4 ms·

Just a question for those in the know: is regenerative farming even scalable to meet the needs of a booming population? Can grow enough food without current ind

by fny 7y ago

Just a question for those in the know: is regenerative farming even scalable to meet the needs of a booming population? Can grow enough food without current industrial agriculture?

JoeAltmaier 7y ago
No.
- gyrgtyn 7y ago
  What if we don't throw half of it away instead of eating it?
  - yifanl 7y ago
    That doesnt fit human consumption patterns. Or at least American consumption patterns.
  - hanniabu 7y ago
    It'd be nice if there were different food grades for this stuff. So instead of wasting food you can give the less visually appealing a lower grade and sell to food manufacturers/restaurants for uses where the person eating it doesn't see or eat it in the original state.
superpermutat0r 7y ago
I'm not sure if the amount of plants grown for direct human consumption is still too big. Especially the protein rich ones, like beans, lentils. I believe the booming population thirsty for beef, chicken and similar massive products is driving the agriculture of corn, soybean and wheat to its limits.
carapace 7y ago
First, population is leveling off, not booming. Second, yes, by definition regenerative agriculture is scalable. It might require as much as double the labor requirements (so 3% of the population rather than 1.5%) but it's likely that automation will amortize that. See "How is China able to provide enough food to feed over 1B people?" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20537409 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20537409 which describes some aspects of China's agriculture that are regenerative. Also, I recommend Toby Hemenway's "Redesigning Civilization with Permaculture" talk for background and future directions. http://tobyhemenway.com/videos/redesigning-civilization-with-permaculture/ http://tobyhemenway.com/videos/redesigning-civilization-with... Geoff Lawton's "Greening the Desert" project converted salty desert to producing figs and other food in just two years. https://permaculturenews.org/2007/03/01/greening-the-desert-now-on-youtube/ https://permaculturenews.org/2007/03/01/greening-the-desert-... - - - - Just to mention one (gross) example: It's a little-known fact that Eisenia fetida worms will devour "night soil" (#2's) and produce clean-smelling castings, while doubling in biomass in approximately 40-50 days. This could easily be scaled to handle urban sewage densities, returning that matter directly to the ecosystem without expensive treatment/chemicals etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenia_fetida https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenia_fetida
- wollstonecraft 7y ago
  Municipal wastewater treatment does not use expensive treatment or chemicals. It is a huge bioreactor where the only input is aeration and stirring.
  - carapace 7y ago
    Okay but it's still gonna be cheaper to poop into a bucket of worms. Grosser, but cheaper. ;-)
meerita 7y ago
Have in mind, animal products are our natural diet. the amount of nutrients per gr is way higher. 200g of liber is way more nutritive than 10kg of tomatoes, avocados, and other vegetables all together. And you can eat (as i do) local meat, which is eco friendly. Most of the vegetables you eat are overseas or from neighbour countries. Check the labels, you will be surprised.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

by fny 7y ago

Just a question for those in the know: is regenerative farming even scalable to meet the needs of a booming population? Can grow enough food without current industrial agriculture?

JoeAltmaier 7y ago

No.

gyrgtyn 7y ago
What if we don't throw half of it away instead of eating it?
- yifanl 7y ago
  That doesnt fit human consumption patterns. Or at least American consumption patterns.
- hanniabu 7y ago
  It'd be nice if there were different food grades for this stuff. So instead of wasting food you can give the less visually appealing a lower grade and sell to food manufacturers/restaurants for uses where the person eating it doesn't see or eat it in the original state.

superpermutat0r 7y ago

I'm not sure if the amount of plants grown for direct human consumption is still too big. Especially the protein rich ones, like beans, lentils. I believe the booming population thirsty for beef, chicken and similar massive products is driving the agriculture of corn, soybean and wheat to its limits.

carapace 7y ago

First, population is leveling off, not booming. Second, yes, by definition regenerative agriculture is scalable. It might require as much as double the labor requirements (so 3% of the population rather than 1.5%) but it's likely that automation will amortize that. See "How is China able to provide enough food to feed over 1B people?" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20537409 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20537409 which describes some aspects of China's agriculture that are regenerative. Also, I recommend Toby Hemenway's "Redesigning Civilization with Permaculture" talk for background and future directions. http://tobyhemenway.com/videos/redesigning-civilization-with-permaculture/ http://tobyhemenway.com/videos/redesigning-civilization-with... Geoff Lawton's "Greening the Desert" project converted salty desert to producing figs and other food in just two years. https://permaculturenews.org/2007/03/01/greening-the-desert-now-on-youtube/ https://permaculturenews.org/2007/03/01/greening-the-desert-... - - - - Just to mention one (gross) example: It's a little-known fact that Eisenia fetida worms will devour "night soil" (#2's) and produce clean-smelling castings, while doubling in biomass in approximately 40-50 days. This could easily be scaled to handle urban sewage densities, returning that matter directly to the ecosystem without expensive treatment/chemicals etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenia_fetida https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenia_fetida

wollstonecraft 7y ago
Municipal wastewater treatment does not use expensive treatment or chemicals. It is a huge bioreactor where the only input is aeration and stirring.
- carapace 7y ago
  Okay but it's still gonna be cheaper to poop into a bucket of worms. Grosser, but cheaper. ;-)

meerita 7y ago

Have in mind, animal products are our natural diet. the amount of nutrients per gr is way higher. 200g of liber is way more nutritive than 10kg of tomatoes, avocados, and other vegetables all together. And you can eat (as i do) local meat, which is eco friendly. Most of the vegetables you eat are overseas or from neighbour countries. Check the labels, you will be surprised.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]