A Reflection on Future Strategies for Farming, the Use of Technology & Environmental Restoration: Towards Social Harmony and General Wellbeing

Abstract

This work is intended to explore some of the different alternatives and strategies to create a desired future in terms of a paradigm shift from a purely reductionist, materialistic and profit based paradigm to one that is systemic, spiritual~material and values based. We illustrate the challenge with two (2) alternatives of farming approaches and cultures: (a) meat and dairy farming and (b) plant-based organic and ideally local farming. We further explore the use of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) together with some of its associated risks and opportunities in both farming cultures that would ideally lead to an optimal use of land and resources to produce, ideally again, the optimal nutritional value with the least impact on the environment. We address the restriction space of this decision analysis to what most concerned scientists foresee as a catastrophe if we stay on the same path, under the same paradigm. A general schema is depicted to illustrate the complexities involved in this Values Based Decision Analysis Approach. Finally, we further explore some considerations regarding social harmony and self-governance and summarise our conclusions with some future perspectives.