I saw this quote in a daily newsletter:
”I can’t understand why we continue to pour resources into the industries of the 19th century.” – Intel CEO Craig Barrett bemoaning U.S. agriculture subsidies
I felt compelled to respond.
Answer #1: Because we can’t eat microprocessors?
Answer #2: If we lose even the basic ability to produce food for ourselves, the rest of the world has us by the balls…
Answer #3: Corporate mass production of food has a less than stellar record (in terms of health of its consumers, environmental effects, food monoculture), with some truly scary genetic-modification propositions. We ought to hedge our bets with the individual farmers.
Answer #4: When we lose the individual farms, the corporations have the entire nation by the balls. And corporations have a singular focus: munny trumps everything else.