As far as I know, with that EU brainstorm it's attracted 'city' farmers -- basically investors acquiring acres of cheap agricultural land (e.g. highland in Scotland virtually useless for farming), leasing it off and claiming massive subsidies. Total bollocks, IMHO.
People buying them from a grocery store tend to be trendy fools. Most people buying organic foods up in this area, don't go to a grocery store and buy them to be cool.
I care about the plight of the family farmer no more than I care about the plight of the family grocer. Or the family pharmacist. Or the family hardware store. I care no more about the family farmer than I do about the slide rule manufacturers. It's too bad that that way of life is going away, but that's the nature of life.
I, of course, didn't see it. But I'd like to respond to some points you raise... Certainly true. But it should be remembered that there is a trade-off. A lost lifestyle for the rural few may mean cheaper food for the many. I might empathize with the small farm's situation, but not enough to intervene in order to thwart the market. I buy what I like, whether for quality or price reasons. Where it comes from to me is completely irrelevent. Why pay more when you don't have to? Evert person has to decide for themselves if lower cost is worth it. But most people will say it is. The decline of many small farms is, of course, sad. No one wants to see a small, family-run business--some many generations old, I'd wager--go down. But you can't (or rather shouldn't) stop progress. And the decline of the small farms--while a tragedy for some--comes with the benefit of cheaper, more plentiful food for everyone else. If you feel products from small farms are worth the extra cost, then vote with your money. That's the best you can do. If you use the law to thwart the market, all you'll be doing is denying someone else the choice they want in favor of your own.
I swear, Summer, I hadn't read your "Small Farms" thread when I suggested you rent your backyard out to midget sharecroppers.
Personally I usually buy what's cheapest. The supermarkets (there's only two corporations that really matter) both have lines of products that are supposed to be extra-cheap. And they are. Very popular among the poor and among students (which sometimes makes for funny sights - some German guy walking around in his fancy clothes drinking 1.5 litres of water worth 15 cents ) - sometimes the same product but different packaging. I buy that for frozen meat (chicken), drinks and some other stuff. Dairy products I usually go with "WeightWatchers" (because they offer the best protein/calories or protein/fat ratio) - except for milk where I go with something that's probably local but still not organic (again, low fat is what I'm looking for). Veggies I usually go with African imports (tomatos from Marroco, for example). They're cheaper and I can't tell the difference anyway. In terms of politics: Fuck farmers. Pay them for what Summer hinted at - making the country side look nice, don't subsidise them and don't interfere. It's economically inefficient, it raises costs all around (at least three times: you pay subsidies (1) through taxes, you pay higher prices (2) and you keep farmers from getting more efficient (or going out of business and looking for a more profitable job) as well as keeping third world countries who normally have their comparative advantages in stuff like agriculture (i.e. because their climate's more suitable to farming than, say, the cold weather of Britain )). I don't feel sorry at all for farmers who haven't been able to adapt to a changing situation. Obviously, I like looking at a nice countryside as well but we should pay for that and not just "because". If we're gonna lose that because farming's no longer profitable - so be it, then we obviously don't value it highly enough. Simple supply and demand.
The problem is perception. I know plenty of family farmers, the problem is they no longer fit the idealized version of the "family farm". Family farms today are million dollar enterprises, devoted to the commercial production of raw materials.
No way. The Flow Farm is just like Green Acres, except with a lot more girls in bikinis. And a beach. I won't have it any other way.
