Les blés by _.Yann Cœuru ._ (cc by)
There's something called "the resource curse," or resource trap ... Eyebrows McGee with a fascinating bit of musing on Russia and Ukraine and the hinterlands and yeoman farmers, and resource extraction, wealth concentration, state benefits, education, and how they are bound together ... and why all this might be more important than usual right now. Confused? You won't be!
Chocolat de Bonnat. Côte d'Ivoire by EverJean (cc by)
I work in southwestern Cote d'Ivoire, just on the border of Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia. The men I employ are largely cocoa farmers, when they're not in the forest taking complex observational data on primate behavior and ecology.
ChuraChura responds to, and takes some issue with, a video of Ivorian cacao farmers tasting chocolate for the first time, plus gives a larger picture of the day-to-day reality of the tough economics of farming in the region.
Cucumbers by karenandbrademerson (cc by)
It's not greed at play here or lack of general desire to grow accessible local, quality, organic food for everyone. It's sheer economics both internally and externally. It's hard to convince someone that it's better to sell a cucumber for 50 cents when there is someone out there that will pay 2 dollars and if they grow polka dot cucumbers in the same space someone will pay 4 dollars for it. For many growers it's choice between having good food on their own tables and someone elses.
MeFite Jalliah on why being a farmer and wanting to provide food for low income folks is challenging.
MetaFilter started as a community weblog in 1999, later added question and answers, then music by members, jobs, projects by members, a podcast, and finally an area dedicated to meetups.
