Wholes and Holes and Holism
Over the last few days I have been following the Globe and Mail’s food and agriculture debate. Rolling out of bed and getting all hot under the collar reading a bunch of opinions on my livelihood and how it is perceived by so called experts is just what I need to start my day. Yeah right! I posted comments to try to make me feel better, but ended up feeling much like a prophet of old, “a voice crying in the wilderness”. One though, managed to hit the mark, as it was 5th of 194 comments. I felt there was hope yet in this world full of corn fructose syrup, artificial flavorings and “Twinkie bars”.
The trouble is we are in the age of “experts” were those with knowledge on very specific topics are able to share their findings and more often their opinion, and it is swallowed hook, line and sinker by media, reader and viewer with out question. Science and knowledge has become very specialized and compartmentalized with very little over lap between areas. This in turn creates misunderstandings and conflicts between the different fields, experts and scientists theories become more important than the truth of the matter. Then add in the needed profits for the corporations who are funding the research and you have the narrow minded, blinkers on, vision of where we are today.
The “Big picture viewpoint”, or Holistic thinking seems to be a thing of the past. Sadly this leads to Common Sense becoming an endangered species and Wisdom a thing only found in classic books. South African statesman-scholar Jan Christian Smuts coined the word holism (from the Greek holos) in the 1920s in his book ‘Holism and Evolution’. He came to understand that the world was not bits and pieces of stuff, but flexible changing patterns. He states “If you take patterns as the ultimate structure of the world, it is arrangements and not stuff that make up the world.” Thus every thing is connected and dependent on every thing else. We need to look at the big picture before making big or little decisions.
This then brings me back to the Globe and Mail debate. Containing lots of facts and opinions from many experts and journalists, with each article and video clip dealing with specific items of the food industry. The best though was complaining that many Canadian farmers were too small to compete and too many were lifestyle farmers instead of commodity producers. Over 50% of the beef in this country comes from herds of 100 cows or less, and as the powers that be say it takes 400- 500 cows for a farm to be viable, it means 50% of our beef industry is supplied by hobby/small farmers and is subsidized by farmers wives working off farm to keep the farm afloat. (Makes you wonder who is subsidizing whom?) You don’t see that in the news, but the statistics with Stats Canada bear it out. The same is true of the sheep industry and often times the grain industry. Why the Globe and mail feels these Farmers should become obsolete is beyond me. With only half the cattle most killing plants in Canada would shut down, as they would be no longer viable. This is part of the big picture; looking at all farms not just the ones an expert thinks is viable, the holistic view we talked of earlier. To look at the even bigger picture, view the rest of the world. 75% of the world eats food from farms 20 acres or less, thank goodness the economists are not closing those farmers down for being too small! As Yoda from Star Wars said, “Size matters not”. Small farmers all over the world are feeding people and here in Canada they are producing a good portion of our food and in some cases adding a large portion to the export market. At the same time most qualify for very little or none of the subsidies that are available, and most subsidize the system by working off farm for their own income. No one from the Globe and Mail mentions that good deal for the folks in Canada.
There were however some good points made in a couple of the video clips. The latest figure for the average family has it that they spend 9% of their income on food and that includes eating out! Which could mean that many families only spend 5-7% of their income on groceries, and then they have the cheek to complain about the cost of food. Many pay more HST per month than for food. By comparison folks in Moscow Russia spend 50% of their wages on food and that does not include eating out. Even if you buy organic and pay a premium for quality food you are still only spending 10-12% on food items, an absolute bargain compared to the rest of the world.
My favorite quote and a sobering thought was from a lady chef who pointed out that “we eat our future”. What we put in our mouths becomes us in the future, so we best pay attention to our food and where it comes from. If folks looked at their food in this manner every time they raised a fork to their mouth I imagine there would be some changes demanded by consumers. Small Farmers generally do a better job of caring for the soil and its fertility and fertile soil makes nutrient dense food and therefore healthier people. This is never more poignantly explained than at a funeral by the grave with the words “ashes to ashes, dust to dust”. A harsh reminder of the fact we are really made up of the same stuff as the soil, therefore, plants, animals and ourselves are just different arrangements of the same stuff, holistically speaking.
A Merry Christmas to all readers and I challenge you to see how “close” you can keep your Christmas dinner, mileage wise that is. Mine will be local as it will be grown by myself, but I will have to admit I will let the side down with Bushmills Irish whiskey and some nice South African port!
Rob Fensom farms in the city at Harmonious Homestead and ewe.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Farmers opinions make national paper website.
Below are a couple of my comments to The Globe and Mail, Canada's leading national newspaper. They had the cheek to do a week long series on food and agriculture by so called experts, most of whom have never worked for their "Daily Bread" much less know how to grow it!
Comments from the floor
• Most recommended Most recent Oldest first
1-20 of 98 comments
« First‹ Prev12345Next ›Last »
rancherrob wrote:
Dear Sir, I have been ranching/farming man and boy for 40 plus year. I have farmed organically ( the worlds term, not mine) and have worked within the bounds of the natural order, building soil and organic mater thus increasing my lands fertility and real worth over time and at the same time produced healthy crops and livestock to feed mankind.Modern agriculture revolves around an annual ledger so to keep banks and bean counters happy most farmers have turned to science and industrial farming practices. This works in the short term, but over time depletes that other bank account, the soils fertility. Poor soil produces low yields and worse, stressed crops or livestock which become diseased easier, causing the need for more inputs, chemical and medicinal, an expensive, harsh cycle. We humans are always after the quick fix, we lack vision but most of all understanding and patience.When we all accept we are part of nature and this planet and not the ones in control of it we will see we can feed and cloth ourselves with out all the chemical and scientific intervention deemed so important by none other than those that make profit from supplying them.
My comment on 1st November to opinion in Globe and Mail calling for the scraping of dairy and chicken quotas, by ‘wealthy bureaucrat’ Ray McLaren.
rancherrob
9:48 AM on November 1, 2010
As a red meat producer in this country for 25 years ( beef and lamb) it never stops amazing me how many 'experts' know so much about how farmers and ranchers could do better for them selves and the public by adopting free market ways. This while they have steady pay cheques and a good pension to collect. These experts have never had to make a living and feed their family by growing food. We are now getting the same price per pound for animals that we were 20 years ago, then by the time you factor in inflation we are getting half what we were 20 years ago. In fact Belize a young country in Central America is getting the same price we are for lambs and beef cattle with a third the production costs with year round grass and no winter. The free market farmers in this country are subsidizing your lunch Mr McLaren. We can all live with out cheap imported goods from factories, but food, much like water and oxygen is essential. Remember if you eat you are involved in Agriculture, so while you eat your meat today remember some one raised it for you who does not have an index linked salary or pension plan and would be glad of the chance to have a living wage supplied by the market place like the dairy and egg producers.
Comments from the floor
• Most recommended Most recent Oldest first
1-20 of 98 comments
« First‹ Prev12345Next ›Last »
rancherrob wrote:
Dear Sir, I have been ranching/farming man and boy for 40 plus year. I have farmed organically ( the worlds term, not mine) and have worked within the bounds of the natural order, building soil and organic mater thus increasing my lands fertility and real worth over time and at the same time produced healthy crops and livestock to feed mankind.Modern agriculture revolves around an annual ledger so to keep banks and bean counters happy most farmers have turned to science and industrial farming practices. This works in the short term, but over time depletes that other bank account, the soils fertility. Poor soil produces low yields and worse, stressed crops or livestock which become diseased easier, causing the need for more inputs, chemical and medicinal, an expensive, harsh cycle. We humans are always after the quick fix, we lack vision but most of all understanding and patience.When we all accept we are part of nature and this planet and not the ones in control of it we will see we can feed and cloth ourselves with out all the chemical and scientific intervention deemed so important by none other than those that make profit from supplying them.
My comment on 1st November to opinion in Globe and Mail calling for the scraping of dairy and chicken quotas, by ‘wealthy bureaucrat’ Ray McLaren.
rancherrob
9:48 AM on November 1, 2010
As a red meat producer in this country for 25 years ( beef and lamb) it never stops amazing me how many 'experts' know so much about how farmers and ranchers could do better for them selves and the public by adopting free market ways. This while they have steady pay cheques and a good pension to collect. These experts have never had to make a living and feed their family by growing food. We are now getting the same price per pound for animals that we were 20 years ago, then by the time you factor in inflation we are getting half what we were 20 years ago. In fact Belize a young country in Central America is getting the same price we are for lambs and beef cattle with a third the production costs with year round grass and no winter. The free market farmers in this country are subsidizing your lunch Mr McLaren. We can all live with out cheap imported goods from factories, but food, much like water and oxygen is essential. Remember if you eat you are involved in Agriculture, so while you eat your meat today remember some one raised it for you who does not have an index linked salary or pension plan and would be glad of the chance to have a living wage supplied by the market place like the dairy and egg producers.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Guy Fawkes, the man behind our farm family planning.
The 5th November is a big night in England, known as Guy Fawkes night. In 1603 Guy Fawkes a Catholic who was not happy with the new protestant way, wished to see his church free and made the national church once again. As things were not happening quick enough he and some friends decided to fill the basement of the Houses of Parliament with gunpowder and have a quick change of political direction, mainly upwards! History tells us he was caught in the act while lighting the fuse (just like in a Bond movie, saving the city from annihilation with 1 second to spare), poor fellow was tourtured and killed but did not give away his accomplices. So to rub salt in the whole Catholic /Protestant thing every 5th November all over England Guy Fawkes (like scare crows) are burnt on top of large open air bonfires. There are lots of fireworks and every one has a fun time. Most have forgotten the Religious and Political meanings behind it all unless they come from my old home county of Sussex. There it is serious business, many villages and towns have bonfire societies, which hold torch light processions (flaming wooden torches, not flash lights) with every one dressed up in fancy costumes, marching bands and walking jazz bands. Every one ending up at the village green or near by field to light a huge fire to burn the “Guy” and watch a fire work display. This goes on every weekend from mid October to December. The Glorious 5th though is reserved for the county town, Lewes. It has 5 bonfire societies of its own, the oldest and most notorious is the “Cliff”. Their fire and firework display is held against a huge sheer chalk cliff that towers above the fire and people reflecting the goings on.
This was where the real political statements were made. Many young student types would get on a soapbox and air their views, usually to be pelted with firecrackers. The main attraction though was the large paper Mache effigy of the Pope, which was blown up and burnt to remind every one what Guy Fawkes night was all about. So as not to be considered too inflammatory they also had a similar sized effigy of a political figure who every one despised that year and blew them up as well. I well remember in the early 70s they had one mounted on a lorry to parade through the streets along with the 50,000 people and flaming torches. It was a cage with a huge gorilla swinging to reach some bananas. The face though was that of Idi Amin the ruler of Uganda at the time. He was blown up to great cheering as we were inundated at that time with Ugandan refugees that he had thrown out of the country, (which was still considered part of the Empire). You can see from the preceding sentences that Political Correctness had not reached the shores of England in the 70s. Those days the closest any body came to it would be to abstain from passing wind whilst speaking in public!
After all this History and such what on earth does this have to do with farm family planning? Well over the years Shepherds worked out that if you put the rams in with the ewes on Guy Fawkes night you had lambs starting on April Fools day. By then there was plenty of grass in England and it was easy to remember these dates for illiterate farm folk. I am not so sure this worked near Lewes though as with all the fires and explosions the sheep were just too stressed for procreation until the next week when their nerves had settled down.
Here on our farm we keep up the tradition and this Friday 5th we will be sorting ewes and rams into their groups for 36 days of courting. With no fires and fireworks in sight all should go well. If you drive by though go easy on the throttle especially you two wheelers. May be I should make a new road sign, “Shh, rams working” with the obvious picture!
The 5th November is a big night in England, known as Guy Fawkes night. In 1603 Guy Fawkes a Catholic who was not happy with the new protestant way, wished to see his church free and made the national church once again. As things were not happening quick enough he and some friends decided to fill the basement of the Houses of Parliament with gunpowder and have a quick change of political direction, mainly upwards! History tells us he was caught in the act while lighting the fuse (just like in a Bond movie, saving the city from annihilation with 1 second to spare), poor fellow was tourtured and killed but did not give away his accomplices. So to rub salt in the whole Catholic /Protestant thing every 5th November all over England Guy Fawkes (like scare crows) are burnt on top of large open air bonfires. There are lots of fireworks and every one has a fun time. Most have forgotten the Religious and Political meanings behind it all unless they come from my old home county of Sussex. There it is serious business, many villages and towns have bonfire societies, which hold torch light processions (flaming wooden torches, not flash lights) with every one dressed up in fancy costumes, marching bands and walking jazz bands. Every one ending up at the village green or near by field to light a huge fire to burn the “Guy” and watch a fire work display. This goes on every weekend from mid October to December. The Glorious 5th though is reserved for the county town, Lewes. It has 5 bonfire societies of its own, the oldest and most notorious is the “Cliff”. Their fire and firework display is held against a huge sheer chalk cliff that towers above the fire and people reflecting the goings on.
This was where the real political statements were made. Many young student types would get on a soapbox and air their views, usually to be pelted with firecrackers. The main attraction though was the large paper Mache effigy of the Pope, which was blown up and burnt to remind every one what Guy Fawkes night was all about. So as not to be considered too inflammatory they also had a similar sized effigy of a political figure who every one despised that year and blew them up as well. I well remember in the early 70s they had one mounted on a lorry to parade through the streets along with the 50,000 people and flaming torches. It was a cage with a huge gorilla swinging to reach some bananas. The face though was that of Idi Amin the ruler of Uganda at the time. He was blown up to great cheering as we were inundated at that time with Ugandan refugees that he had thrown out of the country, (which was still considered part of the Empire). You can see from the preceding sentences that Political Correctness had not reached the shores of England in the 70s. Those days the closest any body came to it would be to abstain from passing wind whilst speaking in public!
After all this History and such what on earth does this have to do with farm family planning? Well over the years Shepherds worked out that if you put the rams in with the ewes on Guy Fawkes night you had lambs starting on April Fools day. By then there was plenty of grass in England and it was easy to remember these dates for illiterate farm folk. I am not so sure this worked near Lewes though as with all the fires and explosions the sheep were just too stressed for procreation until the next week when their nerves had settled down.
Here on our farm we keep up the tradition and this Friday 5th we will be sorting ewes and rams into their groups for 36 days of courting. With no fires and fireworks in sight all should go well. If you drive by though go easy on the throttle especially you two wheelers. May be I should make a new road sign, “Shh, rams working” with the obvious picture!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
RETURN FROM THE WILDERNESS
Hello to you all. I am now back on line with a computer that works. I am now an I Mac user and wished I had one years ago. They say they are hard to use, and it depends on how you problem solve and think. Well it allows you to find out and do stuff visually not with masses of bloody orders from popup boxes. More a ranchers tool. It also has a screen big enough to use as a life raft so at least I can now read whats on the screen!
I have kept up writing in our local newspaper plus several farm publications here in Canada and the USA. But with the farm and summer the blog was left out in the cold. Below are a couple of samples of recent articles.
I have kept up writing in our local newspaper plus several farm publications here in Canada and the USA. But with the farm and summer the blog was left out in the cold. Below are a couple of samples of recent articles.
Interviewing Sheep
There is a nip in the air and the leaves are slowly going yellow as I write. We had our first frost here on the farm around the 22nd September; just enough to blacken the leaves of tomatoes, pumpkin and peppers, but not enough to stop the zucchini yet, darn it. With all the rain a week or two back there was no need to irrigate so I packed up all the pipes and hired an air compressor for the morning to blow out the lines in case we have a real winter which could crack water filled pipes. It’s the time of year where winter is still a way off but we know if we don’t start getting ready it will sweep down over the hill and catch us with our pants down. Not only is this a nasty sight but it does not slow the advance of winter in any way.
With the above in mind we have been slowly and reluctantly hunkering down for old man winter. (Talking of which why is spring and summer viewed in female terms along with Mother Nature but we guys get the blame for the cold and miserable weather.) Picking fruit and vegetables, putting things by in the form of freezing, drying and canning or storing in cool dark places is the order of the day right now. Typically, we have not had a frost since our first one two weeks ago, it was just a warm up to get us in gear, and Jack Frost is just sitting back chuckling at our antics.
On the animal side of the farm we brought the sheep home from the other side of the river and weaned them. This involves separating the lambs from their Mums as they are now teenagers and can look after themselves. Most two legged ones that I know would welcome the chance to separate from Mums watchful eye, but not these four legged woolly ones. We had them in the corrals and were serenaded by a sheep symphony twenty four hours a day for three days. Bleating and bawling constantly even though they could see each other and were all well fed. Thankfully it is now quiet; they have either got used to it or lost their voices! They now call to me as I am the new Mum, arriving twice a day with green hay and barley with their mothers a distant memory.
The ewes (mothers) are happy in the next pen free of their children, well fed and starting a new year in an old job after passing the interview. Interview? You ask. That’s right when we separate the flock they all come by the shepherds all knowing and all seeing eye. The ewes are checked and interviewed for the next years job. First of all, general appearance; fit not fat, and defiantely not too skinny. Twiggy’s rarely conceive let alone produce the twins we need. Next teeth, a full set are preferred, though a few short is ok so long as a svelte body condition shows adequate nutrition. Feet must be sound with no signs of lameness or stiffness. Lastly, the udder (mammary gland for those who remember biology, or boobs for those who slept through the class), there must be a minimum of two teats, no hard lumps, or cuts and scars as these can harbour mastitis and infections when feeding lambs. If she gets this far a quick check on the records to see she is giving us twins every year and if so she is hired on for another year. The only exception to this would be if she was wild and cranky, upsetting me when being handled and the rest of the flock around her due to her back to the wild behaviour. These particular cases make excellent sausage for the shepherd’s breakfast. ‘Revenge is best served cold’ as they say, but I prefer mine fried!
With the interviews over the girls that are hired are treated to a holiday until November when a tall woolly handsome stranger comes a courting and the whole cycle of life starts again.
Upon reading the article so far I wish to point out that the farms interview policy for hiring two legged staff is significantly different than that of four legged. I trust this will clear up any miss understandings.
On the world scene I see La Via Campesina (the Peasants way or road, the international organisation for peasants and small farmers, which our Farmers Union in Canada is a member) is declaring 16th October “International day of Action against Agribusiness and Monsanto”. They tell us that since 1900 we have lost 90% of the genetic diversity of our agricultural crops, which means loss of disease resistance and drought resistance in many cases. Monsanto now owns 25% of the worlds patented seed market and with the top ten seed companies controlling 70% off the worlds seed, Monsanto is eagerly buying them up to have full market control. Monsanto now also has the Bill Gates Foundation on side to help push the GMO seed onto African nations who have so far resisted it as a form of aid. I think this sound’s like the Haitian story I told you about earlier in the year, “we are from Monsanto and we’re here to help”, yeah right. To read more on this go to www.viacampesina.org . That’s it for this month; I’m off out side to prepare for those icy blasts, and build the wood pile so I can enjoy the cold weather whilst staying warm inside.
Rob Fensom farms in the city at Harmonious Homestead and Ewe and can be reached at
There is a nip in the air and the leaves are slowly going yellow as I write. We had our first frost here on the farm around the 22nd September; just enough to blacken the leaves of tomatoes, pumpkin and peppers, but not enough to stop the zucchini yet, darn it. With all the rain a week or two back there was no need to irrigate so I packed up all the pipes and hired an air compressor for the morning to blow out the lines in case we have a real winter which could crack water filled pipes. It’s the time of year where winter is still a way off but we know if we don’t start getting ready it will sweep down over the hill and catch us with our pants down. Not only is this a nasty sight but it does not slow the advance of winter in any way.
With the above in mind we have been slowly and reluctantly hunkering down for old man winter. (Talking of which why is spring and summer viewed in female terms along with Mother Nature but we guys get the blame for the cold and miserable weather.) Picking fruit and vegetables, putting things by in the form of freezing, drying and canning or storing in cool dark places is the order of the day right now. Typically, we have not had a frost since our first one two weeks ago, it was just a warm up to get us in gear, and Jack Frost is just sitting back chuckling at our antics.
On the animal side of the farm we brought the sheep home from the other side of the river and weaned them. This involves separating the lambs from their Mums as they are now teenagers and can look after themselves. Most two legged ones that I know would welcome the chance to separate from Mums watchful eye, but not these four legged woolly ones. We had them in the corrals and were serenaded by a sheep symphony twenty four hours a day for three days. Bleating and bawling constantly even though they could see each other and were all well fed. Thankfully it is now quiet; they have either got used to it or lost their voices! They now call to me as I am the new Mum, arriving twice a day with green hay and barley with their mothers a distant memory.
The ewes (mothers) are happy in the next pen free of their children, well fed and starting a new year in an old job after passing the interview. Interview? You ask. That’s right when we separate the flock they all come by the shepherds all knowing and all seeing eye. The ewes are checked and interviewed for the next years job. First of all, general appearance; fit not fat, and defiantely not too skinny. Twiggy’s rarely conceive let alone produce the twins we need. Next teeth, a full set are preferred, though a few short is ok so long as a svelte body condition shows adequate nutrition. Feet must be sound with no signs of lameness or stiffness. Lastly, the udder (mammary gland for those who remember biology, or boobs for those who slept through the class), there must be a minimum of two teats, no hard lumps, or cuts and scars as these can harbour mastitis and infections when feeding lambs. If she gets this far a quick check on the records to see she is giving us twins every year and if so she is hired on for another year. The only exception to this would be if she was wild and cranky, upsetting me when being handled and the rest of the flock around her due to her back to the wild behaviour. These particular cases make excellent sausage for the shepherd’s breakfast. ‘Revenge is best served cold’ as they say, but I prefer mine fried!
With the interviews over the girls that are hired are treated to a holiday until November when a tall woolly handsome stranger comes a courting and the whole cycle of life starts again.
Upon reading the article so far I wish to point out that the farms interview policy for hiring two legged staff is significantly different than that of four legged. I trust this will clear up any miss understandings.
On the world scene I see La Via Campesina (the Peasants way or road, the international organisation for peasants and small farmers, which our Farmers Union in Canada is a member) is declaring 16th October “International day of Action against Agribusiness and Monsanto”. They tell us that since 1900 we have lost 90% of the genetic diversity of our agricultural crops, which means loss of disease resistance and drought resistance in many cases. Monsanto now owns 25% of the worlds patented seed market and with the top ten seed companies controlling 70% off the worlds seed, Monsanto is eagerly buying them up to have full market control. Monsanto now also has the Bill Gates Foundation on side to help push the GMO seed onto African nations who have so far resisted it as a form of aid. I think this sound’s like the Haitian story I told you about earlier in the year, “we are from Monsanto and we’re here to help”, yeah right. To read more on this go to www.viacampesina.org . That’s it for this month; I’m off out side to prepare for those icy blasts, and build the wood pile so I can enjoy the cold weather whilst staying warm inside.
Rob Fensom farms in the city at Harmonious Homestead and Ewe and can be reached at
Choice, waste, and customer service.
With all the new shopping centres springing up in town we shall certainly not be short on choices. In fact one wonders if with so many places to shop we just might be short of shoppers! When one considers 50% of us are male and if like me shopping is strictly a walk in, buy it, and go home again affair, with window shopping considered the occupation of teenage girls and folks with too much time on their hands, I truly wonder if they will all survive when we get back to normal population levels in November. As that’s when we start recognising people on the street and for the next six months needs rather than wants affect the shopping priorities of most folks, with the exception of Christmas.
Along with choices there is always waste. You can only sell what you have in stock, so shelves are stocked with everything the heart desires. The most obvious place to see this is the produce and meat section of any large grocery store. Piles of produce, enticing the customer, all fresh and prime. I do not know the percentages but one only has to go behind the store to see the large volume of over ripe produce, or just unsold, along with meats and baked goods gone past their due dates. A good store manager lives and dies by the management and control of those waste numbers. Of course its not all dumped, some ends up in soup kitchens and the like, and I know more than a few pigs in their time have enjoyed baked goods for breakfast.
It seems choice and wastes are linked, we can not have one with out the other. The key is to use the wastes in other ways so they are not waste. The other place in town where I ran into this was at the Farmers Market. It seems the market managers feel there should be no more choices, (read produce vendors) until the present produce vendors sell out. This would mean no more produce grown by different vendors who grow different varieties and hit the market at different times giving you the consumer more choice. The existing produce vendors must sell out and go home empty before any new ones are allowed entry into the market. ! The only produce I have seen sell out in a store is in Soviet Russia where a lack of produce was the issue not the abundance we have in this valley. This means that you the customer would have to buy things you did not want to ensure vendors sell out so that other vendors are allowed entry and only then can you have more choices. The only produce vendor you ever see sell out is “The Peach Lady” but hey, that is the crack cocaine of the produce world. The trouble is in a free market capitalist society where choice and sales are every thing, the market management are denying choice to the customers and sales to the vendors. In the long run this stagnates the market and does a disservice to the community it is supposed to be serving. It appears a few want market control much like Monsanto and Cargill before they are willing to share, if at all. Perhaps they have not figured out what to do with the waste and end up just dumping it. As for us, any thing that comes home from the market it is either preserved and stored for our own winter consumption or fed to our pigs who become the middle men in the process. I always preferred bacon over veggies!
Rob Fensom farms in the city at Harmonious Homestead and ewe
With all the new shopping centres springing up in town we shall certainly not be short on choices. In fact one wonders if with so many places to shop we just might be short of shoppers! When one considers 50% of us are male and if like me shopping is strictly a walk in, buy it, and go home again affair, with window shopping considered the occupation of teenage girls and folks with too much time on their hands, I truly wonder if they will all survive when we get back to normal population levels in November. As that’s when we start recognising people on the street and for the next six months needs rather than wants affect the shopping priorities of most folks, with the exception of Christmas.
Along with choices there is always waste. You can only sell what you have in stock, so shelves are stocked with everything the heart desires. The most obvious place to see this is the produce and meat section of any large grocery store. Piles of produce, enticing the customer, all fresh and prime. I do not know the percentages but one only has to go behind the store to see the large volume of over ripe produce, or just unsold, along with meats and baked goods gone past their due dates. A good store manager lives and dies by the management and control of those waste numbers. Of course its not all dumped, some ends up in soup kitchens and the like, and I know more than a few pigs in their time have enjoyed baked goods for breakfast.
It seems choice and wastes are linked, we can not have one with out the other. The key is to use the wastes in other ways so they are not waste. The other place in town where I ran into this was at the Farmers Market. It seems the market managers feel there should be no more choices, (read produce vendors) until the present produce vendors sell out. This would mean no more produce grown by different vendors who grow different varieties and hit the market at different times giving you the consumer more choice. The existing produce vendors must sell out and go home empty before any new ones are allowed entry into the market. ! The only produce I have seen sell out in a store is in Soviet Russia where a lack of produce was the issue not the abundance we have in this valley. This means that you the customer would have to buy things you did not want to ensure vendors sell out so that other vendors are allowed entry and only then can you have more choices. The only produce vendor you ever see sell out is “The Peach Lady” but hey, that is the crack cocaine of the produce world. The trouble is in a free market capitalist society where choice and sales are every thing, the market management are denying choice to the customers and sales to the vendors. In the long run this stagnates the market and does a disservice to the community it is supposed to be serving. It appears a few want market control much like Monsanto and Cargill before they are willing to share, if at all. Perhaps they have not figured out what to do with the waste and end up just dumping it. As for us, any thing that comes home from the market it is either preserved and stored for our own winter consumption or fed to our pigs who become the middle men in the process. I always preferred bacon over veggies!
Rob Fensom farms in the city at Harmonious Homestead and ewe
Saturday, July 10, 2010
PPPPPPPPPPPPP
Today’s lesson is brought to you by The letter P.
Believe it or not we farmers do a lot of thinking, chugging up and down the field driving our tractors, especially now while making hay. That along with the whole G8, G20 thing going on I was reminded of Sesame Street, not just because of the childish antics of the politicians, police and protesters. Though I do feel that’s an insult to many bright well behaved children I know. I was reminded how the letter P shows up in all things political and economical, and how the Sesame Street Show was always sponsored by a letter and a number each time, and that they featured heavily in all the skits and cartons my children watched. So today’s article is bought to you by the letter P, and myself, musing on my tractor making hay. It’s darned tough bouncing over the mole hills and balancing the laptop on you knee!
Profit: What every one wants, few get it, and when they do it stays in their bank
account instead of being spread around for the common good.
People: Used to produce the goods to make Profit, also to buy the same goods that make
Profit. None of them get the Profit, except the ones that get the Profit and they don’t produce or buy the products.
Pleasure: The feeling a few People get when collecting their Profit.
Pain: What most People feel when not getting a Profit.
Power: What those that have Profit want.
Progress: What was supposed to happen with the Profit to make People Placid.
Prosperity: What the People should have with sufficient Profit and Progress.
Poverty: What we always have, even with more and bigger Profits, it never disappears.
Propaganda: Used by Power and Profit to convince People that we have Progress and
Prosperity.
Proletariat: Those who Propaganda is aimed at and hopefully in the end Protest about it.
Powerless: How the Proletariat feel until they Protest.
Protest: Pastime of the Proletariat, when Peed off.
Pests: What Profit and Power call People that stir up the Proletariat.
Politics: The method by which change can come about Peacefully, or not.
Peace: What you get when we all learn to share and get along, you know like Play school.
Purge: A sometimes messy process to bring about a Paradigm change when Politics and
Peaceful methods fail.
Paradigm Change: Something the Proletariat want and Power and Profit fears the most.
Power to the People: Also Profit to the People.
Presented by the letter P.
Believe it or not we farmers do a lot of thinking, chugging up and down the field driving our tractors, especially now while making hay. That along with the whole G8, G20 thing going on I was reminded of Sesame Street, not just because of the childish antics of the politicians, police and protesters. Though I do feel that’s an insult to many bright well behaved children I know. I was reminded how the letter P shows up in all things political and economical, and how the Sesame Street Show was always sponsored by a letter and a number each time, and that they featured heavily in all the skits and cartons my children watched. So today’s article is bought to you by the letter P, and myself, musing on my tractor making hay. It’s darned tough bouncing over the mole hills and balancing the laptop on you knee!
Profit: What every one wants, few get it, and when they do it stays in their bank
account instead of being spread around for the common good.
People: Used to produce the goods to make Profit, also to buy the same goods that make
Profit. None of them get the Profit, except the ones that get the Profit and they don’t produce or buy the products.
Pleasure: The feeling a few People get when collecting their Profit.
Pain: What most People feel when not getting a Profit.
Power: What those that have Profit want.
Progress: What was supposed to happen with the Profit to make People Placid.
Prosperity: What the People should have with sufficient Profit and Progress.
Poverty: What we always have, even with more and bigger Profits, it never disappears.
Propaganda: Used by Power and Profit to convince People that we have Progress and
Prosperity.
Proletariat: Those who Propaganda is aimed at and hopefully in the end Protest about it.
Powerless: How the Proletariat feel until they Protest.
Protest: Pastime of the Proletariat, when Peed off.
Pests: What Profit and Power call People that stir up the Proletariat.
Politics: The method by which change can come about Peacefully, or not.
Peace: What you get when we all learn to share and get along, you know like Play school.
Purge: A sometimes messy process to bring about a Paradigm change when Politics and
Peaceful methods fail.
Paradigm Change: Something the Proletariat want and Power and Profit fears the most.
Power to the People: Also Profit to the People.
Presented by the letter P.
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