Comments on: Overland: the family farm and Canada’s agricultural crisis http://www.newresilient.com/2009/03/11/overland-the-family-farm-and-canadas-agricultural-crisis/ Blogging from Canada on food, food policy and eating as activism. Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:53:35 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Ryan Slifka http://www.newresilient.com/2009/03/11/overland-the-family-farm-and-canadas-agricultural-crisis/comment-page-1/#comment-99 Ryan Slifka Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:52:21 +0000 http://www.newresilient.com/?p=761#comment-99 The fact is that "the way the industry's going" is unsustainable. Fossil fuel use, the deployment of high-cost and dangerous pesticides and the depletion of topsoil makes the current way impossible to continue without major damage to our planet. And don't forget GMO's--of which the ecological consequences are unknown thus far. I would never say that a return to family farming is the only solution to this problem. However, the family farm--if done properly--is one proven method of ecological stewardship and economic efficiency. In fact, studies have shown that small organic effort intensive farms produce more per acre than industrial farms. The problem is that they can't produce at the scale, nor receive the proper return for their work--as is being shown in the film. If we wish to live sustainably, the family farm can be an important part of the equation. And the fact that farming is a "marginal life" I can see. However, with modern technologies and methods, combined with a fair rate of return for products farming can be a time-intensive though economically comfortable endeavor. It's easy to say "no one wants to go back to doing that." The thing is we probably won't have a choice if there's a prolonged economic and ecological collapse. The alternative is far more expensive and inefficient. The fact is that “the way the industry’s going” is unsustainable. Fossil fuel use, the deployment of high-cost and dangerous pesticides and the depletion of topsoil makes the current way impossible to continue without major damage to our planet. And don’t forget GMO’s–of which the ecological consequences are unknown thus far.

I would never say that a return to family farming is the only solution to this problem. However, the family farm–if done properly–is one proven method of ecological stewardship and economic efficiency. In fact, studies have shown that small organic effort intensive farms produce more per acre than industrial farms. The problem is that they can’t produce at the scale, nor receive the proper return for their work–as is being shown in the film. If we wish to live sustainably, the family farm can be an important part of the equation.

And the fact that farming is a “marginal life” I can see. However, with modern technologies and methods, combined with a fair rate of return for products farming can be a time-intensive though economically comfortable endeavor. It’s easy to say “no one wants to go back to doing that.” The thing is we probably won’t have a choice if there’s a prolonged economic and ecological collapse. The alternative is far more expensive and inefficient.

]]> By: epimetheus http://www.newresilient.com/2009/03/11/overland-the-family-farm-and-canadas-agricultural-crisis/comment-page-1/#comment-95 epimetheus Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:10:09 +0000 http://www.newresilient.com/?p=761#comment-95 It's painful, sure, but that's the way the industry's going. We can't return to the days when entire families committed their lives to the farm - and we shouldn't want to, either. The family farm has an undeservedly romantic past. It was a hard, marginal life until a few decades ago. In my own family, there are examples from before WWII of people travelling to Detroit for work during the off-season, and at least one uncle who died from a farm accident. I would never suggest that giving up agriculture to big agribusiness is a moral improvement, just that there doesn't seem to be a realistic alternative. If family farms are going to die, the government should help them out of it, in the same way it should help autoworkers. It’s painful, sure, but that’s the way the industry’s going. We can’t return to the days when entire families committed their lives to the farm – and we shouldn’t want to, either. The family farm has an undeservedly romantic past. It was a hard, marginal life until a few decades ago. In my own family, there are examples from before WWII of people travelling to Detroit for work during the off-season, and at least one uncle who died from a farm accident.
I would never suggest that giving up agriculture to big agribusiness is a moral improvement, just that there doesn’t seem to be a realistic alternative. If family farms are going to die, the government should help them out of it, in the same way it should help autoworkers.

]]>