Speaking of work, this week we return to our look at the food industry as an employer with a focus on the future of work. What is the future of agriculture? The concern about what jobs we will be doing and what our relationship to the workforce will be, has global dimensions. Many people are asking themselves just what will they be doing to earn a living or, perhaps more importantly, what occupations will their children find?
The job outlook down on the farm has changed signficantly over the past ten years. Which way is it now heading? Will we keep moving in our current direction of ever larger factory farms or will be begin to develop the food security measures that I've previously discussed, such as, community shared agriculture and community gardens. Will the small market garden make a come back? Will we stop and think about the effects of pesticides and demand organic products?
But ridding ourselves of pesticides isn't easy. There are thousands of people employed in the chemical industry from biochemists to sales people. If we eliminated pesticide use immediately we would throw them out of work and create a serious imbalance in the economic and social system.
Change is inevitable and a move away from pesticides, desirable but it must be a planned change with all factors, such as,retraining considered. We can't build a healthy community by displacing people from the work force unless we can offer them viable alternatives.
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