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"A great lie, fed to the press,
propagated and repeated ad nauseam, is that small
farmers are inefficient; that they are being overtaken
by progress; that their doom, though lamentable, is
inevitable. The truth is that industrial agriculture
does not work economically unless much of its real costs
-- environmental costs, socio-economic costs,
infrastructural costs -- are imposed on others." |
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- Tom Garrett, rural affairs
advisor |
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Agriculture can be transformed by humane, sustainable
farms that heal degraded land and raise
nonindustrial breeds of animals outdoors, as
they were intended to be, instead of genetically
manipulated, unhealthy animals confined in
windowless sheds on factory farms.
The foundation of our program
is the belief that this is a critical time for
alternatives to a globalized system of
industrial agriculture.
We produce and monitor
standards for farms to ensure humane,
pollution-free, energy-efficient systems where
each and every animal is raised on feed without
hormones, drugs or chemical additives. Farms
that we work with to certify for high standards
heal degraded land and give their animals
dignity. It's a traceable system that ensures
just and fair prices for nonindustrial farms*
and makes them economically viable.
There is an urgent need
to reduce the impact of climate change on
agriculture. The effects of drought
are determined by humans, not climate. Drought
is as regular in India as it is in Africa.
Traditional systems could cope; modern ones are
not doing so. We bring a diversified program of
humane livestock rearing and drought-resistant
plants, crops,
pasture and agroforestry to farms that are
buffers to vulnerability. The program restores
strong, healthy genetic lines of plants and
animals that can adapt better to the changing
global environment.
How do
nonindustrial farms help?
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"What we are witnessing, and
stippling out, goes beyond historic change. It is a
profound tragedy, not only for farmers, for rural
communities and farm animals, but for nations." |
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- Tom Garrett, rural affairs advisor |
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| Mass abuse of farm animals,
degraded land, nonindustrial farmers
driven to bankruptcy |
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Industrial
agriculture has brought us cheap food at
the cost of cheap labour, degraded land
from over-spreading of sewage onto
fields, zones of death in waterways
caused by agricultural runoff,
hardworking smaller farmers driven to
bankruptcy, and its most uniquely odious
feature - the mass abuse of farm
animals, on a scale and to a degree
undreamed of in human history. |
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| Mass planting of water-intensive
GM crops, increased use of pesticides,
loss of insects that pollinate trees and
let them bloom |
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In developing and
emerging nations, industrial agriculture
and biotechnology have been a scourge to
smaller farmers. Water-intensive hybrid
crops destined for export have been
planted at the expense of food crops,
narrowing important biodiversity,
depleting water tables, and over time,
as plants grow resistant, increasing the
need for pesticides. Insects that
pollinate trees and let them bloom have
suffered heavy losses from applications
of chemicals seven times higher than
those needed on natural systems using,
for example, trap cropping with
alternative rows. |
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| Spiraling food costs |
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In developing
nations, smaller farmers who once grew
their own food have been driven to
ghettos around cities, and farm women
and children have turned to prostitution
for survival in an unsustainable global
food production and marketing system
dominated by agribusiness. Smaller
farmers in developing nations need to
grow food for their own tables and for
local markets, not for export. There are
sufficient grain reserves in the world
to feed its poor. The problem isn't one
of availability or access, but one of
soaring food and fuel prices, while the
profits of agribusiness and
biotechnology corporations spiral
upward. |
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| Factory farms are high-end
polluters |
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Not only is
agricultural runoff in waterways a
problem, improper disposal of industrial
manure brings sterility to surrounding
land. Factory farms threaten our rivers,
lakes, and oceans, our drinking water,
and our air, and most importantly,
contribute massively to climate change.
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- no partially industrial
systems
- no confining sows in crates
- no battery cages
- no tail docking, debeaking, caponizing
- no liquefied manure systems
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- outdoor access required
- natural daylight required
- assurance that standard claims are being
followed
- inspections permitted once per year |
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