02 Nov Mon 2009
When Water follows the Fire track in Californa and dries out the farm land.Is there a lesson for FARMERS to learn from the Death Valley Draught?
I was reading the article of "Climate Countdown "-
November-December issue .
I wanted to share with fellow farmers what struck my attention.I suggest you read the article and draw some personal lessons as well.
"Farmers knew that their water supply could disappear at any time but the dollar signs overwhelmed the warning signs".I qoute from the article which echoes Dr.richard walker , an economic geography professor at the university of California- Berkley.He continues to say:"It is the phenomenon of collective madness,collective beleif,which is no different from Wall Street or American car companies."
As California farmers groups led by the California Latino Water Coalition march for water , we in the other side go around our business and forget that a threat to our farms as great as the water draught will take away our livlihood.We let HR 2749 and other controls go by untill the day it touches our door steps .Then we wake up.The collective acts we family farmers lack goes back to the same bottom line roots of the dollar sign.We skip reading other signs and wrtings on the wall just to follow what we have been programmed to do :Work work work !
Sometimes we need to take a break and sit down to smell the roses and have a chat with each others about common concerns.We need to connect for the common good of all.We need to re-establish the bond with each others as we connect with earth by being the Earth-keepers.
I see that those who wrote the agricultural text books and spread the ideology of Fertilizers and Pesticides ,take the lead in gathering the farmers again under the banner of Organic farming.Why do not we have our own grass root organic farmers take the lead instead?It is our beleifs that are so overwhelmed by the dollar sign that keep us to bring change from within our family farmers movement not just follow and be passive.Being active and productive is not just limited to our land work.We need to bring more representatives from within our family farms to be our voice at the House and the Senate.Let us sow the seed and talk to our kids about that may be they will be the new leaders that will represent us?Let us involve the youth in our farms and let them take the toil in the soil to college and further beyond.Let them be our future voices REPRESENTATIVES to Washington.