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Comment by ucaetano | Hacker News Reader

> Sadly, like the author, I can't really think of a good solution.

But that IS the solution. Preserving archaic inefficient institutions and forcing society to pay for it solely due to nostalgia is a terrible idea.

But there are solutions: entertainment & agroturismo. Sure, it won't preserve every single farm, or even 1 in 1000, but it will preserve some of then, just as tourism helps maintain a lot of historical sites around the world.

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There are other approaches too, some farms are focusing on local communities -- I recognize this isn't possible everywhere, but I bought a whole beef from a farm just outside Seattle. Small farm, well cared for animals, grass fed their whole lives.

It was more expensive than supermarket beef. It was less expensive than supermarket organic beef. But it cut out a LOT of middlemen and perverse incentives to race to the cheapest price/lb.

Yep, let consumers decide which farms should be kept or not, I'm all in favor of that!

Have you read the article ? The "new" way of doing things have horrible externalities that can destroy those communities.

That's a broad generalization, and it seems that it is mostly driven by anger.

The reason you can go to a supermarket and buy food IS the "new" way of doing things. The reason there's close to zero food waste in production and distribution of food in developed markets is the "new" way.

Their farm is dying because it is inefficient. Let it die.

http://www.fao.org/food-loss-and-food-waste/en/

The UN says a third wasted.

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