Saturday, September 19, 2015
Food post #2
It's interesting how he talks about farmer's markets, and how they obey the same competitive economics as mainstream capitalism. Farmer's markets had always struck me as such a community-oriented thing that I never really thought competition factored in as much as it does. When he talks about beekeeping, he notes how he essentially takes advantage of the bees' labor by taking a majority of their honey, prompting them to make much more than they normally would to sustain themselves. He also muses on how the mostly useless drones eat a majority of the honey that the worker bees produce. So I guess that means the worker bees are getting doubly screwed over?
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your idea of the worker bee getting screwed twice reminded me our relationship to uncle sam..
ReplyDeleteit's interesting to know that farmers markets also obey mainstream capitalism
ReplyDeleteI like how he makes the bees work. More honey more money!
ReplyDeleteHello Kevin,
ReplyDeleteIt;s mind boggling to learn how farmers and food producers exploit animals to be as fruitful as possible. I like how you concluded the underlying intention of the farmers was to increase productivity at the animal's expense.
Very interesting point you bring up about the bees! Most people don't realize that some animals are taken advantage of in order to fulfill peoples demand and in this example its our demand for honey.
ReplyDeleteYour example is exactly why even small, local farmer's markets have trouble sticking to their roots and values while avoiding being eliminated by the forces of capitalism. It is quite a dilemma for these farmers, who must choose between surviving and feeding their families versus sticking to their values and promise to the customer.
ReplyDelete