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Wed, 25 Jan 2006

Veg-Ag Feedback:

The vegetarianism/sustainable ag. article was great, and pretty well researched. I had two questions/issues:

1) I didn't see the issue of fertility addressed anywhere. As far as I know, most farms need some form of manure to build their fertility, and while humanure is certainly an option, at this point I think most people are using chicken.

2) There are places that are not suitable for vegetable growth because they are, for example, too steep. These are places where animals can be grazed to produce food where otherwise none could be produced, often with minimal energy input other than maintaining pasture.

On the whole I really liked the article, and I think it was helpful to have some of the problems pointed out that exist even in the "sustainable ag." community.

Thanks, Ben H.

Response from Savvy Veg:

Ben, thanks for your kind words, and thoughtful comments.

I'm sure that agriculture will never be entirely vegetarian, and in the best of worlds, there will always be manure available for those who want it, and animals pasturing, and so on. Like horses, when they make their big come back. (Too bad all those wagon manufacturers went out of business).

But nitrogen-fixing green manure/cover crops, or even- gasp! - weeds, together with worms (the organic farmer's secret weapon) truly are enough for soil fertility, plus - don't forget all the small animals, birds, and insects which abound in an organic environment and make their contributions. Yes, and people too. Who knows, the traditional practice of humanuring may re-appear one day.

Must all land be 'productive' - surely some could just sit and around and do nothing? Or grow forests, or be inhabited by gophers.

Anyway, I mainly meant to say with my veg-ag-article that our national obsession with animal protein blinds many otherwise eco-conscious people to the obvious, which is that more people becoming vegetarian is a simple solution to a lot of environmental problems.

Thanks very much for writing!
Judy Kingsbury, Savvy Veg