Have you Ever been Swept Off Your Feet?

In both cases – whether the bubble was inflated with positive or negative energy – the participants in the bubble are being swept away further and further away from actual physical reality and start to see everything either ‘extremely negatively’ or ‘extremely positively’ – neither experience is grounded in reality – because the physical is neither positive or negative – it just is what it is.

And Then You Crash – Meconomics

In this little series, we’ve been investigating the phenomenon of inflation, how we in our daily lives participate in ‘inflating our reality’ and so, how we are on a personal level participating in the same principles/dynamics that we see playing out on a bigger scale when it comes to inflation, speculative bubbles and financial market crashes.

Welcoming New Life with Living Income Guaranteed

Comfort, security and nurturing are all things we wish are present when a baby comes into this world. Yet, these conditions are not a reality for many babies, as parents themselves like these things in their lives. In Pietermaritzburg, the capital of KwaZulu Natal province in South Africa, 3 to 5 babies are…

Humanity Washed Ashore

This was an excerpt of just one of the stories about the boy. Over the last few days, dozens have been written and published on various major news sites. What is more striking than the content of the posts, is the comments that are left on these articles. What is humanity’s response to such images, to such news?

Voting Fun – What does it Feel Like to Have a Say?

Now – before such increased direct political participation is a reality – let’s do a little test to see what it feels like. So – here are some mock-questions where you’re asked to give your input. Imagine that this relates to your direct reality (eg. your town) – and your answer has a weight that influences the outcome of the decision. Of course, in reality…

Showing posts with label agriculture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label agriculture. Show all posts

14 December 2012

Day 157: Growing your Own Food and Equal Money

"You can't tell people they can't do something because that will motivate them further. So my hypothetical situation is this. You plans are in full swing and the majority of the planet is behind you but thousands of people don't like the system of ordering food at the touch of a button or swipe of a card and they gather in their city square and protest outside your building then more and more people join until there are endless seas of angry people outside your building that no longer want to be dependent on your system and instead would like to grow food themselves but in your fields that your system has acquired do you let them grow their own food or do you call the riot police to sweep these complainers off your front door. In addition to this I would say I don't want to be dependent on nothing but the earth for it has enough to provide for all without your idea of regulating it we need abundance in all reaches of the globe so we need only ourselves and our generosity. "

Any points of discontent with the organization of society, can be reported by each individual through their online Life Profile (see Politics Wiki page). Riots, marches, demonstrations and massive protests are only applicable in a system where the people are not being heard and where the system stands in opposition to the well-being of the population. Within an Equal Money System, each point of discontent will be addressed on an individual level - where you don't require thousands of people to stand together to make themselves heard. When addressing a point of discontent, which indicates a point of disharmony, it will be assessed whether the disharmony is a result of the organizational structure of society or whether there is a point of disharmony within the person, such as for instance a lack of understanding regarding particular policies and the research these policies are based upon.

Within your example of growing one's own food, there are several points to be considered. Firstly, any point that is made available to one person, must be made available to all people equally. Therefore, to allow one person to cultivate land for food production, implies allowing everyone to do the same. Within this, it must be considered whether it is Best for All to convert such massive amounts of land for agricultural process when this is not part of the Earth's natural expression and can have ramifications in terms of the harmonious balance that is required for the Earth's Life Support System to function effectively. Secondly, the desire for growing one's own food must be investigated. Meaning: does it stem from a lack of quality from the food that you are receiving? In this case, for each one to grow their own food is not necessarily the required solution - but instead one would require to upgrade and better the already existent food production processes. If the desire to grow one's own food stems from simply wanting to participate in such activities as growing food, then each one can on a voluntary basis participate in the already existent food production processes.

Currently, many resort to growing their own food as a coping mechanism because the profit motive compromises the quality of the available food. Without the ability to influence those processes directly, such a reaction is understandable, because there is no alternative. In a system of Equality wherein the well-being of each individual is safeguarded by the Constitution, one would not need to resort to coping mechanisms for the purpose of bettering the lives of only a few. Instead - each one will engage to find solutions that better the life of All. 
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05 November 2012

Day 131: The Justice System – also a Scam?


Foreign Farmers Undermine Food Security in Zambia

Unlike in many countries, where large-scale farming companies dominate the agricultural landscape – it is smallholder farmers who constitute most of the farming activity in Zambia.

Many foreign and local companies are now involved in land-grabs, where large stretches of land are taken to develop their plants and factories.

On this land, live many people – who all depend on the land they have to survive, to grow food, to send their children to school. The problem is that most of these people do not hold official title deeds of the land – so legally speaking, they do not own the land: they are squatters.

So when these companies move in and take the land, things like this happen:

“They (the South African agribusiness) came with guns and threatened to shoot anyone who resisted moving out. They burnt all our household properties without any notice. We were almost 200 households. They burnt my food barns, clothes, blankets, bedding, television set – they even burnt my fields”

Before colonization, the common way of land tenure was through customs. You get a piece of land, you work it, you “own” it. Only after colonization, was statutory tenure introduced , where the whole legal technicalities and you having a particular piece of paper saying you own the land became a requirement.

So, imagine you are one of these Zambian farmers. You live on a piece of land, you grow and eat your own food for most of your life, and then someone comes chasing you off with guns and burns your shit down because you don’t have a paper that proofs that this land belongs to you. You live in a rural area, you are poor – the process of acquiring such a legal document can cost up to $2000 and take anything from 2 months to 10 years. There’s not much choice now is there? You’d have to basically sell your land to come up with the money to get a paper that says you own the land – but by then of course it’s already too late.

Zambia’s situation is not a very pleasant one, 59% of the people live below the poverty line, and 65% of the people live in rural areas. The dislocation of these farmers does not just destroy their personal lives, but will also generate consequence for the whole of the population, as food security turns into insecurity.

If we look at the definition of ‘justice’ we get:

1. Just behavior or treatment.
2. The quality of being fair and reasonable.

The situation described above is not fair nor reasonable – these people’s lives are completely disregarded in the favour of those who can afford to acquire legal documents. This in itself shows that the Justice/Legal System is corrupt – as one has to bribe their way in to be able to be part of the legal system.

This is completely unacceptable and goes contrary to everything justice as a principle is supposed to stand for.

It is time, once more, to critically investigate the nature of our reality and what we participate in.

In an Equal Money System, no such phenomenon will have space to take place – as all will be IN FACT equal, and not have to buy their way in. You are here on Earth, you should not have to ‘earn’ your living or prove that you are worthy of existing based on your economic and legal status. Investigate Equal Money – the only valid alternative to transform our world of abuse and corruption to a world that is Best for All Life.
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15 October 2012

Day 118: Drop in Agricultural Farmland Threatens South African Food Security

The Agricultural sector in South Africa is suffering extensively.

Over the past 16 years, 20 000 agricultural farms have ceased production and is set to fall from 40 000 to 15 000 over the next 15 years

Why?

A number of reasons are given, being: farmers are no longer being subsidised for labourers' housing or farm schools, uncertainty about water usage rights, poor disease control, government incompetence and policies lacking the incentives for job creation.

But the main reason that is raised is the issue of land reforms. As part of South Africa's land reform policy as an attempt to correct the evictions that took place during the Apartheid regime, claims can be made to certain sites of land on the grounds that it is part of ancestral heritage. "A new law that has focused attention on land issues will allow the government to expropriate land for restitution where negotiations on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis fail (Thomson, A.)."

The title deeds of the property, after it having been expropriated by the governments are then given to the claimants who then own the farm.

Why is this a problem? Very simplistically: many effective and efficient commercial farmers lose their land to another that is not necessarily a farmer - and in most cases, isn't. There are only very few examples of claimed farms that are actually being maintained or improved after the transfer. In most cases, the new owners will attempt to make as much profit from what the farm currently has to offer, but lack the desire or experience to actually manage and run the farm effectively over a long-term period in such a way that the farm contributes to the feeding of the South African population.

A simple example is a farm that was full of fruit trees, where instead of continuing to produce and sell the fruit - the new owners simply cut down all the trees and sold them for firewood, after which they didn't see any more value in the property and simply left - still holding the title deeds to the farm. The farm was the previous owner's life work and he saw it being destroyed in a matter of months.

Imagine the amount of agricultural farms dropping from 60 000 to 15 000 over a period of 30 years and then consider the implications this has on South Africa's food security!

The problem is not only that well-operating farms are being turned into wastelands after them being claimed - the simple possibity of one's farm being expropriated understandably creates extensive reluctance in farmers to invest in their farms and expand them, as there is no certainty that they will still own the farm in 1 or 2 years. So, not only a massive amount of farms that took years to be established are lost, but the remaining farms are not expanding their production capabilities to make up for the loss in numbers.

It should be understood that the past is the past, and yes, many mistakes were made. But to try and fix the mistakes of the past in the present is simply another big mistake if it means endangering the South African agricultural economy, which will affect everyone - whether one's ancestors had been evicted several decades ago or not.

In the name of 'doing good' and 'making good gestures' an ideological way, the practicality of the matter has been completely overlooked and the practical consequences are starting to rear their heads.

This is only considering one dimension of the problem. Consider the farmers losing their land - what is a farmer to do without a farm? Farming is a holistic profession and a life-long dedication - farmers generally do not possess the skills for other jobs, they simply excel at being a farmer - when this option has been stripped for them, what can they make of their life? And furthermore - why are they to pay for mistakes they didn't necessarily partake in, but happened many years ago?

We cannot correct the problems of the present by attempting to re-set time through land reform policies, there is simply no point to it. The reality of today's problems must be considered within today's context - in order to ensure the best solutions for the future.