Food and Extreme Weather: It's the Soil, Stupid

http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/07/what-organic-ag-teaches-us-about-feeding-ourselves-while-planet-heats



 Already, some farmers in Illinois and Missouri have given up on parched and stunted fields, mowing them over. National experts say parts of five corn-growing states, including Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, are experiencing severe or extreme drought conditions. And in at least nine states, conditions in one-fifth to one-half of cornfields have been deemed poor or very poor, federal authorities reported this week, a notable shift from the high expectations of just a month ago

The message from the Midwest is clear: Chemical-intensive, industrial-scale farming is vulnerable to spells of hot, dry weather—some of the very conditions we can expect to become common as the climate warms. In my last post, I argued that the solution to this problem favored by US policymakers—to keep industrial agriculture humming along with novel seeds engineered for "drought tolerance"—probably won't work.

 But under conditions of extreme weather, things change:

Soils managed with organic methods have shown better water-holding capacity and water infiltration rates and have produced higher yields than conventional systems under drought conditions and excessive rainfall.

In other words, organically managed soils deal with water better—both in conditions of drought and heavy storms (the frequency of which is also expected to increase as the climate changes). Soil rich in organic matter (well-decayed remnants of plants and other living creatures) bolster soil in weather extremes by helping store water in times of scarcity and by holding together and not eroding away during heavy rains.

we would be doing ourselves a big favor if we don't install a party given to these chemically infested food and soil and water and that in the air that rain and just sheer weight brings it down to the dirt that grows that food on your table now, preservatives to help keep it fresh can help keep us less fresh.  

what do you tell your Dr. when they ask "what drugs have you taken" or the employer that says you failed the test, when the only thing you've taken is a aspirin, or have you?  

are big business like Koch factories our pusherman you don't ever meet?  a right wing vote promotes deregulation and puts a cross hair on all our backs.

electing those who have an alternative interest not yours gets you politicians that vote against your interest, and ultimately against "you".