Krymz
27th December 2015, 19:23
I was wondering if there was anyone on this forum who grows/grew food as a full time occupation (aka a job). I want to have a discussion about many aspect of the field in relation to revolution and communism.
I have done studies in horticulture production and environment, have worked on many farms and want to start a million agricultural projects of my own, but at the same time I want to join my political ideas to my project, not have them separated. I have many topics I would like to talk about;
(in no particular order)
1- Uniting the "farmers" into a union [of unions?] that can actually do some political pressure/work.
The conservative/reactionary mind set of the majority of farmers (and the majority of them being old). I don't know about your part of the world, but over here in Québec (Canada) we have one big forced union on the farmers. they got some "alright" stuff like quotas of production on certain items like milk and pork (a kind of centralized control of supply and demand). Of course it's a pro capitalism union, but they still have slogans like "Strong and United". I could write a whole booklet on the mater, but I'll leave it at this for an intro to this subject. so in short, how to unite old reactionaries who are the most important work force of our society (when is the last time you heard of living without eating? making food year round is far from a simple feat.)
2- Taking care of people's need versus having to make a profit.
It takes a whole lot of time and energy managing a farm from A to Z (usually around 125% of your time or more), and all this to get somewhere from not enough to pay the bills to having a little safety cushion for new projects or repairs or whatever is needed (kids schooling, winter tires, etc. of course huge corporate farms are excluded here). At the same time, it would be nice to be able to give the food away to those who can't afford it otherwise, and it would be also nice to create a moneyless system that will only flourish the more members it get.
3- Building an "infrastructure for the revolution".
Building on from point 2, farm can create A LOT of stuff, not just food. With the right professionals you can easily have different micro industrial activities (metal/wood work, textile, education, etc) that complement each other. It's also a perfect base for revolutionaries for whatever purpose they see fit (where did the Cubans go train for their revolution? a ranch/farm :cool: ). Farm work build the spirit and the body, and usually builds solidarity and friendship within the large circle of people that it touches.
I don't see how any of all this can work other than having a commune, and a problem with communes is that they usually fall apart not long after they emerge into the world. So enough rambling, what is your relation to the food production, and what are your thoughts on the subjects, and do you have anything to add? thank you!
I have done studies in horticulture production and environment, have worked on many farms and want to start a million agricultural projects of my own, but at the same time I want to join my political ideas to my project, not have them separated. I have many topics I would like to talk about;
(in no particular order)
1- Uniting the "farmers" into a union [of unions?] that can actually do some political pressure/work.
The conservative/reactionary mind set of the majority of farmers (and the majority of them being old). I don't know about your part of the world, but over here in Québec (Canada) we have one big forced union on the farmers. they got some "alright" stuff like quotas of production on certain items like milk and pork (a kind of centralized control of supply and demand). Of course it's a pro capitalism union, but they still have slogans like "Strong and United". I could write a whole booklet on the mater, but I'll leave it at this for an intro to this subject. so in short, how to unite old reactionaries who are the most important work force of our society (when is the last time you heard of living without eating? making food year round is far from a simple feat.)
2- Taking care of people's need versus having to make a profit.
It takes a whole lot of time and energy managing a farm from A to Z (usually around 125% of your time or more), and all this to get somewhere from not enough to pay the bills to having a little safety cushion for new projects or repairs or whatever is needed (kids schooling, winter tires, etc. of course huge corporate farms are excluded here). At the same time, it would be nice to be able to give the food away to those who can't afford it otherwise, and it would be also nice to create a moneyless system that will only flourish the more members it get.
3- Building an "infrastructure for the revolution".
Building on from point 2, farm can create A LOT of stuff, not just food. With the right professionals you can easily have different micro industrial activities (metal/wood work, textile, education, etc) that complement each other. It's also a perfect base for revolutionaries for whatever purpose they see fit (where did the Cubans go train for their revolution? a ranch/farm :cool: ). Farm work build the spirit and the body, and usually builds solidarity and friendship within the large circle of people that it touches.
I don't see how any of all this can work other than having a commune, and a problem with communes is that they usually fall apart not long after they emerge into the world. So enough rambling, what is your relation to the food production, and what are your thoughts on the subjects, and do you have anything to add? thank you!