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hakkarin
1 POSTED: 16 March 2014 7:19 pm POSTQUOTE
Muckraker
Posts: 253
Joined: 29 Oct 2013
It appears that governments giving subsidies to it’s agricultural industries and even protecting it from foreign imports is every common throughout the world. What are your thoughts on this? Do you agree with the common policy of using subsidies to support agriculture and protectionism to protect it from outside agricultural products? Support your case whether its yes or no.
2 POSTED: 17 March 2014 11:05 am POSTQUOTE
Muckraker
Posts: 253
Joined: 29 Oct 2013
Really, NOBODY cares discussing the oldest profession man has invented and how it’s relevent in modern society? Perhaps I should change the thread title so that it appeals to more people.
10 POSTED: 18 March 2014 9:33 am POSTQUOTEEDIT Third-eye
Muckraker
Posts: 261
Joined: 27 Jul 2011
Its a complicated thing, one that doesn’t much attention except from the players themselves. Farming is an inherently fickle business; Farmers are left to the vagaries of the weather. So I support some form of subsidies. Also, I think is important to maintain a domestic farming industry, so some import restrictions. Then there’s the need to protect domestic consumers from foreign passagines. But here in the U.S. its gotten way out of control, a way to get votes and support big campaign donors. Farming is not really farming anymore in the U.S., not in the traditional sense anyway. Its mostly agribusiness and factory farming. Its extremely polluting, energy dependent, chemical dependent, and the food produced is bland and striped of many healthy emzymes and pumped full of chemical additives. Its crazy to see how screwed-up food production has gotten in this country, and government policy is a big part of the problem.
We need an agriculture policy that promotes traditional integrated family-style farming on a smaller scale to serve local markets. Things are changing, slowly. Perhaps there’s hope still.
12 POSTED: 18 March 2014 8:48 pm POSTQUOTE
Gone Gonzo
Posts: 1957
Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Third-eye:
Farming is not really farming anymore in the U.S., not in the traditional sense anyway. Its mostly agribusiness and factory farming. Its extremely polluting, energy dependent, chemical dependent, and the food produced is bland and striped of many healthy emzymes and pumped full of chemical additives. Its crazy to see how screwed-up food production has gotten in this country, and government policy is a big part of the problem.
We need an agriculture policy that promotes traditional integrated family-style farming on a smaller scale to serve local markets. Things are changing, slowly. Perhaps there’s hope still.
I guess I’m on the other end as far as solutions go. I’m for factory farming as in farming in a factory.
Those chemicals are to stave off pests – literal poison we spray on our food – and preservatives – again, poison to make the food unappetizing to microbes – both of which would be unnecessary or greatly reduced if where we grow was closer to where we live. There wouldn’t be runoff, as any waste water could be piped directly into filtration, and less water overall would be used as evaporation could be collected and reused. The only water that necessarily leaves the factory is inside the food produced.
Energy use overall could be reduced – depending how much electricity it takes to make light – as there’s much less refrigeration and transportation. Food for cities can be grown right there in those cities instead of shipping it half-way around the world.