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Published on Visualizing Ecology (http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter)

Ari Sigglin

“Grass farming done well depends almost entirely on a wealth of nuanced local knowledge at a time when most of the rest of agriculture has come to rely precisely the opposite: on the off-farm brain, and the one-size-fits-all universal intelligence represented by agro-chemicals and machines.”


- 191


Once again, industrial agriculture remains the important role as the obstruction which prevents us from achieving a healthy and balanced ecosystem. Not only ecosystem, but in some circumstances, a healthy agriculture because of its widespread appeal due to cheapness and abundance. In developing nations, it is understood that healthy agricultural practices are being encouraged by non-profit organizations, but what if the cheapness and abundance of an industrial product allures other developing countries into the trap? It may seem plausible that it is the best way to fight their nation's hunger, but how do we [the U.S.] try to export our ideas when they're a mix of “good” and “bad”? Other countries may find priority in feeding a population, which from their perspective, may be considered “good,” and in regards to an agriculture that is sustainable, they may find themselves indifferent. Is the American government stepping up to the plate in becoming a role model that offers the most environmentally-safe image for other nations to adopt? While organic foods are becoming popularized, this sort of widespread trend is encouraging industrial organics, which consume their own hefty amount of fossil fuels in the transportation and what not involved with distribution. Another thing to consider is the nation's political impression on other countries. It is well known that because of the current administration, we are not thought too highly of, and how many other countries would allow our exporting of agricultural practices to their own lands? How do we address issues elsewhere in the world when we seem to struggle with getting the message across to our own nation? Do we start at home, while the rest of the world seems to do themselves in just as we did? Or are all eyes on us, and we are naturally the automatic example that other nations must follow?

Mitch Gines › [0]

Source URL:
http://www2.evergreen.edu/visecowinter/visecowinter/ari-sigglin-4