I believe Pegi has pegged it right, to put it mildly. To anyone willing
to get past the rhetoric to investigate the real effects of USDA policy
history on average citizens, it is obvious that the agency, since its
inception in the early 20th century, has been the loyal servant of big
agribusiness. The result is the unmitigated disaster we call industrial
agriculture, for which the USDA has been a primary midwife all along.
>From that perspective it is an enormous waste of time to ask the agency
or the congress critters who supposedly ride herd on it to serve the
public interest. So it should be no surprise that the track record of
political efforts, say, to make the NOP (National Organic Program)
actually serve the goal of making US agriculture sustainable, is liken to
a treadmill, one step forward and one or two steps backward, where you
are lucky to simply run in place.
For those who realize the extent to which our current type of government
is a servant of corporate power, it is no surprise to discover that all
federal agencies have essentially the same sordid history as the USDA.
So what political strategy will work? In the post-petroleum era, as
industrial agriculture slowly chokes on its immense energy inefficiency
and ecological damage, and gradually shrinks from its present dominance
of 99% of food production, opportunities will open to replace it with
more sustainable farming systems designed and managed under local,
democratic control. Instead of the present certification program approach
that is expensive, unwieldy and easily and already corrupted, a
combination of rising inputs costs and direct policy interventions in
local food systems could drive farming toward sustainability. For the
present then, the main political effort should be local consciousness
raising, to build understanding of the food crisis we face and to build a
consensual vision of a workable local food policy.
Karl North
Northland Sheep Dairy, Freetown, New York USA
www.geocities.com/northsheep/
"Mother Nature never farms without animals" - Albert Howard
"Pueblo que canta no morira" - Cuban saying
On Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:33:57 -0600 Pegi Ficken <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
writes:
>
> I've taken the liberty of forwarding this. I haven't seen it
> discussed here, but it doesn't seem too sustainable to me.
> Pegi>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Wed, 19
> Nov 2008 16:28:06 -0800> Subject: [Odairy] Fwd: USDA Rushing Through
> Dangerous New Rules on GE and Pharmaceutical Crops> > I know we all
> have a ton on our plate with the NOP livestock rule and many> other
> things, but this one (deadline for comments Monday) is extremely>
> important. Perhaps it is only a coincidence that the long-delayed
> timing of> the NOP livestock grazing rule proposal means that we
> are> pre-occupied precisely in time for this rulemaking on GMOs to
> go more under> the radar. In any case, we can't just let this one go
> by.> > <http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/>> > USDA Rushing Through
> Dangerous New Rules on GE and Pharmaceutical Crops>
____________________________________________________________
Click here to find experienced pros to help with your home improvement project.
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/PnY6rw2eRIzMxH9zam5Ee5gA9eMqWqFYP1c7DuQNSyTz8RVHxdkQV/
_______________________________________________
For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please
visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/
RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for:
[email protected]
http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins
free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
