Soil is more valuable than oil, say Wendell Berry and Wes Jackson in their January 7, 2009 Op-Ed piece for the New York Times. Clink on that link to read more about why all the money in the world will not save us from our own offenses against the land and labor which feed us. What do Jackson and Berry suggest? A long-term farm bill which directs our country’s agriculture policy towards the perennialization of grain crops: “Increasing the use of mixtures of grain-bearing perennials, we can better protect the soil and substantially reduce greenhouse gases, fossil-fuel use and toxic pollution,” they write.
Next step for you and I? Move these messages along to the new Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack. Don’t know what this position is responsible for? Visit the USDA’s web site for an overview of the department’s mission and past performance.
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