Genetically modified foods of any kind, whether they be plant or animal, scare the life right out of me.
Having grown up on a sustainable mixed farming and market gardening operation, on the front 50 acres of a string 100 during the post years of the Great Depression, leaves me wanting to steal the words of Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.”
Though the long hours of work were hard, it was a healthy life. It was a life that I now look back on as one of the best.
It was a time when diversity of both animals and crop rotation left little room for boredom. It was a time when mono cropping, large fields and huge machinery had not yet cursed the farmer with the loneliness of machine operation. Is big better?
Studies have repeatedly echoed my thoughts that mixed farming methods promoting healthy soils and biodiversity can dramatically increase production and yield. Recently, in March of this year, the United Nations issued a press release with the headline Eco-Farming Can Double Food Production in Ten Years.
It states, in part: “Small-scale farmers can double food production within ten years in critical regions by using ecological methods. Based in an extensive review of the recent scientific literature, the study calls for a fundamental shift towards agro-ecology as a way to boost food production and improve the situation of the poorest.
“Agro-ecology applies ecological science to the design of agriculture systems that can help put an end to food crises and address climate-change and poverty challenges. It enhances soils and productivity and protects the crops against pests by relying on the natural environment such as beneficial trees, plants, animals and insects.
“We won’t solve hunger and stop climate change with industrial farming on large plantations. The solution lies in supporting small-scale farmers’ knowledge and experimentation, and in raising incomes of smallholders so as to contribute rural development.
“Best of all, these agro-ecological approaches do not pose any danger to the environment or to human health whatsoever – quite the contrary.”
So there you have it, folks, and I have just enough space left to add a little jealousy to all of you urban gardeners.
Here on the farm front, being a mixed operation, I have more than ample manure to build up even the most depleted garden soils. I have the choice of horse, sheep, cow, pigs, chicken and-or a mixture of any and all to add the necessary nutrients to our garden area. Eat your heart out, folks. I think I’m in for a blooming good gardening season.
Take care, ’cause’ we care.
barrie@barriehopkins.ca
519-986-4105