Mechanized agriculture is not at all like other forms of mass production. It comes with an environmental debt that must be repaid, or the land becomes barren.

Mechanized agriculture is not at all like other forms of mass production. It comes with an environmental debt that must be repaid, or the land becomes barren. To call it more efficient is to ignore this debt, which we can get away with until all the fertile land is gone. People romanticize small farms because they're stuck in crowded cities working industrial rat race jobs that are meaningless in the large scheme of things. Is it any wonder that the idea of space, beautiful natural surroundings and a hand in creating something really meaningful (and what is more meaningful than food?) would lead there?