--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're still promoting stupid wasteful…" description: "\"We're still promoting stupid wasteful behavior in agribusiness - everything from ethanol production for cars to genetically modified crops. In commerce..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/james-howard-kunstler-2886_agribusiness_we-re-still-promoting-stupid-wasteful-be_2655960.jpg" --- # We're still promoting stupid wasteful behavior in… ![“We're still promoting stupid wasteful behavior in agribusiness - everything from ethanol production for cars to genetically modified crops. In commerce just about everything we do politically is in the service of WalMart and the systems tied to it. In transportation, we could, for instance, have…” quote by James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/james-howard-kunstler-2886_agribusiness_we-re-still-promoting-stupid-wasteful-be_2655960.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/james-howard-kunstler-2886_agribusiness_we-re-still-promoting-stupid-wasteful-be_2655960.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/james-howard-kunstler-2886_agribusiness_we-re-still-promoting-stupid-wasteful-be_2655960.jpg) > “We're still promoting stupid wasteful behavior in agribusiness - everything from ethanol production for cars to genetically modified crops. In commerce just about everything we do politically is in the service of WalMart and the systems tied to it. In transportation, we could, for instance, have compelled General Motors to produce railroad rolling stock as a condition of their bail-out, but we didn't do that. Instead, we're chasing the phantom of electric cars - and, believe me, we are going to be mortally disappointed how that works out.” [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Criticizes current agribusiness and energy policies, arguing they prioritize corporate interests over sustainable solutions. **In simple terms:** Current policies favor corporations over sustainability. Key Takeaway Advocate systemic change. Themes environment policy corporate influence energy Mood critical concerned Type environmental political When to use this quote - agriculture reform - energy policy - public advocacy Key Concepts sustainability political economy Questions to Reflect On - What reforms could align corporate incentives with sustainability? - How can public pressure shift policy? A Different Perspective Proposals may lack political feasibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agribusiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agribusiness/) [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Commerce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commerce/) [Crops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crops/) [Disappointed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappointed/) [Electric car](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electric-car/) [Electric cars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electric-cars/) [Genetically modified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genetically-modified/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Phantoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phantoms/) [Railroads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/railroads/) [Transportation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transportation/) [Work out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-out/) ## Related quotes > [The enclosure of the biological and intellectual commons in this way is a real threat to the future of people everywhere because it creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/the-enclosure-of-the-biological-and-intellectual-commons-in-this-way/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Our food chain is in crisis. Big agribusiness has made profits more important than your health—more important than the environment—more important than your right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-robbins/our-food-chain-is-in-crisis-big-agribusiness-has-made-profits-more/) [John Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-robbins/) > [The response by agribusiness interests has been to back laws that ban animal advocates from taking pictures or videos at these facilities, and ban…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-pacelle/the-response-by-agribusiness-interests-has-been-to-back-laws-that-ban/) [Wayne Pacelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-pacelle/) > [Agribusinesses should never dictate the quality of school meals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/agribusinesses-should-never-dictate-the-quality-of-school-meals/) [Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/) > [Agribusiness and food processing are important parts of modernizing our economy, of modernizing our agriculture and moving into a phase where a more modernized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manmohan-singh/agribusiness-and-food-processing-are-important-parts-of-modernizing/) [Manmohan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manmohan-singh/) > [“The word agriculture, after all, does not mean "agriscience," much less "agribusiness." It means "cultivation of land." And cultivation is at the root of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-word-agriculture-after-all-does-not-mean-agriscience-much-less/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The idea that a relatively fixed group of privileged people might shape the economy and government for their own benefit goes against the American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-william-domhoff/the-idea-that-a-relatively-fixed-group-of-privileged-people-might/) G. William Domhoff > [Agribusiness - with its wicked powerful lobby and its infiltration of top bureaucratic posts - essentially runs roughshod over the government agencies that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-velez-mitchell/agribusiness-with-its-wicked-powerful-lobby-and-its-infiltration-of/) [Jane Velez-Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-velez-mitchell/) > [Thanks to farm subsidies, the fine collaboration between agribusiness and Congress, soy, corn and cattle became king. And chicken soon joined them on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bittman/thanks-to-farm-subsidies-the-fine-collaboration-between-agribusiness/) [Mark Bittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bittman/) > [There are more obese people in the world than starving people. As China and India start to develop our eating habits - and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/there-are-more-obese-people-in-the-world-than-starving-people-as/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Haitian rice farmers are quite efficient, but they can't compete with U.S. agribusiness that relies on a huge government subsidy, thanks to Ronald Reagan's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/haitian-rice-farmers-are-quite-efficient-but-they-can-t-compete-with/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Agribusiness could provide an opportunity for joint Israeli-Palestinian projects, spurred on by Israeli technical expertise in this field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-bronfman-sr/agribusiness-could-provide-an-opportunity-for-joint-israeli/) [Edgar Bronfman, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-bronfman-sr/) > [The poorest of families, the poorest of children, are subsidizing the growth of the largest agribusinesses in the world. I think it’s time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/the-poorest-of-families-the-poorest-of-children-are-subsidizing-the/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Our lack of community is intensely painful. A TV talk show is not community. A couple of hours in a church pew each Sabbath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/our-lack-of-community-is-intensely-painful-a-tv-talk-show-is-not/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [Colombia was a big wheat producer in the 1950's. That was eliminated by what sounds like a nice plan, called "Food for Peace. "…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/colombia-was-a-big-wheat-producer-in-the-1950-s-that-was-eliminated/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More by James Howard Kunstler > [ The ideas of \[ Le Corbusier \] that actually found their way into practice were deeply destructive - for instance, the tower-in-a-park, which mutated… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/the-ideas-of-le-corbusier-that-actually-found-their-way-into-practice/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [ “On my way out of \[Atlantic City\] at quarter after seven in the morning, a young pump jockey at the gas station \[...\] mentioned… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/on-my-way-out-of-atlantic-city-at-quarter-after-seven-in-the-morning/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [Ahead now, I think you'll see the big nations shrink back into their own corners of the world. I'm not saying we'll see no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/ahead-now-i-think-you-ll-see-the-big-nations-shrink-back-into-their/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [The task we face is reorganizing the systems we depend on for daily life in a way that is consistent with the realities coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/the-task-we-face-is-reorganizing-the-systems-we-depend-on-for-daily/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [White America is tortured by black America's failure to thrive, and all that guilt and anxiety has only gotten worse as a substantial quota…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/white-america-is-tortured-by-black-america-s-failure-to-thrive-and/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [What we face is a comprehensive contraction of our activities, due to declining fossil fuel resources and other growing scarcities. Our failure is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/what-we-face-is-a-comprehensive-contraction-of-our-activities-due-to/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [We're living in a culture that doesn't believe in decorating buildings, or proportioning them properly. And they don't know how to do it anymore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/we-re-living-in-a-culture-that-doesn-t-believe-in-decorating/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [Because I believe a lot of people share my feelings about the tragic landscape of highway strips, parking lots, housing tracts, mega-malls, junked cities,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/because-i-believe-a-lot-of-people-share-my-feelings-about-the-tragic/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [No amount or combination of alternative fuels is going to allow us to continue running what we're running, the way we're running it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/no-amount-or-combination-of-alternative-fuels-is-going-to-allow-us-to/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [Everything we do these days - our lust for ever more comfort, pleasure, and distraction, our refusal to engage with the mandates of reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/everything-we-do-these-days-our-lust-for-ever-more-comfort-pleasure/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [There's a lot of wishful thinking that somehow we'll replace fossil fuels with alternative energy sources, but they remain far from reality. We're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/there-s-a-lot-of-wishful-thinking-that-somehow-we-ll-replace-fossil/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [Our twenty-first century economy may focus on agriculture, not information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/our-twenty-first-century-economy-may-focus-on-agriculture-not/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [I think that Obama's failure to reestablish the rule of law in money matters is the most damaging thing that he's done - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/i-think-that-obama-s-failure-to-reestablish-the-rule-of-law-in-money/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [I'm not against Kyoto. I just think it's a fantasy, especially considering China's energy predicament and their coal supplies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/i-m-not-against-kyoto-i-just-think-it-s-a-fantasy-especially/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [The American house has been TV-centered for three generations. It is the focus of family life, and the life of the house correspondingly turns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/the-american-house-has-been-tv-centered-for-three-generations-it-is/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) [Explore all 146 James Howard Kunstler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) ## More Agribusiness quotes > [The enclosure of the biological and intellectual commons in this way is a real threat to the future of people everywhere because it creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/the-enclosure-of-the-biological-and-intellectual-commons-in-this-way/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Our lack of community is intensely painful. A TV talk show is not community. A couple of hours in a church pew each Sabbath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/our-lack-of-community-is-intensely-painful-a-tv-talk-show-is-not/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [The poorest of families, the poorest of children, are subsidizing the growth of the largest agribusinesses in the world. I think it’s time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/the-poorest-of-families-the-poorest-of-children-are-subsidizing-the/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Agribusiness could provide an opportunity for joint Israeli-Palestinian projects, spurred on by Israeli technical expertise in this field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-bronfman-sr/agribusiness-could-provide-an-opportunity-for-joint-israeli/) [Edgar Bronfman, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-bronfman-sr/) > [Haitian rice farmers are quite efficient, but they can't compete with U.S. agribusiness that relies on a huge government subsidy, thanks to Ronald Reagan's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/haitian-rice-farmers-are-quite-efficient-but-they-can-t-compete-with/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are more obese people in the world than starving people. As China and India start to develop our eating habits - and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/there-are-more-obese-people-in-the-world-than-starving-people-as/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Thanks to farm subsidies, the fine collaboration between agribusiness and Congress, soy, corn and cattle became king. And chicken soon joined them on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bittman/thanks-to-farm-subsidies-the-fine-collaboration-between-agribusiness/) [Mark Bittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bittman/) > [Agribusiness - with its wicked powerful lobby and its infiltration of top bureaucratic posts - essentially runs roughshod over the government agencies that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-velez-mitchell/agribusiness-with-its-wicked-powerful-lobby-and-its-infiltration-of/) [Jane Velez-Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-velez-mitchell/) > [The idea that a relatively fixed group of privileged people might shape the economy and government for their own benefit goes against the American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-william-domhoff/the-idea-that-a-relatively-fixed-group-of-privileged-people-might/) G. William Domhoff > [“The word agriculture, after all, does not mean "agriscience," much less "agribusiness." It means "cultivation of land." And cultivation is at the root of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-word-agriculture-after-all-does-not-mean-agriscience-much-less/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Agribusiness and food processing are important parts of modernizing our economy, of modernizing our agriculture and moving into a phase where a more modernized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manmohan-singh/agribusiness-and-food-processing-are-important-parts-of-modernizing/) [Manmohan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manmohan-singh/) > [Agribusinesses should never dictate the quality of school meals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-polis/agribusinesses-should-never-dictate-the-quality-of-school-meals/) [Jared Polis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-polis/) > [The response by agribusiness interests has been to back laws that ban animal advocates from taking pictures or videos at these facilities, and ban…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-pacelle/the-response-by-agribusiness-interests-has-been-to-back-laws-that-ban/) [Wayne Pacelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-pacelle/) > [Our food chain is in crisis. Big agribusiness has made profits more important than your health—more important than the environment—more important than your right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-robbins/our-food-chain-is-in-crisis-big-agribusiness-has-made-profits-more/) [John Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-robbins/) > [Colombia was a big wheat producer in the 1950's. That was eliminated by what sounds like a nice plan, called "Food for Peace. "…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/colombia-was-a-big-wheat-producer-in-the-1950-s-that-was-eliminated/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Browse all 23 Agribusiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agribusiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We're still promoting stupid wasteful behavior in agribusiness - everything from ethanol production for cars to genetically modified crops. In commerce just about everything we do politically is in the service of WalMart and the systems tied to it. In transportation, we could, for instance, have compelled General Motors to produce railroad rolling stock as a condition of their bail-out, but we didn't do that. 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