[Twig6]

I agree that it would be hard to change the global food system, but I think it will eventually become untenable anyway if we do nothing, and even more eventually revert back to a more sustainable system out of sheer necessity, but there will be a lot of pain along the way if it goes that route.

I used to think that people could petition powerful entities like the World Bank, the U.S. government, the UN, etc. to actually change into what they were supposed to be in the first place--forces for poverty relief instead of poverty proliferation, entites that worked on behalf of the vast majority instead of the richest and most powerful, and I no longer think that's possible. At least not until things get worse and they are forced to make concessions to save themselves and the powerful people they represent (see: the Great Depression).

I DO think that centralized power can be pressured into removing the worst of their offenses, I think campaigning for things like debt relief can work. I just don't think centralized power can truly be transformed into a force for good for the majority of people--their interests are just too narrow.

Besides waiting for things to get worse before they get better, which isn't a good plan, I think that individuals and communities can empower themselves in lots of ways that quietly tilt the world on its axis. Buy local, buy fair trade imports, support both your local and global neighbors in other creative ways, and they will in turn support you. What's that quote? If you turn just a few degrees now, and walk on that path for yards and then miles, pretty soon there's no relation between that first path you were on and the one you find yourself on now.