Homestead mailing list

["Lisa K.V. Perry" <lisakvperry AT gmail.com>]

On Mon, Mar 10, 2008 at 4:34 PM, Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com> wrote:

>
> On Mar 10, 2008, at 8:52 AM, Clansgian AT wmconnect.com wrote:
>
> > This post caught me in a (thankfully) rare flight of pessimism.   I
> > had just
> > finished reading an article (http://www.theoildrum.com/node/
> > 3702#more)  that
> > shows how the average yield of grains per hectare has gone from 1
> > 1/4 tons
> > (metric) when I was a child to more than 3 tons now of days and it
> > has done this
> > by genetic skulduggery and artificial nitrogen fertilizer.
>
> The wrong alarms are being rung. The wrong prescriptions are being
> written. We don't need more food; we need fewer people. We have pushed
> Earth's carrying capacity to diminishing returns. With far fewer
> people there is little or no reason to worry about peak oil, rising
> gas prices, rising food prices, carbon emissions, and many other
> issues. What we need is a global pandemic that kills about three-
> quarters of our species.
>

What James wrote is similar to reporting the difference in corn crops now v.
years ago in Michael Pollan's *Omnivore's Dilemma*. Processed food is made,
in part, to use up excess cheap #2 corn, ditto for cows fed corn in gigantic
feedlots.

As I finished the section on corn, I learned there are *only* 38 (!)
ingredients in a McDonald's Chicken McNugget--1/3 of them corn-related
products. How's that for disgusting.

If you haven't read this book, I recommend it. It's very well written,
entertaining and informative. It will, however, give you the willies.

As to Gene's thoughts, Bird Flu or a future strain of an
antibiotic-resistant flu or  disease could perhaps do the trick. I have an
acquaintance-friend who is 'way out there,' a very far left off the map
Libertarian guy. He believes the shadow government will plan such an event.

Lisa