There's a relevant quote in-between the two you cited. (And noting that the author is obviously a proponent of permaculture farming, rather than a less biased i

There's a relevant quote in-between the two you cited. (And noting that the author is obviously a proponent of permaculture farming, rather than a less biased investigator) > Conventional agriculture doesn’t seek to maximize yield per acre; it seeks to maximize yield per unit of labor. If we had 10% of the population engaged in agriculture rather than the current 1%, we could easily feed the country without petrochemicals or pesticides. Interestingly, it may be that with coming automation we may be better served by reallocating 9% of our population back to agriculture... Also, in a similar vein to permaculture, I found this article fascinating if you haven't come across it yet. https://medium.com/invironment/an-army-of-ocean-farmers-on-the-frontlines-of-the-blue-green-economic-revolution-d5ae171285a3#.k86s8fcpi https://medium.com/invironment/an-army-of-ocean-farmers-on-t...