For as much as those in agribusiness like to think of themselves as tough men, as the mighty people "feeding the world," they sure are whiny little bastards.They're still up in arms over Bryan Walsh's Time cover story that criticized conventional animal ag. And they've asked the federal government to bail out the pig-flesh industry.
Now they want our government to pay them not to till their fields.
The concept: When crops are planted without tilling, the soil holds more carbon, which means less goes up into the atmosphere.Therefore, in theory, farmers will be something to help ease climate change -- ironically something they don't believe is a big deal.
The real reason this plan was proposed is because those in agribusiness oppose the climate-change bill. This measure -- getting paid for doing less work -- may help to get them on board.
But they also get paid to grow crops for ethanol, something they can't do if they don't till.
There's a possible conflict brewing here, though. Federal law and the energy bill encourage farmers to remove crop residue — the remains of the previous season's crop — to make ethanol.Of course, if those in agribusiness actually cared about the environment, they would speak out against animal agribusiness, as that industry accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions than the transportation industry. But they won't because animal ag is the biggest purchaser of corn and soybeans.
"That's a no-no," [Rattan Lal, soil scientist at Ohio State University,] says. "The moment you take the crop residue away the benefit of no-till farming on erosion control, water conservation and on carbon sequestration will not be realized."
Also ironic is agribusiness's appeals for aid from the government. The majority of Americans also want the government's help -- in the form of an overhauled healthcare system. But those in Big Ag criticize that plan as (shiver) socialism.
(Image courtesy of The Humane Society of the United States.)
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4 comments:
great-more of our tax dollars going to pay for legalized animal cruelty. if they really cared about anything but making a profit, farmers would stop raising livestock to be slaughtered along with harming the enviroment & go veg!
Agreed. Corporations want no government involvement....until they need government involvement to make money.
And it's not just about making profit. All businesses need some profit in order to survive. But it's the greed for as much profit as possible at any cost. Where are the ethics? And what about the long-term consequences of making these huge short-term profits?
But what's especially frustrating is that anyone with a 401K or IRA is probably invested in these awful companies, because they are the only ones who seem to grow our portfolios.
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