How is it that the US has screwed over *so many countries* and yet we are allowed to go merrily onward, no repercussions and no loss of our 'power' or status?
I have no doubt what you're saying is true. I do wonder, though, that - considering the state of the world climate, and the decades of drought and other climate ills in some countries if actually growing enough food to sustain more than a family (with help) is even possible in some places any more.
It might be that they should focus on some places making and maintaining large farms for wide distribution, and some places should focus more on small manufacture or something similar, and 'import' food from a few cities away. We've screwed up a lot of places with poor farming practices (The Dust Bowl springs instantly to mind), and if those same practices were pushed onto people in countries where they were even *less* sustainable, then it might be that the changes on the land (and the shortage of water) means they will never be able to do large-scale farming.
I've never understood why hydroponic farming isn't more widely used.
If Haiti has the potential to produce that much tonnage, that it seems that the logical thing for the world food program to do, instead of importing food TO Haiti, is invest in Haiti's production and put forward a contract that they'll start buying excess FROM Haiti when they hit X amount of production.
so instead of depressing the market, invest in it so it can come up to sustainable and guarantee a market for good at a known value. Earmark what they'd be buying as for short term aid (drought, disaster, etc) so you avoid restarting a similar cycle elsewhere. Overall long term aid seems to do more harm than good.
a slight disagreement here It's not exactly "the United States"; it's transnational corporations, of which a whole lot are nominally American (a great place to evade taxes). Until it got attention, many Wal-Mart stores included food stamp applications in their job application packets, since they don't pay enough to live on. And you reading this are a lot more likely than most people to know about the awful conditions of the warehouse workers one step back in the supply chain.
I've been trying to tell people who are upset about illegal immigration that our tax dollars go to massive subsidies to ADM and Cargill, enabling them to sell corn below cost in Mexico and Guatemala, bankrupting farmers and leaving them no way to feed their families (about as essential as a "family value" can get) except to go North and look for work. So if you think illegal immigration is a problem, STOP PAYING FOR IT.
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God I wish this wasn't so hard for people to understand.
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It's sickening.
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I have no doubt what you're saying is true. I do wonder, though, that - considering the state of the world climate, and the decades of drought and other climate ills in some countries if actually growing enough food to sustain more than a family (with help) is even possible in some places any more.
It might be that they should focus on some places making and maintaining large farms for wide distribution, and some places should focus more on small manufacture or something similar, and 'import' food from a few cities away. We've screwed up a lot of places with poor farming practices (The Dust Bowl springs instantly to mind), and if those same practices were pushed onto people in countries where they were even *less* sustainable, then it might be that the changes on the land (and the shortage of water) means they will never be able to do large-scale farming.
I've never understood why hydroponic farming isn't more widely used.
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
so instead of depressing the market, invest in it so it can come up to sustainable and guarantee a market for good at a known value. Earmark what they'd be buying as for short term aid (drought, disaster, etc) so you avoid restarting a similar cycle elsewhere. Overall long term aid seems to do more harm than good.
Reply
Reply
Reply
It's not exactly "the United States"; it's transnational corporations, of which a whole lot are nominally American (a great place to evade taxes). Until it got attention, many Wal-Mart stores included food stamp applications in their job application packets, since they don't pay enough to live on. And you reading this are a lot more likely than most people to know about the awful conditions of the warehouse workers one step back in the supply chain.
I've been trying to tell people who are upset about illegal immigration that our tax dollars go to massive subsidies to ADM and Cargill, enabling them to sell corn below cost in Mexico and Guatemala, bankrupting farmers and leaving them no way to feed their families (about as essential as a "family value" can get) except to go North and look for work.
So if you think illegal immigration is a problem, STOP PAYING FOR IT.
Reply
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