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Worldwatch papers 136 and 135
Howdy, all--
(Or Giwdtm akkm, if your fingers are shifted left on the keys one
place. :^)
Thought some might be interested in the Wordwatch Institute's latest
report (Aug. 1997):
/The agricultural link: How environmental deterioration could
disrupt economic progress/, Lester Brown.
>From the abstract:
"The trends of environmental deterioration are beginning to threaten
the security of food supplies. These trends, combined with a
shrinking backlog of agricultural technology, are slowing growth in
the world grain harvest. meanwhile, the demand for grain is
expanding at a near-record rate as 80 million people are added [to
the planet] each year, and as incomes climb at record rates in Asia,
led by China.
"As demand starts to outrun supply, grain prices are rising. Higher
grain prices will not have much effect on the world's affluent, but
for the 1.3 billion people who live on a dollar a day or less, rising
grain prices quickly become life threatening....
"Securing future food supplies now goes far beyond ministries of
agriculture, involving family planners as well as farmers. Decisions
made in ministries of energy that affect climate stability may have a
greater effect on food security than those made in ministries of
agriculture. The steps needed to secure future food supplies,
including stabilizing population and climate, are precisely the same
as those needed to move the world economy onto an environmentally
sustainable path...."
Report # 135, /Recycling organic waste: from urban pollutant to farm
resource/, also Aug. 1997, also makes urban/rural connections and
offers a sustainability/recycling perspective.
peace
misha
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Michele Gale-Sinex, communications manager
Center for Integrated Ag Systems
UW-Madison College of Ag and Life Sciences
Voice: (608) 262-8018 FAX: (608) 265-3020
http://www.wisc.edu/cias/
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
In the towers of steel, belief goes on
and on, in this heartland, in this heartland
soil. --U2