Often when I talk about potential solutions to pollution, waste and food production problems I'll tend to get the response: “well, the population is just too high”. This kind of response tends to make me nervous, because while yes, the world population is very high, how can this be quickly remedied without a mass cull or drastic removal of people's rights. I'm not gong to sit in denial that this wouldn't happen, because, lets be honest, it already has happened in recent history. Do the names Hitler and Mao ring any bells? I bet their people didn't want to believe that their government could really sterilise or kill them.
So do I believe that there are solutions to these problems without needing a sudden population reduction? Well let's say I'd rather try other solutions and I certainly don't believe that we can't feed this population without monoculture and factory farming.
(Is this beautiful planet really beyond saving by the people who live on it?)
Somebody recently said that even a well run permaculture farm can't produce as much as a monoculture farm, but I don't see why not. Okay, so the permaculture farm won't be producing as much of one crop, but if all farms moved away from the monoculture format to produce multiple crops then surely you'll still have the same amount of produce, just not all coming from one source. Is that such a bad thing? Even if more sustainable farming methods can't produce as much as monocultures it's estimated that we have nearly 50% food wastage in first world countries. Much of this waste starts before it even reaches the shops, as rejects. So I really don't see how we can't produce enough food for the current population.
There are things that can cause pollution besides people. For example one volcanic eruption can cause more pollution than we might make in years. A really bad one can put us in an extended winter for a few years. Thankfully this isn't something that happens very often and nature is pretty efficient at cleaning up. Where nature starts to struggle is when she is constantly bombarded with pollution along with her clean up crew (trees and other plants) being under attack. Admittedly, if we had a much smaller population, nature could probably cope with cleaning up after it, but does anyone have the right to decide how the population should be reduced, just so a few can carry on being as wasteful and polluting as they want?
In a utopian world if we could all see the damage we do and try and minimise it then the current population could easily live in balance with nature. Unfortunately, most people prefer to take the easy path which continues to support the companies wanting to make money out of that laziness and continues the cycle of waste and pollution. I’m not judging them. Ask anyone who tries to live a zero waste life how hard it is, especially with little to no support in this consumer system we live in.
I'm under no illusions as to how important I am to the people with the power to call about a population cull. How about you?
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Well..my take for whatever it is worth...I think it will be all mute as the way most folks eat today will give them cancer...that in my opinion is what is being counted on ...look at the cancer rate and the cancer business that surrounds it...The medical/caner business has a huge lobby...All the while it is curable with proper diet, fasting, turmeric, removing sugar...many cures. We are what we eat! I am new to the homestead facebook site and found your article there. Will be following...Oh i see in your profile you are a homeschooler ...so are we!
Love and peace
Melissa
Good to meet you Melissa and thank you for your thoughts.
Yes, the western world is certainly going to lose plenty through sickness; more than just cancer I suspect. Ironically we aren't the most heavily populated of countries though.
True but as i think of all the world, especially as they adopt western ways...China is headed to were we are...as is india...except not as likely as their food is filled with anti-cancer herbs...yum! Trying to think of others with heavy populations..
Hmm... maybe that's wht they're really pushing GMO crops in India...
Are they ...i did not realize that ...well there you go..
Have a great day!
Melissa
While I agree with a lot of things you said here (great post), I strongly disagree that we are overpopulated. I believe that's what the "powers that be" want us to believe so they can "sell" their agenda. I've done the math myself, and it's absolutely true that you can fit the population of the entire world within the state of TX, and each person would have 1,000sf. Now if each family shared they wouldn't even need that much to grow everything needed. Plus, many people prefer living close to each other, like in apartments, so we really have so much room. This planet is huge! 😉
Sorry to disagree, I just wanted to offer my 2 cents. Hey, if we all agreed on everything, this world would be boring, and we'd never grow and learn! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I don't think you're disagreeing particularly and value your feedback. Believe me, I'm glad you don't think the population is too high!
When people live in high density we cause an awful lot of damage to the immediate environment. In fact any animal living in high density does that, which is why they move to new pastures in the wild, giving the first area chance to recover. However, animals don't cause anywhere near the waste and pollution that we currently cause in the western world. Which is why I wonder if certain people want the population cull in order to be able to keep polluting at the rate they currently do without that pollution affecting them.
Good points. Also consider...composting toilets and gray water disposal. Then there's growing some of your own food, even if that means some sprouts in your cupboard. Planting edible forests on public lands. Personal choices like giving up disposable packaging and products. Some can ride bicycles instead of motor vehicles in some instances. We all can't (in my opinion) do everything in a 'perfect' manner but if all of us do SOMETHING different/sustainable in our lives then I know we would see a large difference in our carbon situation. We have power in our wallets. Let's use it. Thank you for bringing up the conversation. ~Peace and Abundance~
Agreed; I certainly think that there is a lot we can do to minimise our impact on the would around us. After all we are intelligent and quite capable of seeing the problems we're causing and can figure out ways to stop causing those problems. I just wish more people cared enough to take those steps.
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STOPThank you