It’s Time For Communities To Get Their Power Back
G’day Folks,
Since the last blog post, it's pretty much rained every day until today. As I sit here typing I’m looking out at a glorious sunset.
The weather today did wonders for our spirits...
You could see the glow amongst family members and the warm smiles are back on our faces.
This week, I want to go beyond the veggies in the field...
And talk about the now historic once prolific ‘Family Farm’.
After all, the health of the food we eat and the environment we depend on relies on the people running the farms.
This is a fundamental part of food production and environmental protection which is often overlooked.
Once upon a time...
The majority of farms were owned and run by a family, not a corporation.
These families were part of a community, they felt a sense of responsibility to their neighbours and community to do what was good and honest.
This era has now passed...
And the number of farmers in Australia has been declining for many decades. These farmers sell up to large-scale farming operations, and this has resulted in fewer young people taking over family farms.
In fact, there were 19,700 fewer farmers in Australia in 2011 than in 2006, a fall of 11% over five years, this trend has continued to today.
What’s even more staggering, in 1900, 42 percent of the U.S. population lived on farms; by 1990 that number had dwindled to less than 2 percent.
Now I’m not saying there haven’t been huge benefits in people leaving the farm.
I’m also not saying that all corporations are innately evil...
Or that all family-owned farms are pure goodness...
But what I am saying is...
If I ask you - 'who would you trust more, to do the right thing?'
Would it be a faceless corporation run by shareholders whose supreme guiding light is to maximise investment value?
Or a family who lives in your community and depends on that community's desire to support them for their livelihoods existence?
You see, when the community believes there is a need for change...
Small family-owned businesses that rely on that community, have to change with them.
This makes the family business dynamic and able to change quickly or else die.
This means the community can enact change at a pace that cannot be achieved through large corporations and governments.
The pace of change has never been so critical in the world we currently and wish to live in.
However, when the tables are turned...
And the community become reliant on the large corporation, it is the corporation that can wield much more power.
And yes, it is we the people who ultimately determine what these large corporations do.
We vote with our dollars...
They eventually adapt to suit the voter's demands.
But it's when a corporation becomes so large that it can influence government...
And when they can spend enormous amounts on advertising...
Or fund research projects that favour the desired view that suits their business model.
It can in fact distort our reality...
Not forever, but long enough to keep us in a coma-like state...
Until scientists ring alarm bells...
Some alarms have been ringing for over 20 years now...
For example, it's only when things start to wet our asses through floods and burn our asses with bushfires...
Then we begin to listen to these alarm bells.
It seems human nature that we should find ourselves in this predicament, as proven time and again throughout history.
This has to be the greatest lesson nature has taught us thus far... Grow a monoculture and suffer a plague...
A monoculture will be forever at odds with nature, constantly demanding more chemicals and less insects…
So too, large monocultures in the business world such as General Motors will fall like the city of Rome for defying what nature has intended.
The laws of nature don’t just exist in a forest or a field…
They are the same laws that govern our universe, bio-diversity in nature must be replicated in human nature or we will continually struggle against her.
Biodiversity is essential to all life on earth, loose too many parts of it and earth's ecosystem (natural and man-made) falls like a Janga tower with too many blocks removed.
During times of panic throughout the pandemic...
As the supermarkets started to bare empty shelves...
It was the local butchers and bakers with the lines of people entering their shops.
I often wondered how busy a small business would have been throughout these times if they specialised in the sale of toilet paper.
Thankfully! Change is in the air like never before...
It is so freaking exciting to be a part of this change in such a positive way. We have never felt so connected and enthused to be part of this mission.
The messages of support and emails we received from the people who have been eating our food continue to cement our resolve.
And for that, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Big Love,
