With climate change fucking everything up does traditional agriculture of any kind have hope for staying around? When i get in a doomer mood i think about everything having to be grown inside greenhouses or hydroponics and it freaks me out.

People talk about permaculture sometimes, and I hear its better in a lotta ways but is it more resilient too? is it even possible to grow things in a way that can survive huge shifts in temp?

  • OPisalib [none/use name]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Lots of risks and rewards in agriculture!

    Water is the most important thing for agriculture. Theoretically we can make it out of seawater, it's just prohibitively costly for energy and money. As energy gets cheaper or our use becomes more efficient, getting water to farmland becomes more predictable and consistent.

    Soil is the next most important thing. It's depleting at a very scary rate and that NEEDS to be addressed. As soil breaks down it releases huge amounts of (unaccounted for) CO2. But building soil also draws carbon from the air - it's actually a way faster and more effective carbon sink than trees. Soil (and the infinity of microbial life it contains) has the ability to save us from climate change. It's magical stuff, one of my favourite substances. Seriously, read some pop science about soil it really is incredible.

    Crop choice and varieties chosen will shift and change. The Cavendish banana will probably die/go extinct. Other clones will probably suffer the same fate. Genetic bottlenecking of popular fruits and vegetables isn't going anywhere