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I think about farming a lot these days, especially when I'm reading about startups on HN. Our culture has spent decades putting down agriculture as the lowest

by floren 4y ago

I think about farming a lot these days, especially when I'm reading about startups on HN. Our culture has spent decades putting down agriculture as the lowest work, worse than waiting tables or running a cash register. Hell, I grew up on a farm and I still looked down on it. When I compare it to building CRUD apps because a VC wants another unicorn, though, it seems pretty attractive. The work is hard, but the results are tangible, and you're fulfilling the most basic human need. Which is more worthwhile: actually growing potatoes, or programming Farmville? I would love a future in which a much bigger percentage of the American population lived in clusters of small farms, growing food to feed themselves and to send to market. A community of 10-acre plots (why 10 acres? see https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48753 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48753), with a co-op organization that gathers up people's produce and hauls it to the nearest city for sale. > where basically everything is recycled - nutrients, water, biomass (except what goes onto people's tables) The parenthetical is an interesting problem... the current agricultural system seems to be a machine for pulling nutrients out of the soil, shipping them to cities, and then flushing them out to sea. Then we attack farmers for putting fertilizer into the soil.

algoatecorn 4y ago
On the upside, new farming techniques may provide higher-skill and comfortable jobs in the field. Vertical farming will offer a ton of comfortable jobs (in the AC as opposed to outside in the sun). There will also be more expertise required in the ag industry moving forward, meaning higher-paying jobs. The downside is that food will, and probably should cost more. Our percentage of income spent on food is incredibly low and many don't realize how lucky that is. But a more sustainable system will likely mean more expensive food. That will be a tough pill to swallow.
hetspookjee 4y ago
The ecological field is in high need of people with coding skills, so to some extend you can do both! I also believe there are unicorn apps waiting to happen in the field of agriculture as the current approach is just horrible outdated and continues to fight a uphill battle.

by floren 4y ago

algoatecorn 4y ago

On the upside, new farming techniques may provide higher-skill and comfortable jobs in the field. Vertical farming will offer a ton of comfortable jobs (in the AC as opposed to outside in the sun). There will also be more expertise required in the ag industry moving forward, meaning higher-paying jobs. The downside is that food will, and probably should cost more. Our percentage of income spent on food is incredibly low and many don't realize how lucky that is. But a more sustainable system will likely mean more expensive food. That will be a tough pill to swallow.

hetspookjee 4y ago

The ecological field is in high need of people with coding skills, so to some extend you can do both! I also believe there are unicorn apps waiting to happen in the field of agriculture as the current approach is just horrible outdated and continues to fight a uphill battle.