Friday, June 25, 2010

A farewell to sustainable foods








  1. Localism is romantic and delicious, but impractical.

    Industrial agriculture is efficient, but ecologically unsustainable.

    Real solutions will always be found in that uncomfortable crux called compromise :-D

  2. How is industrial agriculture unsustainable? Even if the food companies are currently depleting nutrients from the soil, that doesn't mean that they won't take the initiative to fix the problem so they can continue to grow food from the land they already own.

  3. Unsustainable the way it is now. Hence the compromise. Presently there is little effort and interest by industrial food producers (beyond the occasional token research) to conduct any land reclamation. There is the risk that it wont be profitable until AFTER a critical collapse - and forgive me for not wanting to wait and put my trust into highly centralized corporate power for solutions that will benefit consumers. I believe I've explained my disdain for reactive measures before.

    As for examples:

    There is the massive amounts of concentrated waste. Yes, small organic farms may collectively produce more overall - but they do so in an environment intentionally designed to handle it. (for instance grass fed beef fertilizing their own food. That's a very broad example - I'm obviously not a scientist) Yes - we can clean, but it's also not profitable or easy yet.

    There is reduced bio-diversity and its inherent hazards. The problems that arise in breeding dogs for aesthetics are shared when you grow food so that it fits through the machines used to process it or so that it looks perfect on a store shelf.

    Also, I'm no expert - but something else tells me that a bio-system that took millions of years to balance shouldn't simply be cast aside. But I am being purely subjective now.

    And on that note...

    Outside of sustainability - I also consider the moral issue of animal treatment in industrial production. I am disgusted by the way animals are handled in industrial farms. I do believe that humans are on an upward path when it comes to our morality. I view decreased violence (per capita) as evidence. I think it's only natural that our compassion for other forms of life will expand as well.

    But I know I stand out from the norm in that respect and I'd like to clarify that while I praise decreased consumption of animal products (for other more practical reasons too) I would NOT force anyone to refrain from animal consumption or support policy that did so. I think that is cruel and militant vegans who say otherwise are ignorant of our biology and psychology.