where does food come from

Connie Falk (cfalk@nmsu.edu)
Fri, 8 Sep 1995 08:42:49 -0600

I had a funny (?) experience at the Biosphere 2 in Tuscson, AZ, last year.
On a visit there I took the standard tour around the place. A tour guide
describes what's going on inside. SHe was young and it seemed had memorized
her lines, quite a feat considering the tour lasted an hour. When we passed
the section where the biospherians (humans) grow their food, she talked
about "harvesting the loaves" rather than the wheat. Later she referred to
all of the different "species of soils" in the Biosphere.
Sort of a tangent, but does anyone know whether any legitimate scientific
research is conducted at the Biosphere, or is it just a stunt? From the tour
one gets the impression it is a cross between a movie set and Disneyland.

Connie Falk
Assoc. Prof.
Ag. Econ, NMSU