From ehurley@iastate.edu Mon Feb 2 22:06:58 1998 Date: Mon, 02 Feb 1998 13:19:12 -0600 From: Eric G Hurley To: sanet-mg@shasta.ces.ncsu.edu Subject: Iowa Caucuses I am planning on introducing the following statement to my local precinct caucus for inclusion in the state party platform. Please critique and offer alternatives. Thanks. *********************************** Sustainable Agriculture A stable, plentiful, high quality food and fiber supply is essential to the health and development of our families, our communities, our nation, and our world. The United States has been blessed with a wealth of natural resources, soil, water, air, climate, and genetics, in which to produce the food and fiber that we need. Our nation's farmers, agricultural businesses, and agricultural universities and research institutions have done a tremendous job at utilizing these resources to meet our most basic human needs. Many of the technologies utilized today, though currently productive, diminish the richness of the land. In many places our soil is eroding and its quality diminishing, reducing the productive potential of the soil and making it more susceptible to failure in years when conditions are not optimal. Expensive inputs are needed to get some of the native productivity back. Many of our water resources are being polluted and, in some aquifers, depleted altogether. The air is polluted with particulates, gases, and odors which are nuisances and potential risks to agriculture and its neighbors. Excessive carbon dioxide is causing our climate to change. This instability increases the potential for crop failures. Our genetics are becoming simplified, increasing the potential for catastrophic crop failures from pests and reducing the diversity of our food supply. The role of government, of our policies, our agricultural universities, and our agricultural research services, should be to promote sustainable agricultural technologies. These technologies should be consistent with and respectful of natural systems and produce a bountiful harvest. They should do so not only for the present generation, but also for all future generations of Americans. Thus, the development and promotion of sustainable agriculture will be a priority in all agricultural policy making and funding. "Since the achievement of our independence, he is the greatest patriot who stops the most gullies." --Patrick Henry Eric G. Hurley 829 Douglas Ave #3 Ames IA 50010-6221 515/232-2568 ehurley@iastate.edu To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with "unsubscribe sanet-mg". To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command "subscribe sanet-mg-digest".