THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XII, Issue # 180, Sep 5, 2010
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
HIGHER YIELDS: THE ONLY FARMING ANSWER
By Dennis T. Avery
HIGH-YIELD AGRICULTURE & THE ENVIRONMENT: IS THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT FINALLY READY TO FACE
THE GLOBAL NEED TO TRIPLE CROP YIELDS OVER THE NEXT FORTY YEARS & DROP ITS DEDICATION TO LAND-SELFISH
ORGANIC FARMING? THE EARTH'S WILD BIODIVERSITY IS AT STAKE.
FULL STORY:
Is the Green Movement finally ready to face the global need to triple crop yields over the next 40 years — and drop its
dedication to land-selfish organic farming? Maybe yes, and none too soon. The planet’s wild biodiversity is at stake.
I recently spoke about the benefits of high-yield agriculture to environmental prizewinners at an international DuPont
meeting, This isn't news. I’ve been praising high-yield farming for decades for feeding more people better diets from
less land — and thus saving room on the planet for wildlife. I estimate seven million square miles of wildlife habitat have
been spared. This is equal to the land area of South America!
This time, however, I was joined on the program by Dr. Jason Clay, of the World Wildlife Fund - US, who echoed most
of my praise for high-yield farming. Dr. Clay and I agreed that the world would need more than twice as much food per
year by 2050, due partly to the last surge in human population growth, and even more due to the world’s rising wealth.
We agreed that, with 37 percent of the world’s land area already in farming, there was no salvation in doubling the
earth’s plowed land area. He absolutely agreed with me that the future of world agriculture had to be higher yields,
which organic farming has never delivered.
We both noted the latest information on high-yield benefits: a Stanford University study that says the soil carbon that
would have been lost if an additional seven million square miles had been plowed would have equaled one-third of all
the world’s industrial emissions since 1850!
So whether you’re worried about feeding hungry people, saving biodiversity or preventing man-made global warming,
the farming answer is always the same — higher yields per acre. And farming is mankind’s biggest impact on the
natural world, by far.
I suggested to Dr. Clay that this should mean some reevaluation of the “toxicity” rap that agricultural pesticides have
gotten among our urban consumers. Far more worrisome is the lurking presence of dangerous bacteria in our food.
Consumers should demand electronic pasteurization to protect against such threats as salmonella in our eggs,
hamburger, and fresh produce. The electronic pasteurization kills virtually all bacteria, including the food spoilage
bacteria, so fresh foods taste fresher.
The need for tripled world crop yields must be taken into account when U.S. federal regulators and judges act to
support or block new technology such as biotechnology. If not overturned, the federal judge who recently ruled
against biotech sugar beets is going down a dangerous path with consequences far beyond sugar beets. Without
biotech, we may not have the tools to feed the people and save wildlife habitat from the plow.
We should increase our investments in agricultural research, thanking Bill Gates and Warren Buffet along the way for
their massive planned investments in research for “a second Green Revolution.” The land-grant agricultural colleges
and their Council for Agricultural Science and Technology have been swimming upstream on high-yield research in
recent decades.
Both the American Farm Bureau Federation and Dr. Clay’s World Wildlife Fund - US are partners in a broader alliance
(the Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture) with food manufacturers, such as General Mills and Kellogg’s;
the Fertilizer Institute; Croplife (pesticides); plus enlightened environmental groups: Conservation International, the
National Association of Conservation Districts, NRCS/USDA, The Nature Conservancy, and the World Resources
Institute.
This is a promising alliance between the idealists and the pragmatists who respond directly to the concerns about
food shortage, biodiversity, climate, and ultimate sustainability.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Agriculture, the Economy, & Human Health & Welfare:
Policy Issues Relating to Food Production & Consumption
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
Dennis T. Avery, a senior fellow for the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., is an environmental economist. He
was formerly a senior analyst for the U.S. Department of State. He is co-author, with S. Fred Singer of Unstoppable
Global Warming Every 1500 Years. Readers may write to Avery at PO Box 202, Churchville, Virginia, 24421, or send
email to him at cgfi@hughes.net.
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity