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Those who make environmental policy should consider density a desirable goal in nearly all the issues that they confront.
thenewgreen · 4644 days ago · link ·
- During the second half of the twentieth century, hybrid seeds and synthetic fertilizers, along with better methods of planting and harvesting, produced stunning increases in agricultural productivity. Between 1968 and 2005, global production of all cereal crops doubled, even though the amount of cultivated acreage remained about the same
That's a pretty crazy stat.
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Schumacher argued for less consumption and local, instead of global, economics. This essay ignores this, and claims that Schumacher was mistaken about "smallness" because we'll need more energy and agricultural density to allow for greater consumption and more globalization.
Bryce also ignores the effects of the pollution and soil depletion that high-density ag produces. He doesn't mention that most developed nations have a reproduction rate that is below replacement rate, indicating that populations will, most likely, start falling soon. He avoids speaking of how much waste our global distribution system creates, both in terms of energy usage for transporting things which could be produced locally, and for food products where much, perhaps even most, of food is thrown away because it's inevitably sold mostly to those who can afford to waste food.
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Those are some excellent points, thanks for sharing. There are also substantial technological barriers to high density farming. People often talk about vertical farming as a way to reduce the surface area needed for agriculture and to solve problems associated with shipping produce long distances. It's compelling theoretically, but as it turns out there are actually a lot of problems with trying to grow vegetables in a skyscraper. Perhaps as our technology increases we will be able to find more viable ways to increase agricultural density.