Mitch

I have a question about the farm bill and appropriation of seeds from Monsanto and from the other manufacturers that produce seeds, that make GMO products, that make the corn 12 feet high, and make every crop the same as every other crop. That allows for glyphosate to be sprayed liberally across the fields, thereby keeping weeds from competing so that you get bumper crops year after year after year. Then we go back to using the oil-based fertilizer. So now we’ve really figured out a way to make bumper crops– but food is being produced that is mostly not very healthy. Actually, most of the corn goes to feed animals that we then eat, which is probably not the healthiest thing either. So, I’m just wondering how the farm bill sets that up. We’ve talked about soil preservation. However, wind and water aren’t as big a deal as the toxic soil that won’t grow any of the organisms that plants need to really be healthy. I think that the Farm Bill may be influencing the way that farming is going: let’s make the most amount of crops for the least amount of money. And it’s considered a good thing if we have to engage GMO. This means we have to soak crops with glyphosate to produce high volume. And then the soil doesn’t allow uptake of super important nutrients.

Jack

Mitch, you’re describing a major component of the controversy surrounding the farm bill. The challenges associated with the monoculture of a particular field are huge. I think the farm bill offers an opportunity to change a monoculture that is growing one crop and killing everything else. Because, as you all may know, diverse bioculture within a field helps retain the resilience, the microbiome—all the different species that work together to make soil fertile. When you create a monoculture and kill everything else, then the addition of all those things that the diverse culture provided for the soil must be added back in. It requires the external addition of those things. So, we have to add nitrogen and we have to add other things so that the soil is adequate to grow in the monoculture. And you’re right, it’s grow as much as you can for the least.