| I love tuning in to "Big Ag" websites, radio shows, conferences... pretty much whatever I can get my hands on. I want to see what they are doing or thinking. Now, the corporate types are obvious. I went to business school. I understand that they are trying to maximize profits and generally greenwash or something-wash everything they are doing to make it all more palatable to us. I get it. But the big surprise to me was the attitude of the farmers. They think we're "anti-farmer."
Me? Anti-farmer? I always say that farmers and nurses are my favorite people in the world. I love farmers. I could kiss their hands for doing all of the hard work I am too wimpy and too unskilled to do myself in order to grow food that I so love eating.
And I admire them for the wide array of skillsets required just to survive in their jobs, from knowledge of the biology of plants, livestock, and bugs to ecology and weather patterns to business skills to politics to mechanical knowledge. It's just dizzying what somebody has to know to be a successful farmer - and how much money the have to juggle in order to make a profit! You have to know more than a little bit about business and economics if you're going to invest millions of dollars in equipment and crop inputs each year and expect not to end up in a bankruptcy court.
Yet they think we're anti-farmer. Anyone who wants to tax agriculture for carbon emissions is anti-farmer. Anyone who says one bad word about ethanol is anti-farmer. Anyone who thinks veal crates should be outlawed is anti-farmer. And not only that, but sometimes they seem to think that the environmentalists and animal rights groups PRIMARY MOTIVE is hatred of farmers, and they are only using efforts to combat climate change or cruelty to livestock as a means to that end.
And to that I just want to say: Who in their right mind would hate farmers just for the sake of it? Seriously. And for those farmers who DON'T care about climate change: What the hell do you think happens to your farm when the water dries up (or floods you) and the temperature changes and the oil runs out? We're all on the same side here. We all want a planet that can sustain human life with vibrant farms and healthy food. And no, we don't hate farmers. We just hate - or maybe strongly dislike - ignorant ones. |
