Malthus Theory

(UPDATE: Before reading I suggest http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=human-population-reaches-seven-billion) Malthus was the person who founded your fears of overpopulation: his theory that population would rise far rapider than food production. The J-Curve is his idea in mathematical terms, named after the bottom part of a cursive capital J. The prediction was made 200 years ago. Since then agricultural advances i.e. green revolution have increased crop yield and new lands could and were exploited. New technologies such as better tractors have proliferated over the world increasing standard of living. This would appear to solve the production problem and a simple distribution solution would be in order.

Domestication of new animal species and higher yielding crops have created a new ecosystem designed for our tastes. Salmon, Bass, Tilapia, and other species have become affordable to mass markets in Europe, China, and the United States. Corn and Soy have fed a chain of livestock and filled the supermarkets. All progress in 60 years worth of time.

However soon after the adoption of dangerous pesticides, waste in the food chain, and a reworking of the environment we understood the damage done to ourselves. The path to prosperity was unclear and inefficient. Malthus theory was looked again as guide to our future.

Recent crop failures in the world have indicated that food production may not work in the same way as in recent past. For the green revolution simply turned our food supply into a stop-gap system. Ammonium fertilizers is the bridge and trucks are the bricks that hold it together (the river is our food supply). New evidence (University Minnesota) shows our current agricultural system alone is not enough to supply 9,000,000,000 (9billion people) by 2050. This means the J-Curve is back.

Technology may save us again, but we must take a different path. Soilless growing, hydroponics, a 300 year old technology hailed for its spacial and yield efficiency may create a new revolution.

Organic hydroponics encompass three important technologies: aquaponics, vermiponics, and true organic hydroponics. Organic nutrient lines such as Fox Farm Grow Big, bought today at my local hydroponics store are unsustainable as our current system. The ingredients are, in Grow Big:

KNO3, MgNO3, K Phosphate, Ammonium Phosphate, Ammonium Nitrate, CaNO3,

Earthworm Castings (sustainable),

Norwegian Kelp (not sustainable),

and trace minerals.

True organic hydroponics can be derived from the urine of any animal, even human; it's safe if aged to the point where urea turns into Ammonia. Add worm-castings and supplements, if necessary and you've got a highly efficient hydroponic system. Aquaponics is the process by which fish waste is converted to usable plant food and plants clear the excess nutrients for the fish—thus cleaning the water. A book has recently come out on the subject: Aquaponic Gardening by Sylvia Bernstein, creator of theaquaponicsource.com. This book is on my list of books to read. Vermiponics is basically a soilless compost pile that acts as a clear nutrient input out-put station.

Many commercial aquaponic farms have sprouted up in recent years: Growing Power, Sweet-Water Organics, Friendly Aquaponics, and Green Acre Organics to name a few. Aquaponic infrastructure has been created in recent months and hydroponic infrastructure is booming. Not only is hydroponics affordable, when done correctly, the rumor of tastelessness is not true. Because of these things hydroponics may sustain us in the next 40 years.

So, shall Malthus be correct or are we going to do something about it. I appeal that we garden in the space we can. Hydroponics can help us.