I think an important point to remember when talking about Big Corporations (capitals intended) is that they are comprised of people. Regular, every day, earn-a-decent-living-for-my-family people. I think some of us have the idea that Big Corps are these faceless giants that pull the strings everywhere and at each turn there is a man behind the curtain. In reality, they are made up of average people, middle managers and a handful of upper-echelons. They aren't stroking their mustaches looking for the next Evil Plot To Destroy Humanity, as in a James Bond movie. They try to make the best decisions they can that exact the most amount of profit. Take BP, for instance. While the Gulf Oil spill is a catastrophic environmental crisis and reflects a corporate culture that clearly disregards safety, it irked me to see the people being raked over the coals as badly as they were. Yes, the CEO was an idiot, but please don't think for a moment that for all the weeks that spill was happening there weren't three shifts working 15 hours a day each desperately trying to get it under control and fix the problem. I can only imagine how bad the PEOPLE working on that rig felt and how much they busted their asses to fix it. As for living off the grid...sure, if you have the space and the time, but ultimately I don't think it would make sense on a large scale. It's like people who oppose nuclear power, and coal-driven plants, and natural gas...what do they think the world's energy can be powered by in the long-run? But that's a debate for another day.
And because of this Rant, I will go out of my way to buy Shell Oil today. "Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter"
All of you need to calm the fuck down. All of you guys are sitting here assuming shit and jumping down my throat assuming I'm some kind of unwashed hippie without even taking the time to think about why I made the statement I did. Hey dipshit, I never said they were evil. I said a majority of them are not ethical. See below. I've worked for a few large corporations. In every single one of those places without fail promoted people who were incompetent and had absolutely no reason to be in those positions. Lots of illegal shit going on behind the doors that the consumer doesn't see. Some for example were claiming they used specific methods to "assure customer privacy" when in fact they weren't and customer data could easily be retrieved. Another one high ups were either taking money or gifts in exchange for certain perks within the company. Electronic Arts has a (arguable) track record of treating their programmers pretty shitty. Possibly carcinogenic shit in your food? Items marked as "baby safe" when in fact they are not (shampoos, soap, etc) ? How about the unlimited donations corporations (even ones not based in the US) can make to political campaigns? How about super cheap labor(this one can be argued no one is forcing people to work there)? Look dude, I'm not saying all corporations and big companies are the devil. I understand when entities get large it is hard to control every little thing that goes on, IE the military. I understand sometimes you need to pick the lesser of two bad things, IE: use gas and pollute the environment or not go anywhere at all. However I will not defend a company who does shady shit and/or then market themselves as being friendly or doing good for the public. I will not mention specific names for obvious reasons. And Sherwood for the record I do not "suck from the teat of society". Edit: I just saw this comment. I understand your position and this is why I'm going to school. I don't want to be another one of those douchebags who thinks they are "doing good" by potting a few plants or buying a Prius or buying some organically labeled food. What you posted reminds me about one poster's roommate who planted a garden and wanted to be green but didn't take into account she was making multiple trips to Home Depot for seeds or fertilizer or whatever.
Is anybody else picturing Latingroove sitting in his hemp underwear, wearing a beret, and screaming "Le Revelution!" at his computer right now? Focus: I buy what I need when I need it. If it means driving to Target because it has cheaper cleaning supplies than my local grocery store, so be it. Yeah for hippy turds. Go suck a dick.
I was going to rep this, but...why? That is, outside of stroking your ego and talk in sweeping, condescending strokes, exactly like the folks you're referring to?
I`m specifically referring to those that feel they live their lives one way so everybody else should too. Good for you if you can save some money. Good for you if you can give me some pointers IF I would like to also. Good for you that you can effectively utilize the rhythm (or bukake method). I hate jizzing on a sheet, and Mrs. Jones has locked the bedroom door since I woke her up last week screaming "I`m a fireman! Gotta put the fire out!". So I`m stuck with Trojans. I don`t give a shit whether or not the CEO is testing every tenth one on his dog and mother. Nobody wants another Jones on this planet, and I hate when people tell me how to live my life.
No one here is telling you how to live your life dude. The point I'm trying to make is that talking in vague, sweeping generalizations on either side is not going to lead to anything substantive.
Why shouldn't he tell you how to live your life? Maybe Johnny Potato Sack has a point, and corporations are stealing our soul and replacing it with inferior produce and shampoo that burns our children. Maybe collective farming is the way out, and he's showing you the door. But no--you're too busy sucking on the tail pipe of society, breathing in aerosol Uncle Sam spooge while dunking your balls in warm Starbucks Mocha Valencia. It's no wonder you can't see that his message is truth.
What`s wrong with sweeping generalizations when the OP assumes I`m anti-corporation. It then points out that because I don`t live my life a certain way, I obviously don`t know the monetary perks that come with it. I can only assume the writer wrote the OP on his wicker computer that he hand cranks to avoid hybernation mode. It`s nothing against you dude, but life is much more fun when there`s conflict. Unfortunately, people like you are pussies and will choose both sides of the battle in an attempt to avoid getting chewed out. Hippies suck. Generalations rule.
The truth is that if everybody stopped shopping at a grocery store for food, farmers markets would be fucking expensive (and so would seeds). It`s called supply and demand. Sell me a good product at a competetive price and I`ll buy. Locality/corporate status should have nothing to do with it.
Corporations, like pretty much everything else, have their pros and their cons. Toyota building a car that's safer, more fuel efficient and can sync with my music player for cheaper? Awesome. Wall Street going off the partnership model? A fucking disaster.
Wait, is that to me? Please tell me that you read a depiction of testicular espresso immersion and took that seriously.
Dude, that is not true at all. CSAs, farmers markets, and co-ops are all doing really great things for food communities. It's financially better for the farmers and the people purchasing foodstuffs when grocery stores aren't involved as a middleman who take a percentage of the profit(s) on either end. 'Direct marketing' isn't a no-no phrase, and I don't know where that idea keeps coming from in food debates. The CSA model in particular is considered an especially effective alternative to selling to commercial vendors because farmers, at least those running successful CSAs, will have a guaranteed source of income before the growing season begins in earnest. As an added bonus, knowing where your food comes from/who processes it/what's in it means everyone is healthier, your food is more delicious, your food is cheaper, and you can personally hold someone accountable for subpar products. Honestly, people who hate on the above alternative methods of purchasing food are either ignorant or really, really stupid. I would never say that these methods of food purchase are widely available for everyone- it's certainly a privileged way of wielding your purchasing power and economically impoverished members of society don't have the time/money to participate in it. But there are nothing but positives for those who do choose to participate- really. I understand that seeds are cheaper when bought in bulk. I also understand that the reason seeds need to be purchased in excessive bulk is because grocery stores have a created a demand for piles upon piles of mediocre produce for your average mindless American purchaser. Eliminating the overwhelming demand for these piles of meh-lettuce will in turn reduce the excessive supply of seeds per season, thus driving the prices for seeds in smaller quantities back to "average" levels. So if you're really looking for a good product at a competitive price, you will almost never find it at a grocery store.
This largely ignores the fact that localvore food markets aren't sustainable on wider scales because of the transportation costs that are involved, or the population dynamics of modern American society. I agree with you in terms of individuals. It's often better for both sides of the transaction. The food is generally better and cheaper, although that comes at a heavy cost in terms of convenience. That said, you cannot feed modern cities this way. Neighborhood markets works fine when city populations were measured in the lower six figures, and a substantial proportion of the population were involved in agrarian labor. But in a day where New York City has 10 million residents and only 1% of the American labor force is engaged in farm labor, the existence of large enterprises that take advantage of the utilities of scale is a fairly unavoidable conclusion. I have no problem with people who enjoy local foods and choose to intentionally support the model economically. Let's just not pretend that it could be extended to the whole country.
I spent the entire summer working at a large farmer's market and don't believe in the hype. Some things are available there that kick ass, and some people are too caught up in the experience of shopping at a farmer's market to notice ripoffs. I see them as great places for very unique entrepreneurs to sell their stuff, but also recognize how damned inefficient they are. Many, many people came from outer suburbs to the market... maybe half, if not more on some days. This market was located really close to downtown Minneapolis, so some people drove from suburbs 30 minutes away. Then you have to factor in the clusterfuck traffic becomes around the place and the amount of time people waste driving around to find a parking spot in the massive, always packed lots or idling in line. Then there's the big, old trucks and vans that every single vendor had to pack up their stuff every time they came to the market, which was every day they can. You can't convince me that's efficient. I think it could be more efficient with smaller markets and more of them so people don't have to drive as far and producers/sellers don't have to drive as far either, but the reasons they congregate is because there just aren't enough people selling vegetables from the family farm and only so many Peruvian alpaca shawl vendors can exist before the market is saturated. They have to centralize and make it more worthwhile for people to show up. I'm not totally condemning farmer's markets, because once again I do think they're great hubs for entrepreneurs and consumers and I personally met a lot of great people and for the most part had good experiences working there. Also, I think it is good to know where your food came from and directly support farmers. However, you can't convince me shopping at a grocery store isn't more efficient. Hell, if you want to support environmental sustainability, shop at Wal-Mart.
Actually, minimal transportation costs are precisely what make the CSA model in particular so damned successful. (Full disclosure: I'm currently living near an extremely large urban city with a fuckload of successful CSAs) The drop sites are chosen to be very easy to locate/access by foot, bike, or public transportation. Hell, if enough people from your workplace sign up, they can drop your food off directly at your workplace! If you live in a large-ish apartment building, they can drop it off at your mailbox! It really doesn't get any simpler and convenient than that, does it? My local drop site is actually at a childcare center. I don't have kids, so I'd actually have to go out of my way to retrieve my box. But everyone else in my local CSA finds that location to be laughably convenient for them, so whatever. I wouldn't complain. It's funny you mentioned New York, too- New York has one of the most thriving localvore food communities in America. It's precisely because of large agricultural enterprises that the number of farmers (you quoted 1%) is so low. When you are no longer forced to buy seeds in bulk/harvest produce in bulk or go bust, more people would see farming as a career path. The only thing stopping many would-be farmers is the lack of massive amounts of start-up capital required by the current model of bulkfarm-to-grocerystore-to-consumer. Direct marketing would assuredly boost that number much, much higher than 1%. It's actually harder to make this model work in suburbia than it is in urban cities. These food plans were created specifically for modern cities, where transportation costs are exponentially lower than they are in outlying suburbs. However, this is counteracted by suburbia's capacity for home gardens- something that rarely succeeds in urban cities.