Vision # 3: “Big-Farmer”

A large arable or livestock farm in this country can still look passably ‘green’ and even ‘pleasant’ from the outside.  I was reflecting on this and started to wonder what they would look like if their whole supply chain could be transplanted to the farm location.  The minerals and chemicals which ‘Big-Farmer’ (!*) uses to induce their poor soil to continue to produce would require a laboratory, chemical processing plant and a mine to provide their raw materials.  The tractors and other vehicles would require an assembly factory, and sub-factories probably to machine, heat-treat and paint.  Foundries, iron and aluminium smelting furnaces, and another open-cast mine to rip the ore from the ground would be needed to provide the materials to make the tractor parts.  The supermarket which feeds on the farm would take up 3 acres with steel, glass and concrete, the last two materials would add further giant factories, furnaces and mines.  The electricity used on the farm, and by its suppliers is most likely to be generated by coal or gas, which would require a power station, in turn these would require mines or rigs.  The oil or gas used to provide heat for farm and it’s suppliers would require an oil / gas rig (and an unusual mid-sea location, but there has to be a limit to the exercise!) constructed from energy-dense materials.  The numerous intermediaries, middle-men, and other parasites involved would require smart showrooms, offices and executive cars in order to sell the chemicals, machines and ‘utilities’ to the farm.

Suddenly the superficial view of a ‘green and pleasant’ pastoral business is replaced by the reality, a small commodity-production element, surrounded by vast, energy hungry industries, dependent on finite resources!

Taking this view, is ‘Self-Abundance’ really feasible, or is that a sham too?  Would we create a wonderful ‘shop-window’ in effect, but hide our dirty secrets far away in industrial areas where it’s hard for our customers to rationalise their connection to us?