A Farm for the Future 5

BBC documentary on the precient global farming and food crisis, filmed in the UK.
Featuring Martin Crawford (Agroforestry Research Trust), Fordhall Farm, Richard Heinberg and others.

Topics covered are the influence of oil on the food production, peak-oil, food security, carbon emissions, sustainability and permaculture.

• Category

  Nonprofits & Activism

[oc00011]

the 'earthship' design for construction, permacultural food forests & aquaponics for food & medicine, microalgae biodiesel for machinery, solar-hydrogen "mike strizki set up" & wind turbines for electricity. sorted. that's what the world needs to achieve & it begins with us planning & Acting towards networking with people with other skills for creating a self-sustainable community. eventually we could achieve a co-existing network of small communities, each one making a domino effect.

[withDefiance]

maybe true, but first go and work on your view on the world and how you want to have people work together... what a bullshit oppressive stuff you spread. While working on a greener future, on the other side you bomb us to death because some people are not a nation, because you think one people has more right over land then others?

I think that will be a serious problem next to the ecological problems we have.

[withDefiance]

It sertainly do is our problem. Where do you live? How much of the food that you eat is imported from other countries in the world? Things are connected with global capitalism. Its blind to think that you live on a selfsustaining island. There are few people in the modern world who do.

[MrEnergyCzar]

Oil = Food so unless you are very wealthy, start learning to grow your own...

[katelyn massy]

It wouldn't be easy, but actually, it is very possible, it does mean that we have to get off our addiction to grains. Which I think is the hardest for us. Especially when you look at the recommendations from the national food guide! (which is funded by the agricultural industries).

[katelyn massy]

Most dietary needs could be met, however, it may mean they change some of parts of their diet. Most land, especially a food forest, would benefit from chickens scratching around, and goats as well. From these animals you can source your protein, from eggs, and dairy. You could even kill them for meat. But I think it is more sustainable to eat less meat, and source them as dairy and eggs. And there is honey from bees. My aunt has 6 hives and she gets probably about 100 kgs from them a year.

[justgivemethetruth]

Can you answer the question though .... does that mean their entire dietary needs, or just for salad garnishes or something. There is a channel on here, rawfoods, where this guy has planted his whole front and back yard with veggies and says that he cannot feed himself totally.  I think that is honest. Whatever I don't think you can say easy. I'd just like to know what is the expected outcome ... 3/4 of an acre is a lot of land actually, almost a city block.

[katelyn massy]

I am an organic farmer, and my partner and I grow food on a 3/4 acre of land. We can feed over 30 families, and we are just beginners at this whole process. So, easily, 10 people per acre in a forest garden can be fed.... easily.

[Andor Pasztor]

Did you study the possibility of driving farm equipments with new resources? ie. electric engines, hydrogen driven engines, etc? Mankind must solve the issue of transportation, we will not move backwards for sure. So I think the motivation for such permacultural solutions should come from other direction. On the other hand, I am very much for it! Sounds very close to biodynamic theories too.

[Tom Millin]

Scary yet inspirational. I will be growing my own, far more than ever before. Love the idea of a forest garden

[justgivemethetruth]

I am not sure I buy that number, unless the acre is completely planted and has no problems, even then it seems high.

Someone needs to discover or invent a middle ground between farming and orchards and just wild land. My ideal would be like the said the Indian in America had, natural clumps of selected trees that were tended by all and naturally fertilized by horses and other animals. Humans have ruined so much of the planet, we could fix that and need to.

[justgivemethetruth]

i don't believe the 10 people per acre claim.

i am all for this though, but beware of marketing claims from all sides.

read the statistics from jared diamond's book on what happened when human being went into farming, how the variation of diet went down, people shrunk and got sicker as measured by their bones left behind. also people as hunter gatherers had more leisure and less class stratification.