"Unlike a good many ‘natural farming’ movements, the Andra Pradesh model is science-driven, fusing state-of-the-art soil and plant science and microbiology with traditional methods and widely-accepted principles of natural farming."
But will this "science-driven" natural farming system be effective at 2 C (2035)? Noting that prolonged exposure (farmers) to 2 C will trigger fatal heat stroke even in young, healthy, hydrated human biological organisms resting in shade.
Noting that seed viability is steadily declining and photosynthesis is steadily slowing.
Noting that up to a 12 F heat increase is projected for this century with half occurring by midcentury (NOAA and EU climate reporting agencies).
Will this system be effective when the AMOC stops (projected for midcentury) with plummeting temp fluctuations in the 10-15 C / 18-27 F range in the northern zone; even more extreme heat in the temperate zone and a multi-billion human die off (loss of farm labor and knowledge)?
Will this system be effective as drought continues to steadily expand globally? Noting that freshwater resources abruptly crashed in 2014 and ongoing.
Absolutely. This is basically permaculture indian style. I started doing this 25 years ago AND was getting great results until 12 years ago all the water storage and retainment strategies that initially worked so well came undone in just six months of of climate change driven heat wave and drought killed everything I was growing... I ended up moving 2700km to get away from it, and have now abandoned the whole idea of growing crops in exchange for growing meat only.
I can now build soil without all the back breaking work and eat nutrient dense food to undo all the harm eating plants for 70 years had done to me....
Population reduction is absolutely necessary. We can do it logically, or famines and pandemics will do it for us. Most environmentalists cite 2 billion as sustainable and we are now north of 8 billion. What do people think is going to happen?
I agree with your assessment of the lack of nutrition present corporate agriculture's food.
The average farmer worked harder than the average forager, and got
a worse diet in return. The Agricultural Revolution
"Whether such a scale-up can feed a hungry planet of 9 billion people, beset by climate crisis, resource loss and mass extinction remains doubtful – unless at the same time there is success in voluntarily lowering the human population closer to what the Earth can actually carry long-term. "
Another great piece Julian thank you. Such a pleasure to read an uplifting essay on Substack! And I agree, we need women to lead the way. A lot of interesting comments as well especially on population reduction. Cancelling the developing world's debt and investing in female led education would definitely lower birth rates but I can't see it actually reducing the population as such unless pandemics and famines and other horrific scenarios occur (some are already occurring, see USAID and the Iran war).
I stand corrected. Are you suggesting that our military retire these ships and give them over to humanitarian causes? If so, that is really out of the box, which is exactly the type of thinking that will be necessary to work ourselves out of this mess.
I recently read an article articulating the difference between biological gardening and chemical gardening. It resonated with me as an apt distinction many don't pause to consider when they fill their landscapes with chemical fertilizers, soils infused with nonrenewable organic matter, etc. Your post highlights how this impacts large and small-scale farming on a different level. Glad to learn of AP's efforts...thanks for sharing!
It's good to know that there are seriously progressive and sustainable food production systems in development. I wonder if they can help us in the West?
"Unlike a good many ‘natural farming’ movements, the Andra Pradesh model is science-driven, fusing state-of-the-art soil and plant science and microbiology with traditional methods and widely-accepted principles of natural farming."
But will this "science-driven" natural farming system be effective at 2 C (2035)? Noting that prolonged exposure (farmers) to 2 C will trigger fatal heat stroke even in young, healthy, hydrated human biological organisms resting in shade.
Noting that seed viability is steadily declining and photosynthesis is steadily slowing.
Noting that up to a 12 F heat increase is projected for this century with half occurring by midcentury (NOAA and EU climate reporting agencies).
Will this system be effective when the AMOC stops (projected for midcentury) with plummeting temp fluctuations in the 10-15 C / 18-27 F range in the northern zone; even more extreme heat in the temperate zone and a multi-billion human die off (loss of farm labor and knowledge)?
Will this system be effective as drought continues to steadily expand globally? Noting that freshwater resources abruptly crashed in 2014 and ongoing.
Absolutely. This is basically permaculture indian style. I started doing this 25 years ago AND was getting great results until 12 years ago all the water storage and retainment strategies that initially worked so well came undone in just six months of of climate change driven heat wave and drought killed everything I was growing... I ended up moving 2700km to get away from it, and have now abandoned the whole idea of growing crops in exchange for growing meat only.
I can now build soil without all the back breaking work and eat nutrient dense food to undo all the harm eating plants for 70 years had done to me....
Population reduction is absolutely necessary. We can do it logically, or famines and pandemics will do it for us. Most environmentalists cite 2 billion as sustainable and we are now north of 8 billion. What do people think is going to happen?
I agree with your assessment of the lack of nutrition present corporate agriculture's food.
The average farmer worked harder than the average forager, and got
a worse diet in return. The Agricultural Revolution
was history’s biggest fraud.
Yuval Noah Harari
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2015).
"Whether such a scale-up can feed a hungry planet of 9 billion people, beset by climate crisis, resource loss and mass extinction remains doubtful – unless at the same time there is success in voluntarily lowering the human population closer to what the Earth can actually carry long-term. "
Earth to Julian...
Whoever survives, they will need to eat.
Another great piece Julian thank you. Such a pleasure to read an uplifting essay on Substack! And I agree, we need women to lead the way. A lot of interesting comments as well especially on population reduction. Cancelling the developing world's debt and investing in female led education would definitely lower birth rates but I can't see it actually reducing the population as such unless pandemics and famines and other horrific scenarios occur (some are already occurring, see USAID and the Iran war).
I stand corrected. Are you suggesting that our military retire these ships and give them over to humanitarian causes? If so, that is really out of the box, which is exactly the type of thinking that will be necessary to work ourselves out of this mess.
I recently read an article articulating the difference between biological gardening and chemical gardening. It resonated with me as an apt distinction many don't pause to consider when they fill their landscapes with chemical fertilizers, soils infused with nonrenewable organic matter, etc. Your post highlights how this impacts large and small-scale farming on a different level. Glad to learn of AP's efforts...thanks for sharing!
It's good to know that there are seriously progressive and sustainable food production systems in development. I wonder if they can help us in the West?