08-20-2012, 02:26 AM
Specialization in farming (focusing on a limited number of crops) happened way before petroleum became a prime resource for both labor and fertilization. I agree with you the extreme of what he have today with limited crop rotation and over emphasis on chemical and petroleum solutions for pest control/soil amendment is not the solution. But there are efficiencies with specialization in farming that allow you to support population centers (we had cities before oil came along and we'll have cities after peak oil strikes).
Since they were able to ship surplus crops off of this rock prior to petroleum based shipping, I'd say that the question is not that we only need to produce for your local market but if you are going to secure your internal markets (so for Hawaii, that would be the mainland US markets as we are a state) by tariffs from the international market place. I'm very free market, but you have to make sure that the rules the producers are working under are equitable. Other countries are able to produce products/food at such a lower rate due to lower labor costs, less environmental controls, and less red tape from bureaucratic over sight. I'm not saying that we should lower our standards in the US for those things, but that we should put tariffs on incoming products/food so that the price-to-market is more in line with a company's product that has to produce it under that rule (though we can cut out a lot of the bureaucratic over sight).
There are a lot of laws/regulations in place that hinder a small local start up from producing a profit. At one time the Big Island produced it's own beef, chicken, milk etc. We've actually gotten less self sufficient as time has gone on, and if you look at the history of why, it's not because of farming techniques or the farmers (sugar cane being the exception to that, as that industry was no different than any other large corporation enterprise, just locust clearing the land of the one resource they desired and then moving on to the next area when it was a waste land).
Waste of fruit and nuts is due to the lack of viable markets. If you planted a mac nut grove when it was economically viable to produce for that market, you don't just rip it out when all that production moves to Malawi. It's not cost effective (how are you going to pay for laborers if you have no income).
If you looked at US farms prior to 1930 you would find that they produced a few money crops to be sent to the large population centers, but also produced a mixture for self use and the local farmers market (the portion you are talking about). It was after that period that monocultural industrial production was started and we are started to reap the effects of that now in our food system.
On a personal level, in this economic / political climate, I'm a strong believer in self sufficiency if for no other reason than it builds the skills you'll need if the system does completely collapse. When the cupboards are bare is not the time to think about planting a seed. My personal security blanket if you will.
Compared the mass number of the population that sit at a desk for "work" (I'm one of those) and then plop down in front of the xbox or tv (I'm not one of those) at the end of the day, the guy that's filling his land with something I'll respect. You can always educate a motivated man (woman), but it's damn hard to get the couch potato outside.
Since they were able to ship surplus crops off of this rock prior to petroleum based shipping, I'd say that the question is not that we only need to produce for your local market but if you are going to secure your internal markets (so for Hawaii, that would be the mainland US markets as we are a state) by tariffs from the international market place. I'm very free market, but you have to make sure that the rules the producers are working under are equitable. Other countries are able to produce products/food at such a lower rate due to lower labor costs, less environmental controls, and less red tape from bureaucratic over sight. I'm not saying that we should lower our standards in the US for those things, but that we should put tariffs on incoming products/food so that the price-to-market is more in line with a company's product that has to produce it under that rule (though we can cut out a lot of the bureaucratic over sight).
There are a lot of laws/regulations in place that hinder a small local start up from producing a profit. At one time the Big Island produced it's own beef, chicken, milk etc. We've actually gotten less self sufficient as time has gone on, and if you look at the history of why, it's not because of farming techniques or the farmers (sugar cane being the exception to that, as that industry was no different than any other large corporation enterprise, just locust clearing the land of the one resource they desired and then moving on to the next area when it was a waste land).
Waste of fruit and nuts is due to the lack of viable markets. If you planted a mac nut grove when it was economically viable to produce for that market, you don't just rip it out when all that production moves to Malawi. It's not cost effective (how are you going to pay for laborers if you have no income).
If you looked at US farms prior to 1930 you would find that they produced a few money crops to be sent to the large population centers, but also produced a mixture for self use and the local farmers market (the portion you are talking about). It was after that period that monocultural industrial production was started and we are started to reap the effects of that now in our food system.
On a personal level, in this economic / political climate, I'm a strong believer in self sufficiency if for no other reason than it builds the skills you'll need if the system does completely collapse. When the cupboards are bare is not the time to think about planting a seed. My personal security blanket if you will.
Compared the mass number of the population that sit at a desk for "work" (I'm one of those) and then plop down in front of the xbox or tv (I'm not one of those) at the end of the day, the guy that's filling his land with something I'll respect. You can always educate a motivated man (woman), but it's damn hard to get the couch potato outside.