[Peace-discuss] Yes Magazine: Can Illinois Feed Itself?

[E. Wayne Johnson]

What I mean by the nanny-state here is excessive regulations taking the 
decision-making away from the people and putting in the hands of 
bureaucrats, and then enforcing the regulations such that small players 
are forced out of the game and the barrier for new entrants is set so 
high that they can't manage to get in.  The cost is borne by the 
consumer who pays higher prices.

A prime example of this the recent ban on home baked goods at the Urbana 
Farmer's Market.  There was no harm done in allowing people to sell home 
baked goods.  In fact, the stuff is better when it's baked at home.  Now 
we have a public health bureau in  Champaign that insists on having only 
for sale such goods as are baked in a commercial kitchen.  The effect is 
that now only those who can tolerate the regulation can participate, new 
entrants who could bake at home are discouraged, and competition to 
supermarkets from small players is prevented.  Even though there was no 
demonstrable risk, the public health bureau (the nannys) can say that 
they did something and all of the nanny-statists can sleep better 
thinking that the world is Safer because of their actions.  And it's a 
total fantasy.  The world is not better or safer.  Things are worse 
because of their intrusion, food is actually of poorer quality, higher 
priced, and of less variety because the nannys intervened.

This scenario repeated over and over characterizes much of the 
interaction between government and industry.  It's no wonder that so 
many of our jobs have left the country.  The foxes of the authoritarian 
state have stolen for their cronies, they have ravaged the henhouse, and 
have driven the hens away.  Smart hens wont come back.






On 9/15/2009 7:03 AM, unionyes wrote:
> Wayne,
>
> Define " nanny state principles ",
>
> That is, specific examples.
>
> Do you consider social security as a " nanny state principle " ?
>
> The Netherlands ( Holland ) also has a HUGE number of Greenhouses, 
> that grows everything from Tomatoes and Tulips to legal marijuana.
> There ( and in western europe in general ) public monies help small 
> independent farmers with investments for expanding endevours, so that 
> they do not have to rely on exploited Labor.
>
> The reason Americans don't work as agricultural labor is because the 
> wages are not a living wage.
>
> Why not OUR public tax dollars to help small independent farmers, with 
> them and the communities they live in, in control of the decsisions ?
>
> David J.
>
> David J.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "E. Wayne Johnson" <ewj at pigs.ag>
> To: "unionyes" <unionyes at ameritech.net>
> Cc: "Peace-discuss List" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>; 
> <naiman.uiuc at gmail.com>
> Sent: Monday, September 14, 2009 10:53 PM
> Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Yes Magazine: Can Illinois Feed Itself?
>
>
>> There are many significant barriers to doing what is suggested here.
>>
>> Some of the most important barriers are regulatory barriers which we 
>> embraced in typical fashion by big business and the nanny-staters and 
>> significantly deter potential new entrants.   The corporate 
>> plutocrats get what they want and the well meaning shills of 
>> authoritarianism go home thinking that they are saving the world from 
>> dangers.  I know this is so, because I've sat in meetings with the 
>> corporate schemers and the nanny-state nincompoops and hear them talk 
>> and even teach about it.
>>
>> Another problem in Illinois is that vegetable raising is 
>> labour-intensive and Illinois is not a state conducive to labour 
>> intensive agriculture. Almost everything here is mechanized because 
>> of the difficulties involved in procuring and maintaining
>> labour.  Illinois is a particularly difficult state for labour, so 
>> much of the processing of ag products occurs outside the state.  Even 
>> in ag states that have large ag labour forces in harvesting and 
>> processing, most of the workers are immigrants not only from Latin 
>> America but also Eastern Europe and southeast Asia.  It's a big 
>> change from 30 years ago when most of the workers were native 
>> English-speaking whites and black who were born here. Many Illinois 
>> farmers are not prepared to work with immigrants but some now do 
>> because suitable labour is not available among the resident 
>> population at any price.
>>
>> Farmers tend to be independent which is why they chose an oft 
>> difficult life on the farm where there is lots of hard work and 
>> discomfort.  Most farmers do not want to have to deal with large work 
>> forces and all of the problems that are involved with the people and 
>> the government and the taxes and the regulations.  So they produce 
>> crops that are conducive to mechanical methods.
>>
>> Yet another problem is the seasonality of production in Illinois.  
>> Grocery stores and produce distributors make contracts with suppliers 
>> who can provide fresh fruits and vegetables all year round.  In some 
>> places like China, they have lots of greenhouses to produce 
>> year-round vegetables, but such are comparatively rarely seen in 
>> Illinois.
>>
>> For Illinois government to do anything effective to actually promote 
>> small-scale sales of ag products on a practical basis would be a 
>> dramatic change in policy.   Draper admitted that "the wealth of 
>> Illnois is in her soil" but the truth is that the ruling class in 
>> Illinois has viewed farmers as "rubes" and ag as a red-haired 
>> step-child.   Some small scale sales at places like farmers markets 
>> is just a tiny drop in the bucket and really represent just a niche 
>> market frequented by people who have money to spend on overpriced 
>> produce.  The tendency in Illinois is still toward coercive 
>> imposition of nanny-state principles, and I dont yet see things 
>> getting bad enough just yet for any sort of renaissance to take hold 
>> just yet.
>>
>> What is suggested here is a sort of "it would be nice if..." but I 
>> don't think the rulers of Illinois are going to be giving up the 
>> coercive power willingly any time soon, and I suspect strongly that 
>> the fingernails and palms of the bureaucrats speak volumes about what 
>> they know about agriculture.
>>
>>
>>
>> On 9/14/2009 8:39 PM, unionyes wrote:
>>> Good article Bob,
>>>
>>> If it is successful, a complaint and lawsuit will probably be filed 
>>> by some corporate agribusiness entity, via the WTO, and the program 
>>> will be declared a " barrier to trade " and the corporate 
>>> agribusiness entity will sue for damages for the " potential " loss 
>>> of profits.
>>>
>>> David J.
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Naiman" 
>>> <naiman.uiuc at gmail.com>
>>> To: "Peace-discuss List" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
>>> Sent: Monday, September 14, 2009 3:46 PM
>>> Subject: [Peace-discuss] Yes Magazine: Can Illinois Feed Itself?
>>>
>>>
>>> http://www.yesmagazine.org/economies/eating-in
>>>
>>> Can a Farm State Feed Itself?
>>> A farm state tired of depending on imports, Illinois looks to local 
>>> food.
>>>
>>> by Brooke Jarvis
>>> posted Sep 04, 2009
>>>
>>> Illinois, home to 76,000 farms and more than 950 food manufacturing
>>> companies, is a solidly agricultural state in the heart of America’s
>>> bread basket. Fully 80 percent of it is farmland. But, of all the food
>>> eaten in Illinois, only four percent is actually grown there.
>>>
>>> Vast quantities of food are exported to other states and nations,
>>> while similarly vast quantities are brought in to feed Illinois’
>>> citizens.  It’s a costly arrangement that leaves too many people
>>> without enough access to healthy fruits and vegetables.
>>>
>>> A new bill, recently signed by Governor Patrick Quinn, will make it
>>> easier for farmers to sell their harvests within Illinois instead of
>>> shipping them out of state.  But first, the state had to figure out
>>> what had been making it so hard.
>>>
>>> The Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Act of 2009 draws on the
>>> recommendations of a 32-member task force asked to determine Illinois’
>>> potential for local food consumption. Illinois, the group found, has
>>> lots of local food and lots of people willing to eat it. What’s been
>>> missing is a way to connect them on a large scale.
>>>
>>> The state spends tens of billions of dollars on imported food, much of
>>> which already is or could be grown in state, and exports its own farm
>>> produce. Local food systems developed at the community level have
>>> flourished—in the last decade, the number of farmers’ markets in
>>> Illinois has grown from 97 to 270, while the number of
>>> community-supported agriculture organizations, groups that sell shares
>>> of farm harvests directly to consumers, has more than quadrupled. But
>>> large consumers—like hospitals, museums, restaurants, grocery stores,
>>> corporate kitchens, schools, and universities—have found it difficult
>>> to procure local food in the quantities they need. And, many
>>> inner-city and rural communities in Illinois lack access to grocery
>>> stores, markets, or other sources of fresh, healthy foods.
>>>
>>> “Illinois’ predominant farm and food system,” the task force found,
>>> “is designed to serve distant markets, not link farm production with
>>> in-state markets.”
>>>
>>> The new bill represents the state government’s commitment to
>>> restructuring the food system so that it promotes local consumption
>>> instead of hindering it. “It encourages Illinois farmers to respond
>>> directly to consumers’ demand for fresh, tasty, locally produced foods
>>> and shows how to do it,” says task force chairman Wes Jarrell, a
>>> farmer and professor of sustainable agriculture.
>>>
>>> Specifically, the legislation sets up a grown-in-Illinois label and
>>> certification program, directs state agencies to purchase at least 20
>>> percent of their food locally by 2020, and allows them to pay premium
>>> prices for local food. One particular goal is to increase the amount
>>> of local food served in public schools.
>>>
>>> The law also establishes a new agency that will encourage farmers to
>>> grow food for local markets and will help build the statewide
>>> distribution networks needed to get their fresh produce to the people
>>> who want to eat it.
>>>
>>> “I believe economic development begins in the kitchen,” says Illinois
>>> Agriculture Director Tom Jennings. “There is no question we can
>>> produce locally grown fruits, nuts, and vegetables. We also have the
>>> processing and packaging capabilities right here in our own backyard.
>>> Setting up a distribution system that moves items at reasonable cost
>>> from tree or vine to the table is the big challenge, and this
>>> legislation is an important step toward realizing that goal.”
>>>
>>> The state expects that increasing local food sales will bring a $30
>>> billion boost to its economy. Distributing and selling a potato or
>>> soybean in-state keeps the money there, helping expand local commerce
>>> and ultimately creating new jobs and business opportunities, a
>>> phenomenon known as the local multiplier effect. “As Illinoisans meet
>>> the increased demand for fresh food grown within the state, every
>>> community’s economy will see the benefits,” says state representative
>>> Julie Hamos, who sponsored the bill in the Illinois House. “New jobs
>>> will be created as the system to process and transport the food to
>>> local markets is developed.” She also expects rural communities to
>>> grow as job prospects in agricultural areas improve.
>>>
>>> “The fact that all but a tiny percentage of the fruits, vegetables,
>>> and meats that Illinoisans eat are produced in other states or
>>> countries is an astonishing imbalance,” says state senator Jacqueline
>>> Collins, who was a cosponsor of the bill. But, she added, the state
>>> now has “an enormous opportunity” to develop a more sensible, more
>>> local food economy.
>>>
>>> Illinois' problem is hardly unique—the food Americans eat has traveled
>>> an average 1500 miles to reach our plates—but the state's agricultural
>>> production makes its lack of local distribution particularly striking.
>>> “The fact that all but a tiny percentage of the fruits, vegetables,
>>> and meats that Illinoisans eat are produced in other states or
>>> countries is an astonishing imbalance,” said state senator Jacqueline
>>> Collins, a co-sponsor of the bill. But, she added, the state now has
>>> “an enormous opportunity” to develop a more sensible, more local food
>>> economy.
>>> ---
>>> Brooke Jarvis wrote this article as part of YES! Magazine's ongoing
>>> coverage of sustainable food systems.  Brooke is YES! Magazine's web
>>> editor.
>>>
>>
>
>
>