One of the possibilities I have watched is Permaculture, or I suppose it might be called Holistic farming even though there might be a difference. There have been great claims by the herbal-organic types that Permaculture is the way to go in that it is good for the land (being sustainable and all) and produces tons of organic foods. Well, that is very cool.
What they do is make sure that the land is used in such as a way as not to be destroyed for future generations and that exotic chemicals are not poured into the soil. The seem to shun pesticides and do things like rotate chickens through the pastures to keep bugs at a minimum. They also grow a wide variety of crops always looking to help the soil by adding back those things depleted, say nitrogen.
Many of us have seen great films of this and they are always very cozy, enticing and in truth, they work. Wonderful food is produced and one farm family and a few helpers (mostly they seem like volunteers and trainees) can provide for a substantial group of individuals producing all sorts of products from meat, to dairy products, berries, vegetables, fruits, eggs, really just about everything except maybe shrimp and shark. Possibly bottom feeding catfish or Talipia but still a rounded, but limited, meal.
In the winter time they might have a few stored items form market but generally the buying public would have to store up for that, lay away the summer goods.
Some folks have stated that the world of 7 billion could be easily feed in the manner and at the same time not trash the entire planet as we are doing now with all the chemicals and GMO crap.
Today while picking our organic beans, I gave a bit of a thought to these concepts some of which we practice. I knew as a kid working in canning factories, thousands of pounds of beans were processed everyday by using all those monster, diesel powered pickers and sophisticated canning facilities, and that is not counting the fuel and chemicals used to grow the beans. The production levels managed by really a very few people, was profound.
It took me twenty minutes today to get 5 bags of frozen beans (and they were real good beans) but the idea of humans getting enough beans to feed 7 billion using these largely hand operated methods was unimaginable. It would take 3.5 billion people to do it. I was left seriously wondering about this Permaculture thing. Feed all the people of the world with organic food? Something just doesn't add up on that one.
We now have maybe 6 people raising thousand of acres of wheat in Kansas. How would we do that with Permaculture? Corn by the ton from one family and their quiver of machines and chemicals. Where would all those workers live in Kansas?---- in soddies?
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