Before you stop reading this in anticipation of complete boredom, consider that soil is the foundation on which our society runs and has ran for millennia. Not only do we grow all of our sustenance in soil (besides salt), but we also depend on it for wood and paper, cotton, medications (most of which are plant based or derived), and now even ethanol fuels. Soil also is the literal foundation on which we build our lives. Our roads lie on soil but so do our homes and buildings, making erosion a very serious issue. Many in this country even depend on soil for their water, pumping soil-filtered water from aquifers deep underground.
So, what's the problem? As a result of poor policy over the last half-century, we have forsaken this simple substance that lends so much to our success. The majority of soil at risk in this country lies on farmland. Because of industrial farming and agribusiness-friendly government actions that have led to a push to increase crop yield year after year, our land is getting worn out. Soil is just as much alive as any organism, only it is composed of innumerable living things. Soil, just like any plant, animal, or bacterium, can die.
Dead soil will put all for which we depend on healthy soil at risk, particularly food. For years, industry and government has had the idea that as long they had money, they could produce food. When the soil's natural fertilizers were depleted, inorganic fertilizers made from fossil fuels (mostly natural gas) arrived. When native species became pests, farmers turned to petroleum-based pesticides rather than plant the right types of crops for their regions. But this habit of replacing nature's sustainable cycles with an artificial linear model is finite. If we are concerned about the security implications of relying on the Middle East for oil, think how life will be as we depend on the world for our food, as well. As both Berry and Jackson observe, civilizations that forsake their soil are destined to collapse. The United States would be no exception.
As a post-script to this post, I am posting a link to a petition, which I encourage you to read and sign if you agree with its content. In short, it calls for President-Elect Obama to choose undersecretaries for the Dept. of Agriculture who will advocate sustainable food and land policies.
1 comment:
Food security is rightfully a very important topic. In addition to water conflict (as seen in Darfur), food is a natural resource not often thought of in the context of foreign relations. But, as is visible in Africa and other regions, countries that cannot feed themselves run the risk of being at the mercy of a foreign power or simply going hungry. For example, much of Gaza's stability has been threatened by a blockade limiting its food imports; since there is not much arable land in Gaza, it must rely on others for its food. Similarly, Zimbabwe, Haiti, and Bangladesh have all experience civil strife recently partially caused by food shortages. If those countries didn't rely on unreliable food imports, such strife may not have occurred.
Food security will continue to threaten geopolitical stability as countries become more careful of exporting their own natural resources. When food shortages hit (like we saw last year), look for food-producing nations to horde their supplies for domestic consumption while other countries go hungry. If food shortages continue, there will be conflict over good farmland. I wouldn't be surprised if Russia asserted itself over Ukraine (the breadbasket of Europe) or countries in Asia and Africa went to war over farmland in the coming years.
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