2.3 Output benefits
There is a myriad of outputs in permaculture, which probably represents its greatest strength. As stated in the previous part, outputs of one element in the system are to be efficiently matchep up with inputs of another element.
Figure 4: Functional interconnections between elements
Bill Mollison, in Introduction to Permaculture, described the functional interconnections occurring in a permaculture system. Chickens and fish eat the dropping fruits of the mulberry tree. In return, chickens can fertilize the pond and the tree through their droppings, which will provide more biomass to the pond to the benefit of fish and seaweeds. Duckweeds will then flourish on the top of the pond and will be eaten by chicken, offering them higher protein content that will help then to produce better quality eggs. The tree will
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All of this is doable because the elements are placed right next to each other, making then possible the access to the other elements’ outputs that will serve as their own inputs. Thus, it is crucial to perform a profound observation of what happens in nature and natural ecosystems to figure out what outputs can be a good match for inputs. In that way, the system can gain more profitability thanks to relative location and smart interactions. With the food web growing and becoming more complex, there is less waste and more products, ultimately boosting the profit.
What we have to keep in mind is that humans in permaculture are fully incorporated to the system. The outputs of humans, similarly to chickens for example, can fertilize the plants, and reciprocally, humans get their food from the abundance of plants (abundance coming from a high
minimize ecological footprints and gain awareness behind the truth of our food routes. Presently, it is very easy to get a variety of different flavours in one supermarket; trinidadian eggplants, chinese bitter melon, hungarian hot peppers and many other delectable products from around the world, but what many don’t realize is that it takes on average 1,500 to 3,000 miles and 250,000
He explains how farmers are highly susceptible to malnutrition, anemia, infectious diseases due to being crowded together, degenerative conditions due to hard physical labor, starvation, and sexual inequality due to women being released of their hunting duties and pressured to produce offspring to tend to the fields. Moreover, he supports his idea by explaining how hunter-gatherers have sufficient leisure time for painting and sculpting, sleep a good deal, work less hard than farmers, and have healthier diets due to the abundance of wild plants and animals available. The diet of hunter-gatherers contains high protein and well balance of proteins compared to farmers who can only consume one or a few foods from their
Hunter- gatherers was able to consume many variety of foods, such as animals meat, berries, nuts, roots etc which are high in proteins and fiber. Farmers can only consume the crops they grew, which is limited. Additionally, the main commonly crops are rice, corn, and wheat, which is high in carbs and lacked fiber, vitamins, and proteins. As a result, farmers’ diet consists of carbs and fats, but no vitamins or proteins. The second risk is limited crop production. Farmers are easily opened to risk of starvation if their crops fail to grow. The final risk to agriculture is epidemic diseases. Agricultural encouraged farmers to get together in crowded societies in order to trade their crops, which can easily lead to spread of contagious diseases and
Based on the output of production, agriculture is perceived as an advance because farmers can produce more food within a smaller area than they could possibly obtain as hunter-gatherers. Harris says that this situation happened since farmers control “the rate of plant reproduction” (Harris 219), which means that immediate adverse consequences could be prevented with the intensification of production. On the other hand, hunter-gatherers, which depend on the availability of natural plants and animals; consequently, can raise their output very little. However, although farmers can produce more food than hunter-gatherers do, the numbers of crops are limited; therefore, when the crops failed, there is risk of starvation.
Permaculture is a system of agriculture and society whose design is inspired by patterns observed in natural ecosystems. As Mollison states: "Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; "[1]. The Permaculture movement began in the 1970's as an alternative farming strategy that seeks "permanent agriculture". The term evolved to permanent-culture, since the social aspects are important in the agriculture. The term permaculture goes beyond food production, it is a sustainable system that provides food, energy, shelter, as well as the social components [2][3].
One of the biggest issues accompanied with modern agriculture is land use. In the United States, for example, around 60 percent of land is used to grow produce and livestock. With such an extensive use of land
With environmental concerns garnering increased international publicity and concern, the debate over no-till or conventional tillage farming has escalated to a heated argument. No-till farming entered the debate over organic versus traditional farming in the past few decades as a possible solution to the issues of erosion, runoff, and pollution, but the downside of additional herbicides scared many from the plow-free farm model. With strong opposition on both sides, no-till farming has seen greatly variable levels of acceptance worldwide. This complex issue seems to somewhat boil down to the concerns over herbicides. Their profound impacts on health, economy, and the environment make them highly controversial. Perhaps both sides of the debate could be satisfied by implementation of recent research in regenerative, organic no-till agriculture and by use of tax credits as an economic cushion for new no-till farmers, like those used in Australia.
In her chapter “Creating Mutual Food Systems”, the author exploits two different tendencies that are currently present in our food systems. One involves the use of technology and science to resolve
Of the primary producers found in this environment, probably the one with the biggest impact on the ecosystem is grass because the blades feed the primary consumers who then feed the rest of the food chain. Although other plants also fulfill this function, grass is eaten in the most abundant quantities and also grows the most.
TRANSITION Another way of describing Permaculture would be having all of our needs met. Von Roenn works very closely with the low income community, giving them assistance in getting what they need. During anthropology class, the topic of Africa and its constant struggle against aids and ebola have come up numerous times. When looking at the ecosystem and the standard of living, it is clear that they do not have their needs met. A community struggling to get enough food or stay clean has little energy and time to put towards their community. As time continues, things get backed up and the living conditions worsen. What Von Roenn tells the people of the local
Gradually, farming replaced hunting and gathering as the primary way of sustaining life. The new environment supports a large productive population with increased food production
2. Understand how food products are made from farm to fork by following the food chain
Hence this could create a systemic ideology of farm to fork that would procreate within the community. Along with this practice, we must decrease unnecessary distribution and the transport of food. The area in which a product is raised is the area in which that product should be expended, “consumers should be encouraged to eat in ways that support environmentally sound, healthful food, and carbon sequestration” (Niman pg. 48). Through revitalization of local food growth and consumption, the price of goods in the area would aid in the elimination of the middleman as well as the wholesalers to whom gain a profit from the farmer. By means of a holistic approach, The overall simplification of downsizing and educating our agriculture system is the resolution to creating a renewable and just future for our food
Defining the system asa balanced ecological network; because the farmers don't feed the fish. Rather, the fish are eating what they'd be eating in the wild. Although, the farm loses 20% of its fish and fish eggs to birds, who thrive in these wetlands, the fish farmers don't mind because their farm thrives, not in spite of the birds, but because of the birds. Barber recommends to look "to farms that restore instead of deplete... farmers that are not just producers but experts in relationships… are experts in flavor too." In the end, we all want food that is not only ecologically and ethically sound, but delicious too (Mellino,2015). These chefs and experts are more cautious about what is happening to our supplies so they are one of the first finding solutions to the
This means that humans not only need plants for eating, but also need their created oxygen to break the food down efficiently.