Where does food come from?
 

Yes, let me ask, Where does food come from? I hear nonsense.

Around here most farmers (who are nearly all Conservative) have at least one truck that has a diesel. Most are asked to pull their rated GRVW much of the time. Almost never see them in their big trucks unless they have a job to do. Yes many make lots of money or sometimes lose large amounts of money, no crime in that. They have millions of dollars of investment. Most have no use for something that isn't needed, (example smoke) a hallmark of being conservative.

Some trucks like this are inevitably sold in cities and suburbs. Havens for Progressive democrats. If you are in or near an urban area I would suggest that you smell your own armpits for political comrades. I went to the dentist once and the dental assistant was driving such a truck. Chrome dual shocks, jacked up a mile high. Not a spec of dirt.

About my only point of agreement is that you don't need a truck that makes oodles of smoke.

We all contribute to the mess to one degree or another, kind of the definition of being an ecomodder.

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The supermarket... ;)

:D

>

The dumpster :D

China

OP asked where food comes from then goes on about trucks. OK.

When a mommy food and a daddy food love each other very much, they do a special dance....

It's funny living in the breadbasket--I drive past miles and miles of corn and soybean fields, where much of our "food" comes from, and none of it is edible without extensive processing.

I'm with Frank on not seeing the connection with the rant about trucks. When it comes down to it, our food comes from lots of sun, some water, and a fair amount of petroleum in planting, harvesting, transport, fertilization and pesticide/herbicide application. Sunlight is free, water isn't likely to be a problem in the long term here (based on current climate models), but the reliance on petroleum is a little unnerving.

Varn, you dont remember the George Bush truck tax break if the truck is over 5 tons? Some called it the hummer incentive. Never mind farmers, I know guys who ran strip clubs and sign shops who owned a big truck for no reason. :eek:

I've never seen "the SUN" plant my garden for me. I have seen so much sun in recent summer months that I could hardly keep up with the irrigation.

The sunshine is free. But too much of a good thing can actually be detrimental, and sometimes it is. Regardless, when soil becomes dry, watering it costs money.

I'm waiting for the day when the gov't imposes a tax based upon on the days when the sun shines. Or they tax us for the air we breath. After all, the EPA does protect us from our environment, doesn't it? And therefore, they're imposing a service upon us that should be taxable, right?

If they could, they WOULD. Yes, they would. ;)

I'm sorry I mentioned it. Give this idea another year or two and some busybody legislator will have picked up on it and will make it mandatory...

We know how many hours of sun your property got (thanks to Google for monitoring and recording all public information) and you don't dare get caught in public without having that pure air flow meter on your face! (Which is metered and taxable for the air you breath, which we can and do regulate, as it is ours, not yours):eek:

You think that it can't happen here in Amerika? Think again.

Some people own more than one property "for no reason".

A thing like that shouldn't be allowed. No one needs two vehicles or two houses. Let's insist that government confiscate propery, and redistribute it to those who are in "need".

Does this sound familiar? Have you ever seen the film "Doctor Zhivago"?

First it's trucks, then it's houses, then it's (whatever you thought they could never take from you). Nah. Government is my friend. I'm voting to punish those who have more than I do...

Be careful of what you wish for. You may get it.

You need a nap or something.

Frank,

I often read your comments, and though we don't agree often, I don't tell you what you need.

If you feel a need to tell others what they "need" or feel a need to intimidate them, you might consider becoming a politician. That's the mindset of one.

Fine. I will now respond to what it is I should have responded to in the first place.

Post 11 is quite the leap of logic re: the bush big truck tax incentive. I think the notion isn't so much people shouldn't be ALLOWED to have what they want, be it multiple domiciles or stupid big commuting trucks... rather, it is the taxpayer SUBSIDY for such stupidity i.e. let people be stupid on their own dime.

No, food doesn't come from any tax structures. I'd say "photosynthesis". And in N. America, much of it comes from corporate "farms", or rather, the agricultural segment. Many of the biggest suppliers of commodities have corporate structures now. But yeah, corporations are people.

I appreciate that.

Let's review the chapter and verse of this "tax break" or subsidy that was cited. I'm not saying it couldn't be true, but without actual proof quoting the details of this so called subsidy, I'm skeptical of it.

Fed Tax Break Encourages SUV Purchases - ABC News

http://4wheeldrive.about.com/cs/driv.../aa041603a.htm

Only a bunch of lawyers could have come up with that convoluted idea.

From Wiki:

"First we kill all the lawyers"...

Eh- I don't want to pursue that. The main points were the photosynthesis and corporations parts.

OK, so it was a depreciation tax write-off for small businesses. Every government administration has its pet projects. In politics, no matter which party is in power, that comes with the territory. It's business as usual.

In post #1 the OP said: I don't think that the dental assistant qualified for a tax write-off. At that time some people thought big vehicles were cool and they bought them on a whim. People can and do throw their money away on all sorts of wasteful frivolities. Let 'em. I just wish we wouldn't subsidize fools after they've pissed all their assets away.

It encouraged and further subsidized guzzling, arguably for those that needed it the least. Quite the odd double standard- brushing off subsidy for the wealthy then bemoaning subsidy for the non-wealthy.

I'd like to see ALL subsidies ended. But considering the nature of political "pork" it isn't going to happen.

Speaking of food and where it comes from, photosynthesis is applicable to plant life, but there are other sources of food. Pigs, cows and chickens don't grow on trees. :D

Yes, but pigs cows and chickens get energy from those plants, which in turn comes from the sun

But where does the sun get it's energy from? It's very clear to me this was all designed this way so food comes from God.

Have to say that farmers in Missouri (?) must be different than the farmers/ranchers hereabouts. See them driving their big diesel pickups all the time, hardly ever with a load or pulling a trailer.

Well, there are conservatives and conservatives, you know. (Reagan's 'big tent' thing...) There are some types of 'conservative' who thrive on making unnecessary smoke & noise, just as there are some 'liberals' who love their big, noisy, chrome-covered guzzlers. In fact, that love seems almost independent of politics.

Granted the sun helps, but I give "god" credit. I had a dream once I was in his lab where he was working on plants. Plants use to grow fast, but they scared the hell out of humans, so god purposely slowed them down. :eek:

So your profile says you are from earth, is that correct?
Be conservative, think conservatively. It is essential if you are to leave a small impact.

Most conservatives think "just leave me alone do your own thing". Most nonconservatives think that they know best. and want to not allow others to think or act differently than their proscribed definition of right. I am an old hippy and must allow you to believe what you want. Can you say that about me?

Yes food probably comes from God. Nobody can prove that it doesn't. Food certainly pre-dates human intervention.

Food comes from the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...ps3013b3cc.jpg

My proof is WAY better than yours!

Maybe the farmers in Missouri are actually doing farming with their trucks, while the farmer/ranchers in your vicinity are driving around enjoying their empty trucks that they bought due to tax breaks.

BTW, a tax break is an obvious incentive meant to influence consumer spending by small business interests, but it's not the same as a subsidy - which is an actual handout.

Ridicule has a limited audience. It's not serious discussion. :rolleyes:

Nobody can prove God exists, either. It's a matter of belief.

But saying that all food comes from the sun is as abstruse as saying all food comes from God.

You can have all the sun exposure imaginable on any planet, including Earth. But you won't live very long or grow anything without water.

I do like spaghetti too Frank. That is a belief too.

Perhaps as the earth warms it will release more trapped water and hence allow farmers to make more food. The last thing we need is global cooling. That would equate to mass starvation. I think global warming theorists have it backward. It is Gods plan to allow more people, animals and plants to grow.

If humans were to disappear any time, inside 50 years the earth would be just as if we were not here. No real global impact. Nuclear war is natures reset button, nothing more nothing less.

Exactly my point. You need so much more then the Sun, and water, the Moon, the atmosphere, amazing programming in the seed, minerals, soil, etc, etc, etc. The odds of all these things coming together on their own is the same as a tornado going through a junkyard and assembling a fully functional space shuttle out the other side. I'm just talking about a simple bean sprout, now make me an eagle's eye. I do appreciate the level of faith it takes to think such things organized themselves out of caos, I'll just stick with the obvious this was all designed this way.

Yeah but what about diesel trucks?

Food still made it to the markets before there were diesel trucks.

I was in Italy last year waiting for a passenger train when an electric freight train went by at about 100 mph.

It can be done without black smoke.

As far as I know, anyway. I've sometimes wondered whether I might not have been abandoned as an infant by aliens :-)

But that definition of conservative is something much different than what most political conservatives seem to believe.

Those are what you might call the Barry Goldwater variety of conservative, now something of an endangered species. Most conservatives want you to think and act according to their prescribed definition of right, just as most liberals do. The only difference between the two groups is their particular definition of what's right.

As for believing what you want, fine, unless your beliefs lead you to start hurting other people.

Unfortunately, reality differs from your opinion. Plants that use C3 photosynthesis (which include virtually all food crops except corn & sugarcane) are most efficient at around 75-80 degrees. Their efficiency drops off rapidly above 100F, and the process pretty much shuts down above 115F.

Ever stop to wonder why the real 'grain belts' of the world are in the middle latitudes, and not the tropics?

Food? It comes out of the ground or ocean.

I can't believe I read the whole thing. Shouldn't this be moved to The Lounge? Remember http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ing-23123.html? Good times.

Conservative and Liberal as labels has lost all meaning. The only true 'conservatives' are the Amish and the hippies.

Who are you to tell other people what they can or can't do. Isn't that what makes America so great? If they got the money to go buy a great big truck. Let them. If I could afford a truck, I would buy one. They come in handy all the time.

Why does it so darn warm in the day and cool at night?
Is it because everyone gets in their cars in the morning and goes to work?
Why is an ancient forest in Antarctica?
What caused the climate to be so tropical in the past?
What caused the Ice Ages?
What is the supposed Mean Earth Temperature?
Why is this thread not in "The Lounge"?

Good point.

As for global temperatures, from a geological perspective:

http://facweb.bhc.edu/academics/scie...ory_Record.gif

^ Keep in mind that as you go further back, the fine detail is lost.

There have been much larger and faster swings caused by "natural" events, such as meteor strikes, giant volcanic eruptions, even changes in living processes such as a new type of photosynthesis coming into existence, and the earth really doesn't mind. It's not a big deal to life in the grand scheme of things if the earth goes through a hothouse period, as within a few thousands or tens of thousands of years, plants will be suited to the new conditions and resume business as usual. Rapid change is bad for the people living at present though, because we (and everything else presently alive) are adapted to present conditions. We're not likely to make it through the adjustment period.

People ought to be concerned about people, not so much the earth. Attempting to preserve current conditions, or at least lower the rate of change, probably just happens to be in our best interests.