Quick - vorticians - name the country that is the world's second largest exporter of food and agricultural products, after the United States.
Hint- that country is not large and warm, like Australia or Brazil, and in fact is *tiny* - having only twice the acreage of the state of Massachusetts. And with about one-fourth of its land located below sea level, it is far from ideal cropland. Hint- that country is not tropical, sunny or particuarly fertile and in fact has generally cold and chilly and horrible weather. It is almost synonymous with the use of wind energy since it has no petroleum and little coal. Hint- that country has a population of 16 million very liberal, but non-communist, inhabitants The Dutch (Netherlands) have long been way ahead of the rest of the world in farming technology, due to brainpower and a general lack of other good alternatives; and having generally failed in their colonial ambitions they have stuck to farming for lack of anything better. The Dutch have a liberal but fiscally conservative government [the best of both worlds], allowing prostitution, euthanasia, marijuana and universal health care, but they have managed the world's highest crop yields and most efficient small farms, and derive a very decent standards of living - which since they have little other natural wealth is quite remarkable. Although its economy is generally so far to the left as to be called socialist by detractors in the NeoCon movement, due to its entitlements and innate humanism, it is ironically also one of the most free market and capitalist farm economies in the world - less regulated than the US or Brit farmer - which only indicates that *true liberalism can be the ideal form of capitalism.*Eat you heart out, Remi. It is also testament to the fact, which has been debated here on occasion, that land - even reclaimed and salty and marginal land - when intelligently farmed and fertilized, cannot be overused or depleted. BTW - this place has more barnyard animals than people, and it would surprise no one if they (the animals) were not someday allowed some kind of limited "voice" in government some day. Jones
