Heartwarming e coli farm

Posted by James Bowery on Saturday, 16 September 2006 04:01.

The “Giving Back Employees” web page of the Californian farm that brought us the current e coli outbreak has these heartwarming passages:

Giving Back Through and To Employees

It’s impossible to separate a company’s passion from the people who make it an everyday reality. Our employees are proud of Earthbound Farm’s mission: to bring the benefits of organic food to as many people as possible and serve as a catalyst for positive change…growing healthier food and leaving a healthier planet behind for future generations.
To further this mission, Earthbound Farm has pledged to support its employees’ passions for other causes as well…

At Earthbound Farm, we realize how important our employees are: they are committed to helping us fulfill our mission to bring the benefits of organic food to as many people as possible and serve as a catalyst for positive change. Some of our employees have even been with us since the earliest days of our company… they’re almost like family.

Because of this, we have created two renewable scholarships that are awarded each year to two children of our employees who are headed to college or other post-secondary education. We see it as a smart investment in our future—the children’s, the company’s, and the community’s.

We are very proud of our 2005 recipients, Gabriel Sumano and Myrna Elena Lopez Garcia.

Gabriel (son of Manuel Sumano Hernandez in Shipping) will attend University of California at Berkeley and plans to be a doctor. He is a recent graduate of Aptos High School. His father, Manuel, has been an Earthbound Farm employee since the early 1990s.

Myrna (daughter of Columbia Antelo Garcia in Packaged Salads) will attend Cabrillo College and plans to be a nurse. She is proud to be the first of her family to graduate for high school and intends to be the first to graduate from college as well. She is a recent graduate of Watsonville High School.

I, too, want to extend my appreciation to these wonderful employees of Earthbound Farm for helping to dismantle the foundation of civilization: agribusiness. We’ve had enough of this crap.

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Comments:

Posted by John S Bolton on Sat, 16 Sep 2006 09:36 | #

Vectorism has many faces.
Always, though, they celebrate having got something dirty, at least as dirty as affirmative action, into the places that the clean are counting on, not to poison them.

Posted by Al Ross on Sat, 16 Sep 2006 10:27 | #

Perhaps if all US agricultural subsidies were withdrawn, the farming community could stand on its own feet and reliance on the unholy combination of Washington politicians and Mexican labour ended.

Posted by Guessedworker on Sat, 16 Sep 2006 11:16 | #

Al,

There is a conjunction of parasitism evidence in such cases, since the farmer is also a parasite (on the taxpayer). There are, however, two beautiful words that debunk the whole pork-barrel scheme: New Zealand.

The long-term damage to agriculture in New Zealand by subsidies was significant. The subsidies restricted innovation, diversification and productivity by corrupting market signals and new ideas. This led to wasteful use of resources, with a consequently negative impact upon the environment. Many pastoral farmers were, in fact, farming for subsidies.

In the early 1980s, New Zealand produced thirty-nine million lambs for export. Yet in one year, a proportion of these had to be rendered down because there was no market for them. Now, such occurrences are inconceivable.

The removal of subsidies in New Zealand has given birth to a vibrant, diversified, and sustainable rural economy. Farmers in New Zealand are proud of their independence and are determined never again to be dependent upon government subsidies.

Posted by James Bowery on Sat, 16 Sep 2006 16:01 | #

Agribusiness subsidies certainly betray Jefferson’s ideal of the Yeoman farmer as the foundation of liberty and yet it is in precisely the name of such “family farmers” that agribusiness subsidies are passed into law:

they will purchase the voices of the people, and make them pay the price.

—Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, 1784

Being from Iowa I can attest to the destructive effects of this deadlly embrace between agribusiness and government even ignoring immigration and food poisoning. Taking immigration and poisoning into account amplifies this destruction to the existential.

However, there is an agribusiness subsidy built into any country that does not base its tax system on economic rent—primarily land rent—since the very ownership of large land areas is predicated on government defense of property rights and territory.

So one cannot simply dismantle transfer programs—one has to appropriately fund the governance of territory itself.

Posted by bacterium on Sat, 16 Sep 2006 16:15 | #

wasn’t the Chiron bacterial vaccine contamination in the UK in 2004 also from a company that valued diversity?

Posted by Fred Scrooby on Sat, 16 Sep 2006 17:37 | #

Yes, unfortunately the diversity which these diversity-valuing companies value so highly includes diversity in the quality of what they manufacture: they proudly bring forth an array of products some of which have excellent quality, others only mediocre quality, and yet others appallingly atrocious quality, just abysmal. That they’ve managed to achieve such an admirable diversity of quality is thanks to the diverse workforce that’s been ~~forced down their throats by the feds~~ that the feds have selflessly taught them the considerable advantages of ...

Posted by Nick Tamiroff on Sun, 17 Sep 2006 06:10 | #

Has anyone actually seen one of these “agribusinesses"in action? The Port-a-pottys are there,but seldom used-easier to squat-and- drop where you are;just like the construction labourers here in Florida.I don’t know how many turds I have had to remove from shower pans,nor bottles of urine picked up after a Mexican drywall crew has left the site.Raw shit does not constitute a healthy environment-except in Mexico! Christ,we might as well give welfare,drivers licences, free medical care,subsidised tuition and citizenship to any turd-worlder who shows up on our shores- [Shit-we’re there!]WTFU People!!!!

Posted by James Bowery on Mon, 18 Sep 2006 15:54 | #

Nick, if you’re right about this, then the ambiguity provided by using composted/digested animal manure fertilizer will allow these farms to cover up up the unsanitary practices of their workers, which they will opt to do since everyone wants to be welcoming of foreigners so as to avoid being labeled as “racists”. I suspect that even if the FDA figures out what is going on, they won’t report it in such a way that it actually impacts other farms. Hence agribusiness, in conjunction with government-enforced race replacement of the family farmers, will continue to poison the populous and continue to attack the foundation of civilization.

Posted by Nick Tamiroff on Mon, 18 Sep 2006 16:23 | #

Unfortunately Mr Bowery,you are absolutely correct in your accessment-the bottom line will always prevail over public concern.Why,as a White population,we were able to conquer polio,malaria,smallpox,scarlet fever,bubonic plague,etc,but are unwilling to fight a much greater scourge on our “kith and kin”.Race-replacement is alive and well,mainly thanks to our “leaders”,who deserve to face Madison ,Jefferson,and John Jay in a tribunal on the charges of treason and sedition.Anyway ,keep you guns cleaned,and your powder dry.Cheers.