Mr. Lucky: My use of the word “ethical” was in reference to the post by Content Provider. Actually, I have been much healthier since I started using various whole grains and legumes. I have learned to cook them so they are really tasty. Fresh, not rancid, brown rice is a good place to start. By the time you put soy sauce, gravy, and/or Chinese food on it you don’t even notice it is whole grain, except that it is tastier and fills you up quicker.
Regarding the plight of the farmer. Yes, the middleman is really making the big bucks on the farmers’ back. Several years ago I saw an analysis of pork chops. If I remember correctly, the farmer got 5%, the middleman somewhere between 35 and 65%, and the rest to the slaughterhouse and transportation. I also wonder if the fact that major CEO compensation, and proportionately that of other high executives may be a factor. Thirty years ago they earned about 40 times what their low level employees earned. Now they earn from 400 to 1,000 times as much. Somehow I doubt that their competence has increase by a factor of 10 to 25 times what it used to be. I doubt they are working 10 to 25 times harder either. Farmers still bust their a$$ just like they always did.
Yep, farms are in a bind. 50 yrs ago a family farm
could get by milking 15 cows around here, and a new
50 horse tractor was 3 grand.Got by on 100 acres.
Now to stay in business, needs a 1000 acres, and
they have to have so much gross they got to milk
200, use huge no-till and minimum till equipment,
and harvesting equipment, to do it all, and minimum
new tractor to handle big stuff is 150 horse AWD,
costing 90 grand new. And they can’t do it
with one, and 20 grand manure slingers, 200 grand combine,
big dump wagons for sillage, no-till planter
40 grand new. Grain bins, cattle housing, loaders,
feed mixing equip, and milk parlor 100 grand.And more.
The one farm has more invested in
a startup and a years operation, than what Henry Ford
had to put out to build River Rouge car factory.Ed