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Edible Fruit Forests
Amazon rainforest was shaped by an ancient hunger for fruits and nuts. People living in the area thousands of years ago may have changed the forest around them in ways that are still visible today.
The legacy of 4,500 years of polyculture agroforestry in the eastern Amazon.
Our results suggest that, in the eastern Amazon, the subsistence basis for the development of complex societies began ~4,500 years ago with the adoption of polyculture agroforestry, combining the cultivation of multiple annual crops with the progressive enrichment of edible forest species.
Though conservationists still speak of the Amazon as a “pristine” region, Levis says that its environmental allies should talk about it differently. We can look to it, she says, as an example of how human influence can enrich the Amazon.
“Human societies increased the abundance and distribution of useful species. This can also be used to preserve the forest, I think,” she told me. “We can use this as an opportunity to reduce the impacts of deforestation. Now we have huge plantations of soybeans that are destroying the Amazon—while in the forest we have lots of plants that can be used while maintaining the forest as it is.”
“California’s Central Valley, the richest agricultural land in the United States, which grows the same crops that persist at the forgotten trading post. But down on the valley floor, trees are pruned, sprayed, irrigated, fertilized. Without those measures, their productivity could not be sustained.
The trees of the hidden orchard have remained productive for more than a century without any such assistance. Far from being a lost piece of history marooned on a mountain, the orchard is a treasure chest.”
Cassidy, Emily et al, “Redefining Agricultural Yields: From Tonnes to People Nourished Per Hectare.” Environmental Research Letters, V. 8(3). IOPScience, September 2013, p. 2-3. http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/8/3/034015
Smil, Vaclav, Feeding the World: A Challenge for the 21st Century, MIT Press, 2000, p. 145-157.
Yacoubou, Jeanne, “Factors Involved in Calculating Grain:Meat Conversion Ratios.” Vegetarian Resource Group, last accessed October 2015. www.vrg.org/environment/grain_meat_conversion_ratios.php
The Vegan Society and New Economics Foundation have recently launched a ground-breaking report in the next phase of the Grow Green campaign. This important report outlines how climate change can be tackled through plant protein agriculture and what policies could encourage this transition. Read the full report here.
ABUNDANT LIVING in the coming age of the tree, by Kathleen Jannaway.
Properly managed forests, with adjacent integrated forest industries, could be the regional centres of rings of selfreliant village communities. Modern communication technology would prevent isolation and facilitate global cooperation. Such developments would both require and foster fundamental changes in human values and habits and lead to an era of abundance, peace and spiritual evolution.
Most consumers assume that organic production relies on animal manures to support fertility. Certainly any organic farm that has livestock will naturally use any manures available to support fertility, but the organic standards clearly state that primary fertility must come from the use of fertility building crops and that manures are only to be used as an adjunct to well designed rotations using grass or other fertility building crops. Most farmers growing vegetable crops do not have livestock, so they need to develop fertility systems that are sustainable and not dependent on bought in fertility. The organic standards presently allow growers to import manures from non organic farms, although this will become restricted in the future. The use of non organic manures poses several problems:
· Bringing manure in from another farm is depriving that farm of its own fertility.
· Non organic manures may contain unacceptably high levels of antibiotics or other chemical residues.
· The transport of manures is expensive in terms or energy and adds traffic and pollution to the local environment.
· Non organic manures are often a by-product of livestock systems that depend on imported feedstuffs, some of which may have traveled halfway around the world.
We began to seriously question the wisdom of importing fertility back in the early nineties and started by banning the use of fish blood and bone on our farm. This organic fertilizer is used by some organic growers, but we were concerned about possible health problems and in the light of the BSE crises we were very pleased to have removed this product from our system. It is still allowed in organic production, primarily mixed with peat to provide potting composts.
We see a big future in stockfree organic systems as they use considerably less land than livestock dependent systems, have a much lower carbon footprint and lower energy requirements. We are pleased to have been at the forefront of developing this important food growing system.
We are Fá Dò Sěe farm, a small scale urban farm serving the communities of Albany, NY. We donate all of our food to local organizations in an effort to improve accessibility to wholesome, nourishing meals and combat food insecurity. Everyone deserves to taste the freshness and care of our vegetables, regardless of income levels. We are working on a free CSA.
LAZY MILLENNIAL FARMS
In a recent report by scientists found that nearly 51% of annual manmade greenhouse emissions came from commercial livestock (source: World Watch, November/December 2009). It is predicted that by 2050 agriculture will expand by 80%, meaning the impact of foods with large carbon footprints will grow proportionally (source: Nature International Weekly Journal of Science, 2014). According to the Environmental Working Group one pound of beef produced results in 13 lb of CO2 introduced into the environment, whereas the highest listed vegetable on the list, the potato, creates 1.3 lb of CO2 (source: EWG.org, 2011). So eating one pound of potatoes is the equivalent of driving your car three miles, versus driving your car 28 miles when eating one pound of beef.
At Lazy Millennial Farms we believe it is our responsibility to not only minimize our environmental impact, but we want to help both the local and global ecosystem. By opting out and refusing to support commercial livestock, we believe we are making a major impact on our own environmental impact, as well as leading the charge into what we see as the future of American agriculture. Two farms are currently listened in the Veganic Agriculture Network’s veganic farm list, however, neither of these farms are certified veganic. Lazy Millennial Farms is certified by the major veganic certifying body: the Stockfree Organic certification.
http://veganorganic.net/Veganic growing is any system of cultivation that avoids artificial chemicals and sprays, livestock manures and animal remains from slaughter houses. Alternatively, fertility is maintained by vegetable compost, green manures, crop rotation, mulches, and any other method that is sustainable, ecologically viable and not dependent upon animal exploitation. This will ensure long term fertility, and wholesome food for this and future generations.
https://seedthecommons.org Defending our food systems from corporate monopoly and creating alternatives that are sustainable, just and independent of animal exploitation.
http://www.goveganic.net The Veganic Agriculture Network is a new movement in North America to promote the production of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and cereals without the use of artificial substances nor the use of animal products. We promote sustainable, low-impact, plant-based farming and gardening.
https://spiralseed.co.uk/Concerned about climate change and future generations?
Want to live compassionately without the exploitation of people, animals or the environment?
Tired of ‘the problems’ and want to be more solutions-focused?
CREATE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN YOUR WORLD WITH PERMACULTURE!
http://www.veganicpermaculture.com/Animals are not used for food or manure in our veganic, eco-organic orchards with 600 peach, pear, apple, apricot, plum, pluot, hazelnut, and walnut trees nor in our living mulch vegetable, grain, and dry bean fields.
Movie recommendations as conversation starters about living in community:
Original title: Wanderlust
Spanish title: Locura en el Paraíso
Original title: Et si on vivait tous ensemble? (literally: “And If We All Lived Together?”)
English title: All Together
Spanish title: ¿Y Si Viviéramos Todos Juntos?
Other recommended readings:
English title: “Ringing Cedars of Russia” (10 book series), by Vladimir Megre
Spanish title: “Los Cedros Resonantes de Rusia” (Serie de 10 libros) de Vladimir Megre
English title: “Terra Nova: Global Revolution and the Healing of Love”, by Dieter Duhm
English title: “Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities”, by Diana Leafe Christian
Spanish title: “Crear una vida juntos: herramientas prácticas para formar Ecoaldeas y Comunidades Intencionales”, por Diana Leafe Christian