The Soil and Health

The Soil and Health
Author: Albert Howard
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2011-01-23
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0813132096

During his years as a scientist working for the British government in India, Sir Albert Howard conceived of and refined the principles of organic agriculture. Howard’s The Soil and Health became a seminal and inspirational text in the organic movement soon after its publication in 1945. The Soil and Health argues that industrial agriculture, emergent in Howard’s era and dominant today, disrupts the delicate balance of nature and irrevocably robs the soil of its fertility. Howard’s classic treatise links the burgeoning health crises facing crops, livestock, and humanity to this radical degradation of the Earth’s soil. His message—that we must respect and restore the health of the soil for the benefit of future generations—still resonates among those who are concerned about the effects of chemically enhanced agriculture.

Culture and Horticulture

Culture and Horticulture
Author: Wolf D. Storl
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2013-02-19
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 1583945687

Various studies have shown time and again that small organic farms and home gardens are capable of producing more food per acre with less fossil energy than large-scale commercial agricultural installations dependent on machines and toxic chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This classic book by Wolf D. Storl, a respected elder in the practice of permaculture, details how food is grown holistically and beautifully by traditional communities around the world, and shows how to apply their ancient wisdom to our own gardens. With interest in natural, sustainable, organic and local food at an all-time high, people are looking beyond their farmers markets and CSA cooperatives to hyperlocal ways of growing healthy, delicious produce in urban gardens and their own backyards. Culture and Horticulture details time-tested methods that are as effective today as they were hundreds of years ago. On the practical front, the book works as a manual for creating and maintaining a bountiful harvest. It explains how to build the soil to maintain fertility; how to produce compost; how to plant, sow, and tend the various fruit and vegetable plants; how to rotate crops and practice companion planting; how to set up a favorable microclimate; how to deal with so-called weeds and pests; how to harvest at the right time; and finally how to store vegetables and herbs. Special emphasis is given to the art and science of composting, the compost being the "heart" of any self-sufficient garden and a model for the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. At the same time the reader is introduced to the wider aspects of horticulture, to its historical, philosophical, and cosmological contexts and social relevance. Gardening is a cultural activity, shaped by peoples' thoughts, wishes, and needs as well as by their cultural traditions. The author, an anthropologist by profession who has investigated the gardening practices of indigenous people throughout the world and worked for many years on biodynamic farms and in his own food garden, will introduce the reader to Rudolf Steiner's vision of the garden as an organic unit, embedded in the context of terrestrial and cosmic forces. Storl explains the importance of cosmic rhythms (solar, lunar, and planetary), the role of biodynamic herbal preparations as "medicines" for the garden organism, and the so-called "etheric" and "astral" forces. The book presents a vision of the garden as seen through the eyes of "Goethean science," a magical place where alchemical transformations of material substances take place.

Applied Ethics

Applied Ethics
Author: S.D. Chamola
Publisher: Studera Press
Total Pages: 470
Release: 2017-01-10
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9385883321

Applied ethics is a field of ethics that deals with ethical questions specific to a professional, disciplinary, or practical field. There is ample literature available on ethics but there is scarcity of literature as how to apply the principles of ethics in solving the problems of contemporary world. The main objective of the book is how to apply principles and theories of ethics in day-to-day life in our ordinary business of life. There are numerous dimensions of ethics but it is not possible to discuss all of them. Some important subsets of applied ethics are discussed in the book. First, what are the principles of ethics and how ethics is associated with religion, law, science and technology? Second, the present world is facing grave issues such as climate change, population explosion, Corruption and violence, globalisation problems etc. How these issues can be resolved ethically. Third, all the countries of the world are engaged in rapid economic development of their economies. How this can be done ethically. The main aim behind this book is that the Individuals, Societies, Corporations, Countries and the entire world should be run on ethical lines. This alone will endure happiness and well-being of all.

Alternative Agriculture

Alternative Agriculture
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 465
Release: 1989-02-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0309039851

More and more farmers are adopting a diverse range of alternative practices designed to reduce dependence on synthetic chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and antibiotics; cut costs; increase profits; and reduce the adverse environmental consequences of agricultural production. Alternative Agriculture describes the increased use of these new practices and other changes in agriculture since World War II, and examines the role of federal policy in encouraging this evolution, as well as factors that are causing farmers to look for profitable, environmentally safe alternatives. Eleven case studies explore how alternative farming methods have been adoptedâ€"and with what economic resultsâ€"on farms of various sizes from California to Pennsylvania.

Sowing Seeds in the Desert

Sowing Seeds in the Desert
Author: Masanobu Fukuoka
Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2012
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 1603584188

Argues that the Earth's deteriorating condition is man-made and outlines a way for the process to be reversed by rehabilitating the deserts using natural farming.

The Unsettling of America

The Unsettling of America
Author: Wendell Berry
Publisher: Turtleback Books
Total Pages: 234
Release: 1996-03-01
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9781417629510

A critical inquiry into the ways Americans have exploited and continue to exploit the land that sustains them, tracing attitudes toward and methods of farming from the eighteenth century to the present

Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life

Growing a Revolution: Bringing Our Soil Back to Life
Author: David R. Montgomery
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2017-05-09
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0393608336

Finalist for the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award "A call to action that underscores a common goal: to change the world from the ground up." —Dan Barber, author of The Third Plate For centuries, agricultural practices have eroded the soil that farming depends on, stripping it of the organic matter vital to its productivity. Now conventional agriculture is threatening disaster for the world’s growing population. In Growing a Revolution, geologist David R. Montgomery travels the world, meeting farmers at the forefront of an agricultural movement to restore soil health. From Kansas to Ghana, he sees why adopting the three tenets of conservation agriculture—ditching the plow, planting cover crops, and growing a diversity of crops—is the solution. When farmers restore fertility to the land, this helps feed the world, cool the planet, reduce pollution, and return profitability to family farms.