The soil here on my small farm is generally alkali..it has a high lime content. Looking around, it´s clear the entire area wants to be a pine forest. Pine trees create more acidic soil. Mixing acidic with alkali we get more of a neutral balance. Nature is at work to bring this about..no one is in charge of that process..it´s just happening. Sustainable farming methods work with this bigger process of maintaining balance.
Using chemical and oil based fertilizers has enabled man to increase food productivity with little regard for this bigger process of maintaining balance. We've got away with it for the past fifty years, but now, the inconvenient results of our actions are beginning to hit home:
1. Long term decrease in food quality based on the living vitality of soil and food.
2. Massive global pollution from leaching of chemical nitrogen fertilizers into waterways.
3. Farmer dependancy on bio-tech solutions.
Farmer dependance on the solutions created by massive bio - tech corporations is further extended with Genetically Modified (GM) seeds, and now Bill Gates, plans to initiate a green revolution in Africa using these methods. Short term productivity gains come at the expense of accute dependancy on bio-tech corporations = less independance for the people of Africa: where is the sustainability in that? What happens when the science fails, when the price of solutions sky rockets? Dependancy can never equate to food security.
Goverments are too busy fighting political fires and struggle to generate cohesive long term food security strategies because they are driven by short term governance and global capital markets. Whats more, the democratic process isn´t particuarly democratic anymore, as governements rail road through new energy iniatives that will perpetuate our problems further. In general, people in positions of power are not looking at the cause of our modern world problems because that would be too painful for our economies ( and their own positions).
Well, if we don´t slow down we´ll continue to crash because we´re not in control. We need people action now to regain control of our money and food systems - this won´t come from anywhere else except ourselves. If we don´t drive re-structuring of our systems, what will the future hold for our children?
Those couragous enough to embrace this transition will be tomorrow's successful farmers and businesses. The courage is in seeing this transition as a forward step. Sustainable farming is not about returning to antiquated ways of producing food and foresaking science. Rather, it's about re-connection with this bigger process of maintaining balance. Instead of driving science to develop ways that enable Man to go against the flow of nature, we shift focus to work with the flow.
To regain control of our food we have to regain control of our money and keep as much of it as possible within our local economies. There are forward thinking financial experts that are actually taking action and beginning to create a new type of investment structure that will encourage money to flow to sustainable businesses and keep that money in local economies.
You have the power to make these innovative initiatives work through spreading awareness and voting where applicable with your wallet for a more sustainable future. My wish is that this web site rouse your imagination and get you acting on the transition to sustainable living.