Colin Todhunter specializes in development, food and agriculture and is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization in Montreal. He takes a deep dive into the world of agriculture that Bill Gates envisions for us “eaters.” It is a monstrous vision. Here’s a small extract via Off-Guardian (h/t AmericaFirstReport):
. . . The biggest owner of private
farmland in the US – Bill Gates – has a vision for farming: a
chemical-dependent, corporate-dependent, one-world agriculture (Ag One
initiative) to facilitate the global supply chains of conglomerates. This
initiative is side-lining indigenous knowledge and practices in favour of
corporate knowledge and a further colonisation
of global agriculture.
Gates’s corporatisation of
smallholder agriculture is packaged in philanthropic terms – ‘helping’ farmers
in places like Africa and India. It has not worked out well so far if we turn
to the Gates-backed Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA),
established in 2006.
The first major evaluation of
AGRA’s efforts to expand high-input agriculture in Africa found that – after 15
years – it had failed. . . .
With lab-based synthetic meat being
promoted and attracting huge interest from investors, Gates and the agritech
sector also envisage a largely ‘climate-friendly’ animal-free agriculture,
which they claim will result in freeing up vast tracts of farmland (we can only
speculate for what).
It remains to be seen just how
energy-efficient, environment-friendly and health-friendly synthetic meat labs
are once scaled up to industrial levels. . . .
And don't forget the bugs! In the conclusion:
The neoliberal programme that took
root in the 1980s has now reached a debt-bloated, inflationary impasse. In
response, capitalism has embarked on a ‘great reset’ with transformative
technology very much to the fore in the guise of a ‘4th Industrial Revolution’,
promising a brave new tomorrow for all.
However, there are deep-seated
concerns about how this technology could be used to monitor and control entire
populations, especially as we are witnessing a brutal economic restructuring
and increasing clampdowns on personal liberties. If neoliberalism promoted
individualism, the ‘new normal’ demands strict compliance – individual freedom
is said to pose a threat to ‘national security’, ‘public health’ or ‘safety’.
. . .
The controlling nature of
technology pervades all aspects of life today. But whether it involves farmers
protests in Europe and India, the advancement of a political agroecology,
truckers taking to the streets in Canada or ordinary people protesting against
a rapidly advancing authoritarianism in Western societies, many people across
the world know something is seriously amiss.
. . . we are seeing a ‘great
refusal’ – people saying ‘no’ to multiple forms of repression and domination –
tentacles of an economic system in crisis.
Read the full report at Off-Guardian here (it’s long).
# # #
