Did you catch it? The royal Duke of Cambridge, currently known as Prince William, is attending the University of Cambridge for a 10 week agricultural management program. The purpose? To learn how to manage the vast and profitable Duchy of Cornwall which he will inherit when his father becomes king--if ever. His course of study will bring him up to date on organic farming and sustainability.
That is exactly the theme running in the background through my new novel scheduled for release March 15, 2014, AS ALL MY FATHERS WERE. The Brit's have been farming that land for 1,000 years, from serfs to kings and as land gets overused and ground water levels drop and land, water and air takes on more pollution, the ancient idea of sustainability rises to the fore like bubbles on sourdough.
The agricultural industry thought they were immune from rising criticism, a push for organic food products, humane treatment of animals destined for the dining room platter, and played defense. Now they are starting to play offense and rebutting the lack of scientific data on genetically modified seeds, contributions to pollution by cows, feed lots and 'cides (pesticides, fungicides, herbicides) and fertilizers--especially those that are sprayed as a mist in the air and drift over the fields.
The farm industry says the reason the US can feed our people and export food is because of our grasp of industrial farming methods. It is good to produce more than you eat, and more than you feed to animals, but there is a happy medium where the production of food stuffs does not destroy the land and the water and the air and that the final product is healthy to consume. Do I hear an amen?
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