FOOD SLEUTH
At the root of “green” is the life of the soil

Fred Kirschenmann couldn’t turn down the invitation to give the William A. Albrecht Earth Day Lecture at the University of Missouri last month. Kirschenmann is Distinguished Fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University and manages a 3,500-acre organic farm in North Dakota. But his ideas about agriculture were shaped significantly by Albrecht, who believed the soil’s organic matter is one of our most important natural resources — and that life on the soil is driven by life in the soil.

Albrecht, a former MU soil scientist, objected to industrial farming because he recognized it as exploitive and therefore not “sustainable.”

Now there’s a word that gets bounced around, co-opted and slapped on everything wanting a “greener” image. Even Wal-Mart and McDonald’s try to huddle under the sustainable banner. However, much like “natural” or “green,” the word “sustainable” lacks a legal definition by which we can hold those who use the term accountable.

Kirschenmann explained that the concept of “sustainability” is a lot like beauty or love — hard to define. But in the simplest sense, if something is sustainable, it has the ability to keep going into the future.

The American Dietetic Association defines sustainability as “the capacity of being maintained over the long term in order to meet the needs of the present without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”

Based on that definition, it would seem prudent to exclude terminator gene technology, hormone-disrupting pesticides, cancer-causing herbicides, fossil-fuel guzzling food systems and inefficient corn-based ethanol from under the sustainable umbrella. On the other hand, local, organic agriculture fits nicely because its methods are based on the protection and respect for biodiversity and interdependence of natural resources.

When we examine civilizations that collapsed, Kirschenmann explained, those that were ill-prepared for challenges and failed to get a head start on them did not survive.

Kirschenmann described “three major challenges we face today: energy, climate change and water.” Our current industrial model of agriculture works “reasonably well,” as long as we have ample cheap energy, a surplus of fresh water and a stable climate. But as energy costs go up and our natural resources become depleted, we need to rethink our food production system and “return to the basic facts of soil fertility and plant nutrition that Albrecht noted.”

Like Albrecht, Kirshenmann believes that “soil is not a thing, but a web of relationships.” For example, when we manage our soil well, we decrease our need for irrigation; there are less pests and weeds. Healthy, humus-rich soil behaves like a sponge, soaking up water, so it’s more likely to produce food during periods of drought and resist erosion during times of heavy rains.

When asked about the irony of espousing Albrecht’s principles in the Monsanto Auditorium, Kirschenmann replied: “I’m not opposed to technology.” But “every technique we use, every industrial process we initiate and every technology we introduce should be a question put to nature. We should act with caution and humility. We are not special and separate from nature; we’re part of it.”

As for the future, Kirschenmann advised that our job is not to save the environment but to enhance “self-renewal.” Rather than trying to feed the world, we can promote education, family planning and food sovereignty. Individual and community gardens, less monoculture and more diversity helps create a more sustainable future.

“Agriculture has always started with the soil,” he said.

We’ve just begun to appreciate it now. Kirshenmann suspects it will become critical as a foundation to the “post-industrial agriculture of the 21st century.”

Learn more about sustainable agriculture and why our food supply depends on embracing Albrecht’s principles. Visit the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture: www.leopold.iastate.edu.

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Melinda Hemmelgarn, M.S., R.D., is a clinical dietitian, advocate for sustainable food systems and 2004-2006 Food and Society Policy Fellow. She lives in Columbia.

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