A Nation of Weeds

You know how oil depletion and global warming together makes an imposing pair of bookends?

Well, now we have GM Gone Wild to complete the matching set.

Phila brilliantly deconstructs an example of counter-culture backlash against organic groceries. Following the premise of Nation of Rebels: Why Counter Culture Became Consumer Culture, you can almost predict that some writer would cast away the one-time underground fad as it becomes mainstream and starts to tire them.

The conventional scenario: Fossil fuel usage begets global warming. A growing population demands more fuel every day, further exacerbating the cimate change steam-roller. Fortunately, oil depletion makes a timely appearance to avert disaster.

The new scenario: Fossil fuel usage begets petrochemical farming. A growing population in a shrinking footprint requires higher yields every day, putting pressure on the genetic engineers to whet the world's collective appetite. But the genetically modified food wreaks havoc on the corporate Big Farma. Fortunately, oil depletion makes a timely appearance to weed us off the GenetiPetro chaos, making room for the local organic gardens who can hand-yank the superweeds -- albeit, at much lower yields.

I will end it at that as I have limited practice at constructing die-off scenarios. Suffice to say, fashionable cultural trends take a back-seat everytime to making ends meet for the majority of the world, fussy NY Times food writers notwithstanding.