Post-industrial farms based on the Savanna’s ecosystem
In every continent vast herds of large herbivores move
through grass lands, grazing on the green grass leaves but leaving the
rhizomes’ regenerative root structure in place. This is then followed by flocks of insects, predators and birds,
all of which contribute a vital product or service. The procession leaves
behind a rich, vibrant layer of manure and bacteria that will make its way into
the soil, combined with the cast off roots the grass no longer needs for its
diminished solar production due to lack of green leaves, This creates a fertile
subterranean ecosystem of worms, rodents and, once again, bacteria. The
ecosystem then creates the ideal conditions for the grass to re-grow for the
return of a herd in two to three weeks. This ecosystem has been around since
before the dinosaurs.
Our
inefficient industrial food production system takes the herd, makes it
stationary, brings the stationary grass (corn) to the herd, loosing resources at every step. Nitrate rich manure,
carrying precious enzymes produces proteins in the way of bugs which roaming
herds would spread over the land, never leaves the pasture. At the same time we
manufacture nitrates using a large amount of petroleum so that the corn can grow
to feed the cattle. Much of the nitrates gets blown off by the wind, or washed
away with rainfall, due to lack of sufficient top soil, which has been
eliminated by the years of intensive industrial production and tilling. Birds
are then grown in a completely different place, their droppings becoming a hot
nitrate intensive waste. Their natural ability of aerating the soil and doing
bug control by pecking for grubs in the manure of the herd is wasted. To make
use of the waste products in the industrial system, transportation is needed,
even though cattle and poultry thrive on movement. Each one of the industrial
production facilities create an intense density of unutilized resources like a
giant Petri dish, which breed germs, fungi and pests to the plant or animal
grown on the land, creating the need for pesticides, fungicides, and
antibiotics. These in turn kill off not only the desired invasive organisms,
but also peripheral desired organisms, like bees killed due to pesticides or
bacteria by antibiotics
Some calculations have this
inefficient system responsible for as many green house gases as cars, Excess
methane is created by feeding cows corn, not grasses. This also creates a
carbon intensive production of nitrates to grow the corn and as additives into
feed. The waste from this has been tied to the destruction of wet lands,
contamination of ground water, and even the creation of dead zones in the
ocean..
So how do
we use the savanna’s efficiencies in modern food production? On a small scale,
Polyface Farms, written about in Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s
Dilemma, has many of the answers. The real trick of the Polyface Farms
example is mobility of the animals and permanency of the plants. To do this on
a grand scale, the post-industrial food production would need to have a
paradigm shift in the way of thinking. Each producer must see themselves as
true stewards of the land, not owners. The bureau of land management would have
to assist the producers with guidance as to when land is ready for the herd, poultry or farming, and when it just
needs a break. Ranchers would need to rotate their cattle as organic farmers do
crops, throughout their land. Bird pens
would need to be mobile (maybe solar powered to create a shelter for the birds
as well) and enable birds to peck at the soil.
Imagine a
herd of cattle, be it beef, bison, or other herbivores, being guided through
our country, grazing the cattle, like one long cattle drive. A few days later
the poultry farmer comes in a slow bird drive, truly free range, through the
grazed fields. Using the grubs in the cow patties for food as well as the
grasses, they leave behind a nitrogen rich patchwork of bird poop. Worms and
bacteria then break this mix of animal by-products and create a layer of topsoil,
helped by the turning of the ground by rodents, without the complete
destruction of the root structure that prevents run off of soil. When a good,
rich layer of topsoil has been built up, the farmers come in and do their
magic, rotating crops for a few seasons, then moving to the next fertile
fields, allowing the land they just moved away from to go back to the herd to
regenerate. The only waste problems involved are that of the slaughterhouses.
Distribution of the final products to the consumer would be the only
transportation issue, assuming processing plants where appropriately placed on
the route, all of which could be set up by rail along the parameters of the
migratory route.
At least 5%
of the total land mass is now used for food production. It’s a huge percentage
of our land to degrade as we are now. If we keep up the present food production
system, we will likely expand global warming, pollute our aquifers, destroy our
topsoil, and promote antibiotic resistant diseases They also create more and larger
dead zones in the ocean, which eliminate many fish breeding grounds as well as
a host of many other environmental and social issues. Unless our population
starts decreasing, we must at some point have a paradigm shift in our food
production. Our present system is not sustainable, relying heavily on petroleum
and manufactured nitrates. If we rely on the present growth and focus of
sustainable foods, it will be decades before we get to partial solutions to
these global issues, and many of the issues will still remain. Even 100%
organic production will not be sufficient to address all the waste issues..
An alternative must be found, and where better to find
a model but from what has worked for millions of years. It would not only
reduce waste, but also reduce artificial chemical costs and replace it with
labor. And best of all it could be sustainable for generations. The plains
supported 60 to 100 million large bison in its hay day (no pun intended), our
present beef production is 32 million cows so the numbers could work.
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