Soil nutrients are being depleted?
> It has been said that "Over the past century or so it [soil] has become so deprived of valuable nutrients that very little food has much more than trace amounts of the vitamins and minerals it once had."
I grew up on the farm, and I thought this was one of the most nonsensical things I've ever heard -next to the whole "organic foods" thing.
I googled the terms for some of the practices we did to counter soil nutrient depletion and came up with this very nice document from Ohio State University:
http://southcenters.osu.edu/soil/n_cycle.htm
The first part of the paper talks about the essential nutrients food crops need to grow, and how they occur and are used in the soil. Toward the end talks about
the ways farmers maintain nutrients in the soil.
Soil depletion due to overuse (both farming and livestock) has been a brier in the advancement of civilization since ancient time. It's hypothesized that soil depletion paid a significant part of civilization decline in ancient central America. I'm sure there are hundreds of other documented historical examples (like the "dust-bowl" in American history.) The Law of Moses had the "the Sabbath Year" where they let their farmland sit dormant every seventh (or eighth) year. That was good for the soil, whether they realized it or not. But, it's only been in modern
times that humankind has the scientific understanding and ability that enables us to use the land year-after-year.
One simple observation is that if there are not enough nutrients in the soil for the food, rather than produce food that is deficient in nutrients, the soil won't produce the food at all.
Much of the organic movement is based on misconception and lies generated by those with a stake in the creation of a market-share. This makes it hard to find the pearls of truth within it. Nutrient management can go too far, as when it sets us at risk for mad cow disease. Or, when we ingest the hormones and insecticides intended for our food, not us.
dras
I grew up on the farm, and I thought this was one of the most nonsensical things I've ever heard -next to the whole "organic foods" thing.
I googled the terms for some of the practices we did to counter soil nutrient depletion and came up with this very nice document from Ohio State University:
http://southcenters.osu.edu/soil/n_cycle.htm
The first part of the paper talks about the essential nutrients food crops need to grow, and how they occur and are used in the soil. Toward the end talks about
the ways farmers maintain nutrients in the soil.
Soil depletion due to overuse (both farming and livestock) has been a brier in the advancement of civilization since ancient time. It's hypothesized that soil depletion paid a significant part of civilization decline in ancient central America. I'm sure there are hundreds of other documented historical examples (like the "dust-bowl" in American history.) The Law of Moses had the "the Sabbath Year" where they let their farmland sit dormant every seventh (or eighth) year. That was good for the soil, whether they realized it or not. But, it's only been in modern
times that humankind has the scientific understanding and ability that enables us to use the land year-after-year.
One simple observation is that if there are not enough nutrients in the soil for the food, rather than produce food that is deficient in nutrients, the soil won't produce the food at all.
Much of the organic movement is based on misconception and lies generated by those with a stake in the creation of a market-share. This makes it hard to find the pearls of truth within it. Nutrient management can go too far, as when it sets us at risk for mad cow disease. Or, when we ingest the hormones and insecticides intended for our food, not us.
dras
posted by nawledge at
5:20 PM
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