permaculture

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network <lakinroe@silcom.com>]

The Man Who Stopped the Desert - How One Man Saved the Soil (Video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzah_5y65AU&feature=player_embedded

by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA  on 12.23.10
FOOD & HEALTH (botanical)

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/12/the-man-who-stopped-the-desert.php#ch02
Image credit: 1080 Films
From Wangaari Maathai's Billion Tree campaign to lush permaculture 
landscapes in Jordan, we've seen how individuals and communities can 
reverse desertification and bring life back to arid soils. Now a new 
dramatized documentary brings us the story of Yacouba Sawadogo, an 
illiterate African farmer whose pioneering techniques have, according 
to one expert, done more for soil conservation in the Sahel region of 
Africa than all of the national and international soil experts 
combined. It's amazing stuff.
Using, and then enhancing, traditional "zai" techniques for restoring 
degraded land, which involve planting seeds directly into pits that 
have been enhanced with small handfuls of composted dung, Yacouba 
Sawadogo has spent over a quarter century experimenting with his 
soils, and then teaching his fellow farmers, resulting in the 
successful rehabilitation of farmland, the regrowth of forests, and 
attention from international media and non-profit organizations who 
wanted to learn more about Sawadogo's techniques.

Now a new documentary, that includes a dramatization of Sawadogo's 
life, and the struggles he has faced in gaining acceptance for his 
approach, is set to bring his story to a broader audience. The movie 
traces Sawadogo's story from his early education, through his days 
researching and developing his farming techniques, to his recent

More on Soil, Soil Restoration and the Magic of Soil Life
Wangaari Maathai's Billion Tree campaign
Greening the Desert Revisited: Permaculture in Jordan
Compost as Animal Husbandry: Moving Way Beyond Recycling
40 Tons of Life in One Acre of Soil: Geoff Lawton on the Magic of Soil (Video)
> From venaurafarm@bellsouth.net  Thu Dec 23 11:30:03 2010
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Subject: [permaculture] Fwd: Re: [SANET-MG] soil health and soil genetic
        engineering
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-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [SANET-MG] soil health and soil genetic engineering
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 10:45:46 -0500
From: joe cummins <jcummins@UWO.CA>
Reply-To: Sustainable Agriculture Network Discussion Group 
<SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU>, joe cummins <jcummins@UWO.CA>
To: SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU

Hello Douglas,
Thank you  for the interesting questions. I agree that I should have
been clearer in expressing my concerns about the extensive and  growing 
release of genetically modified  soil microbes that are claimed to
enhance crop yield yet are disbursed not only in North America but
globally. Even more alarmingly  the released genetically modified
microbes  are being promoted  as being  sustainable  agriculture. Has
USDA deemed such  genetically modified microbes  to be acceptable for
certified organic production? I hope that others will address that
conundrum.
Turning to your question on the   the nitrogen fixing  bacterial seed
treatment.  Along with the antibiotic resistance markers  with
transgenic promoters and terminators there are two main gene group
modifications with promoters and terminators. These introduce additional
copies of  existing genes.  The inserted  genes were concerned with two
functions, gene dctABD  enhanced uptake of plant dicarboxylic acids
into  the nitrogen fixing bacteria in the root nodules of alfalfa. The
plant carboxylic acids provide energy for nitrogen fixation.  The main
inserted  gene, nifA, is a highly pleiotropic  positeve regulator of a
number of bacterial functions including root nodule formation, nitrogen 
fixation and dealing with the alfalfa host defense response to establish 
symbiosis. The gene nifA  is a positive regulator of a number of 
bacterial genes some of which have not yet been  described in scientific 
literature. about   The genes dctABD and nifA were inserted as a gene 
cassette  into the bacterial  chromosome at an inositol locus.  Field 
studies showed that the genetic modification  increases alfalfa biomas 
up to 19% in nitrogen limited soil.
My immediate concern about the seed treatment is the spread of
antibiotic resistance genes and  the pleiotropic   characteristic of the 
gene nifA  all activated genes have not been  characterized  and some of 
those may have detrimental side effects in the diet of animals and humans.
I hope that this discussion answers the questions about nitrogen
fixation.  The many other  genetically modified microbes  developed  for 
use in rhizosphere  engineering  were barely touched  by the two
examples I mentioned.  These two included the auxin producing microbes
and the use of microbes modified with scorpion genes to control insect
and fungal pests. However, I have barely touched the surface of the
impending soil genetic Armageddon.
sincerely, prof. joe cummins