permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

AgForInsight.com
Innovative Natural Resource Management Solutions ™
http://www.agforinsight.com/

George W. Powell, Ph.D., P.Ag.

Providing Innovative Natural Resource Management Solutions
Consulting agrologist with 18 years of experience in delivering
professional research and development support for natural resource
management. Specializing in integrated systems and combining
conservation and production practices.
Providing support services to industry, government agencies,
conservation, community and economic development groups in areas of:
Agroforestry
Sustainable Agriculture
Non-timber Forest Resources
Conservation and Ecosystem Restoration
Integrated Silviculture Systems
Short-Rotation Forestry
Bioenergy Cropping
Forest Grazing and Integrated Range Management

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Closing the Local Food System Loop
Posted April 29, 2011
…by recycling poop.
"For several years I’ve been working from a theory that we could be
near a radical shift in our primary food production systems – an
Agrarian Devolution. Barring the technological leap that brings on a
cheap, abundant fuel source, or a massive drop in global population,
the combination of high fuel, fertilizer and transportation costs and
conservation challenges are making high input, centralized production
and distribution less viable. If unhindered, economics will drive
agriculture back to its agrarian roots of local production for local
consumption. High input costs and high transportation costs should
re-establish local food networks as the low-cost option in most areas.
Quality niche and specialty foods aside, the general populace still
votes with their wallets. And despite a lot of lip service to local
food, that vote is still very much for low cost, convenient options.
It is a safe bet to assume therefore, that if (or when) local food
starts to trump imported food on a cost basis (albeit with both at a
higher nominal level than today) sales will surely follow.
Now, those with libertarian-leanings are probably thinking, ‘market
signals will push our food systems back to the local level – stay out
of the way and let it happen, end of story, get on with your life.’
But with the politics of food as it is, that shift may not be as
simple as sliding along a supply-demand curve. Food is big business,
with billions of dollars, rupees, yen, euros and yuan on the line. The
existing multi-nationals have a vested interest in squeezing out
expansion in local competition. And they have never been above
lobbying governments to distort markets in their favour through
twisting agricultural subsidy programs – the chief offenders being in
the United States of America and the EU. Fifty years from now our food
system could look the same as today, if governments are willing to
squeeze their citizens for taxes to subsidize cheap food. Large-scale
agricultural producers in some regions will continue to win, but the
total number of farmers will decline, and small-scale producers would
continue to live on the edge of going broke.
I believe, a little foresight and planning is needed to promote
efficient, sustainable production. We need to level the playing field
with public agricultural policies and support programs that focus on
production efficiencies. That is to say, food production is worthy of
some public funding, but don’t base that support on the total volume
of output or the area in production, but rather the ratio of outputs
to inputs. Expand a framework supporting a transition to lower input
costs without greatly sacrificing production levels. And this should
include closing the production loop in local agriculture systems by
returning our food, human and agricultural waste streams back into
food and energy production on much larger scale than is currently
practiced. Close the loop, recycle your poop.
A few examples of what can be done with existing technology:
1. Mandate phosphorus recovery from every sewage treatment facility.
Phosphorus is an essential element for crop production and
coincidentally (or maybe not so much) one of the primary water
pollutants in the western world. Humans contribute over 3 million
tonnes of phosphorus annually to global septic systems. And many
technologies already exist to recover phosphorus from sewage,
including ‘mouse-trap’ cones developed at the University of British
Columbia that pulls this valuable plant nutrient out of sewage
effluent and creates a high-quality slow-release fertilizer. Local
waste becomes a local resource.
2. Build the infrastructure to create biodiesel from algae fed on
sewage water. There are already many private enterprises with viable
systems to turn oils extracted from sewage-pond-grown algae into
biodiesel. We can use carbon taxes on fossil-fuels to build a network
of algae farms and biodiesel plants, and then sell back the fuel to
agricultural producers and processors at cost without an accompanying
tax. Incentives could also be given for farm-scale algae production
ponds utilizing on-site manure and crop wastes to generate some or all
of the on-farm energy needs. Again this turns an environmental
liability into a production efficiency.
3. Use sewage sludge or waste water to fertilize farm forestry
plantations. The trees then become a source of fibre for solid wood
products or bioenergy, and can also be placed on-farm to serve soil
and water conservation roles. A potential win-win-win solution.
And there are other practical options available too, including biogas
generation or mandatory community composting programs that return that
valuable humus to build soils. The important first step is removing
any incentives that externalize the costs of waste generated in our
food systems by letting producers and consumers pollute water with
excess nutrients. And then through directed R&D and selective
taxation, provide support to production, recovery and regeneration
systems that operate at the highest efficiency."