The first strawberry

We planted this bed in late June of last year after our first batch failed. They slept away the winter and now we have the first fruit. So sweet, no chemicals (non organic grocery store strawberries have upwards of 17 applications of chemicals), no food miles. What a Delight!
Best Methods for Growing Fruits and Berries

Fresh Cantaloupe for breakfast! Delicious and nutritious, even expeditious

My morning routine has really improved since the cantaloupes started ripening. There is nothing finer than a fresh melon for breakfast. I picked one today that is as big as a football (an American one that is, more like a rugby ball for you Brits) and promptly ate half of it for breakfast. The sense of well being that comes from eating fresh, organically grown food right from my garden is immense. No breakfast television, we don't have any TV service, no schedule hurrying me along, we don't have 9 to 5 jobs, just a cool slightly foggy morning, dew on the grass, birds chattering away and wholesome food for my body and soul. This is where it's at!

According to the Self Nutrition website Cantaloupe is high in fiber, niacin, B6, Folate, and very high in potassium, vitamins A and C. It is also high in fruit sugars but as with any fruit when consumed with the fiber the sugar absorption is slowed, thus cantaloupe is low on the Glycemic index. It is apparently also mildly anti-inflammatory. Over at Juicing for Health.com  they tout the anti cancer and heart disease benefits of Cantaloupe due to it's high amounts of anti-oxidants. Here are some of their highlights for eating cantaloupe;
"Anti-coagulant:  A unique compound in cantaloupe helps decrease the viscosity of the blood, hence preventing the abnormal formation of blood clots in the cardiovascular system.
Arteriosclerosis:  Regularly consuming vitamin C retards the development of hardening of the arteries.
Cancer prevention:  The high vitamin C content acts as a good anti-oxidant that protects cells from damages by free radicals.  Regularly drinking juices high in anti-oxidants keep cancer at bay, especially against intestinal cancer and melanoma.
Cataracts:  The natural vitamin A from beta-carotene in this juice lowers the risk of cataract and generally helps improve your vision too.
Cholesterol:  Drinking juices high in anti-oxidant has been proven to fight the oxidative stress that is the main culprit in oxidizing the LDLs in the blood.
High blood pressure:   Potassium in this rockmelon helps excrete sodium, thus bringing down high blood pressure especially in those with salt-sensitive hypertension. 
Immune system:  The strong content of vitamin C stimulates white cells to fight infection, naturally building a good immune system.
Insomnia:  A special compound in cantaloupe relieves the nerves and calm anxieties.  A help for insomniacs.
Menstruation problems:  For women, drink this wonder juice around the time of menstruation and it will help reduce heavy flow and clots.
Muscle Cramps:  A deficiency in potassium can cause muscular cramps and greater susceptibility to injury. Drink cantaloupe juice to prevent these.
Pregnancy:  The high content of folate (folic acid) prevents neural tube defects in infants.
Quit Smoking:  The natural nutrients and minerals found in this juice provides a synergistic combination that helps the body recover from nicotine withdrawal of one who is trying to quit smoking.  Smoking also quickly depletes the vitamin A in a smoker, but cantaloupe juice can help replace it with its beta-carotene.
Stress:  When going through a stressful period, keep this musky melon on the side and drink its juice regularly.  The potassium content helps to rebalance and normalize the heartbeat. This in turn sends oxygen to the brain and regulates the body's water balance.
Water retention:  Especially in pregnant women.  Muskmelon juice helps your body excrete excess sodium, thus reducing water retention."

Don't Panic, Go Organic

 Rodale is on the cutting edge of research to determine the best farming techniques for rebuilding our soil, sequestering carbon, returning nutrition to our food, and health to ourselves.

"If you do just one thing to change the world, go organic."
"Going organic is the single most critical (and most DOABLE) action we can take right now to stop our climate crisis. Every acre of ground that's farmed organically has the potential to pull thousands of pounds of warming greenhouse gases out of our air."
"Organic farming is a real, attainable solution to our current global climate crisis! Organic farming can actually remove greenhouse gases from the air - helping to reverse the climate crisis!"
"Organic living can stop the climate crisis. When you combine the impact of protecting the beneficial mycorrhizal fungi in the soil (which absorb and neutralize carbon) and eliminating all the toxic chemicals (and their packaging and the energy spent producing them), the carbon problem in our atmosphere is practically solved. We still need more renewable energy, but restoring the earth's ability to sequester carbon is a good place to start. And you'll do it while eating."
-Maria Rodale, Organic Manifesto: How Organic Farming Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World, and Keep Us Safe
Thanks to Organic Consumers Association for the quote.

"Why We Should All Eat More Organic Food" from OCA

From the good folks over at Organic Consumers Association;
"www.whatsorganicmovie.org The organic label has swept into supermarket shelves over the last decade, but what does it mean? Through the stories of five farmers who steward land from Harlem to the foothills of the Rockies, from upstate New York to Florida, WHAT'S "ORGANIC" ABOUT ORGANIC? offers the audience a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in creating a more sustainable food system. The film is a headfirst dive into the challenges that arise when a grassroots agricultural movement evolves into a booming international market."



"Organic Food is More Nutritious

• Organic foods, especially raw or non-processed, contain higher levels of beta carotene, vitamins C, D and E, health-promoting polyphenols, cancer-fighting antioxidants, flavonoids that help ward off heart disease, essential fatty acids, and essential minerals.
• On average, organic is 25% more nutritious in terms of
  vitamins and minerals than products derived from industrial agriculture. Since on the average, organic food's shelf price is only 20% higher than chemical food, this makes it actually cheaper, gram for gram, than chemical food, even ignoring the astronomical hidden costs (damage to health, climate, environment, and government subsidies) of industrial food production.
• Levels of antioxidants in milk from organic cattle are between 50% and 80% higher than normal milk. Organic wheat, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions and lettuce have between 20% and 40% more nutrients than non-organic foods.
• Organic food contains qualitatively higher levels of essential minerals (such as calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium), that are severely depleted in chemical foods grown on pesticide and nitrate fertilizer-abused soil. UK and US government statistics indicate that levels of trace minerals in (non-organic) fruit and vegetables fell by up to 76% between 1940 and 1991....
• 
  
• Organic Food Is Safer
• 
  
• Organic food doesn't contain pesticides. More than 400 chemical pesticides are routinely used in conventional farming and residues remain on non-organic food even after washing. Children are especially vulnerable to pesticide exposure. One class of pesticides, endocrine disruptors, may be responsible for early puberty and breast cancer. Pesticides are linked to asthma and cancer.
• Organic food isn't genetically modified. Under organic standards, genetically modified (GM) crops and ingredients are prohibited.
• Organic animals aren't given drugs. Organic farming standards prohibit the use of antibiotics, growth hormones and genetically modified vaccines in farm animals. Hormone-laced beef and dairy consumption is correlated with increased rates of breast, testis and prostate cancers.
• Organic animals aren't fed slaughterhouse waste, blood, or manure. Eating organic reduces the risks of CJD, the human version of mad cow disease, as well as Alzheimer's.
• Organic animals aren't fed arsenic.
• Organic animals aren't fed byproducts of corn ethanol production (which increases the rate of E. coli contamination).
• Organic crops aren't fertilized with toxic sewage sludge or coal waste, or irrigated with E. coli contaminated sewage water.
• Organic food isn't irradiated. Cats fed a diet of irradiated food got multiple sclerosis within 3-4 months.
• Organic food contains less illness-inducing bacteria. Organic chicken is free of salmonella and has a reduced incidence of campylobacter."

Video - Grocery Store Wars

Starting the day with a smile.

New Study; Organic is Healthier and More Nutritious

A French study, like so many before it, has found organic food to be more nutritious and healthier. Read more about this study over at Organic Consumers Association.

The major points of The French Agency for Food Safety study are:
1. Organic plant products contain more dry matter (more nutrient dense)
2. Have higher levels of minerals
3. Contain more anti-oxidants such as phenols and salicylic acid (known to protect against cancers, heart disease and many other health problems)
4. Organic animal products contain more polyunsaturated fatty acids (protect against heart disease)
5. Carbohydrate, protein and vitamin levels are insufficiently documented
6. 94-100% of organic foods do not contain any pesticide residues
7. Organic vegetables contain far less nitrates, about 50% less (high nitrate levels are linked to a range of health problems including diabetes and Alzheimer's)
8. Organic cereals contain similar levels of mycotoxins as conventional ones

The full scientific report can be found at http://swroc.cfans.umn.edu/organic/ASD_Lairon_2009.pdf"

Organic food still the best nutritional choice

Recently the media has been trumpeting a report from the UK Food standards agency that ostensibly states that there is no nutritional benefit to choosing organic produce. Rodale institute has published a rebuttal to this interpretation. Apparently the data in the study offers no proof to support the claim of no benefit;

"The study, funded by the UK Food Standards Agency, formally acknowledges data
demonstrating significant nutritional advantages for organic. It said in its analysis,
however, that the evidence was insufficient, under its protocol, to proclaim organic
superiority.... The study accepted data from only 55 field trials, farm surveys and market basket
surveys of the 52,471 citations it identified with relevance to comparing nutrients (and
other substances) from organic and non-organic sources. Methods for rejection included
statistical methodology, unclear organic system verification and lack of specific breed/
cultivar identification. Some of the studies included were conducted before the creation of
current national organic standards. "

Their are added benefits of organic farming;

"The Rodale Institute has been comparing organic and non-organic practices for nearly
three decades, and released a report in 2008 explaining the regenerative capabilities of
organic agriculture as a solution to confront global warming. Organic production methods
are responsible for fewer pesticides and herbicides in soils and water, better management
of land, and food with little to no risk of doing long-term damage to our planet, its people,
and its biodiversity."

Having a bit of Thiabendazole with that apple?

Probably, Thiabendazole residue, a probable carcinogen, is found 87.9% of the time on non organic apples as determined by the USDA. The neurotoxin Azinphos methyl is found 31.8% of the time. Yummmmmm........ And you can't count on washing to remove these contaminants.

If you suspect that contamination somehow magically disappears during processing, check out peanut butter, Piperonyl butoxide, a suspected carcinogen and hormone disruptor, is found 26.9% of the time.

How about your cranberry juice? Chlorothalonil, a known carcinogen, is found in cranberries 56% of the time

DCPA, a suspected hormone disruptor, is found in Broccoli 50.3% of the time.

Boscalid a suspected carcinogen is found 64.8% of the time in cherries.

DDE p,p' a known carcinogen is found in Kale 41.7% of the time.

I could go on all day but the point is clear. Go Organic! for your own health and the health of the planet.

Find out what dangerous chemicals are on your produce over at What's on My Food a project of the Pesticide Action Network.


Thanks to the Organic Consumers Association for the heads up on this and for these factoids;

• The average child gets 5+ servings of pesticides in their food and water each day.
• The pesticide Atrazine is so toxic it is banned in Europe, but it is used so widely in the U.S., that it is found in 71% of the U.S. drinking water.
• Currently, over 400 pesticides can be legally used in the U.S. For example, apples can be sprayed up to 16 times with 36 different pesticides. None of these chemicals are present in organic foods.
• According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, organophosphate pesticides (OP) are now found in the blood of 95% of Americans tested, and the levels are twice as high in blood samples taken from children. Exposure to OPs is linked to hyperactivity, behavior disorders, learning disabilities, developmental delays and motor dysfunction.

Eat cheaply, eat nutritiously and sustainably.

It has long mystified me that those with limited income to spend on food choose to spend it on junk food; soda's, processed foods, anything with high fructose corn syrup in it, white breads, and fast food. You would think investing in nutrition; fresh, seasonal, and organic food, makes more sense. You can purchase and eat less because the food you eat is so much more nutritious. The paradox is that the poor in America tend towards obesity and have high rates of diabetes due to these food choices. I believe this behaviour is down to intentionally deceptive media and poor nutrition education. Here is a story over at Organic Consumers Association about a couple that tried to exist on the government food stamp minimum while eating only SOLE food; that's sustainable, organic, local, or ethical food.

"Siobhan Phillips proves that eating sustainably and ethically can be done on a budget - even on a seriously limited budget. She and her husband embarked on an experiment to eat only SOLE foods - sustainable, organic, local or ethical foods - "on the government-defined, food-stamp minimum: $248 for two people in our hometown of New Haven, Conn." Even more courageously, the two started this experiment with bare cupboards!

No, Siobhan didn't go on an all-vegetarian diet - though she did have to pass on the grass-fed steak. "Instead, I bought a small free-range chicken for about $9 and a scant pound of local ground beef for about $6, knowing that this, along with some sustainable canned fish, was our allotment of animal flesh for four weeks." That meant she really, really had to stretch the chicken, not only using up every piece of meat but also saving the fat and boiling the bones for broth.

But by buying dry beans in bulk, baking her own basic bread, and discovering thrifty cookbooks and international cuisine, Siobhan got to have her Chinese fried rice and Italian risotto and spicy biryani and eat them too. She says it didn't take much more time than usual - and she didn't have to give up her morning cup of organic fair trade coffee or fair trade cocoa desserts either.

Siobhan says her method won't work for everyone: "I relied on the sort of reasonably flexible schedule that is a luxury in far too many households, and I started with some basic cooking knowledge." But they sure sound like they'd work for me - and many other MNN readers. Read her article for more details on her frugal and tasty ethical eating - which she says she plans to stick to - save for the occasional pepperoni pizza."

Local Food in Bermuda

Ironically, I'm eating more local food here in Bermuda, a country that imports almost everything it consumes, than anywhere else I've lived. I'm right in the bustling heart of Hamilton, the biggest town on the island, and every saturday there is a farmers market.

Wadson's Farm is a long standing organic farm and has some of the best lettuce I've ever eaten. They are also harvesting carrots, leeks, cauliflower, and more right now. We've known members of this family for many years as my wife taught some of the girls last time we lived here. It really is wonderful to talk to the farmer, tour his operation, and feel so confident about the food you eat. If you can do it where you live I heartily recommend it.

Recommended gardening website

If you are a gardener, interested in growing your own food, I highly recommend Emma Coopers website. Her podcast is excellent, her voice is pleasant and the production is simple and elegant not to mention to the point and useful. Check her out at;

http://coopette.com/

Why Buy Organic?

Aside from the obvious reasons; preferring not to ingest pesticides, herbicides, frankenfoods, and food that is generally lower in nutrients, check out the video for some more information about why it is better value for money.

Why Buy Organic video

Soil, organics, and Co2 - by Robb

I've discussed the threats from modern industrial agriculture to one of our most valuable resources, our soil, in past posts.

Here are a few stats from my Soil Erosion post back in February of this year.

* The United States is losing soil 10 times faster -- and China and India are losing soil 30 to 40 times faster -- than the natural replenishment rate.
* The economic impact of soil erosion in the United States costs the nation about $37.6 billion each year in productivity losses. Damage from soil erosion worldwide is estimated to be $400 billion per year.
* As a result of erosion over the past 40 years, 30 percent of the world's arable land has become unproductive.
(http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/March06/soil.erosion.threat.ssl.html Feb 2008)

This is the type of vital ecosystem service George Monbiot discusses in the article I linked to in my recent post,

Externalities?


Now I'd like to discuss some of the benefits of proper maintenance of that precious resource, our soil, through organic agriculture. Rodale Institute has published some research cataloging the potential effects proper soil husbandry can have on global warming. Much of the information and graphics for this post is drawn from the report.

Aside from the obvious benefits of growing food, providing a base for vegetation that prevents erosion, acting as a sponge to mitigate the effects of flooding, reducing pollution from agricultural runoff, the soil offers other less well known services. If treated properly soil sequesters carbon, it actually locks up more carbon than the vegetation growing on it.

"On a global scale, soils hold more than twice as much carbon (an estimated 1.74 trillion US tons) as does terrestrial vegetation (672 trillion US tons)."

This is accomplished through the buildup of humic substances, soil organic matter or SOM, in the soil that allow long term carbon storage. This SOM, which is primarily made up of carbon, is the heart and soul of organic agriculture. SOM is almost completely avoided in industrial agriculture which uses petrochemicals to replace the nutrients otherwise provided.

The naturally developed grassland soils that much of the American corn and soy crop grows in was originally comprised of 6-10% SOM. These soils have been degraded to typically 1-3% by industrial agricultural methods. Indeed, Rodales research over 27 years indicates that organic systems increased soil carbon by 30% while their similar petrochemically managed fields showed no increase in carbon.

This effect is largely down to a beneficial environment for fungi which is fostered by organic methods. No only does fungi assist in the processes necessary for carbon sequestration but,

"Mycorrhizal fungi structures enhance the ability of plant roots to access soil moisture and nutrients, produce stable compounds to sequester carbon dioxide as soil carbon, and slow decay of soil organic compounds."

Fungi is most amazing stuff. For more on that check out the work by Paul Stamets at Fungi.com.


Additionally the practices of organic fertilization and cropping diversity stimulates carbon sequestration whereas petroleum based practices and mono cropping stimulates quick decay of SOM thus releasing carbon into the atmosphere.

Organic practices like cover crops and composting have direct benefits to the atmosphere in that they use 33% less fossil fuel in the farming practices themselves compared to petroleum fertilizer based practices. Further Rodale research has shown that,



"the use of composted manure with crop rotation in organic systems can result in carbon sequestration of up to 2000 lbs/ac/yr. By contrast, fields under standard tillage relying on chemical fertilizers lost almost 300 pounds of carbon per acre per year."

If all 43 million acres of cropland in the US were to use these methods 1.6 billion tons/yr would be sequestered, around 25% of the total US fossil fuel emissions.

Here are some more facts about Organic agriculture from the Organic Consumers Association,

• If organic farming methods were practiced on all the planet's food-growing land, it would be like taking more than 1.5 billion cars off the road.
• You can increase your antioxidant intake by 30 percent by choosing organic.
• The average child in America is exposed to five pesticides daily in their food and drinking water.
• The U.S. water system is regularly contaminated above safe limits immediately following chemical fertilizer applications to farm fields.
• Farms in developing countries that use organic techniques produce an average of 79% more than farms that don't.

So it seems clear that organic agriculture produces healthier food, more food, is far less damaging to the soil and surrounding ecosystem, and can help mitigate global warming and climate change. It looks like the sustainable choice to me.

Thanks to Rodale Institute for the report from which most of this post is drawn and the Organic Consumers Association for pointing me in that direction and for additional facts.

Like to eat? Then save the Bees!

Check out this article over at Organic Consumers Association regarding the US EPA's efforts to protect corporate interests, surprise surprise, at the cost of the environment. This time it involves a pesticide banned in Germany and France for years now due to it's danger to bees, those hard workers upon which "every third mouthful of food" we eat depends.

EPA is Hiding Colony Collapse Disorder Information

" 'This is a real mystery right now," said Dr. Gabriela Chavarria, director of NRDC's Science Center. "EPA needs to help shed some light so that researchers can get to work on this problem. This isn't just an issue for farmers -- this is an issue that concerns us all. Just try to imagine a pizza without the contribution of bees! No tomatoes. No cheese. No peppers. If you eat apples, cucumbers, broccoli, onions, squash, carrots, avocados, or cherries, you need to be concerned.' "

GE sugar cereal from Kelloggs -By Robb

Kelloggs claims that US consumers don't care if their food is genetically engineered. Is that true? Sugar beets, from which much of the sugar produced in the US is sourced, are genetically engineered to withstand massive doses of Monsanto's roundup herbicide, doses that contaminate the soil and water. Coupled with the huge amounts of GE corn and soy in the US this means that much of your Kelloggs breakfast cereal is franken food. Do American consumers really not care about this? See more about this and sign the petition to disprove this ridiculous assertion from Kelloggs at the Organic Consumers Association website.

Food part 4 - Urban Agriculture - by Robb

Most of us rely on supermarkets, our grandparents relied on local produce supplied by locally owned markets and grew their own. Since then the food supply has been largely taken over by corporate interests. This is true in Europe and the U.S. We have Tesco, you have WalMart.

“.......the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation cite Belgium, France and the UK as ‘extreme examples’ where only 10 percent of retail units account for more than 80 per cent of food distribution. (Food and Agriculture Organisation, 2002) Supermarkets’ reliance on economies of scale and repeatable quality standards inevitably favours larger suppliers and the use of chemicals in preference to environmentally benign agricultural methods. In contrast urban farms and community gardens, tends to be characterised by the use of organic methods and the local sale of produce.”

Urban Agriculture (UA) allows the use of organic waste for composting reducing landfill usage as well as partially remedying the breakdown of nutrient flows which are destroying our oceans and inland waterways, nutrients in the form of oil are pumped from the ground, shipped to refineries, processed into fertilisers, shipped to the farm, sprayed on the earth, washed into the water sources and thence into the sea or transported as food to the consumer and eventually landfilled or flushed down the sewer as waste. We are eating oil. UA offers an alternative to the high food/nutrient miles paradigm of the supermarket distribution model.

This reliance on supermarkets to the detriment of local food production leaves the urban dweller, particularly the poor, vulnerable to supply issues such as price hikes due to rising costs of energy and water as well as crop failure due to drought and future energy shortages, a virtual certainty with global warming and peak oil. Additionally the poor increasingly find themselves in ‘retail deserts’ as the large supermarkets fail to adequately serve more and more poor neighborhoods after having driven the local food supply network out of business or out of town. This leaves fast food as the primary option for many of the developed worlds most vulnerable with all it’s attendant health implications. Fast food as well as other highly processed foods have impacts beyond health.

Studies done in the 70’s, sparked by the oil shortages of that era, indicate that, for example the embodied energy in a typical loaf of white bread is primarily attributable to fertilisers and transport.(Chapman 1975) Here’s how it looked at that time with a total of 5.6kWh/loaf;

Retail
8.6% shop heat and light
12.2% transport
Bakery
9.4% non wheat ingredients
23.6% baking fuel
8.3% packaging
5.0% transport
Milling
2.2% packaging
2.0% other
7.4% milling fuel
1.4% transport
Farm
11.6% fertiliser
7.3% tractor fuel
0.4% other

Fertilisers and transport made up 37.6% of the energy embodied in a loaf of bread. While industrial processes have become more efficient since then, packaging and transport have increased. A study done in Britain in 2000 found that the embodied energy in the food consumed by a typical family of four household was 265kWh/m2 (Vale 2000) while the energy used by a typical house at that time was 257kWh/m2. If the energy used by the family car is included the equivalent carbon dioxide emissions of the food used by the household is roughly equivalent to the equivalent carbon dioxide emissions used in the house and for personal transport. (Kramer K.J. et al., 1999) Agriculture has a large equivalent carbon dioxide emission impact because petro chemical fertilisers release nitrous oxides which are 300 times more potent as greenhouse gases than CO2.

It has been suggested that if the UK switched entirely to food produced organically, locally and consumed in season, greenhouse gas reductions in excess of 40 million tonnes/year would result, a 22% reduction in total UK CO2 emissions. (Stanley 2002)

Until about 1920 the food produced in the US released an equal amount of energy upon consumption as the energy used to supply and produce it. By 1970 the energy used to produce food in the US had multiplied on average by a factor of 8. (Steinhart & Steinhart 1971) The energy ratio in the UK by 1968 was .2, the amount of energy derived from edibles divided by the energy used to produce it, thus for every joule of energy released by the food 5 joules were used to produce it. (Leach 1976) Neither figure takes into account packaging, transport, refrigeration, processing, and marketing.

It is also important to eat food in season. Not only have we adapted as primates to eat food in season and thus it is a more natural and healthy practice but eating only produce in season has a large impact on energy usage and thus greenhouse gas emissions. A vegetable requiring a heated greenhouse requires 57 times more energy at 37.15 MJ/kg to produce than a vegetable locally grown in an open field at 1.55MJ/kg. Even shipping produce 2000 km from a country where it is in season is preferable as it uses only 5.8MJ/kg. (Kol, Bieiot and Wilting, 1993) The easiest way to do this is to eat locally grown seasonal produce.

Locally grown can mean many things. In the context of urban agriculture or peri urban agriculture, on the periphery of town, it can mean within walking distance or short delivery haulage. At a local farmers market stall the produce may have been grown in a field on the outskirts of town and been driven in but the customers to the stall are more likely to have walked or cycled to the stall than to have driven a car. Supermarkets on the other hand, being typically situated on busy roads, are much more likely to rely on customers arriving by car in addition to international delivery of the produce itself. Additionally, the produce at the farmers stall will have less packaging and gone through less processing.

As communities practice more and more UA the amount of food miles, packaging and processing reduces even further as the food is traded house to house and neighborhood to neighborhood. Have you planted your veggies yet?

Food part 1 - Soil erosion - by Robb

There are many issues surrounding food, it’s production, transportation, and consumption. I’ve already touched on some issues relating to corn production in the previous post. I’d like to go right back to the basic ingredients for production of healthy food; clean water, clean air and rich healthy soil. I’ll deal with more with clean water in later posts and clean air will require many posts as well. For now I’d like to start with soil.

Our entire civilization depends on our soil!

“Around the world, soil is being swept and washed away 10 to 40 times faster than it is being replenished, destroying cropland the size of Indiana every year....” reports a Cornell University study by ecologist David Pimental.

The same Cornell report points out that 99.7 percent of human food comes from cropland. Cropland is shrinking by almost 37,000 square miles a year due to soil erosion.

"Erosion is one of those problems that nickels and dimes you to death: One rainstorm can wash away 1 mm (.04 inches) of dirt. It doesn't sound like much, but when you consider a hectare (2.5 acres), it would take 13 tons of topsoil -- or 20 years if left to natural processes -- to replace that loss," Pimentel said.

If that isn’t enough to scare you here are some more stats from that report:
* The United States is losing soil 10 times faster -- and China and India are losing soil 30 to 40 times faster -- than the natural replenishment rate.
* The economic impact of soil erosion in the United States costs the nation about $37.6 billion each year in productivity losses. Damage from soil erosion worldwide is estimated to be $400 billion per year.
* As a result of erosion over the past 40 years, 30 percent of the world's arable land has become unproductive.
(http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/March06/soil.erosion.threat.ssl.html Feb 2008)

So what’s going on? It seems clear we need to look carefully at farming methods. It is well known that tropical rainforests exist over very poor soils due to their amazing ability to very quickly recycle nutrients. So when these forests are cleared for farming or livestock the soil can only support a few years of crops before erosion washes it away. Stopping the clearing of tropical rainforests make sense on so many levels that it is frankly unbelievable that it continues.

Industrial farming methods are equally to blame. At every planting season the earth is laid bare to dry out and blow away. It is already weakened through overfarming and chemical usage and lack of organic matter to bind it together and hold moisture. According to Pimental in just one winter almost 2 inches per hectare (2.5 acres) of soil blew away from cropland in Kansas, the equivalent of 650 tons of topsoil per hectare. There is new evidence suggesting that the increasing dustiness of the US west has gotten much worse in the last 200 years and is due largely to intensive livestock grazing and railroad building. (http://www.livescience.com/environment/080225-west-dustier.html March 2008)

Low or no tillage farming is proving to substantially reduce erosion. Avoiding the plough and leaving mulch in the soil, even if only 20%, reduces erosion by 70% to 80% according to conservation agriculture trials monitored by the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5274100.stm Feb 2008)

So what can an individual do about this? As with most efforts to live in a sustainable manner one begins with detailed examination of personal consumption. Where does your food come from? Does it contribute to irresponsible farming practices? Are all the calories you are consuming full of quality nutrition? The easiest solution is to grow your own food and drastically reduce meat consumption. By growing as much food as you can, organically, you can offset the food with unknown origination with food you know everything about. But if you can’t grow it, buy it. Organically grown food is much kinder to the soil as it depends on healthy soil for it’s production rather than on chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Buy supporting organic farming you will be encouraging conservation of the soil and getting healthier food in the bargain, a much more sustainable choice.