On Mon, 24 Oct 2005 21:31, Ashley Moran wrote:

>On Oct 24, 2005, at 6:34 pm, Lynnet Bannion wrote:
>
<snip>

>> We're trying to fool Mother Nature with these high-tech, high-
>> petroleum solutions, and it won't last.  Eventually the production
>> of human food will be back on a pay-as-you-go basis, as it was
>> during the 2m years before industrial agriculture.
>>
>> Off the soapbox for now......... hopefully, not too far off-topic.
>>
>>    Lynnet
...

>This whole thread has been really interesting... I had no idea my
>question would bring up ideas like this.  I never considered just how
>much oil is burnt producing the foods we eat now.  I'd like to eat
>more locally, but getting local AND organic is very difficult.

>Ashley

If we are thinking about the future of our food supplies - "food security" as it's known - this would
seem to be right on topic. The approach of significant oil shortages will force even more
significant changes in the cost and availability of food production, drying, processing, storage,
transport and retail.

I have produced a one-sheet document on this topic as part of my day job. It's at:

www.natsoc.org.au and follow the link to 'peak oil'

This document explains how the interlocking dependencies we have built up over the past century
(of which food production is probably the greatest), are unsustainable and suggests how to
prepare for the future.

If you have comments on the document which don't relate to food, perhaps you could send them
to me off-list, just to keep the discussion here on-topic.

Keith