The Economics of Eating

There's been lots of talk of a possible global famine due to the fertilizer shortage as a result of the closure of the Hormuz Strait. That might be the case, but it is also because our food system is designed for corporate profit. There's plenty of misunderstanding among the taking heads. I heard one commentator saying the soybean crop in Brazil is under threat due to the urea shortage. Soybeans are legumes. They can fix atmospheric nitrogen and don't need urea. Possibly the accompanying sulfur shortage could damage bean yields. Sulfuric acid is used to make phosphate more available. However, my point today is if we had a better agriculture system none of this would be problematic. Let's look at alternatives below the fold as well as the week's news.

The so called green revolution after WWII wasn't very green. It was corporate and chemically driven. When I was in Ag school, Earl Butts was Sect. of Agriculture. He told farmers, "Adapt or die"; “Fewer farmers meant more factory workers. More factory workers meant more TVs, washing machines, bathtubs, cars, and most importantly, profits.”; and “Go Big or Get out”. Many of them did get out since they could no longer make a living. And so we have corporate control of our food.

The Great Agricultural Takeover | The late, great Wendell Berry

(6 min) Imagine a world where farms operate like factories and nature's rhythms are silenced by machinery. What have we sacrificed for industrial efficiency, and at what cost to the land that feeds us?

If you're not familiar with farmer, poet, writer, philosopher Wendell Berry you might enjoy his (46 min) interview with Bill Moyer.

The Economics of Eating

(18 min) In this powerful 18-min documentary, Helena Norberg-Hodge uncovers the hidden global market that lies behind the food we consume. It's a system that drives biodiversity loss, accelerates climate change, harms our health, threatens livelihoods, and weakens local communities.
The film challenges the assumption that large-scale farms and long supply chains are the best way to feed the world. Instead, it reveals countless inspiring alternatives that are localising the food economy by rebuilding diverse, community-centred food systems.
The Economics of Eating asks why food grown thousands of miles away generally costs less than food produced nearby. The film explores how public policies, subsidies, infrastructure, and regulations have shaped a system where industrial, global food is artificially cheap. Meanwhile, farmers who nurture soil health, protect biodiversity, prioritise animal welfare, and support their communities are pushed to the margins, unable to compete fairly within a system that favours the big and the global.

A Parallel Food System Already Exists. Are You In It? | Joel Salatin
Joel is perhaps the best known regenerative farmer in the US. He explains why small farms are better than the current industrial model.

(39 min) This speech was delivered in the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Auditorium at Hillsdale College on November 15, 2022, during a Hillsdale College CCA Seminar, “Parallel Economies”
0:00 – Trailer
1:12 – How Self-Sufficient Farms Survived Global Shocks
4:31 – Cheap Food vs. Precious Food
7:23 – Why Food Quality Has Declined Since 1940
9:41 – From Integrated Farms to Segregated Food Systems
13:21 – Why Decentralized Farming Feeds More People
16:27 – Mechanical vs. Biological Views of Life
19:51 – How Opaque Food Systems Breed Fear and Regulation
23:03 – Chemical Fertilizer vs. Carbon-Based Soil Health
27:25 – Why Health, Not Sickness, Should Drive Farming
30:33 – Exploitive Farming vs. Nurturing the Land
33:05 – Tyranny vs. Liberty in Food Policy

Another farming hero from India...
Dr. Vandana Shiva, renowned environmental activist and food sovereignty champion
Dr. Shiva Reveals the Truth About Bill Gates & GMO Seeds | Organic Farming & Food truth

(43 min) She exposes the hidden realities behind GMO seeds, the Green Revolution, and global food control. Learn why Bill Gates is "not a philanthropist" and how his influence shapes global agriculture through monopolistic seed patents and harmful industrial farming practices.
00:00 - Introduction to Dr. Vandana Shiva and her activism
02:00 - The Green Revolution: myths and realities
05:15 - GMO seeds and seed patents: control and consequences
09:30 - Bill Gates’ role in global agriculture and philanthropy critique
13:45 - Impact of chemical farming on biodiversity and health
17:20 - Organic and regenerative agriculture benefits
21:00 - Food sovereignty and farmer independence
24:30 - The true cost of industrial monocultures
27:10 - Corporate “net zero” and land grab concerns
30:45 - The future of food systems and ecological justice
34:00 - Closing thoughts and call to action

I often refer to Schumacher's book "Small is Beautiful". It influenced me.
Here's a nice summary.
What we should be focusing on, according to Schumacher, is small-scale private enterprise and local sufficiency. If enterprise takes place on a far more manageable scale, then we can improve employment, sustain the economy, and place far fewer demands on the environment. This structure will not generate a lot of wealth, but that’s precisely the point.
Our current economy thrives on large-scale enterprises through which anonymous owners and leaders accumulate mass wealth through the fruitless and unfulfilling work of their “employees.” Schumacher calls this a “parasitical” relationship that can only deteriorate. Socialism on its own, however, is not an answer. Instead, we must reimagine our entire relationship with nature, building a global economy which will save us, not break us.

What about the Larger Economy?
The big news of the week was Ansarallah's (the Houthis) big momentum capturing the Red Sea coast in Yemen giving them control of the bab al mandeb strait including Perim Island. Saudi oil isn't getting out, and their East West pipeline was hit by drones. This doesn't bode well for them nor the global economy.

What if this economic disaster is purposeful?
I'm afraid TPTB plan to use the economy to make us mere serfs to the elite (perhaps we already are).
I found this hypothesis thought provoking...
Secret Plan to Destroy BRICS and Crash China w/ Ryan Perkins

(58 min) Is the crisis in Iran actually a financial weapon aimed at China? Alex and Alexander sit down with geopolitics analyst Ryan Perkins to unpack how Scott Bessent's energy and fertilizer shock strategy may be designed to trigger a currency crisis and industrial recession inside China, fracture BRICS, and warn the Global South away from de dollarization. From the Strait of Hormuz to a possible new Plaza Accord, could this be the most consequential economic trap of the decade?
00:00:00 Introduction, Ryan Perkins joins from Beijing
00:02:35 Researching the Iran war strategy since March
00:05:11 Was closing the Strait of Hormuz the real goal
00:07:42 The pro Yuan hypothesis explained
00:09:12 Scott Bessent and his history of market manipulation
00:10:18 Oil price predictions toward 150 dollars a barrel
00:11:39 The three targets, China, BRICS and the Global South
00:12:32 India's triple exposure to the crisis
00:14:11 China's industrial value added vulnerability
00:18:15 The offshore Yuan and dollar system asymmetry
00:24:29 The trap, engineering a Chinese industrial recession
00:26:23 How China has been preparing for years
00:31:37 Reassessing the tariff war as a pressure test
00:35:46 Bessent and Soros, a pattern of currency attacks
00:37:34 The real goal, a new Plaza Accord with China
00:41:26 India and Brazil pivoting back toward the US
00:43:02 Why the BRICS payment system stalled
00:48:04 Impressions from the Vladivostok forum
00:51:55 Power of Siberia 2 and the Mongolia route dispute
00:54:53 Why Chinese taxi drivers say it's all about China

Peter Schiff: Economic Armageddon - Bonds & Dollar in Crisis

(42 min) I find his arguments persuasive. He advertises his company at the end.

Then I heard this interview with very successful investor, E. B. Tucker. It is almost the opposite view from Schiff. He's all for the new stable coins, and says that is where smart money is going.

(28 min) Secret QE is Part of Reset: Treasury Will Use Stablecoins to Flood System with Cash
00:00 The Implications of Treasury Buybacks
05:15 How stablecoins could fuel demand for Treasury bills
07:48 How Tether makes money
09:10 The Treasury’s plan for a new monetary system
15:07 Why building wealth requires discipline
19:32 The Treasury’s vision for 2030
25:31 Bitcoin vs. gold: Where is the greater upside?

After thinking about both interviews, it seems to me Schiff's approach is to preserve wealth. Tucker's approach is to generate more wealth. My approach is to view my health and lifestyle as my wealth.

Economist Jeff Sachs disagrees with E. B. Tucker and argues Bessent is an idiot.
Jeffrey Sachs: Trump's Iran War LIES Just POPPED the Financial Bubble

(1st 30 min) Prof. Jeffrey Sachs discusses how the unipolar world order under Trump was built on lies, blinding its rulers to the financial bubble fueling its collapse as Yemen takes Bab el-Mandeb and Iran consolidates control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Chas Freeman (long time US ambassador in Saudi Arabia)

(56 min) Saudi Arabia’s Major Losses Amid Israel’s Crumbling War

What about other stories in the news This Week
Here's Prof Pape's take on those stories...
IRAN TAKES CHARGE

(23 min)
There were three main global actions this week.
First, the hot war in the Persian Gulf got even hotter.
Just in the last 36 hours, the Houthis, a group in Yemen, seized the coastal city on the Red Sea called Mocha, and that is where Mocha is named after, and Pirim Island, which is a key island in the Bab el-Mendab Strait. Think of it as taking the Hormuz of the Red Sea. And this raises lots of questions. One of the most important is, is $150 oil now only hypothetical.
The second big thing that happened, and it's still happening, in fact it's it's only beginning, the leaders are arriving and it's going to occur over this weekend, is the BRICS summit in New Delhi.
And this is another international meeting of leaders from around the world. And the big question here is what's the diplomatic response to Iran's growing power in the Persian Gulf.
And will this manifest in alternative global architectures or something else.
And then a truly surprise surprise was the sanctions by Great Britain against Israel.
And this happened, these sanctions, right when I was speaking at the European Parliament a few days ago. And I was speaking to members of the European Parliament as this news was coming in. And it really caught them like a lightning bolt.
What are these sanctions all about. Why are they happening now. And which sanctions are going to go global first. Sanctions on Iran. Or sanctions on Israel.
Quite a week in world politics.
Altogether, you can sum this week up in just three words.
IRAN TAKES CHARGE

0:00:00 Start
00:00:04 Intro
00:00:32 3 Main Global Actions
00:02:56 Iran Takes Charge
00:03:47 Issue #1: The Red Storm On The Red Sea
00:05:07 Declining Oil Exports
00:07:06 Brent Crude Price Impacts
00:07:41 Why Could This Happen
00:08:54 Two Chokepoints
00:10:38 Iran Sets The Price of Oil
00:11:02 What's Iran Trying To Accomplish
00:11:54 Military Briefing w/Adm John Kirby
00:12:50 Issue #2 The Global Diplomatic Response
00:13:13 Perspective From The Shanghai Cooperation Summit
00:13:49 BRICS Summit 2026
00:14:32 The New Regional Balance of Power
00:15:13 The India Impact
00:15:54 Issue #3: British Sanctions Israel
00:18:11 The UK Concern
00:19:01 The Iran Win
00:20:02 Global Opinion - Iran Advantage
00:21:03 The Global Cost
00:23:01 The Deeper Dive

Pepe Escobar

(53 min) Yemen Shakes the Gate of Tears — BRICS+ Blows Up Trump’s Sanctions
Pepe's article Yemen Rocks the Gate of Tears
The BRICS+ meeting in India is on going today.

Larry Johnson

(44 min) Satellite Images Reveal Massive Damage at Aramco’s Abha Plant After Houthi Attack
The Houthis Reach the Sea — and Washington Tells Riyadh to Fight Alone
He also discusses the BRICS+ meeting.
Day One in New Delhi: BRICS Steps Off the Dollar, With Iran Pressing Hardest

Col. Larry Wilkerson

(53 min) Iran & Oman Seal Strait of Hormuz Deal—US-Backed Route SHUT DOWN

The changing nature of war...
Matt Bracken

(56 min) The U.S. Is Losing the Iran War: A 21st-Century Conflict With a 20th-Century Military

Doug Macgregor explains the US military incompetence.

(51 min) Trump administration falling into the abyss and it may already be too late
The Persian Gulf isn’t a chessboard, it’s a map with consequences, and we keep acting like geography doesn’t matter. Col. Douglas MacGregor joins us to connect a brutal Civil War lesson from Fredericksburg to today’s Strait of Hormuz reality: Iran sits close, mobilized, and treats this as existential, while the United States signals strength with forces that can be pushed offshore by drones and missiles.
We get into what a “blockade” really means when logistics are stretched, oil prices jump, and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is no longer the backstop people assume. From there, we zoom out to the political layer: why Congress so often follows the same donors across party lines, why a mass casualty event might trigger “why are we there?” instead of a rush to war, and how the growing people versus state divide in Europe could foreshadow turbulence in the United States.
Then we tackle leadership and modernization: perverse incentives in the senior ranks, too many cooks at the top, and why the US military talks about experimentation but too often rigs the outcome. Doug also argues that Iran and Russia are civilizational states that fight differently when they believe survival is on the line, and that misunderstanding that mindset leads to disasters we could have predicted.
0:00 Labor Day Return And Guest Setup
2:50 Fredericksburg Lessons For Modern War
5:00 Iran’s Geographic Advantage In The Gulf
14:20 Mass Casualties And Congress Incentives
18:30 The Growing Divide Between People And State
23:20 Empire Thinking And The Petrodollar Bargain
27:30 Drones Missiles And A Navy Pushed Offshore
30:40 Why Military Experimentation Keeps Failing
32:00 Senior Leader Turnover And Broken Incentives
40:40 Total War Mindsets In Iran And Russia
46:10 Civilizational Blind Spots And Unsustainable War
50:30 Reexamining Strategy And Final Takeaways

What About Ukraine?
U.S. Carrot and Stick Strategy to Save Ukraine

(20 min)
In this episode we break down the chaotic Witkoff and Kushner diplomatic trip to Moscow and Kyiv, where Vladimir Putin firmly rejected a Trump Zelensky trilateral meeting. Russian forces keep advancing toward Dobropillya and Sloviansk as Ukraine's economy buckles and Zelensky publicly demands more weapons instead of compromise. Is the Kremlin simply waiting out a collapsing Ukrainian front line?
00:00:00 Witkoff and Kushner begin Moscow and Kyiv diplomacy mission
00:00:58 Zelensky turns Kyiv talks into a media circus
00:02:06 Why Witkoff and Kushner are not real diplomats
00:03:12 Ukraine economy collapsing, needs 60 billion by year end
00:04:38 Radcliffe's hardline Moscow trip backfires
00:05:43 Soft cop strategy, sanctions relief offered to Russia
00:08:20 Push for a Trump Putin Zelensky trilateral meeting
00:11:04 Why Russia will not agree to a trilateral summit
00:15:29 Real battlefield situation, Dobropillya and Kharkiv encirclements
00:18:21 Zelensky reportedly preparing his exit strategy

Putin's Advice to Trump; Ratcliffe's Ukraine Power Grab

(33 min) Ukraine's military and financial collapse is accelerating as Russian forces bomb Black Sea ports and logistics hubs while Kiev runs low on fuel and cash. In this episode we break down Putin's blunt advice to Trump to simply stop helping Ukraine, the CIA's Ratcliffe pushing to replace Witkoff and Kushner as chief negotiator, and the New York Times and Spectator reports admitting Ukraine is losing the war. With Zelensky flying to the UN chasing more money instead of missiles, how much longer can this go on?
00:00:00 Intro: the military picture
00:00:50 Ukraine's military situation is deteriorating fast
00:01:10 Russia bombs Ukraine's Black Sea ports
00:02:23 Round the clock strikes resume on Kiev with no air defense
00:04:01 Ukrainian troops reportedly pull back near Kramatorsk and Kharkiv
00:05:44 Is the reported Lyman counteroffensive real or a media construct
00:06:33 Ukraine's economy and tax revenue are collapsing
00:07:30 New York Times asks where Ukraine's 27 billion dollars went
00:09:16 The pattern behind Ukraine's PR offensives
00:13:17 Zelensky asks for 27 billion in weapons and 36 billion for government
00:14:18 The Spectator says plainly that Ukraine is losing the war
00:19:15 Ratcliffe's threats and Witkoff and Kushner's bribes both fail
00:23:53 Ratcliffe's push to become chief negotiator and escalate
00:27:03 Putin tells Trump to simply stop helping Ukraine
00:29:33 Zelensky heads to the UN chasing money

Circling Back to Agriculture
We are neither resourceful nor creative. The food system was designed for profit at the expense of our health. We spend the least of any nation for our food, and the most of any nation for our health (sick) care.
There are alternatives: farmers markets, community supported agriculture, buying directly from local farms (that's what we do), and other options.
There are also production alternatives. The Urea shortage for example. Urea is of course a key component of urine which we flush into septic systems, treatment plants, and our rivers.
My graduate work in Agronomy involved using legumes to supply nitrogen for grains. That idea is nothing new. When I was at Auburn they still had the 100 year study going demonstrating the legumes could supply crops (in this case cotton) with adequate nitrogen. I no-tilled grain sorghum into legumes and that also worked to supply adequate nitrogen.
Folks it is time to vote with your fork. Support local agriculture for your health and the future of the country. The change will NOT come from above. Leaders will follow where the people lead.

Another action filled week, and so a long column today. Pick and choose the topics and interviews that interest you, and enjoy your Sunday. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your comment, insights, and stories.