Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
I read an article on the DTN/Progressive Farming website that once again shows how difficult it is to resolve differences of opinion in farming disagreements. The article was an even-sided discussion of possible overproduction of organic crops, (which I plan to write about soon) but a respondent took the occasion to launch into a rather vitriolic attack on organic farming. He was irritated about the organic stand against herbicides.
By banning pesticides in a referendum, the community of Mals in Southern Tyrol is set to garner worldwide attention. That does not mean that the conflict is settled.
Most people know that there’s a huge wealth gap between the industrialized and so-called ‘developing’ worlds. But there’s another gap, one that’s rarely discussed in the media, or even by NGOs. It involves changing attitudes to farming, to the land and the soil.
Healthy land needs diversity. Have you ever seen a patch of wild nature occupied by just one species?
Pedaling our bicycles and gear across the American West at a steady 12 miles an hour, my friend Neil and I have begun to fathom just how much land our society dedicates to growing food, particularly grains.
This week’s guest on Sea Change Radio, author Dean Kuipers, explores how farms get the money they need to grow the food we eat.
Let’s be clear from the outset: I’m no fan of conventional desalination.
“Agroecology applies the principles of ecology to the design and management of sustainable food systems.”
The old cliché of a mugger’s threat sums up well the choice before us in these times: "Your money or your life".
In other words, agriculture turned destructive not because of some intrinsic flaw within larger-scale, more sophisticated cultivation. It turned destructive for the same reason mining, conflict, grazing, or governance turned destructive.
Without serious efforts to stem the mining of groundwater, food production will decline.
Imagine if each tap that delivered water from the Colorado River – whether to a farm, a factory, or a home – suddenly went dry for a year. What would happen to the West’s economy?
