By PETER MOLENAAR
It was a dustbowl tornado which elevated Dorothy. She would then reveal the wizard who pulls the strings behind the curtain. Indeed, democracy under the capitalist system is always circumscribed. Truthfully, Dorothy would not have prevailed had she not allied herself with the brains, the brawn, and the spirit of the laboring masses.
April 13, 2023…
I attended a revival of LSP’s annual Breakfast and Lobby Day at the state capital, as did several others who reside in District 62B. Note: offices are located across 35th Street from Powderhorn Park. LSP stands for: Land Stewardship Project.
As it happened, Minnesota’s commissioner of agriculture sat down for breakfast right next to me. Naturally, our friend is aware that our top soil is washing away to Lake Winnipeg and the Gulf of Mexico, and he is also aware that our sources of fertilizer are finite (i.e., our present mode of agriculture is unsustainable.) Yes, he was open for proposals:
1.) To facilitate a rapid transition to a sustainable agriculture, the state should contract for the production of cover crop seeds and then distribute said seed free of charge.
2.) The science related to sustainable/regenerative agriculture must be completed.
3.) The hardware for mechanical implementation must be produced en masse.
4.) The genetics of nitrogen fixation should be transferred, in the first instance, to grain crops.
Regarding point 4, the commissioner mentioned that he would soon meet with the C.E.O. of Cargill Inc. (He also noted my objection to the fact that Cargill sustains several billionaire owners who don’t do much.)
After Breakfast, some few hundred farmers and friends light-railed to Christ Lutheran Church, which is just across the street from the capital. Eventually, the mike was opened there, and the opportunity for agitation on behalf of this neighborhood arose. The audience was stunned to learn that our city had failed to launch our Urban Farm vision by implementing the farm to school market. Actually, “farm to School” direct marketing is a growing movement all over the countryside. Why then must our children suffer the concentration of diesel fumes in this already polluted neighborhood?
