mysteryman wrote:
If you make all of your own clothes,then you have seen a return of crafts.
So what are you complaining about?
As for starving out the farmers,tell me what fresh produce can you get grown locally in your area?
Most of the produce in the US this time of year is grown in either southern Arizona or imported from Mexico.
In spring,the farmers will move back up to the San Joaquin valley of Ca and start growing for the season.
If you didnt care about money then,why are you complaining about it now?
As for traveling now,who says you cant?
The only limits you have are the ones you are placing on yourself.
It may be that you write such stupid non sequitors to get a rise out of me, but, because humor is one of the classic signs of intelligence as is logic, then I can only conclude that you write this tripe because you can not reason and have no sense of humor.
Now, it is not logical to say, as you did, "If you make . . . then you have seen a return of crafts."
You surely could not have missed the reference to the return of crafts as a viable section of the economy.
The formula for pricing craft objects is 3 times the cost of materials. That means that were I to market a wool skirt that I might make, I could not afford to sell it for less than $210 to $280. A quilt would go for $600 - $1,000. At those prices, crafts are not a viable part of the market. Furthermore, no one would argue that what a person makes for their own use counts as a craft revival.
Interestingly, I went to a lecture at Harvard today and bought a cup of coffee at one of the in school cafeterias. Harvard Dining Services has printed flyers explaining why they use foods from local farmers to the extent possible. The currently use apples, potatoes, mushrooms and are working to expand their selections.
As Harvard Dining Services explains, this practice protects the agricultural traditional of the area, supports local business and protects the environment. Their flyer went on to say that most ingredients on the American plate have travelled more than 1,500 miles. New England produce travels less than 250 miles. It is fresher, and, therefore, more nuitritious.
Furthermore, while wide scale organic farming is impractical in the short growing season here in the Northeast -- but, of course, your friends in big business and big oil are making certain that global warming will change that -- all of the farmers now use "intergrated pest management," which is a low pesticide/companion planting system, often bolstered by the use of green manures or compost.
According to Jim Wilson, owner of Wilson's farm, the commercial farm nearest to me (four miles away), thanks to compost, he has more soil and better soil than did his great-grandfather who established the farm.
I bought a red cabbage from a small scale farmer in a town 20 miles to the west. I bet it was picked that morning: it was the best cabbage I have ever eaten. I would guess from looking at your defense of agribusiness that you and yours do not eat well.
