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> Build your own ecosystem and let the rest of society go to hell. Eventually, if you do it properly, you'll be the only one left with farmable land, you'll be
by chicob 9y ago
> Build your own ecosystem and let the rest of society go to hell. Eventually, if you do it properly, you'll be the only one left with farmable land, you'll be bought out for a handsome price and you take your newfound riches and fuck off to somewhere that doesn't have this problem yet and do it all again.
Actually, that is not correct.
If your neighbour uses fertilizers in excess, your well will be contaminated through drainage. Then you have to adjust your own fertilizer's NPK levels, by subtracting the NPK levels on your contaminated water. Unfortunately, this often saturates, but you still have to fertilize because ammonia/urea and their salts degrade and are easily dissolved in water thus improving acidity and draining fast.
If your neighbours use insecticide in excess, your pollination rates drop as well, and so your yields.
If your neighbours use the wrong kind of fungicide, mycorrhizae will suffer, and so will your crops if they depend on them.
> It doesn't matter if anyone believes in it or not.
Yes it does. If you believe that you will be the last farmer standing, you're wrong. Your yields will drop as well.
It's like a stampede: you can't stop it, you can just join everyone and run. Unless people organize and stop the madness.
Putting my money where my mouth is doesn't work because other peoples' actions count.
>If you believe big agriculture is destroying the planet, find a sustainable way to not support them
I try every effin day. But it turns out everyone has to do it, otherwise it's just (collective) suicide.
- balabaster 9y agoI was being slightly facetious when I suggested you'd be the last farmer standing. Of course you won't be the last farmer standing. Most farmers are slowly coming around to the fact that their actions affect future generations of crop growth and are making changes. You will not be the last farmer standing. Sure, you've gotta put in time, effort and even money to make it go, but overall it's not as expensive as you're led to believe. I do this every day, this is the life I live. Sure it has its problems to negotiate and master, but it's doable. I know this, because I do it.
- chicob 9y agoI was not referring to myself or you, but to the hypothetical farmer taking actions only in his self interest. >I know this, because I do it. I didn't want to imply that there was no solution for this problem. I only stated, from my own perspective as a farmer, how hard it is.
- balabaster 9y agoI get your point. I did point out in my original post though that I was being deliberately facetious to make my point ;) Thanks for participating in the conversation though, it's an important conversation that I feel more people should be having and helping to find solutions for, because it's not a simple problem to solve and many hands make light work.