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Scalability of the Whole9 lifestyle


jaioxung

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As I was shopping yesterday, sifting through the small number of organic zucchini available, I wondered: what would it look like if 25% of the American population adopted this lifestyle? 50%? How would agriculture and farming keep up?

The reason grains are pushed so heavily is that the crops have high yield, grains are filling, and cheap so you can sustain a large number of people easily.

Has any research gone into what our farming and agricultural systems would have to do to support a nation of whole9'ers? I'd be interested to read it if it exists.

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Grains are so cheap because they're government-subsidized. Same with corn and soy. That's why the farmers keep cranking it out -- and now there is so much of it that they're inventing new ways for it to be used. That's why we have ethanol, HFCS aka Corn Sugar, and our livestock are being grain/soy/corn fed!!! It's atrocious! <_< And even worse, we can't ship it overseas anymore because most countries won't accept our genetically modified crops!

If we could stop those ridiculous subsidies, and give it to sustainable farming instead, we could turn the industry back in the right direction.

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Yeah, what Jeep said.

Robb Wolf's been doing a lot of work in this area, as has Scott Kustes of the modern forager (now defunct, but his blog posts are still available).

In short, sustainable agriculture IS scaleable. The crops that we are dumping money into are destructive to the environment, as opposed to engaging in healthy rotation to reinvigorate the soil, etc.

Joel Salatin also has some great stuff on the topic.

Additionally, if you aren't growing some basic veggies or herbs in your yard, you're not part of the solution :)

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Additionally, if you aren't growing some basic veggies or herbs in your yard, you're not part of the solution :)

I'm a terrible container gardener. I need some serious lessons, a way to keep the rabbits and squirrels away from everything, and permission from my landlord to have a little greenhouse in the back yard (that's squirrel and rabbit proof). Anyone want to come visit me in the spring and help? Otherwise, I don't know if a pot of basil in my window is contributing much towards a solution. :lol:

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