After a long and grueling “almost month” (first blog post since November 25th) of making myself comfortable in my own haystack…I’m back--with the help of my 26 year-old brother, to bring you So I Sleep in a Haystack’s first collaborative entry—well it’s kind of bootleg because my brother is lazy.
Getting into an argument with my older brother seems to occur on a daily basis. I’d go as far to say that it’s routine. From politics to athletics—he’s always pointing out the flaws in my arguments—the kid takes criticism to the next level. Prime example (exaggerated a bit to convey the point):
If I were to say, “Hey Scott, I’ve been thinking about my political ideology and I think I’d consider myself fiscally conservative. I don’t think it’s fair for the government to take money out of my hard earned paycheck to support unemployment programs—I shouldn’t be responsible for others downright laziness.”
Scotty would not only shit a cow, but would start steaming from his ears. Saying something like, “You’re an idiot. You have neither grounds nor any reliable information to make a comment like that. Unemployment benefits provide you and me with…blah blah blah.” Point being--I get torn a new one every time I say some something.
That being said, I sent my brother the assignment at hand (get in a faux fight with a loved one about an environmental issue) and he reluctantly agreed to email me a powerful statement that he felt contained validity.
(Quickly, one more thing—he knew I was writing a research paper on farming sustainably so I’m guessing he figured I had some knowledge on the topic).
Here is what he said:
Brett,
I’m not sure if this is what you’re looking for but I’ll give it a go.
While the idea behind organics and organic farming seems to be a worthwhile and noble cause, industrial farmers maintain such a competitive edge on every aspect of the food industry, to compete with them is nearly impossible.
Hope this helps.
Well big brother—unlike YOU-I can admit when someone makes a valid argument and I do feel that you’ve nailed the agricultural industry’s dilemma, here in the United States, right on the money. We as American consumers have this preconceived notion that everything we do must be bigger, faster, better, stronger, and cheaper. This mentality is no different when speaking on the topic of food producers. For the most part, businesses across the country are concerned with turning a positive economic profit. The farming industry has adopted practices such as spraying pesticides and fungicides that contain toxic chemicals on their plants to combat nature making it possible to grow crops in off-seasons. These chemicals have caused humans to build immunities to certain antibiotics. Also, farmers are able to pump out more animals and meat by feeding their animals hormones that make them grow faster and larger. In doing so, the cost of raising an animal is exponentially cheaper. With some of these practices taking place on a daily basis it is grounds for a lower quality of food--a risk and compromise most companies are willing to take. The pay out is so large. Organic farmers, who will not compromise the integrity of their food, are producing far less than these “factory farmers.” By producing much less, these organic farmers must increase the price of their food to make up for their small quantity produced. You do the math. With most of this country being low/middle class it is much more economical to buy the cheaper industrial food. The cycle goes in circles, making it nearly impossible for organic farmers to compete with the monstrous industrial farmers.
SIAH (Guess)
