4 Mar 2011
On occasion, my hosts jump on their high-and-mighty horse with guests and friends that are visiting, to talk about other people who “think” that they are environmentalists or think that they live organically, people living in cities who pick up protest signs every once in a while and think that they are doing their part, people who need to have an entourage who think just like them in order to make any big changes, etc. Last night while they were talking about another farmer who “thinks” he’s progressive and doing enough (…”all he did was put in a compost toilet. He doesn’t even use it!”) Angelo went into a mini-rant, “Do they know who they’re talking to? Do they have any idea??” as if to express what a God of the land he is. This morning I walked in to hear Donatella saying, “if only everyone just produced their own food. Just for themselves, self-sufficiency!...” These two have done some amazing things; both merit applause for their bravery. But I think that their critiques are a little rash.
First of all, Angelo came two hours out of Salerno to purchase land that was cheap and spacious. That is only possible because he is one of few to try to do it. If all city dwellers decided that they need only an acre apiece…we would need to start taking acres out of the ocean, or real estate in places like this would skyrocket, making Angelo’s “self-sufficiency” lifestyle impossible.
Second, Angelo still doesn’t produce all of his own food. He certainly produces most of it: Donatella said for the most part they only purchase coffee, salt, sugar, and pasta. That’s a pretty short list, but they definitely use an abundance of that pasta. They do not make everything that is not on the list, but they trade what they do make with neighbors.
Third, Angelo and his wife and Simone and whatever WWOOFers are here are all working for free, running this farm their only work. But if everyone were to do that, where would Angelo buy those ingredients he needs? And his dishtowels? And his soap, nails, hammers, shoes, silverware, and buckets? And who would do the research to invent things like the laptop and the internet he is using? If he wants everyone to produce for themselves but he is not even producing fully for himself working full time on his farm with two¬+ helpers, then pure sustenance is unrealistic today. Specialization has obvious reasons for having developed, beyond “I grow the chestnuts, you make the wine” and into “I won’t grow any food at all and will work in a factory. The money I make I’ll use to buy your chestnuts, and the money you receive you’ll use to buy new shoes from the factory.”
Fourth, people need to have more children to live on a farm like this. But even people ideologically moving back to the land will probably not completely ignore modern medicine and modern science. They will continue to use hospitals and even modern pharmaceuticals in some cases, so they’ll live longer than is typical in societies with high birth rates, their children will grow up to farm, and the population (that already cannot all fit in the countryside to produce for itself in crowded Italy) will expand as it would not have when the average life expectancy was 38.
There. (The defensive mud-throwing of a self-conscious comfort-environmentalist and occasional protest sign holder.)
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