What is a natural resource?

We use clay from the riverbank,


water from Lake Michigan,


zebra mussels from the lake (over-populated foreign invader from international shipping),

glass from our local brewery,


wool for felt from the sheep near us,

and perhaps kellog's corn flakes (invented here).



If, as Marx writes, a commodity fetish obscures the mode of production, what can we gain by understanding our entire system of production (material and labor)?