Only over the span of a few years, starting slightly after the global pandemic, Bill Gates began to buy up 270,000 acres of farmland in the U.S with most of it consisting in northeastern North Dakota. North Dakota small family farms are being bought out by large conglomerates...whether that be nation states (China), large corporations (seed and pharma companies), or big money trusts similar to what Gates used to buy up much of northeastern ND.
Next we discuss Gates motive. According to about a 1/3 of the articles available on google, many of the sources explain that Gates is only doing it for investment purposes. They explain that many wealthy individuals in America buy real estate agriculture trust funds, or other agriculture investment tools that produce robust returns (after government subsidies). However, other sources say Gates is innovating new way to produce food for Americans. It is considered to be a new field of research for the future in which they are creating synthetic beef, plants, and GMO products. Gates motive for synthetic beef is for the reduction of green house gases and a new wave for climate change management. This is simply not true.
Corporate farms, CAFOs, and large seed and pharmaceutical companies own the rights to the land and gmo's (seeds) in much of agricultural America today. They use mono-agricultural practices that need pesticides, herbicides, and soil degradation which taints our food, kills our soil, and creates vast amounts of C02 carbon emissions during tilling season (March and April).
The future of agriculture is no longer in the hands of the American people, but in the hands of large corporatocracies and policy-makers. If Gates was so worried about our future food crisis and feeding the world, the farms would remain in local farmers hands. Large operation farms are tearing away the frugality of the soil and plants, while regenerative farming practices by small family-owned farms are able to create sustainable, diverse, and carbon-sequestering farmland that will produce nutrient dense foods that do not need any "cides" to keep them alive during grow season.
Stay weary of those who control our food supply. "He who controls the food supply, controls the people" -Henry Kissinger
I agree that farms should stay in the hands of the Amercan people as well. This reminds me of learning about how Walmart and other corporate stores put mom and pop grocery stores out of business.
ReplyDeleteThe buying up of American farmland has become a hot topic lately, while the article spins Gates large ownership as "rich guy doing rich guy things" I think it is very important to keep that Kissinger quote in mind, and agree that Id prefer to see the farmland owned by local farmers, and not the Microsoft guy.
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of scary that the future of agriculture is in the hands of large corporations. We never know what behind the scenes are like and what they could be putting into the food to preserve it longer. I wonder what will happen next!
ReplyDelete