Self Sufficiency at Risk
Power consolidation is not sustainable.
Backyard permaculture mushroom farming is complex but doable if you know how.
Capital-intensive technology is consolidating power, transferring the control of our food from farmers to mega-agribusinesses. Of course, I am typing on a laptop, so I am also at the mercy of tech, in this case, Apple and Microsoft. But, as with everything, we must find the balance of tech and self-sufficiency in order to maintain control over our lives.
Long-term yield stability and sustainable intensification depends on the five sources of sustainable capital: financial, natural, physical, social, human (Garnett, 2013). Let’s just look at financial and human capital.
In the short term, farmers make more money using genetically modified (GM) seeds, says Dr. Timothy Griffin (Lecture, 2015). (If you check my post "Listen to those with their hands in the dirt", you'll see that this may not be true.) But for that questionable gain, they lose their control over seed production and price. Farmers who buy their seed from Monsanto and can’t save their seed due to patents, are now beholden to Monsanto. 93% of soy and 80% of corn grown in the US are from Monsanto patented seeds. 1,676 seed, plant and other agricultural patents are owned by Monsanto (Food and Water Watch, 2013). GM seeds may look good right now but when Monsanto raises its prices beyond the reach of any given farmer, to whom and where does that farmer go?
Farm hands and students picking potatoes at Jericho Settlers Farm, Jericho, Vermont.
Additionally, as technology increases, human capital and, the resulting knowledge of practices boosting self-sufficiency and farmer control, decreases. Not only are farmer laborers replaced by technology (and I am thankful for both my laptop and my washing machine so I say this carefully), but Griffin points out that farmers are “deskilling” because of their reliance on technology. If technology fails, Grifiin says, farmers won’t have the institutional memory or the skill set of historical farming methods. They are also paying large sums to support this technology and energy supplies to fuel it, costs which are not controlled by farmers.
Griffin T. Food production and agriculture. From Farm to Fork lecture. Harvard Extension School. October 7, 2015.
Garnett, T. Appleby MC, Balmford A, et al. Sustainable intensification in agriculture: premises and policies. Science; 341:33-34. 2013.
Food And Water Watch. 2013. https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/insight/monsanto-corporate-profile