Chris Smaje
Social scientist turned small-scale farmer; wrote A Small Farm Future and argues against the case for feeding the world from factories.
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What they believe
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Factory-made bacterial protein cannot feed the world, because meeting humanity's protein needs that way would take more electricity than the planet generates from renewables.
To meet the global population’s protein needs through factory-produced bacterial protein in 2024 would have used more than the total global electricity generated using renewable (hydro, photovoltaic and wind) energy
chrissmaje.comSaid 30 Jun 2026This on korrents
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Changed their mind Ecomodernism is concerned with secondary managerial goals like efficiency and says nothing to the mysteries and passions that animate a life.
Now In this sense, I think I was wrong to imply in Saying NO… that ecomodernism focuses on secondary managerialist goals like the efficiency of feedlots without speaking to the mysteries and passions of what animates life.
Said 30 Jun 2026This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These one: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Feed
As its own page →Hiding
4 November
10 October
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Mixed onrcmnd.app
Goliath's Curse: The History and Future of Societal CollapseTheir words
As is my wont, I'm going to spend more time talking about what I disagree with in the book than what I agree with, because I find it more generative. But let me begin with a quick summary of its merits, which are considerable.
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On changing their mind
In this sense, I think I was wrong to imply in Saying NO… that ecomodernism focuses on secondary managerialist goals like the efficiency of feedlots without speaking to the mysteries and passions of what animates life.
From one piece Saving the world from bad ideas: the continuing failure of food ecomodernism 6 beliefs · chrissmaje.com
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Their words
a more relevant metric in the long term is the cost, not the efficiency, of food production methods at sustainable levels of energetic and material throughput.
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korrents.com
Today's level of city living depends on cheap fossil fuels and is unlikely to survive without them.Their words
However, in our non-ideal biophysical reality, present levels of urbanism are unlikely to be sustainable without cheap fossil fuels, and the human cost of that could be horrific unless we address it urgently.
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Their words
but I do think that in a future of probable energy constraint there will be a need for a more peopled agriculture, with populations spreading out to tap diffuse solar energy input.
+ 3 more
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korrents.com
"Food from thin air" is not from thin air: it runs on water, minerals, ammonia and industrial plant.Their words
Another is that it isn’t ‘food from thin air’ as is often claimed – as well as the high energy use, it’s food from a lot of tap water, minerals, ammonia and industrial infrastructure.
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Their words
Agriculture is the only major sector that at present is significantly energised directly by zero cost and zero carbon sunlight.
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Their words
To meet the global population’s protein needs through factory-produced bacterial protein in 2024 would have used more than the total global electricity generated using renewable (hydro, photovoltaic and wind) energy
14 June
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27 May
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21 March
11 March
Nothing matches.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 10 beliefs, 1 changed mind — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
Factory-made bacterial protein cannot feed the world, because meeting humanity's protein needs that way would take more electricity than the planet generates from renewables.
To meet the global population’s protein needs through factory-produced bacterial protein in 2024 would have used more than the total global electricity generated using renewable (hydro, photovoltaic and wind) energy
Saving the world from bad ideas: the continuing failure of food ecomodernism Said 30 Jun 2026
Farming is the one large sector still powered directly by free sunlight, and replacing it with factory food would spend the renewable electricity every other sector needs.
Agriculture is the only major sector that at present is significantly energised directly by zero cost and zero carbon sunlight.
Saving the world from bad ideas: the continuing failure of food ecomodernism Said 30 Jun 2026
"Food from thin air" is not from thin air: it runs on water, minerals, ammonia and industrial plant.
Another is that it isn’t ‘food from thin air’ as is often claimed – as well as the high energy use, it’s food from a lot of tap water, minerals, ammonia and industrial infrastructure.
Saving the world from bad ideas: the continuing failure of food ecomodernism Said 30 Jun 2026
Show 7 more
A future of constrained energy will need more people working the land, and that is not the same as going back to the past.
but I do think that in a future of probable energy constraint there will be a need for a more peopled agriculture, with populations spreading out to tap diffuse solar energy input.
Saving the world from bad ideas: the continuing failure of food ecomodernism Said 30 Jun 2026
Today's level of city living depends on cheap fossil fuels and is unlikely to survive without them.
However, in our non-ideal biophysical reality, present levels of urbanism are unlikely to be sustainable without cheap fossil fuels, and the human cost of that could be horrific unless we address it urgently.
Saving the world from bad ideas: the continuing failure of food ecomodernism Said 30 Jun 2026
Efficiency is the wrong measure of a food system; what matters is what it costs at a level of energy and materials that can be sustained.
a more relevant metric in the long term is the cost, not the efficiency, of food production methods at sustainable levels of energetic and material throughput.
Saving the world from bad ideas: the continuing failure of food ecomodernism Said 30 Jun 2026
Almost nobody makes a living from small-scale agroecological market gardening in a rich country, and there is a reason for that.
One clue to the difficulties I faced, if I hadn’t been too naïve to see it, is that almost nobody works in small-scale, local, agroecological market gardening in Britain and most other rich countries. There’s a reason for that.
Food, land, work and rent: the real story of Vallis Veg Said 9 Dec 2023
Fifteen years of running a small organic market garden in England returned its owners a few thousand pounds a year between them.
My wife and I have averaged a joint annual income of £5,500 from the market garden over the last ten years.
Food, land, work and rent: the real story of Vallis Veg Said 9 Dec 2023
A market economy rewards putting land under campsites and horse liveries rather than under food, and that is the wrong thing to reward.
In my opinion, normal market economics is incentivising the wrong things. I think its preference for horse liveries or campsites over vegetables and other local food production will lead us to disaster
Food, land, work and rent: the real story of Vallis Veg Said 9 Dec 2023
Food is grown wherever land, labour, energy and capital are cheapest, which is why the world now depends on a few vulnerable breadbaskets.
wherever in the world can be found the cheapest assemblage of land, labour, energy and capital to produce a given food commodity, that will be a preferential site of its production.
Food, land, work and rent: the real story of Vallis Veg Said 9 Dec 2023
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Recommends rcmnd
rcmnd What they recommend 8 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
Mixed on Goliath's Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse
As is my wont, I'm going to spend more time talking about what I disagree with in the book than what I agree with, because I find it more generative. But let me begin with a quick summary of its merits, which are considerable.
chrissmaje.com 10 Oct 2026
What others say about Goliath's Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse →
Recommends Against the Vortex: Zardoz and Degrowth Utopias in Seventies and Today
in his book, Against the Vortex: Zardoz and Degrowth Utopias in Seventies and Today. I wrote about his book here, and I'd thoroughly recommend it
chrissmaje.com 21 Dec 2024
What others say about Against the Vortex: Zardoz and Degrowth Utopias in Seventies and Today →
Liked Open Ecosystems: Ecology and Evolution Beyond the Forest Edge
Currently reading the fascinating Open Ecosystems: Ecology and Evolution Beyond the Forest Edge by William Bond – one in the eye for the tree fetishists.
chrissmaje.com 31 Jan 2023
What others say about Open Ecosystems: Ecology and Evolution Beyond the Forest Edge →
Show 5 more
Recommends Tiny Engines of Abundance
I'd thoroughly recommend Glenn Davis Stone The Agricultural Dilemma, Douglas Rushkoff Survival of the Richest (thanks to Christine for the tipoff), Giorgos Kallis Limits, James Rebanks English Pastoral and Jim Handy Tiny Engines of Abundance.
chrissmaje.com 31 Jan 2023
Recommends English Pastoral
I'd thoroughly recommend Glenn Davis Stone The Agricultural Dilemma, Douglas Rushkoff Survival of the Richest (thanks to Christine for the tipoff), Giorgos Kallis Limits, James Rebanks English Pastoral and Jim Handy Tiny Engines of Abundance.
chrissmaje.com 31 Jan 2023
Recommends Limits
I'd thoroughly recommend Glenn Davis Stone The Agricultural Dilemma, Douglas Rushkoff Survival of the Richest (thanks to Christine for the tipoff), Giorgos Kallis Limits, James Rebanks English Pastoral and Jim Handy Tiny Engines of Abundance.
chrissmaje.com 31 Jan 2023
Recommends Survival of the Richest
I'd thoroughly recommend Glenn Davis Stone The Agricultural Dilemma, Douglas Rushkoff Survival of the Richest (thanks to Christine for the tipoff), Giorgos Kallis Limits, James Rebanks English Pastoral and Jim Handy Tiny Engines of Abundance.
chrissmaje.com 31 Jan 2023
Recommends The Agricultural Dilemma
I'd thoroughly recommend Glenn Davis Stone The Agricultural Dilemma, Douglas Rushkoff Survival of the Richest (thanks to Christine for the tipoff), Giorgos Kallis Limits, James Rebanks English Pastoral and Jim Handy Tiny Engines of Abundance.
chrissmaje.com 31 Jan 2023
Where they publish
Blog Chris Smaje His blog on small farming, land and food politics. Has a feed.
Recent
- How not to feed the world 4 Nov 2026 It’s a hoary old topic on this site, I know, but in this post I’m going to trail an article I’ve just published on the appropriately named GM Watch site called How not to feed the world: five questions for George Monbio…
- Remember David: thoughts on Luke Kemp’s ‘Goliath’s Curse’ 10 Oct 2026 Another book review while it’s fresh in my mind, this time Luke Kemp’s Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse (Penguin, 2025). As is my wont, I’m going to spend more time talking about what I disag…
- Against Landlords, or Against the Causes of Landlordism? 22 Sept 2026 I mentioned that I was going to reproduce my article in The Land 37 here. Well, it’s coming right up below (it was published in The Land with the title ‘Rentiers Redux’). The article is essentially a review of Nick Bano…
Show 7 more
- “But I mean his poetry is actually pretty good” – for Wendell Berry (1934-2026) 4 Sept 2026 Following my obituary for The Land magazine in my previous post I’d intended to publish in this next one my article on landlordism that appeared in the final issue. Instead, it turns out that another obituary takes prec…
- RIP The Land, 2006-2026 24 Aug 2026 Just a short post to mark the passing of the great Land magazine, which has shut up shop with its 37th issue this summer. What can I say about it? For almost as many years as I’ve been following a more land-based way of…
- The state I’m in 16 Aug 2026 A few further thoughts in this post on the matter of the state – what it is, what its past and future involves, and what does it mean to live within the jurisdiction of a singular state (‘the state I’m in’)? – arising o…
- Finding Lights in a Dark Age – Discussion Forum 31 Jul 2026 Apologies for my slow turnover of blog posts here, which is likely to be ongoing. I’d planned to do a blog cycle about my book Finding Lights in a Dark Age: Sharing Land, Work and Craft, published by Chelsea Green last…
- Stop Press, Same News: No energy transition, again 9 Jul 2026 Every year I take a look at the annual energy data published toward the end of June by the Energy Institute in order to ask the big question: Has the energy transition that everyone keeps talking about actually started…
- Saving the world from bad ideas: the continuing failure of food ecomodernism 30 Jun 2026 This week sees a more personal anniversary for me than the Brexit celebrations/recriminations last time: it’s three years since I published my book Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future. In it, I criticised the idea that fact…
- Ten years of Brexit: a small farm future special 14 Jun 2026 There are a few anniversaries in the air at the moment. The one that looms in British politics is the tenth anniversary of the Brexit referendum, which was held on 23 June 2016. I daresay the media will soon be full of…
Link verified 20 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
x.com @csmaje Their X account.
Recent
- New essay: 'Remember David: thoughts on Luke Kemp's 'Goliath's Curse' 10 Oct 2026 chrissmaje.com
- New essay 'Against landlords, and against the causes of landlordism' - 22 Sept 2026 chrissmaje.com
- I was honoured to feature along with some great thinkers-and-doers on the excellent Edible Empire podcast series about the hidden costs of our food: 11 Sept 2026 thesalmonandthetomato.org
Show 15 more
- New essay '"But I mean his poetry is actually pretty good" - for Wendell Berry (1934-2026)': https://t.co/MmqxZceK8W... An appreciation for the late Wendell Berry, with some help from @marklynas.bsky.social & @georgemonbiot.bsky.social 4 Sept 2026
- New essay 'RIP The Land, 2006-2026' 24 Aug 2026 chrissmaje.com
- New essay 'The state I'm in', about the state I'm in ... and the state I'm in! 16 Aug 2026 chrissmaje.com
- New essay 'Finding Lights in a Dark Age: Discussion Forum' https://t.co/TuJFi2K9X0 The place to raise comments & questions about my book of that name... 31 Jul 2026
- New essay 'Stop Press, Same News: No energy transition, again' https://t.co/2EV3R9a0Me on the continuing failure of an energy transition to happen 9 Jul 2026
- It's 3 years since I published 'Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future' & 6 days since @GeorgeMonbiot 'paraphrased' its argument as "to hell with the rest of the world & let them starve". Anniversary thoughts on why George & farm-free are so dangerous: https://t.co/hAjdB3osq3... 30 Jun 2026
- New essay 'Ten years of Brexit: a small farm future special' 14 Jun 2026 chrissmaje.com
- New essay 'The economic path ahead: four or two things to think about for surviving the future' 8 Jun 2026 chrissmaje.com
- New essay 'The path ahead' 27 May 2026 chrissmaje.com
- My Crazy Town podcast with with Jason Bradford is now out - I really enjoyed the wide-ranging conversation with a kindred spirit! https://t.co/UREKBi6G8D #DarkAgeLight 21 May 2026
- New essay, continuing my debate with Tom Murphy about the rights and wrongs of farming and foraging: 21 Mar 2026 chrissmaje.com
- New essay now out - 11 Mar 2026 chrissmaje.com
- My conversation with Adam Greenfield on his Lifepod about my recent book 'Finding Lights in a Dark Age' now out here: 11 Mar 2026 lifepod.transistor.fm
- New essay 'Ragnarök revisited' https://t.co/3nvg1MCB18 In which I start blogging my way through my recent book 'Finding Lights in a Dark Age'. What can Norse myth teach about present predicaments? 16 Feb 2026
- New essay 'By the Rivers of Babylon: debating agrarianism with Tom Murphy' https://t.co/uF9yvAccLy in which I, er, debate agrarianism with Tom Murphy 27 Jan 2026
Link verified 23 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
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