up for themselves.
Livestock systems that mimic nature can help sequester carbon (https://daily.jstor.org/can-cows-help-mitigate-climate-change-yes-they-can/). The problem is our agriculture at scale today is the opposite of a natural system. And beware of the new energy in ag around carbon markets. The concept of paying land stewards for ecosystem services is spot on IMHO (read Bob Leonard and Matt Russell from Iowa), but that should work through publically administered programs like CSP for payments on working lands to operations that have whole farm system plans NOT a slush fund of private money paying to greenwash their pollution with vague and unmeasurable soil carbon credits.
Too many good ag writers to follow on this, but here are some of my faves: @lisaelaineh, @cullen_art
Also “feed the world” is a shady slogan cooked up by ad men to justify the existence of our shit system. It’s not a production problem. It’s equity and distribution that intersects with all other factors. 40% of product goes to waste before making it in the system. It’s not a problem of yield or arable land. Anecdotal for sure, but just think of how many people a small garden can adequately nourish. The quality of the calories we produce matters to actually feeding the world. Lastly, fun fact for non aggies, the corn you see growing is not edible by humans. It’s wildly inefficient space wise and it’s used to feed hogs and cattle that we took off the land.... wait for it.... to grow corn. The other big user is ethanol (also wildly in efficient) END OF FARMER RANT
Really lol'd at "meatposting". Farm kid, ag major, and farmer of organic produce for seven seasons here to say that I agree with this post AND that we need to differentiate industrial agriculture from mid-sized, diverse, regional farms that do their best to mimic nature.
Industrial ag is not ag at all. Back in the day, all farms were organic before we took nature out of the equation and replaced it with industrial input supply chains. We're just at the extreme end of that spectrum now and it is good for nothing and no one but the massive food and fiber corporations that set the system up for themselves.
Livestock systems that mimic nature can help sequester carbon (https://daily.jstor.org/can-cows-help-mitigate-climate-change-yes-they-can/). The problem is our agriculture at scale today is the opposite of a natural system. And beware of the new energy in ag around carbon markets. The concept of paying land stewards for ecosystem services is spot on IMHO (read Bob Leonard and Matt Russell from Iowa), but that should work through publically administered programs like CSP for payments on working lands to operations that have whole farm system plans NOT a slush fund of private money paying to greenwash their pollution with vague and unmeasurable soil carbon credits.
Too many good ag writers to follow on this, but here are some of my faves: @lisaelaineh, @cullen_art
, @AustinFrerick, @charli3mitchell, @OatesBryce, @cadwego
Also “feed the world” is a shady slogan cooked up by ad men to justify the existence of our shit system. It’s not a production problem. It’s equity and distribution that intersects with all other factors. 40% of product goes to waste before making it in the system. It’s not a problem of yield or arable land. Anecdotal for sure, but just think of how many people a small garden can adequately nourish. The quality of the calories we produce matters to actually feeding the world. Lastly, fun fact for non aggies, the corn you see growing is not edible by humans. It’s wildly inefficient space wise and it’s used to feed hogs and cattle that we took off the land.... wait for it.... to grow corn. The other big user is ethanol (also wildly in efficient) END OF FARMER RANT
@John Russell, 1000 “likes” on both your posts.
Thanks fam!
I’d add my friend since high school, Ted Genoways, to that list as well.