On Wed, 17 Nov 1999, Ted Rogers wrote:
> I'm sorry Lawrence, this use of the word natural in association with or
> as a descriptor of agriculture drives me up a wall. I have done it myself
> in the past, but really, think about it. We invented agriculture 10,000
> years ago and slowly began the evolution of culture built upon it. There
> is absolutely nothing natural about agriculture. It is an elegant synthetic
> construct.
Gophers dig burrows, worms do same, natural gardeners dig raised beds,
bees build comb, wasps build nests. All of this is natural, all of this is
structured. Structured does not equal synthetic in this context.
> The critical issue from a wholistic and sustainable
> perspective is that we try to understand how to harmonize modern
> agricultural systems with what we are beginning to learn from nature as
> we invent the science of ecology.
This is a wonderful concept.
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