Potential Global Food Shortage?

[kellenw]

Pat -
Good one! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

I tend to be more of the libertarian persuasion these days.

[eccentricfarmer]

Decided to revive this a bit. Could see a lot of this coming down the pike when started part time farming 10 years or so ago. Found a 5 acre plot that was having trouble growing sand burrs. Spread copious amounts of home grown fertilizer (aka manure), kept chemicals on the land and animals to a minimum and slowly experimented with land experiments such as hay, fallow, pasture etc. Finally can get a crop off it but man did it take some work.

Now they are talking about how the genetics of seed have gone about as far as it can go and the concern is 'dirt'. The never ending 'they'. Upshot, they found out they could not 'make' dirt. Nature has to do it and in its own good time and will not be forced. The trace minerals have been taken out of the soil and replaced with petrochemical mock ups. Many areas now under starvation threat were the bread baskets of their time.

The antibiotics that were touted to be so wonderful are now turning up in soil and water as they pass thru animals that are being forced to grow faster and bigger than designed.

The cows and chickens and assorted i watch over are creatures of nature and they are not forced to do more that they can naturally. Yep they grow a little slower, and may not be as profitable, but when i sit down to dinner i know where they came from and what they ate so i can eat as well.

Wish 'them' luck at making dirt.