In Defense of Industrial Agriculture

by Will on November 25, 2009

Via NR, the author of “The Omnivore’s Delusion: Against the Agri-Intellectuals” unloads another broadside against critics of modern agriculture.

Tagged as: agriculture, conservatism

Will writes from Washington, D.C. (well, Arlington, Virginia). You can reach him at willblogcorrespondence at gmail dot com.

{ 5 comments }

1 North November 25, 2009 at 10:34 am

The omnivore’s delusion always seemed pretty soundly grounded to me. This one is a bit more of an all purpose screed. I particularly was amused by his last paragraph where he absently mentions all the ways that the government props up farms. Agricultural entitlement at its’ best there.

Now heavens know that the Farm inc. crowds are batshit crazy about a lot of things when it comes to do with modern farming. But the Industrial farming crowds aren’t all in the right either. There’s a monstrous dead zone sitting in the Caribbean that can attest very firmly to that. Probably the right mix is somewhere in between the two poles.

2 greginak November 25, 2009 at 10:51 am

i can easily imagine plenty of good critiques of the critics of modern Ag, but this was mostly a “those darn city folk” culture war type puff piece from AEI. I’m guessing one of AEI’s sponsors is Monsanto.

3 North November 25, 2009 at 12:37 pm

No arguement there greginak. I’d commend his original article to you. It has a lot more thoughtful intelligent points and a lot less polemic fluff.

4 Cascadian November 25, 2009 at 11:15 am

Federal Ag subsidies are as maddening as bank bail outs.

5 North November 25, 2009 at 12:38 pm

Yeah Cas, only they’re also as ubiquitous as cockroaches and as durable too. If the end times come I anticipate that the cockroaches will survive… and somehow they’ll preserve the federal agricultural subsidies.

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