The Plan with Agriculture as the Focus

Response to John Russell



Hi John,

Sorry, it took so long to get back with thee...

The fundamentals of an ecological economic redevelopment plan, while embracing relocalization for food and other necessities does not preclude the concept of comparative advantage, which as you have described would lead the folks in your area to specialize in grass fed meat and dairy.

To us, since 1976, it has always been a paradigm of "towards self-sufficiency" in food production. Inter-community and inter-regional trade can be sustained IF the USA and others will dedicate and commit and realize an 80% reduction in personal automobile use in the next 20 to 40 years, by rebuilding neighborhoods, and reallocating goods and services, to make it so that almost all (there will be rural exceptions) can get what they need within walking distance of their homes.

The terrible squandering of fossil fuel use for wasteful consumer automobile forays across and throughout the sprawlscape in search of their daily needs and many unnecessary consumer wants (the latter a result of the loss of community and resultant meaningless lives) is a large opportunity cost relative to transport for necessary trade, and for the other more important applications of fossil fuel use such as solar assisted home heating, cooking, hot water, drying, and the generation of electricity. Also, fossil fuel inputs into agricultural systems (while phasing such out to the greatest, or least optimal, extent possible) needs to be a much higher priority use of fossil fuels than the personal automobile.

Still, I strongly believe in the need to move towards veganization of diets for health and pollution reasons. I say towards because my personal experience has proven to me that when my work is mostly physical that I do need to eat a bit of meat occasionally to maintain my strength and body weight. On the other hand, eating meat every day is a recipe for disease and sickness, especially among the sedentary (among whom meat ingestion should be strongly discouraged). Milk products are important for children.

The evolution of these things and the repopulation of rural areas with the appropriate small farm technologies, labor, equity, and products (coupled with the maximization of "urban" gardening) will not evolve via a process of "invisible hands". It will only happen in a timely manner, if it is part of a consensual plan and implement economy based on a consensus of world unity and cooperation founded on the principles of inclusion, humanity, equity, environmental health and wellness, quality of life, sustainability, and peace.

Thanks for writing.

Q. (By Gil Scott (Martin Luther Kin)): What's the word?

A. (By John Lennon (Martin Luther Kin)): The word is love, the word is good.


All People Kin.


In Peace, Friendship, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin