1. All children and young people should have contact with gardening and agriculture, so they can value the joys and hardships of the food production process. This way, all of society will give a higher value the source of their food (farmer’s effort, crop biodiversity, ecosystem health) beyond any artificial low-price tag. This way, everyone will know that it is NOT EASY to take daily care of crops, defending them from weather, countless plagues, and thieves, while improving the ecosystem’s health and diversity. It is not easy, but it is the only healthy basis for a healthy human civilization. It is not easy, but working with crops and nature makes you feels alive, makes you appreciate the beauty of life, and it is very rewarding: domestic plant and animals become your friends, wild life becomes your neighbour. It brings you out of human isolation and gives you a connection to all living beings, to the winds, rains, the sun, the moon… to every natural entity. An ecological farmer’s job is something sacred. More than a job, it is a calling.
Let’s just try to explain this one fact: Why so many people want to become gardeners and farmers after jubilating, after finishing their wage-slave jobs in the consumist society? They should have been eco-gardeners and farmers from the very beginning; without being forced into heavy, painful jobs. Farming’s role in society needs to be given a higher value: people should be able to enter into this field freely and without fear, making a decent living out of it, being respected and well rewarded.
2. Science and technology should be completely dedicated into making small scale ecological food self-sufficiency something possible. Anyone, any worker, especially farmers, should be able to eat enough from their own gardens (without an excessive amount of work), so that they are not forced into market’s unfair deals by hunger. They should have enough produce by themselves (and sharing with their neighbours) as to be able to say “NO” to market’s diabolical demands. Even if they don’t earn money for the moment, at least they will have enough food and shelter to live decently.
3. Everyone should have the power to stop being part of the market whenever they desire so (the market is not GOD, nor a requirement for a happy, healthy life, as certain stinky politicians say). Produce should be, in the first place, for local self-sufficiency; then, if there is a surplus, that and only that surplus can be traded in the market for money and additional goods. It is unthinkable that a country like India would export wheat to food-squandering-countries like England, when its own population is starving. It is unthinkable that Central American countries would export non-staple foods like bananas, coffee and other “exotic desserts” to rich-squandering countries, when they don’t have enough staple-crops to feed their population, much less to avoid mass hunger in the case of severe droughts and floods. Extreme and erratic weather is a world-wide problem right now, and it’ll get worse. All countries who depend on others for staple foods shall perish first when scarcity arrives.
4. All of the previous remarks are reduced to only one: there is an urgent need of a society-wide change in conciousness-mentality: crops and nature are not “raw materials” used to the last drop (maximum diabolical “EFFICIENCY”) to fuel the market. Crops and nature are the basis for a decent human existence on this Planet; they are sacred, and should be harvested with respect, to fulfil real needs and not to lust after unnecessary money and trivial material goods. Energy, human labour and technological expertise should not be squandered in artificial and unnecessary job posts and entertainments; they should be used as most as possible in making a small scale farmer’s job easier (extensive agriculture IS NOT a positive technological field of advancement). It should be used in improving everyone’s health, education, culture, and access to tools and information.
What we need is a huge change of perspective: we must stop consuming everything (including human relations); and start making everything worthy of care and respect. Governments won’t help us in this endeavour, but intelligent and sensible people will; and so, we must come together in our efforts to bring a healthier human condition into existence. At least, the Internet and its blogs let us know of others “out there” making efforts to go in this direction; however, a little bit more of close contact among eco-farmers could only prove to be beneficial.
Published by Sarajo in Amauta on March 06, 2010.
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