Britain facing food crisis as world's soil 'vanishes in 60 years'

[FarCenter]

British farming soil could run out within 60 years, leading to a catastrophic food crisis and drastically higher prices for consumers, scientists warn.

By Andrew Hough- Published: 7:30AM GMT 03 Feb 2010

Fertile soil is being lost faster than it can be replenished and will eventually lead to the “topsoil bank” becoming empty, an Australian conference heard.

Chronic soil mismanagement and over farming causing erosion, climate change and increasing populations were to blame for the dramatic global decline in suitable farming soil, scientists said.

Food labels to show 'carbon footprint' An estimated 75 billion tonnes of soil is lost annually with more than 80 per cent of the world's farming land "moderately or severely eroded", the Carbon Farming conference heard.

A University of Sydney study, presented to the conference, found soil is being lost in China 57 times faster than it can be replaced through natural processes.

In Europe that figure is 17 times, in America 10 times while five times as much soil is being lost in Australia.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/agriculture/farming/6828878/Britain-facing-food-crisis-as-worlds-soil-vanishes-in-60-years.html

[XemaSab]

1. Who the hell unrecced an article about soil loss?

:shrug:

[ddeclue]

2. Maybe support for the article just eroded on its own..

:D

[XemaSab]

3. .

:banghead:

[leftstreet]

4. ...

Oh you didn't

:rofl:

[ddeclue]

5. You've got to alternate your posts.. the first in GD.. the next in GD-P the next in LBN .. then the

Lounge or you risk support erosion!

:rofl:

[vadawg]

12. rofl well played

[JVS]

6. Wasn't there a filmstrip about soil on the simpsons?

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

7. Soylent Green is....

Ahhhh, hell. It's just too obvious a truth to be reduced to a witty comeback. :cry:

[Prometheus Bound]

8. I never imagined that soil loss in Europe was 3.5 times the rate of Australia's.

What with the massive dust storms in Australia and the relative lack of tree cover. I guess it must be due to more land being converted to other uses in Europe, but I thought the European population was fairly stable.

[XemaSab]

11. I bet it's because Australian soil

isn't disturbed as much, and isn't as subject to wind erosion. :shrug:

[-wulf-]

9. let's see

It is bad enough that all I hear about is how when I'm old there won't be anymore glaciers, artic ice, polar bears, and rain forest, but now they're telling me that someone is going to take all the damn dirt too??

I'm starting to think that someone is jerking my chain here...

[KharmaTrain]

10. Britiain Has Always Been An Importer...

A major reason they built their empire and fought to maintain it...to overcome their lack of natural resources.

I don't think they're yanking your chain as much as yet another Chicken Little who is out to get attention, and looks like they got it.

[thereismore]

14. This is no joke. Read "World without Us", forgot who wrote it. nt

[earth mom]

13. So is this why the powers that be are trying to kill us all off?

:yoiks: