agricultural communites have even been around less. We talk about
century farms when a farmer in Europe or the Middle East would say: 100
years old? hmmm barely used<grin>
There has been no stable community- no model, except in the minds of
some. Rural America has been undergoing constant change. We have seen
farms rise, fall and consolidate ever since the land rush in the plains
and the forced land sales to pay for the rail roads. Yes many of us have
seen change in our life time but who is to say what the carrying
capacity of the land really is and how much artificial stimulation must
be done.
When the railroads came, there were many people to build them. When the
trains had to stop towns rose because of the need. But as the rail was
completed and ptetroleum became the fuel, these towns died.
Why shouldn't the Popper's suggestion of a Buffalo Commons be
considered? Are we trying to create an agricultural theme park in the
United States?
No one has seriously addressed the fact that there is no existing model
for a sustainable agricultural community when the time factor is added
in- at least not in a nation which has seen so much change in such a
short period of time-
Now if we are to talk about a natural ecosystem- we might have some
better models- the buffalo commons is one- but again, we need to
consider time- in comparison to the life of the US, maybe- but then we
know that changes have occurred there.
The only model that we know is change and we need to learn how to live
with that dynamic
The organic side of the equation is another story- Organic is like
playing monopoly- there are a set of rules which define organic and not
all the organic folks, globally, can agree to standards when it comes
down to details. There seems to be some agreement that organic in its
borad sense has some environmental/health benefits. And that is good
whether it is grown on a large operation or some small family plot. But
the ecological and production practices can be and have been decoupled
from the economics in that the eyes to acres ratio is a poetic Myth and
not necessarily an issue of praxis.
cheers
tom abeles
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