Mr. Spray N. Pray himself writes:
> The evidence is mounting that subsoil biotic activity is suppressed more
> by plowing than by herbicides -- and those are the only two choices we have
> for controlling the weeds that would otherwise steal the nutrients from our
> crops.
Really? What about mowing? What about burning? What about some level
of tolerance? Beware of people who state there are only N ways to do
something.
> ... the world will demand at least two-and-a-half times as much food by
> 2050, and the desire for high-quality protein is likely to triple the
> global demands on farming resources. If this food cannot be produced on
> our current cropland, the Third World has already demonstrated that it will
> hunt down virtually every wild creature for the stew pot, and then clear
> their wildlands for low-yielding crops in spite of their low-quality soils.
And then they will all die and we won't have the demand anymore. Sad,
but possibly true. This will happen using Dennis' system, too, although
using Dennis' system we may end up destroying our own agricultural
potential as well. The world would be better served if Dennis would
direct his considerable energy toward family planning or poverty
reduction or women's rights instead of furthering the hegemony of
destructive multinational corporations.
Also note how Dennis frames the problem in terms of those damned
ineducable, promiscuous Third World primitive savages. If we just make
good use of the earth's endless supply (and tolerance) of
petrochemicals, all will turn out OK. Right.
> How many million acres of wildlands is Mr. Benbrooke willing to sacrifice
> to have chemical-free farming ?
Dennis, as usual you miss the point entirely. The problem of population
growth will be solved one way or the other. The question is how: through
education and planning, or through force of nature?
The endless growth paradigm is a dead end. Get used to it.
-- Robert Stevahn | Ours is not to feed the world. Let's learn rstevahn@boi.hp.com | to feed ourselves, then teach the world. Boise Food Connection | Population: Birth Control xor Death Control.