Industrialized agriculture was built on standardization – every tomato tasted the same. It might taste like cardboard, but, by golly, it looked and tasted the same as every other tomato.
Despite industrialization, things are very variable by nature. For industrialized agriculture, that is bad. But for a consumers that may be good. If you buy a tomato in season from a farmer, it does not taste like cardboard. In fact, a tomato bought in season from a farmer is so good that the red round thing you buy from a big box store in January does not even deserve to be called a tomato. That, my friends, is the result of the naturally variable process of growing things.That is farming.
It seems to me that right now farmers and farming are very valuable, but they are underutilized and undervalued. Okay, this is where neo-classical economics comes in. If a resource is undervalued, the market will respond, and buyers will pay for and employ those resources. If you believe in free market economics, farms and farmers are a wise investment.
Harlan Hentges grew up in the country “seven miles from a paved road.” He holds a law degree from the University of Texas and a Master of Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. He represents farmers and ranchers.
Visit his blog at www.organiclawyers.com/blog
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Industrialized agriculture was built on standardization – every tomato tasted the same. It might taste like cardboard, but, by golly, it looked and tasted the same as every other tomato.
Despite industrialization, things are very variable by nature. For industrialized agriculture, that is bad. But for a consumers that may be good. If you buy a tomato in season from a farmer, it does not taste like cardboard. In fact, a tomato bought in season from a farmer is so good that the red round thing you buy from a big box store in January does not even deserve to be called a tomato. That, my friends, is the result of the naturally variable process of growing things.That is farming.
It seems to me that right now farmers and farming are very valuable, but they are underutilized and undervalued. Okay, this is where neo-classical economics comes in. If a resource is undervalued, the market will respond, and buyers will pay for and employ those resources. If you believe in free market economics, farms and farmers are a wise investment.
Harlan Hentges grew up in the country “seven miles from a paved road.” He holds a law degree from the University of Texas and a Master of Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. He represents farmers and ranchers.
Visit his blog at www.organiclawyers.com/blog
Write a comment
- Required fields are marked with *.