Consulting the Genius of the Place: An Ecological Approach to a New Agriculture

285 Pages·2010·4.059 MB·English

by  Wes Jackson

$16.95 NATURE
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Locavore leaders such as Alice Waters, Michael Pollan, and Barbara Kingsolver all speak of the e c o n s u lt i n g
s
need for sweeping changes in how we get our food. A longtime leader of this movement is Wes

Jackson, who for decades has taken it upon himself to speak for the land, to speak for the soil it- j
a
self. Here, he oƒers a manifesto toward a conceptual revolution: Jackson asks us to look to natu-
c
ral ecosystems—or, if one prefers, nature in general—as the measure against which we judge all k
s g e n i u s
of our agricultural practices.
o the
Jackson believes the time is right to do away with annual monoculture grains, which are vul- n
nerable to national security threats and are partly responsible for the explosion in our healthcare
costs. Soil erosion and the poisons polluting our water and air—all associated with agriculture C
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from its beginnings—foretell a population with its natural fertility greatly destroyed. p l a c e
N
of the
In this eloquent and timely volume, Jackson argues we must look to nature itself to lead us out S
of the mess we’ve made. The natural ecosystems will tell us, if we listen, what should happen to U
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the future of food. T
I
N
PRAISE FOR WES JACKSON G

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“From our first arrival, [Mr. Jackson] says, ‘most of us have behaved as though nature must be ei- H
ther subdued or ignored.’ ... This often subconscious mindset has helped alienate us from nature E
and led to many of our current problems with agriculture and resource management. Becoming G
an ecological approach to a new agriculture
Native to This Placeis a small book rich in ideas.” —The New York Times Book Review E
N
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“New Roots for Agricultureis a landmark.... It oƒers a sound, thoroughly documented criticism of U
the assumptions and the eƒects of industrial agriculture; for that alone the book would be valu- S

able. But it goes beyond criticism to propose practical remedies.” —wendell berry O
F

“This short but well-documented book [New Roots for Agriculture] deserves broad circulation and T
public discussion. Its warnings may well be prophecy.” —Los Angeles Times H
E WE S J A C K S O N

WES JACKSON is the founder of The Land Institute in Kansas, which has the current goal P
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of establishing a new Natural Systems Agriculture. A famous advocate for sustainable practices, organic
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agriculture, and environmental scientific understanding, Jackson lectures worldwide. He was awarded C
E
a MacArthur Fellowship in 1992. He lives in Salina, Kansas.
jacket illustrations: [top] Scandinavian immigrants in Mellette County, c
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South Dakota, circa 1917. Courtesy of Luree Wacek; [bottom] Pieter Bruegel the Elder,
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The Harvesters, 1565. Oil on wood. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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c o u n t e r p o i n t e
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www.counterpointpress.com
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Distributed by Publishers Group West i
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isbn 978-1-58243-780-4 t
Consulting

genius
the
PlaCe
of the
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Consulting

genius
the
PlaCe
of the
an ecological approach to a new agriculture
W e s J a c k s o n
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copyright © 2010 by wes Jackson. all rights reserved under international and pan-
american copyright conventions.
all images used courtesy of the land institute unless otherwise noted.
library of congress cataloging-in-publication Data
Jackson, wes.
consulting the genius of the place : an ecological approach to a new agriculture / by wes
Jackson.
p. cm.
iSBn 978-1-58243-513-8
1. agriculture—united States. 2. agricultural ecology—united States. 3. Sustainable
agriculture—united States. 4. Food supply—environmental aspects—united States. i.
title.
S441.J247 2010
577.5'50973—dc22
2010015641
interior design by amber pirker
Jacket design by Jeff clark
printed in the united States of america
1919 Fifth Street
Berkeley, ca 94710
www.counterpointpress.com
Distributed by publishers group west
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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To Joan
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co n t e n t S
Preface ix
Part I Some hiStory anD aSSumptionS
ChaPter 1 introduction 3
ChaPter 2 one man’s education 19
ChaPter 3 earth is alive 64
ChaPter 4 the 3.45-Billion-year-old imperative and the Five pools 73
ChaPter 5 the rise of technological Fundamentalism 85
Part II loSSeS
ChaPter 6 the most Serious loss of all 100
ChaPter 7 chemicals on the landscape 131
ChaPter 8 the loss of cultural capacity 135
ChaPter 9 global warming: how a little change can mean a lot 140
Part III reverSing the Damage
ChaPter 10 consulting the genius 146
ChaPter 11 a 50-year Farm Bill proposal goes to washington 177
ChaPter 12 an appeal to the russians 188
ChaPter 13 were ants the First agriculturists? 201
Part IV analyzing the reSiStance
ChaPter 14 analyzing the resistance 208
Part V away From the extractive economy
ChaPter 15 away From the extractive economy 218
Part VI an enigma
ChaPter 16 thoughts on the natural history of eden 238
coda 243
acknowledgments 250
references and notes 254
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pr eF ac e
t
he poet alexander pope in 1731 coined the phrase that inspired
the title of this book. pope’s principle had great impact on en-
glish landscape gardening. any landscape architect who did not
converse with the local genius would be castigated by the client for his
ignorance of the “genius of the place.”
pope was not thinking of vast agricultural landscapes, certainly no
scale approaching the corn and soybean fields of iowa or the wheat and
sorghum fields of Kansas. though pope was thinking about gardens in
his admonition, why not scale up, and extend his idea to the agricultural
lands in our ecosphere? why not give ourselves the opportunity to have
these ancient-beyond-memory ecosystems teach us how to be anywhere
ix
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