If You Care About the Soil, This Really Matters

I tried in my journalism career, and now in columns and this blog to not overstate things.  I think it's important to try to persuade with facts and arguments, not hyperbole, and I also accept that we all have beliefs and opinions that have been hard won, and we give them up very reluctantly.  So I say "this really matters" with care, but I really think this does.

Last month a man called Allan Savory gave a "TED TALK".  (TED is a buffet of smart people talking about important things. Googling TED when you've got a spare minute or two is never time wasted.)  Savory has spent his life trying to understand  desertification, that agonizing loss of soil fertility that threatens so many,  and is getting worse because of climate change. He's discovered (and presents a lot of visual proof of his findings) that properly managed, intensive livestock production improves soil fertility, producing food that otherwise wouldn't be available. This is totally contrary to what most of us have been told, that livestock overgrazing is the CAUSE of desertification.  So please take a few minutes to view his presentation. It will give you something  to feel very positive about.

http://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_green_the_world_s_deserts_and_reverse_climate_change.html