local, small scale farming( was Breeding,...)

[Steve Kurtz]

Here I strongly agree with Bill Ward! Crops & methods designed for mass
production use more caloric inputs in production (incl petro based
fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides), deplete soils faster, increase
monoculture risks to adaptive pests, diseases, fungi..., and then need
more transport energy for wider marketing. Addiction to oil for food
supplies is risky in the view of many wholesystem analysts.

Overpop & usurpastion of prime lands by non-natives are just two factors
that have lead to loss of quality and quantity of arable land. Lack of
fallow years is a part of the resulting condition. Technology boosted
yields/hectare for decades, but diminishing returns are the now the
rule.

Steve