Fred Kirschenmann steadfastly warns us, conventional agriculture, and its heavy dependence upon fossil fuels, and irrigated water, simply will not continue to offer a viable means for feeding the world. We have been drawing upon natures reserves of stored energy (hydrocarbons) and water resources at unsustainable rates, and those finite resources are diminishing rapidly; technology alone, will not provide substitute solutions.

The argument that conventional agriculture (modern industrial farming) is necessary in order to meet the needs of a growing global population, simply ignores the realities of the elephants in the room. Sustainability, with an emphasis upon the concept of resiliency, and a renewed respect for maintaining the fertility (quality) of the soil, is to Kirschenmann now, the foundation of a new food system toward creating a food revolution.

Ever since Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring first warned us against the dangers of chemicals in our natural world—we seem to be entering a new, more dangerous period, where the accumulated human effects upon the environment are producing an obvious toll. In this story, another human soul speaks out, this time, about the plight of the honeybees. Recipe from the episode: Honey Sweetened Apple Pie with Lemon Juice with our own Lynn Royce, of Mite Bee Farm.

Lon Rombough, author of The Grape Grower: A Guide to Organic Viticulture shares his passion for plants and growing grapes; a lifetime of study and practice as a plant breeder and grower. He shares his unique story while pruning grape vines and fruit trees on his property.

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