Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Environment & Energy
Showing Original Post only (View all)Turns out those old-fashioned ways of farming were actually pretty smart [View all]
http://grist.org/news/turns-out-those-old-fashioned-ways-of-farming-were-actually-pretty-smart/?w=470&h=264
This worked better in the olden days when fish hung out here too.
Remember those things humans did for thousands of years to feed themselves before we came up with all kinds of newfangled methods? We might want to go back to doing those old-school things.
The United Nations recently formed the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, a 115-country group thats trying to bring down skyrocketing rates of species extinction. During meetings in Turkey this week, the group is discussing a strategy that it thinks could help protect biodiversity: a return to indigenous systems of farming and managing land.
One example of a traditional farming technique that the group hopes to resuscitate: the ancient Chinese practice of rearing fish in rice paddies. Adding fish to a paddy helps manage insect pests without the need for pesticides, provides natural fertilizer for the crop, feeds birds and other wildlife, and produces a sustainable meat supply for farming families.
Other examples mentioned by the group include fishing restrictions imposed by Pacific Island communities and traditional crop rotations practiced everywhere from Tanzania to Thailand.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
36 replies, 11617 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (49)
ReplyReply to this post
36 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Turns out those old-fashioned ways of farming were actually pretty smart [View all]
xchrom
Dec 2013
OP
No doubt they were right for their time, and worth exploring again, but that's only half the story.
Geoff R. Casavant
Dec 2013
#2
I read a study which disagreed - that Asian traditional methods had the highest yield
bhikkhu
Dec 2013
#6
Real farmers don't, but mechanized corporations do--Better Living Through Chemistry!
truebluegreen
Dec 2013
#14
You seriously can't follow a well reasoned argument without an outside reference?
kristopher
Dec 2013
#30
If the only factor was pesticide use and species extinction, then that might be a good argument
jeff47
Dec 2013
#8