Maybe I have been misinformed. I had it in mind that monocultures were only good for the first couple of years, then they failed miserably due to too much soil depletion for that specific crop, insect over-predation as insects exploited an abundant food source and overpopulated, and too disease prone, as there is less diversity to keep unwanted organisms out of the system...
I have been taking the easy (read lazy) way out with my two acres: I have been telling my neighbors that having many types of ground cover keeps my ground cover healthier by promoting a healthy ecosystem of insects (and birds), in addition to the plants themselves. While the neighbors keep the RoundUp nearby for the "undesirables"and reach for Scotts TurfBuilder every year, I just mow once in awhile... :)
Come to think of it, I water a whole lot less then they do, as well.
And as to the last sentence in your previous paragraph, I have the distinct feeling that the FDA (we are talking the USA's Food and Drug Administration, right?) might have been helpful in its early years, but it is now not only a hindrance but an outright danger. Similar to the human tendency to assume the existence of traffic lights means they do not have to examine a road intersection for themselves, the idea that the FDA is a good watchdog seems to me to be luring people into yet another false sense of security about their food and drugs.
I seem to recall (pun intended) increasing news stories about how little I can trust our current food system in providing safe items for my table if I am not mimicking a Consumer Reports-style monitoring of FDA alerts about bad food in the delivery system. Oops, that was shipped how many months ago? What alert color are we at now for spinach, orange? :)
Maybe I am assuming too much, but isn't the FDA overwhelmed with the job it is currently doing, and only spot sampling at that? Aren't we suffering from too many companies taking advantage of low to no oversight and shipping whatever they need to keep their bottom line healthy?
Charles Murray had an interesting idea about allowing a second market to arise that was caveat emptor, in return for lower costs to introduce food and drugs into the marketplace. Of course, it requires more responsibility on the part of the consumer, so we leave the existing FDA market in place beside it for those who desire their safety "government approved"...
1) Imported food where raw animal and human waste are used outside of FDA guidelines (i.e. no uncomposted manures used in fields within 120 days of harvest if the vegetable touches the ground, 90 days if it doesn't).
Look at #1. Its actually totally consistent with organic practice, other than the safety violation ;)
2) Rat and other animal feces in processing facilities - a la peanuts.
The FDA is not overwhelmed at testing GMO foods. They're overwhelmed in testing imports, and inspecting production facilities. Think of the scope of those two problems. The FDA sits at a chokepoint of GMO, and not at imports.
BTW - regarding monocultures you DEFINITELY have it wrong. They were responsible for a many times multiplication of agricultural output. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Revolution
I have been taking the easy (read lazy) way out with my two acres: I have been telling my neighbors that having many types of ground cover keeps my ground cover healthier by promoting a healthy ecosystem of insects (and birds), in addition to the plants themselves. While the neighbors keep the RoundUp nearby for the "undesirables"and reach for Scotts TurfBuilder every year, I just mow once in awhile... :)
Come to think of it, I water a whole lot less then they do, as well.
And as to the last sentence in your previous paragraph, I have the distinct feeling that the FDA (we are talking the USA's Food and Drug Administration, right?) might have been helpful in its early years, but it is now not only a hindrance but an outright danger. Similar to the human tendency to assume the existence of traffic lights means they do not have to examine a road intersection for themselves, the idea that the FDA is a good watchdog seems to me to be luring people into yet another false sense of security about their food and drugs.
I seem to recall (pun intended) increasing news stories about how little I can trust our current food system in providing safe items for my table if I am not mimicking a Consumer Reports-style monitoring of FDA alerts about bad food in the delivery system. Oops, that was shipped how many months ago? What alert color are we at now for spinach, orange? :)
Maybe I am assuming too much, but isn't the FDA overwhelmed with the job it is currently doing, and only spot sampling at that? Aren't we suffering from too many companies taking advantage of low to no oversight and shipping whatever they need to keep their bottom line healthy?
Charles Murray had an interesting idea about allowing a second market to arise that was caveat emptor, in return for lower costs to introduce food and drugs into the marketplace. Of course, it requires more responsibility on the part of the consumer, so we leave the existing FDA market in place beside it for those who desire their safety "government approved"...