rick wrote:
==================
> btw, you complain about some of my links being 10 years old, yet
> yours starts out with a book from 1962 using data from 1947 to
> 1960. However, farming is still farming. It relies on
> mechanization and petro-chemical operations. Both of which kill
> animals and destroys habitat. 2 things you will never get away
> from if you are eating crop foods.

That may be. I think what we are potentially after is a common
baseline. At some ideal point, lifestyles could include macrobiotic
solutions (canned goods, including meat). However, carbon neutral
solutions seem to have some merit. And what if there is no local meat
available? Isn't that the condition of millions of
metropolis-dwellers? I think that crop-rotation, diversified
agriculture, and natural suppression of pests is possible. In my area,
it is probably decades away from reality. I think I can limit my
consumption of food to a reasonable level, learn from/aid local
farmers, and keep my hatred of machines to a minimum. After all, I
think that industrialization is a good thing. The article I cited
refers to the unparalleled rise in productivity of American
agricultural PRIOR to the postwar boom in pesticide use/production. It
also mentions the problem that small farmers face in the competitive
marketplace. I speculate that your jibing 'rubes' for buying organic
only goes so far. There is alot of health reasons to buy organic,
according to people I have 'spoken' to. I will read further on that.

Just to be superfluous, I attended ONE meeting of animal
rights/vegan-vegetarians at my school this past year. They showed
clips of factory farming, rescued animals, and some tear-jerking
cow-hugging. To be honest, I don't react to animal suffering on film
negatively. To me, it is funny, because it is absurd. I suppose, on
further introspection, I could laugh if a mouse or vole was crushed
under a tractor wheel or a combine-track. I sometimes wish I was
completely benevolent. I'm not. I have not claimed to be. Yet, I
find this discussion very calming to my ego. I find the militant,
Hun-attitude to be a waste of energy. I realize my concern for bees is
superfluous as it stands.

regards,
-buzz-