Dear Friends,
HERE’S THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM, an interview with Libertarian candidate for governor of Iowa, Rick Stewart. (Note that I’ve invited all Iowa candidates for governor and US Senate to appear on the program.) Here’s a link to Rick’s website.
Rick Stewart
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As we in the Upper Midwest struggle through the most brutal April I can recall, I find myself pondering the future of farming. Will the new wave of small, independent farmers producing food for local consumption continue to grow? Or will the corporate proponents of “get big or get out” prevail?
We’re truly at a crossroads. Obviously, I’m rooting for the little guy. My friend and fellow traveler, Jim Walters, prefers the second option … well, along the same lines that Jonathan Swift advocated selling the children of impoverished Irish families for food in A Modest Proposal.
Here’s Jim’s idea on how to fix farming, which he not-so-subtly titles, An Immodest Proposal:
Blessed with some of the world’s most fertile soils and abundant rainfall, Iowa has become a breadbasket (and pork, beef, and egg basket) to the world. With so much of our grain going to biofuels, we’ve become an energy supplier as well.
“Jonathan Swift” by immugmania is marked with CC BY 2.0.
Given the ever-increasing global hunger for food and energy, our current agricultural practices are hopelessly inadequate, even antiquated. In the capitalist world market, where everything is financialized, nothing exploitable must go unused.
Consider the benefit of turning Iowa into one giant field. Nothing between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers — and nothing between the states of Missouri and Minnesota — but corn and beans!
The practical steps to accomplishing this might seem large. But since we’re already well on our way, a little bold thinking reveals a pathway.
First (as our pioneer forefathers and foremothers had to do), we must “clear the land.” Thankfully, this doesn’t require killing or displacing any Indigenous populations. Some native Iowans will have to move, but more on that later.
Clearing the land will require killing all the trees, and we’re already well on our way (note the rampant destruction of fence rows and prevalence of field-to-stream-bank farming). Thanks to modern science, instead of broad axes, we’re now able to use powerful chemical defoliants.
When all the trees are dead, gigantic new machines (they’ll be green in color) can move across the land chopping, shredding, mulching, and leveling whatever remains — machines large enough to pulverize even small towns.
To convert the entire state to one tillable field, we’ll also eliminate surface waters, creating vast underground drainage systems (bigger than the ones we’ve been using to drain our wetlands for the past 150 years). The water can either be dumped into the Missouri and Mississippi rivers or, more profitably, sent by giant pipelines to the desert Southwest and sold for big dollars. (This should stop all those environmentalists from carping about Iowa’s “impaired” surface waters, since there won’t be any.)
When you see Iowa as one big field, the next logical step is to think of it as one big farm. Let’s call it Iowa, Inc. We could give anyone who now “owns” farmland (or a home in some soon-to-be-liquidated small town) shares in Iowa, Inc. — nonvoting, of course, since the voting shares will be reserved for those financing the endeavor.
Where will all the rural Iowans go? Obviously, they’ll have to become urban residents. The question is should they be consolidated in our larger cities or should all Iowans be moved out-of-state? Either way, every Iowan could be housed in luxury high rises with big screen TVs, indoor pools, boutique shops, upscale restaurants, and plenty of bars.
But who would work that one giant field? Well, we’re already close to eliminating the need for actual farmers. That huge new equipment won’t need many workers, just a handful of immigrants — like our modern industrial meat producers and slaughterhouses. These workers could live in underground bunkhouses so as not to reduce the amount of land devoted to crops.
None of this constitutes much original thinking on my part. I’m just suggesting we move more quickly to where we’re already heading. There are many to thank for getting us here, but a special thanks to Bruce Rastetter — the man who owns Iowa’s state government.
You may object to some of the details of my proposal, but ask yourself this: who are you to stand in the way of progress? In the capitalist system, it’s capital that counts, not you. — Jim Walters, Iowa City, Iowa
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LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S FALLON FORUM:
An interview with Rick Stewart, Libertarian candidate for Governor of Iowa. Also, at the 54-minute mark, Kathy and Ed discuss some of the challenges of growing food in one’s front yard.
– KHOI 89.1 FM (Ames, Iowa)
– KICI.LP 105.3 FM (Iowa City, Iowa)
– WHIV 102.3 FM (New Orleans, Louisiana)
– KPIP-LP, 94.7 FM (Fayette, Missouri)
– KCEI 90.1 FM (Taos, New Mexico)
– KRFP 90.3 FM (Moscow, Idaho)
– WGRN 94.1 FM (Columbus, Ohio)
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Ed Fallon