Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Dieter Brand <diebrand@yahoo.com>]

Hi John,
 
Good to hear from you again!  What you say about Ireland applies to the South 
of Portugal and most arid or semi-arid regions of the World too.  Much of the 
land is too poor to sustain farming, it can however be used as grazing land 
for goats and sheep.  The goat and sheep manure is traditionally used to feed 
the land that can be used for farming.  Without that manure the soil has to 
be fed by synthetic fertilizers.
 
I think Tommy doesn't understand the difference between traditional farming 
and conventional or industrial farming.  Traditional farming has increased 
and maintained soil fertility in many parts of the World for numerous 
centuries; while industrial farming has destroyed this same soil fertility 
within a few short decades only, among other things to produce grains for 
vegetarians.
 
The problem is not the feedstock in farming; the problem is the way 
industrial farming works.  Industrial farming is destructive no matter 
whether it is used for producing meat, vegetables or grains.  Vegans like to 
point to the methane gas produced by cows, conveniently forgetting all about 
the methane gas produced by paddy culture of rice, for example.
 
Dieter Brand
Portugal


--- On Fri, 6/4/10, John D'hondt <dhondt@eircom.net> wrote:
Sorry to say that where I live in Ireland it is impossible to be a vegan or 
even a vegetarian and self sufficient both. What grows best here is grass. 
There are traditional ways to keep farm animals without being cruel or dirty 
and I can see no other way as long as we are desperately failing to grow 
climate adapted nut and fruit trees. (we have been working on it for close to 
25 years and we probably need another 100 years to succeed)
john