Links


Amish Soil Loss  This report on Amish and Mennonite farming says that these low-tech organic farmers have lost half of their topsoil in the last 250 years.

Cuba’s Food & Agriculture Report  There is a popular belief that Cuba shifted to organic farming in 1990, when Soviet subsidies ended, and the transition was a complete success.  In fact, the transition to organic resulted in a dramatic decrease in food production.  This long report documents that 84% of all food consumed in Cuba is now imported.  They used to import cheap oil, but when that ended, they were forced to import food.

The Oil We Eat  This essay by Richard Manning is an intelligent and eloquent history-flavored analysis of the catastrophic design defects in agriculture.  The domestication of wheat was probably the worst thing that has ever happened to the planet (or was it the Green Revolution?).  Industrial agriculture is a system for transforming oil into food.

The Worst Mistake In The History Of The Human Race  In this essay, Jared Diamond says that agriculture was the worst mistake in human history.  We would be in far better shape today if we had devoted our attention to population management, instead.

Lynx Vilden Interview  Vilden has spent much of her life learning the skills of primitive living, and teaching them.  She was raised to be a well-educated modern space alien, but she has developed an intimate spiritual connection with the living world.  She lives with profound reverence and respect.  She has a well-formed mind.

Farmers of Forty Centuries, by F. H. King  This site provides access to the contents of Farmers of Forty Centuries, a book that described the low-tech organic farming practiced in Asia in 1909.  They were masterful at nutrient recycling, and at eliminating anything wild from their ecosystem.

Conquest of the Land Through Seven Thousand Years  This is W. C. Lowdermilk’s powerful pamphlet on soil conservation.  It provides a number of shocking and unforgettable photographs that illustrate soil erosion catastrophes caused by agriculture.

Humanure Handbook, by Joseph Jenkins  This site provides access to the contents of an older edition of the Humanure Handbook, the world-famous handbook for sewage composters. 

Civilization & Sludge  This fascinating essay by Abby A. Rockefeller describes the history of sewage management from the dawn of time to today.  This is not a story about continuous improvement.  Our technology is getting shittier all the time — and more energy-intensive.

The Food and Farming Transition  This report from the Post-Carbon Institute describes why there will be big changes in food production in the coming years, as the era of cheap energy fades into the past, and nutrient recycling replaces chemical fertilizers. 

Why is the future of the world nuts?  This essay promotes a transition from conventional agriculture to agroforestry, as soon as possible.  It’s a far more intelligent way to produce food.

Robert Wolff: What It Is To Be Human  This is an excerpt from Robert Wolff’s beautiful book, Original Wisdom.  It describes the time he spent with the Sng’oi people of Malaysia.  This is a story that I will never forget.

Daniel Quinn is the author of Ishmael, a path-breaking novel that continues to be a strong seller, year after year.  It’s a gentle but provocative primer on ecological history.

Jean Liedloff is the author of The Continuum Concept.  She spent time among hunter-gatherers in South America, and came to see that their way of life was far healthier and balanced than ours.  This expanded perspective has made her a valuable commentator and teacher.

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration  This site provides access to most of Weston Price’s famous book, including his remarkable photos of teeth.  It radically changed the way I think about food.

Weston A. Price Foundation  This organization provides a wealth of information about nutrition and health, much of it contrary to current mainstream beliefs.

Dieoff  This is Jay Hanson’s original legendary website, loaded with top quality science, supporting the notion that humankind faces big trouble ahead.  This site will take a month or two to read.

Mammoth Bones  This is snippets from a chapter from A Journey to the Earth's Interior by Marshall B. Gardner, 1920.  It discusses mammoths, and the large number of them found along the coast of the Arctic Ocean.