The Washington Post strikes again. A uniquely bad idea as a solution to hunger, although I have no problem with it as a research project. Our neo liberal government of the past 35 years has been unwilling to give the poor the means to be independent (like a few acres and a mule or stable housing or free child care or a minimum wage, or voice and teeth on a community board,) The state seems happy enough doling out billion dollar contracts for Katrina emergency housing that never arrive, multi-million dollar settlements to the victim of its police abuse when they prevail in court, while letting the cops go free, and encouraging speculation and gentrification with dollar signs in their eyes but with no thought nor care of the displaced. I am especially dismayed by the heroic tone of the quote by company spokesperson, “I think simply helicoptering a farm into a food desert could be part of the solution,” as if we don't already know how to run a food pantry, a soup kitchen or a farmers market, all of which put volunteers, local farmers and staff to rewarding work rather than making a million for a company to provide a high tech, high cost, unsustainable and possibly radioactive head of lettuce. (just kidding on this last one but just look at the photo.)
The media has an unhealthy appetite for technological miracles and is not grounded in critical thought. In essence this is just a puff piece, promoting a new business,
Local Roots passing as news or real solutions. Local Roots is a
hot startup with more than a million dollars of seed money competing in a rapidly growing niche market with other modular competitors like PodPonics. It has nothing to do with helping the poor with access to food. Otherwise they would have asked the poor first, rather than the
investors.
This shipping-container farm could someday solve the food desert problem - The Washington Post:
'via Blog this'
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