We weren't the only people in ancient times to recognize the benefits of growing all our food. Among the notable adopters of this meme <"growing all your food is the best way to live"> in the New World were the Maya, the Olmec, the people of Teotihuacán, the Hohokam, the Anasazi, the Aztecs, and the Inca.
and where are they now?
http://www.ishmael.com/Education/Writings/kentstate.shtmlI'm talking about the food race—the race to produce enough food to feed our growing population.
There are people in the world—calm, intelligent, reasoning people—who believe that we've already gone over the limit, that even our present population of six billion can't be fed sustainably on this planet. I have no evidence that they're right—and I certainly hope they're wrong. But the six billion is not nearly as alarming as the twelve billion that we will be in your lifetime if we go on growing at this rate.
Now—of course!—there are two handles to this thing. I recently read an Associated Press story that reported that food scientists are confident that they can WIN the food race. By the time there are twelve billion of us, they'll be able to FEED twelve billion. That constitutes a win. SO: Not to worry, folks. The scientists are confident that food will ultimately triumph over population. That's one handle.
The other handle is the one the Union of Concerned Scientists has grabbed. In their "Warning to Humanity," they say: "We must stabilize population," which is of course unarguable. But then they go on to say, "This will be possible only if all nations recognize that it requires improved social and economic conditions, and the adoption of effective, voluntary family planning." I'm afraid that grabbing this handle is an act of faith that has virtually nothing to do with science, but it's easy to do, because it means that, really, nobody has to do anything but pray that someday, through some magical, unknown process all nations of the world will improve social and economic conditions and adopt effective, voluntary family planning.
It has been my misfortune to saddle myself with the really thankless task of bringing into view the third handle on this issue. This is a simple and well-known biological fact—well known at least to biologists and ecologists—that a food race like the one I've just described can no more be won than the arms race could be won—and for the same reason. Because neither race has a finish line—except catastrophe. You can't win an arms race with your enemy, because every advance you make in your weaponry will be answered by an advance in your enemy's weaponry, which of course must be answered by an advance in YOUR weaponry, which stimulates an advance in THEIR weaponry, and so on in a never-ending escalation
(just like the arms race)
<snip>
EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT
much much more...
this is a very thought provocing site please explore all the links and read...enjoy
http://www.ishmael.com/welcome.cfm 
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