Re: Are we really Overpopulated?
Originally Posted by
OldGreyFox
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The problem with that Donkeyman is we will never be able to find out. We can guess, but we have learnt to rely on foreign imports, mainly because we want plenty of choice and to eat foods out of season. Cost is also a factor, and can we actually say that any country can sustain its population without imports? Even water in some places!
It has been said that there is not enough farmland to supply all the food we need here in the UK.
However, when food is short or rationed like during the war, people grew fruit and vegetables in their gardens or allotments. This remained popular until food became cheaper and more obtainable down the supermarket.
We are returning partially to growing our own because the taste of fresh produce is far superior to imported foods, but until we accept that we should go back to eating home grown seasonal produce, we will continue to ship food halfway around the world with it being chemically treated to look fresh and taste bland.
We do actually export a lot of the foods that we produce here.
We will never know whether we can sustain our population until our backs are against the wall Donkeyman, but the British seem to have an extraordinary resilience to hardship, and I believe we could if necessary.
I suppose if we subtracted the amount of food we expport from
the amount we import it would give us an idea if we could be self
sufficient? You are right we do have the ability to grow more via
allotments and using our gardens but l think the younger generation
are loosing the physical ability to enter into past times such as this,
and consequently there is generally a lack of demand for larger
gardens or allotments, and so planning departments etc dont
cater for them anymore, there are allways local exceptions to this
though of course! However l am convinced the planet as a whole
reached the limits of its capacity to provide a meaningful existence
to the majority of its inhabitants? The only way to improve things
imo is if what we have at the moment is shared more equitably?
Donkeyman!