In article ,
Bill who putters wrote:

http://westgatehouse.com/art9.html

On Cuba and sustain ability.

""In America, the work I do is on the fringe, says Rieux. "Organic
farming is still perceived as unusual and far from the norm. It was
exciting to be in a place where the efforts of the entire government are
behind sustainable agriculture. (Sustainable agriculture refers to an
integrated system whereby the gardener works within natural biological
cycles and uses only naturally occurring resources.) The idea of the
small urban farm being highly productive, sustainable and the source of
a nice income was heartening to see. Cuba proves it's feasible, it's
happening.
With limited gasoline to transport, refrigerate and store food from the
countryside, food production was brought to the cities. Cuba now has one
of the most successful urban agriculture programs in the world. The
State is making unused land available to fledgling urban farmers and
thousands of empty lots have been turned into organic oases.
In Havana alone there are 8,000 organic gardens producing a million tons
of food annually. The gardens range in size from a few meters to several
hectares. The urban farmers primarily grow lettuce, bok choy, onions,
chard, radishes, tomato, cabbage and broccoli. Gardens can employ
anywhere from one to 70 people depending on the size of the garden. And
people from all walks of life are participating."

It definitely appears that the future of agriculture will be
diversification, and re-ruralization with a return to the land for much
of the work force. From roof-tops, to balconies, to sustainable
pastures, and to forest farming, each niche must be taken advantage of,
if we are all to be fed. Hope is held out in the form of voluntary,
smaller, family sizes, but between "Global Warming" and Malthusian "Over
Population" we (the species Homo sapien, among others) will be walking a
tight rope for the next century.

It is the end to giant monocultures, that seems to be the lynch-pin in
this scenario. It removes the need for fossil fuel fertilizers, and ends
the need to till the land, allowing for the return of topsoil and the
sequestration of CO2.

Native Americans, both north and south knew how to manage forests for
food. Is seems it is time to put the grass farming behind us, and to
look seriously at what was destroyed in the way of sylvan agriculture.
Garnish and veggies supply important nutrients, but we still need
calories that only fat and carbs can provide.

I await David, to try and pop by bubble of optimism ;O)
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/2/maude
http://english.aljazeera.net/video/m...515308172.html