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What can society really do about it though? Reminds me of the mindbending Shittown Alabama podcast This American Life did a few years back. At the end of it, a

by kod45 7y ago

What can society really do about it though? Reminds me of the mindbending Shittown Alabama podcast This American Life did a few years back. At the end of it, all I was left feeling was society has zero ideas about how to do anything about these issues. There are blame games and anger/frustration/guilt/shame constantly expressed but I couldn't find anyone talking about solutions.

onetimemanytime 7y ago
the government ultimately just wants food produced...so consolidating serves them just right.
eesmith 7y ago
Thoughts from the top of my head: Break up the big ag companies's centralized power. Eg, Roundup/Roundup-ready. This includes shortening or eliminating seed patents that prevent farmers from keeping and reusing seeds for the next harvest. Ditto for companies like John Deere who use the DMCA to extract more money from farmers - https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xykkkd/why-american-farmers-are-hacking-their-tractors-with-ukrainian-firmware https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xykkkd/why-american-farme... . More generally, pass right-to-repair laws. Strong environmental protection laws, with real enforcement, to prevent companies like Smithfield Foods from undercutting smaller farmers who can't get away with massive pollution - https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/boss-hog-the-dark-side-of-americas-top-pork-producer-68087/ https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/boss-hog-t... . Nationalized healthcare, including mental health care, with enough staff to handle rural areas well. This should include regular home visits to people who live too far from medical offices. That is, I think there's lots that society can do. But money buys voice and power in our current system. So, proportional representation, single transferable vote, estate tax and global wealth tax, etc.

by kod45 7y ago

onetimemanytime 7y ago

the government ultimately just wants food produced...so consolidating serves them just right.

eesmith 7y ago

Thoughts from the top of my head: Break up the big ag companies's centralized power. Eg, Roundup/Roundup-ready. This includes shortening or eliminating seed patents that prevent farmers from keeping and reusing seeds for the next harvest. Ditto for companies like John Deere who use the DMCA to extract more money from farmers - https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xykkkd/why-american-farmers-are-hacking-their-tractors-with-ukrainian-firmware https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xykkkd/why-american-farme... . More generally, pass right-to-repair laws. Strong environmental protection laws, with real enforcement, to prevent companies like Smithfield Foods from undercutting smaller farmers who can't get away with massive pollution - https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/boss-hog-the-dark-side-of-americas-top-pork-producer-68087/ https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/boss-hog-t... . Nationalized healthcare, including mental health care, with enough staff to handle rural areas well. This should include regular home visits to people who live too far from medical offices. That is, I think there's lots that society can do. But money buys voice and power in our current system. So, proportional representation, single transferable vote, estate tax and global wealth tax, etc.