I may be growing my own food for the chickens after all, due to genetic editing

[SmiYa0126]

Actually ALL agriculture is harmful to the local indigenous flora and fauna - the cutting down of trees and plowing up of lands in Europe has been going on for thousands of years and was the 'start' of this global warming 'thing'.

Now here in N.A. the plowing up of all that lovely Prairie lands, destroying habitat for animals such as Prong Horns, Prairie dogs, etc; cutting back vast forests of 200 yr old oaks, and Beech, all to make farm land - draining wetlands to make farmlands, and paving over of farmlands to make towns.

GMOs are not the harm to local flora and fauna - human activity is

All of what you described in the mid West when America was colonized is unsustainable. Sustainable is how native Americans grew the crops they needed. Sustainable is composting, creating micro climates, preventing erosion, creating a symbiotic environment for the flora and fauna. Japan practices this type of farming and can feed and have excess using the little farming land that they have.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

All of what you described in the mid West when America was colonized is unsustainable. Sustainable is how native Americans grew the crops they needed. Sustainable is composting, creating micro climates, preventing erosion, creating a symbiotic environment for the flora and fauna. Japan practices this type of farming and can feed and have excess using the little farming land that they have.

Japan is the fourth largest food importer on the planet. We are responsible for roughly 30% of their Pork, 30% of their beef, and almost 70% of their corn imports. 2/3 of their soy, half their wheat, half their nuts, and about 1/6 of their fruit and their dairy.

Suggest you recheck your facts before continuing.

/edit to add

In dollar figures, for reference, Japan imported about $50 Billion in food products in 2020, exporting roughly $5 Billion of their own. That's a net $45 Billion import, or about $3,600 in net food imports per person.

Depending on source, the US exports between $150 and $160 Billion in food products each year, and imports between $145 and $157 Billion. SImilarly, the US is one of the worlds biggest Importers of Oil and also one of its biggest Exporters... Global trade and all.

 

[Sally PB]

Lambsquarter is one of the first "crops" I get out of my garden. I absolutely LOVE the leaves. Brush off the sand and eat them on the spot.

Lots of nutrient info here, including the amino acid breakdown.

nutritionvalue.org/Lambsquarters%2C_raw_nutritional_value.html#:~:text=Lambsquarters%2C%20raw%20contains%2043%20calories,mg%20of%20cholesterol%20per%20serving.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Japan is the fourth largest food importer on the planet. We are responsible for roughly 30% of their Pork, 30% of their beef, and almost 70% of their corn imports. 2/3 of their soy, half their wheat, half their nuts, and about 1/6 of their fruit and their dairy.

Suggest you recheck your facts before continuing.

/edit to add

In dollar figures, for reference, Japan imported about $50 Billion in food products in 2020, exporting roughly $5 Billion of their own. That's a net $45 Billion import, or about $3,600 in net food imports per person.

Depending on source, the US exports between $150 and $160 Billion in food products each year, and imports between $145 and $157 Billion. SImilarly, the US is one of the worlds biggest Importers of Oil and also one of its biggest Exporters... Global trade and all.

https://www.worldstopexports.com/japans-top-10-imports/

Corn and pork were in the twenties for Japan imports for food, the rest were non food items. For that tiny country to even have exports of food shows how sustainable they really are.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

https://www.worldstopexports.com/japans-top-10-imports/

Corn and pork were in the twenties for Japan imports for food, the rest were non food items. For that tiny country to even have exports of food shows how sustainable they really are.

Are you that young, or did the public school system do you such a disservice that you believe that chart is an any way relevant to Japan's sustainability in terms of food production?

That Japan also imports and exports a lot of things you can't eat tells you something about their economy (but not much - you should, if you are reasonably world aware and more than 30 years of age, recall Japan's "Lost Decade" of economics, which became its "Lost Generation". The terms most commonly appied to more than 20 years of Japanese economic malaise).

The other possibility is that you think I'm stupid enough to fall for such an obvious logical fallacy.

Try this.
https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryP...low/EXPIMP/Partner/all/Product/16-24_FoodProd

 

[saysfaa]

On this scale imports are seeds and lime for the fields, whatever peelings and ashes and such that I dump out there, droppings from four hens, and droppings from too many deer (because the neighbor feeds them). Exports are what four hens can eat and a few bushel of product we eat directly, and the venison from a few deer that the hunters take.

That is more nutrients coming onto the land than leaving. Therefore, sustainable.

Of course, that isn't everything. There is managing the waterflow and ground cover so there isn't too much leaching or erosion. And so on. On this scale, not too difficult.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

On this scale imports are seeds and lime for the fields, whatever peelings and ashes and such that I dump out there, droppings from four hens, and droppings from too many deer (because the neighbor feeds them). Exports are what four hens can eat and a few bushel of product we eat directly, and the venison from a few deer that the hunters take.

That is more nutrients coming onto the land than leaving. Therefore, sustainable.

Of course, that isn't everything. There is managing the waterflow and ground cover so there isn't too much leaching or erosion. And so on. On this scale, not too difficult.

Maintaining a closed system or close to it is a worthy goal.

My soil sucks, so to the extent my hens take my imports (feed) and turn it into fertilizer, that's a net positive for long term sustainability. I also need to drop a ton of lime over just 2.5 acres or so this Spring. and again in the Fall. Eventually, I'll get there - likely just in time for my daughters to inherit it.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Are you that young, or did the public school system do you such a disservice that you believe that chart is an any way relevant to Japan's sustainability in terms of food production?

That Japan also imports and exports a lot of things you can't eat tells you something about their economy (but not much - you should, if you are reasonably world aware and more than 30 years of age, recall Japan's "Lost Decade" of economics, which became its "Lost Generation". The terms most commonly appied to more than 20 years of Japanese economic malaise).

The other possibility is that you think I'm stupid enough to fall for such an obvious logical fallacy.

Try this.
https://wits.worldbank.org/CountryP...low/EXPIMP/Partner/all/Product/16-24_FoodProd

Yes they import a high volume, it's an island... I haven't looked at Hawaii to see what their imports look like. I'm only speaking to what they can grow, not to the state of their economy or manufacturing, etc. They have other issues as well, abysmal birth rate and an aging population. Did you read what's happening in Germany? They're paying people to have children.

You're right public school didn't do me any favors, what I've learned was on my own.

I wouldn't ever assume anyone was stupid. That is antithesis of how I treat people. I'm always learning.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Actually ALL agriculture is harmful to the local indigenous flora and fauna - the cutting down of trees and plowing up of lands in Europe has been going on for thousands of years and was the 'start' of this global warming 'thing'.

Now here in N.A. the plowing up of all that lovely Prairie lands, destroying habitat for animals such as Prong Horns, Prairie dogs, etc; cutting back vast forests of 200 yr old oaks, and Beech, all to make farm land - draining wetlands to make farmlands, and paving over of farmlands to make towns.

GMOs are not the harm to local flora and fauna - human activity is

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...suicide-using-genetically-modified-crops.html

Here's an attempt to gmo cotton in India in early 2000s. Now I know daily mail isn't what I would consider a glnews source, however I'm going to talk to a colleague of mine that is from India today as I can't read any of the Indian dialects... summation, debt over costly seeds have caused 300k of suicides... This was in 2008... More info to follow.

The way forward is bringing small scale farms back. Not the conglomerates that don't practice good animal husbandry.

 

[Sally PB]

Maintaining a closed system or close to it is a worthy goal.

That is our goal here. I don't know how close we can ever get to it.

But just because you can't do 100% of something worthwhile doesn't mean you shouldn't do your best. And always strive to do better. Striving to do better each day is my goal.