Our fragile worldwide food system

We have a food system that is adequate to feed everyone on this planet for a price that they can afford -- at least that's the way it works most of the time.  You may not know this, but there were food riots in 2008 around the world over the price of bread, which reflected the highest price for wheat that we've seen in many years.   There are food riots going on now because of a crop failure in Russia -- the price of wheat again. 

I mention this because it's worth noting that our food system, our food supply, is pretty tight.   It produces the food we eat, and not much more.  When there's even a little bobble (or a big one, like the Russian wheat harvest failing this year) people die.  That's one reason that I think that ethanol is such a bad idea.  If you take a system that is pretty much meeting the need, and add another 2% consumption to it, suddenly the whole thing goes out of whack -- prices escalate, people speculate, there's hoarding, countries ban exports and the whole thing goes down an ugly path. 

What can you do?  The next time time that you hear someone diverting food into fuel, tell them why it's such a bad idea.  Corn is to be eaten, not to be consumed as fuel.  We have other sources of fuel, but little else we can use as food.   The same applies for destroying farmland.  We have precious few places with the fertility, water and climate to produce food.  All of the best land is already cultivated.  There is no excuse for destroying farmland. 

This blog entry inspired by this article in the NY times, U.N. Raises Concerns on Wheat Harvests

blackberries

We had a cold, wet spring and early summer this year that delayed most of the plantings I did. It also made the blackberry season later than usual. 

When I was a kid I always looked forward to the first blackberries ripening.  There's always one blackberry at the tip of the bunch of fruits that ripens long before all the others, and I used to pick that one and eat it, and I was always surprised by how sour it was.   From one year to the next I'd always forget. 

The blackberries although late, are pretty good this year.  I always pick a few gallons of the ones that grow wild around the farm, and I always promise that I'll make jam, but then I'll usually eat them fresh, or with some vanilla ice cream. 

The vines are still flowering, into September, which is unusual.  The flowers being pollinated now won't ripen by first frost, but they're much appreciated by the bees, the typical bee schedule was disrupted by the cold weather as well.   

Late summer is a great time for foraging.  If you have blackberries near you, don't miss them. 

pigs eating produce.

Click on the photo for a larger version

One thing about feeding the pigs a buffet is that they get to pick their favorites out of the mix.  The fruits and vegetables are in addition to their regular feed,and the entire herd comes over when a load is delivered to inspect it and eat the bits that they prefer.

Before i receive a new load I scrape up what is left of the last load into windrows.  It's a mix of decayed fruit and vegetables and wood chips.  I use the wood chips to provide additional biomass and to provide lots of carbon to keep the smell down on the composting itself.  The smell is interesting; there's a substantial amount of citrus that comes in each load, grapefruits and oranges mostly, and the pigs don't like them very much.  So when I go to scrape it up it smells a bit like a citrus salad as I crush the fruit with the tractor. 

   I'll turn these windrows of half-composted materials with the tractor, and the pigs will turn them as well.  Later in the fall the pigs will actually sleep on the compost pile because of the warmth that it generates.   In the picture above I've spread another 12" of wood chips to receive the next load. 

The piglets, like any young critter, like the sweet stuff.  Here these three are scanning for their favorite items.  Strawberries and cherries, with the occasional mango or papaya. 

As with most children, getting them to eat their salad first is often a struggle.  Here this little pig is ignoring the sweet corn and lettuce for the strawberry it's eating. 

Food is good, but it's even better when you can bury your whole face in it.  Here this pig is enjoying its bananas -- both the banana in its mouth and the ones it's smearing all over its face. 

The big pigs lead the little guys over to the pile, and give them a rough idea on what's good to eat.  The little pigs are a little tentative, but they'll skitter in under the legs of momma, or kinda hang out and try to steal bits from her mouth, which most sows tolerate.  Eventually everyone has all they can eat and the day ends with a siesta.