SHIFT PERMACULTURE

[abigail ashton]

Hi James,

I am currently taking a permaculture course and would like to bring to your
attention the short film "Farming for the Future" which literally brought
tears to my eyes. The film contains a lot of fascinating evidence.

It makes sense to consider that the layer of top soil and plants that covers
the earth is like a skin that ploughing rips away. Ploughing turns up the
seeds of more weeds, destroying the natural layer of humus that exists,
creating a need for additional fertilisers as well as causing the soil to
dry out and ultimately leading to land erosion. If the ground is left to
live as an ecosystem where variety is the key factor, it can be
self-regulating in terms of water and more equipped to deal with plant root
diseases.

An additional point that the film does not mention is that evidence suggests
that a network of mycelium on plant-roots, sometimes referred to as
'nature's internet', is extremely useful for allowing plants to look after
themselves, letting us harvest abundant foodstuffs without having to live a
life of toil (this is after the collapse created by our oil supplies peaking
and diminishing). Land that has been ploughed does not contain the mycellial
layer - it is destroyed by ploughing.

Ploughing in modern agriculture is heavily oil reliant, and oil has allowed
for it to occur at an accelerated rate, speeding up the process of land
erosion. But even with a horse-pulled plough, the mycellial layer will be
destroyed. Regardless of class, these are all facts to be considered.

Abi.
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