For decades the Extension system has based its recommendations solely on
the type of narrow, specialized science that serves the interests of the
agricultural input suppliers and university scientists while it ignores the
holistic nature of living systems.
In that time, the majority of farms has gone out of business, surface and
ground waters, soil and air have been polluted, a huge dead zone has been
created in the Gulf of Mexico, large corporate farms have taken control,
rural communities have been devastated, hunger has increased, fewer farmers
can sell their crops for even the cost of production, food in this country
is so cheap and sugar/fat-filled that obesity is a national problem, wastes
from pesticide manufacturing are now superfund sites in CT and many other
states, and the vast majority of the population has little or no awareness
of where their food comes from or of what is involved in producing and
distributing it.
Otherwise, the extension paradigm has worked just fine, especially for
Monsanto/Cynamid/AHP, Norvartis, ADM, Nestle, Pepsico, Philip Morris,
Marriott and friends.
Given that record, it's hard to see what harm a little anecdotal evidence
could do.
Bill Duesing
Organic farmer and former extension agent
Solar Farm Education
Box 135
Stevenson, CT 06491
To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with "unsubscribe sanet-mg".
To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"subscribe sanet-mg-digest".