by Linda Featheringill

About the author: Linda Featheringill writes for The People,a publication of the Socialist Labor Party of America.

It’s said that variety is the spice of life, but capitalism—particularly as applied to agriculture—is doing much to destroy the variety of life on earth. Nonhuman life forms that occupy the land—plants, animals, insects and microorganisms—do not, as far as we know, hold opinions on economic philosophies. Yet, economic activities shape many aspects of their existence, and they in turn have many effects on humanity.

No More Family Farms

Agriculture, essential to human survival, becomes increasingly perverted by the capitalist profit motive as agricapitalism pushes out family and middle-sized farms. Strictly speaking, of course, the family farm, on which the farmer and his family members performed all...