Agriculture

given the widely distributed populations in the polychotomy, and their varied dietary needs, habits, and customs, it should come as no surprise that different phyles take different approaches to agriculture.

the Mutual Defence Coöperative has by far the largest output, with many shards under MDC control being put almost exclusively into crop production. however, their quality varies significantly. they’re trying to adopt Druidic Agriculture™ practices, but that means a reduced yield…

the Green Way use Druidic Agriculture™ exclusively. they don’t produce much, but what they do produce tastes excellent, and is supposed to be better for you than most of the other stuff you can get. some Green Way members are vegetarian, or even vegan in their diets, and Green Way-raised livestock is practically unheard of. however, some groups within the phyle hunt, and thus one occasionally finds the Green Way seal of approval on game meats.

no-one thinks of the Drummers as farmers, but there are a few specialty crops at the provision of which they seem to excel. among these are a variety of fungi, as well as the herb they often call Stuph™ (thought to come from a Halfling word, either staivel, meaning “grass” or stefin, meaning “weed”. (suffyst, meaning “pot”, is sometimes suggested as well. but no-one has been able to explain what relationship pottery and herbology would have with each other)). the Drummers tend to assert that they don’t so much grow these substances as find them, but others have noticed that non-Drummers seem to “find” them much less often.

the Overlords vend a variety of tasty meats, especially cured ones. but there are questions as to exactly what sort of livestock they use, serious enough questions that many folks who wouldn’t dream of becoming vegetarians also wouldn’t dream of eating Overlord meats, not even their finely seasoned sausage.

some phyles take non-traditional approaches. the Clock Tenders, of course, mostly conjure their food with a variety of magical devices. and the Dead College don’t eat much, at least not what the rest of us consider food. no reliable reports from sane witnesses of the dietary habits of the Other Side are available. and the Wretched Victims are well-known advocates of the ancient art of rooting through other people’s trash.

of the remaining phyles, many don’t have any significant agriculture of their own, mostly relying on either subsistence farming in local enclaves, or trade with the more agricultural phyles.