Groundbreaking New UN Report on How to Feed the World's Hungry

Seems important enough to blatantly post in the main message board, I'm sure mods will move it if they feel the need.

YES, FINALLY

Massive UN recognition for permaculture as means to improve agriculture and feed the world's hungry, all though they renamed  it agroecology.

http://www.alternet.org/food/150158/new_un_report_on_how_to_feed_the_world%27s_hungry%3A_ditch_corporate-controlled_agriculture

In many parts of the world humans have exceeded the carrying capacity.  Part of feeding the hungry needs to be working to improve the situation of women and family planning.  This is also part of the principles of permaculture (which we're not supposed to talk about ), to limit human population to the carrying capacity.

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/

Overpopulation?
Some might argue that this is a problem.  I would like to offer up some simple facts and mathematics. 

World Population = 6,773,234,966

Land Mass of Earth    = 57,491,000 Sq. Mi.
Land Mass of Australia = 2,968,000 Sq. Mi.

1 Sq. Mi. = 639.9974 Acres

Acres of Land on Earth = 36794090523.4
Acres of Land on Aust  =   1899512283.2

Acres per person in Australia = 0.28044387840302187443706644326681
Acres per person on Earth    = 5.4322772955755156951689308928073

Are you reading that?  I read that as, if every single person on earth, was in Australia, each could have more than a 1/4 acre... family of four, 1 acre. 

Now, that may not be a alot, but that is the population of earth with in the boundaries of Australia.  If you look at the same info globally, there is enough land for every person to have over 5 acres a piece.  Every person from infant to elderly.... 5 acres!

Yes, I understand that there is a considerable amount of desert, etc in Australia.  I hope that you see my point.

Also, because you will be asked if you choose to tell this to someone else.
Arable Land on Earth = 12,000,000 Sq Mi. (as in 4x the size of Australia).

Then you throw in the fact that we are a people that are inventing (rediscovering) ways to grow fish with plants year round in cold places and/or creating food forests in deserts and on mountains, and other considerably nonarable lands. 

Mismanaged, probably
over managed, definitely
Overpopulated, Myth Busted

Math made easy.

I live in Canada where most of the country is frankly unlivable. The majority of the population lives close to the border. It's way too cold or barren in so much of this country to live and grow anything. I mean, I guess we could float some Waterworld type cities out into the lakes and oceans to accommodate all the people we are breeding but... you know.

How much of the Earth's biomass can be turned into human mass and the Earth's life systems continue to function?

Nobody knows.

What we do know, as a fact, is the way we are living now seems to be turning to much of Earth's biomass into human mass or waste.

Another question is, why is such an enormous human population desirable?  Don't we also value other life forms?  I know I do!

Only about half of the planet's land mass is deemed liveable.
A store, factory, all the things that come with human population take up space.
No to mention the personal space one requires, can you imagine driving for days and days in a suburbia the size of australia.
Planting all the worlds population on an island and leave the rest as a "zone 5" seems a bit unrealistic.
The population this planet can handle is more complicated than taking total landmass divided by the number of people.

My point was by no means to suggest that all people should live in Australia.  Please reread and try to imagine. 

We (me and you) are blazing the trail back to what it means to be a child of man(kind) on earth and of the Earth.

All of our actions, have had consequences.   People across the globe are begining to reject the systems that require massive stores, and food fractories.  We want Real.  People are begining to see what is of real value, and that we are creating symbiotic healthful environments and reconnecting to our roots, providing for our selves and others.  This world is so bountiful. 

We possess the capabilities to create food forests and mile high buildings and everything between. 

Imagine

Call me crazy but I am pretty sure we are all  children of women.

With a wee little help from a man.

LOL well I don't know about "wee little"  .

Those sperms are pretty tiny! 

  Hey it was really cold outside today..........  OOOPs didn't mean to go off topic, sorry!

I gots a nickles say's paul will see this getting outa controll and delete it before mornin

Interesting notion ... just because we can feed the 'worlds hungry' I'm not so sure we should.  We're already living with the consequences of messing around with nature and the natural order of things.  Some parts of the planet are intended to only support small populations.

I'm not so sure that any effort to increase food production in a garden/farm isn't messing with the natural order of things.
Using permaculture to aleviate hunger is probably more on the good side of the scale than say large monoculture farms.

Are all parts of the planet suitable for food production in a garden?  And if not ... how are you going to get the food from the productive areas to the non-productive areas where the 'hungry' live?

You'll not get an argument from me that some areas will just not produce enough food for everyone there. That population discussion is a bit verboten here and probaly not an area that we should tackle.
I do see how for instance greening of a desert through permaculture practices could alleviate some hunger. Creating a productive environment through permaculture practices can result in some areas not in production into an area of production. Taking responsibility for producing a portion of your food to me is important.
Reducing transport of food is a component of permaculture.

If we feed everyone with out changing anything else then people will continue to out breed the food supply and we will be back in the same predicament in no time flat.