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permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Global Food Supply Near the Breaking Point

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  • From: Thomas Gorman <tom@honeychrome.com>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Global Food Supply Near the Breaking Point
  • Date: Sat, 20 May 2006 00:24:21 -0400

The hunter/gatherer vs. agriculture and/or pastoral culture aspect of the current discussion is an interesting one. I just read a book called Changes in the Land by William Cronon, published in the early 80's if I recall correctly. It focuses specifically on the New England area, and the ecological changes wrought on the landscape by the arriving colonists (and the attitudes toward property, wealth, land, etc.), but he also talks a lot about the way the Native Americans of the region lived on the land prior to the arrival of Europeans. My understanding of his analysis of Native American practices puts them somewhere between a hunter/gatherer culture and an agrarian culture. By all accounts the Native Americans did 'tread lightly' on the landscape as compared to Europeans, but they did in fact have profound effects on it too, implementing practices that maximized 'edges' etc., planting guilds, etc. Anyway, it's a fascinating read I think for anyone interested in the land and how we live on it, but in particular for any of us who know or live in the North East.
Tom




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