Not supporting the system - Page 2

[holyhelianthus]

What do you mean by unschooling for the whole family? I am intrigued!!

[sprouthead]

Originally Posted by Stephenie

I firmly believe the Earth holds enough resources (including money) for the population. It's just distributed wrong. How much food do Americans throw out every day? How much more food than we NEED do we consume? (Same with many, many other resources) It's not that there are not enough resources out there. They are just being grossly misused.

Do you have any resources of information on the earth having the resources to support the population? This is something that I am wrestling with right now as I am trying to make the decision to ttc or not. I really believed that without the use of chemical fertilizers, the earth would not be able to produce enough food to feed everyone on the planet, and since I try to eat organic as much as possible, it made me uncomfortable with the idea of contributing to population growth.. But I can't even find that statistic now- maybe it was just propoganda for chemical fertilizers.. But ultimately, I guess it depends on if we believe the planet is finite or not. Because population growth is exponential, and if the planet is finite in it's resources, then we will run out of resources at some point, even if it's just space..

[fruitfulmomma]

and since I try to eat organic as much as possible, it made me uncomfortable with the idea of contributing to population growth.. But I can't even find that statistic now- maybe it was just propoganda for chemical fertilizers..

I know I have read about this somewhere, maybe in The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved, not sure. Anyway, basically the tests done on organic farming that "proved" it couldn't grow as much food was done on land that was depleted and used for dumping toxic waste or something to that effect.

There are many, many books out there now talking about sustainable gardening and being able to grow more food on less land. See what the family at http://www.pathtofreedom.com/ is doing. Also How to Grow More Vegetables.

I am a strong believer that the key to having enough resources is not merely less waste, but more productivity and smarter uses of those resources. (Eg - Why do most Americans plant grass, instead of food crops?)

If you could maximize the production of your land and use your children as natural resources to help cultivate your land and provide food (or other resources) not only for yourselves, but for other families as well, your children are actually an asset to productivity and not merely consumers.

[EyesOfTheWorld]

Originally Posted by fruitfulmomma

I am a strong believer that the key to having enough resources is not merely less waste, but more productivity and smarter uses of those resources. (Eg - Why do most Americans plant grass, instead of food crops?)

If you could maximize the production of your land and use your children as natural resources to help cultivate your land and provide food (or other resources) not only for yourselves, but for other families as well, your children are actually an asset to productivity and not merely consumers.

You are so, so right. I've often wondered why more people don't plant food, but spend so much time and energy on their grass.

I also think there may need to be a shift of focus on what we eat. Certain crops require much more water and land than others, and some of them (like corn) are a HUGE part of our modern diets. If we cut them out or greatly reduced the number that was grown we could grow crops that more efficient and have a higher nutritional density.

There are also wild foods that go to waste - walking around my neighborhood (fairly typical outlying suburb) there are wild grapes, wild blackberries, edible mushrooms and many wild herbs (and I'm sure more that I'm not acquainted with!) that people totally ignore.

So much of this requires rethinking though, and looking beyond pure convenience.

[holyhelianthus]

How is everyone?

[fruitfulmomma]

On vacation right now... but two weeks ago I was thinking to myself that I'd like to get rid of about half of what we own and a couple of hours later someone set fire to my storage shed which burnt to the ground. Isn't that sadly ironic?

So, I am trying to be positive about the situation, instead of really angry at whomever did it, and am thinking that now I have a lot more space for gardening.

You are so, so right. I've often wondered why more people don't plant food, but spend so much time and energy on their grass.

I have Food, Not Lawns in my book bag again and am going to try to get through it this time. We have no lawn at the moment. I want to put a small one in, just enough for dh to play horseshoes on, but other than that I really can't see the point of it and don't want to take care of it.

[holyhelianthus]

Oh my gosh Nickey I am so so sorry!

We rent and they want us to maintain the lawn BUT they did say we could dig up the entire side yard. :

[potatofairy]

we're into voluntary simplicity and dumpster diving.

[smeisnotapirate]

We're moving soon into a much bigger (and older) house, and everyone thinks it's hilarious that I'm getting rid of EVERYTHING. I refuse to move crap I don't like into a new, big, empty house. Getting all sorts of looks for that.

We had great strawberries this summer :. I'm very sad they're over. The rest of our garden is a late summer garden, so I'm sure we'll have more veggies in a month or so.

We've also been talking about going to a more vegetarian diet. DH could NEVER be a vegetarian, but we're going to focus on veggie breakfasts, lunches, and main entrees. If he wants some meat, that's fine. I'm trying to get him down from meat at every meal () to meat once or twice a week.

[AdinaL]

Hey folks, just a reminder. Activism is not for debate. Any posts that are debating the cause/call to action will be removed. I have removed some posts from this thread.

If you feel there is a valid counter cause, submit a thread of your own.

Thanks!

[Epona]

subbing

[rainbowmoon]

:

[natural_mama89]

Some of you might be interested in this:

http://www.redamendment.net

Not willing to debate it. I always tell people they must do their own research to come to the conclusions they feel are right for them. Of course I am not that worried about the mamas on here taking anything the wrong way. I have just run into a lot of issues IRL about voicing my well researched well supported political opinions. My BF is in the process and I will be too once I'm in the position to not accept any federal aid. I think it is the biggest way to not support the system. I actually really hope we can move beyond the use of a financial system at some point. Money is most of the reason the system as it is is perpetuated. Without money the medical industry, food industry, etc. would not have any reason to lie or poison us. I am trying right now to barter more and make more of my own things. I am bartering veggies from my garden for craft supplies and I as soon as I get my sewing machine fixed I will not buy any more clothes for myself or my children until I run out of fabric. Same goes for anything else i can sew. I have used cloth diapers and wipes all my kids lives and am i think going to take the leap into cloth napkins and tp. Paper tp is just gross to me. Sticks to my girlie bits and it hurts from rubbing. Cloth also cleans better. Anyone else do cloth tp? suggestions?

[FnkyGreenMama]

Subbing ... love all these great ideas!

[morganlefay]

I love this thread! Practical suggestions are what we all need to begin taking small steps away from a culture that is socially and ecologically destructive. Especially since my DD was born, I have really been preoccupied with the question of my participation in a system that victimizes so many. A while back I wrote this article on my blog about some of my struggles. Our family is still much more part of “the system” than we would like, but like many of the mamas here, we do some small things that set us apart:
-We dug up our front yard and planted a garden
-we raise chickens in the backyard
-I cook most of our meals from scratch
-We try to buy from local food sources whenever possible and patronize local family-owned businesses
-We buy most things used from thrift stores, especially DD's clothing and toys
-we use cloth diapers
-I hang the laundry in the sun rather than use a dryer
-We plan to homeschool when DD is older
-We read a lot of Wendell Berry and keep annoying people by constantly quoting him

[natural_mama89]

Your article is awesome! I totally agree with you. I hate that innocent people die in wars I don't believe in and people justify it by saying that's how we stay free. I don't remember who said it originally but I fully believe that, "None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free".