Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[E J <emj@uvic.ca>]

see the info I inserted below.

On 25/04/11 8:09 PM, Tradingpost wrote:
> I'd like to know what you see left out; there are many angles to this. From what 
> I've seen it's not coming, it's already here and has been for some time and will 
> get worse than the writer could imagine in worst case scenario. For example, the 
> consequences of continuing glacial melt on the Tibetan Plateau&  Himalayas - 
> feeding the rivers that support 3 billion in south and east Asia. At current 
> rates the effects should start to be felt this decade. Closer to home the 
> drawdown on the Ogallalah Aquifer has bankrupted lots of farmers in the NM-TX 
> border area not too far from me. It's wells water much of the midwest breadbasket.
>
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
>
> On 4/25/2011 at 4:42 PM E J wrote:
>
> > Some of this may be true but quick checks on some stats shows vital
> > information left out....
> >
> > On 22/04/11 9:45 PM, Tradingpost wrote:
> > > The following are 20 signs that a horrific global food crisis is
> > coming....
> > > #1 According to the World Bank, 44 million people around the globe have
> > been pushed into extreme poverty since last June because of rising food
> > prices.
> > > #2 The world is losing topsoil at an astounding rate.  In fact,
> > according to Lester Brown, "one third of the world's cropland is losing
> > topsoil faster than new soil is forming through natural processes".
> > > #3 Due to U.S. ethanol subsidies, almost a third of all corn grown in
> > the United States is now used for fuel.  This is putting a lot of stress
> > on the price of corn.
> > > #4 Due to a lack of water, some countries in the Middle East find
> > themselves forced to almost totally rely on other nations for basic food
> > staples.  For example, it is being projected that there will be no more
> > wheat production in Saudi Arabia by the year 2012.
> > Yes, but Saudi Arabia is one of the worlds smallest wheat producers and
> > wheat production in 2008&  2009 reached highest levels ever
> > (International wheat production statistics
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_wheat_production_statistics)
> > > #5 Water tables all over the globe are being depleted at an alarming
> > rate due to "overpumping".  According to the World Bank, there are 130
> > million people in China and 175 million people in India that are being fed
> > with grain with water that is being pumped out of aquifers faster than it
> > can be replaced.  So what happens once all of that water is gone?
> > > #6 In the United States, the systematic depletion of the Ogallala
> > Aquifer could eventually turn "America's Breadbasket" back into the "Dust
> > Bowl".
> > > #7 Diseases such as UG99 wheat rust are wiping out increasingly large
> > segments of the world food supply.
> > > #8 The tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis in Japan have rendered vast
> > agricultural areas in that nation unusable.  In fact, there are many that
> > believe that eventually a significant portion of northern Japan will be
> > considered to be uninhabitable.  Not only that, many are now convinced
> > that the Japanese economy, the third largest economy in the world, is
> > likely to totally collapse as a result of all this.
> > > #9 The price of oil may be the biggest factor on this list.  The way
> > that we produce our food is very heavily dependent on oil.  The way that
> > we transport our food is very heavily dependent on oil.  When you have
> > skyrocketing oil prices, our entire food production system becomes much
> > more expensive.  If the price of oil continues to stay high, we are going
> > to see much higher food prices and some forms of food production will no
> > longer make economic sense at all.
> > > #10 At some point the world could experience a very serious fertilizer
> > shortage.  According to scientists with the Global Phosphorus Research
> > Initiative, the world is not going to have enough phosphorous to meet
> > agricultural demand in just 30 to 40 years.
> > > #11 Food inflation is already devastating many economies around the
> > globe.  For example, India is dealing with an annual food inflation rate
> > of 18 percent.
> > > #12 According to the United Nations, the global price of food reached a
> > new all-time high in February.
> > > #13 According to the World Bank, the global price of food has risen 36%
> > over the past 12 months.
> > > #14 The commodity price of wheat has approximately doubled since last
> > summer.
> > > #15 The commodity price of corn has also about doubled since last summer.
> > >
> > > #16 The commodity price of soybeans is up about 50% since last June.
> > >
> > > #17 The commodity price of orange juice has doubled since 2009.
> > Rice prices down 2% (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13108166)
> > > #18 There are about 3 billion people around the globe that live on the
> > equivalent of 2 dollars a day or less and the world was already on the
> > verge of economic disaster before this year even began.
> > > #19 2011 has already been one of the craziest years since World War 2.
> > Revolutions have swept across the Middle East, the United States has
> > gotten involved in the civil war in Libya, Europe is on the verge of a
> > financial meltdown and the U.S. dollar is dying.  None of this is good
> > news for global food production.
> > > #20 There have been persistent rumors of shortages at some of the
> > biggest suppliers of emergency food in the United States.  The following
> > is an excerpt from a recent "special alert" posted on Raiders News
> > Network....
> > >       Look around you. Read the headlines. See the largest factories of
> > food, potassium iodide, and other emergency product manufacturers
> > literally closing their online stores and putting up signs like those on
> > Mountain House's Official Website and Thyrosafe's Factory Webpage that
> > explain, due to overwhelming demand, they are shutting down sales for the
> > time being and hope to reopen someday.
> > > So what does all of this mean?
> > >
> > > It means that time is short.
> > >
> > > For years, many "doom and gloomers" have been yelling and screaming that
> > a food crisis is coming.
> > > Well, up to this point there hasn't been much to get alarmed about.
> > Food prices have started to rise, but the truth is that our stores are
> > still packed to the rafters will gigantic amounts of relatively cheap food.
> > > However, you would have to be an idiot not to see the warning signs.
> > Just look at what happened in Japan after March 11th.  Store shelves were
> > cleared out almost instantly.
> > > It isn't going to happen today, and it probably isn't going to happen
> > tomorrow, but at some point a major league food crisis is going to strike.
> > > So what are you and your family going to do then?
> > >
> > > You might want to start thinking about that.
> > >
> > >
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