MO: Molweni, Jasper. Old EF’s outfit sent me an email. Quite fascinating. All about … what? Food as a weapon. Well, it’s about exploitation, versus nurture.

JC: Ahem. I am now officially at sea, a strange feeling to have on a stoep in the Karoo, false or not. You surely mean the EFF, right? Who else? And how can you forget that extra “F”? I mean, who forgets an F? Especially when it comes to the reds? And with them, weapon is right, boet.

MO: Wait … uh … there you go again, rant, rant … what, are the rusks lousy? Koffie te flou vir jou? Oftewel, te sterk?. Calm down, boet. The EF …

JC: The EFF! Who forgets an F? And who uses “nurture” in the context of “dubul’ibhunu”?

MO: Not the EFF! Stadig oor die klippe! Not. The. EFF. The Schumacher Foundation. EF Schumacher’s outfit. EEEE FFFFF Schumacher. They sent the email.

JC: Why didn’t you say so? [both burst out laughing.] There! [pointing] - a line of kudus, just below Sannaskop, other side of the river! [Both stand and watch until the kudu herd melts magically into the riverine bush.]

MO: The piece is written by a guy Wendell Berry. American farmer.

JC: [reads for a few minutes] Wonderful - I am so off America right now. It is quite strange to read something written with kindly grace, without a hint of AI. Makes me wonder, will robots replace farm workers? I can’t see it.

MO: Aussie farmers are using drones and AI in ways we haven’t thought of yet.

JC: And now you bring up Aussies! Have you no shame? First Americans, now Aussies. Eish. Go, ‘bokke!

MO: Well, things are complex. You suggested planting daikon radish on brakkolle. It sounded good, until we learned that we would be destroying kazillions of bee habitats.

JC: Would AI have come up with that? It took Karin Sternberg to wise me up. I thought I was so clever!

MO: You did.

JC: It’s about time something good came out of America, especially with things like this. And, if you think I rant, and since you mentioned the Big Oz, try this Aussie Sheila for size. I am a wimp-ranter!

MO: Wow. You are a kortbroek ranter (remember him?) indeed!