[afro-nets] Request for comments, views and information on the Gates Foundation (3)

["Craig Audiss" <cybrcollectinc@yahoo.com>]

Request for comments, views and information on the Gates Foundation (3)
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Hello Jeff,

Just thought I would punch in on this one.  Agriculture today is very much different than it was say 50 years ago, and the farming practices then would differ greatly from 100 years prior to that etc.  When man was a hunter and gatherer things were consumed in their raw forms and therefore probably more nutritious.  The down side however was that people didn't live as long because they either worked themselves to death or no medicine to save themselves.

There is always a price to be paid for modern convenience and technology.  There are many crops that are no longer grown for many different reasons usually efficiency or viability is the tell all.  When the majority of the population started depending on a small minority of the population to grow their food for them things were bound to change.  Then take into account the low profit margins that agriculture has been faced with over the years and efficiency takes on an important role.

I believe that the product put forth by the farmer is a high quality product.  What I object to is the way the product is treated by the people who buy the raw product from the farmer.  The goodness is extracted from the wheat, the rice, and others to name a few.  I believe that there will be a price paid for some of the farming practices that have been adapted by agriculture, however many have realized this and are turning away from these practices.

The farmer has and will always try to be a good steward of the land, why, because a true farmer wants to pass it on better than he got it to his children.  Mother Earth has a great ability to cleanse itself from the insignificant inhabitants that dwell on it.  We must remember that feeding a hungry world is only going to get more difficult as populations rise.  Things to be wary of would include corporate farming, and banning proven farming practices.  As populations rise, productivity will have to follow or be faced with things like the great potato famine.  "Don't cuss the farmer with your mouth full".

Cheers, 
Craig  
mailto:cybrcollectinc@yahoo.com