The article is interesting and thought provoking. I question the author's
logic when he wraps up the essay by suggesting that we all go by guns and
return to our hunter/gatherer roots--go out and shoot an elk for our years
supply of protein. Where would our wildlife balance be if that took place? I
doubt there would be any wildlife left.

Manning takes a jab at vegetarians in the article suggesting that the
takeover of the planet with grain production is a vegetarian thing, when in
fact, as he points out himself, most ( 80 something %) of our grain is fed
to livestock. Local biointensive gardening practices would allow for
three-fourths of our countryside to be returned to native ecostystems.

Jack Eastman 

e on 3/8/04 11:18 AM, Cindy Hildebrand at [log in to unmask] wrote:

This article, subtitled "Following the food chain back to Iraq," includes
some discussion of Iowa agriculture and prairies.  It's by Richard Manning,
and was the February HARPER'S MAGAZINE cover story.  It's an interesting
piece that deals with ecology, economics, and politics.  Here's a brief
excerpt:  "Iowa's fields require the energy of 4,000 Nagasaki bombs every
year."

If you can't find the magazine, the article was posted online, last time I
checked:  

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2004/02/280191.shtml   


Cindy Hildebrand
[log in to unmask]
57439 250th St.
Ames, IA  50010

"Iowa is said to be a prairie state, but what is a prairie to the present
generation?  Within 40 or 50 years, the broad stretches of tall shining
grass trembling in the sunlight or tossed by the breezes into billowy waves,
gorgeous as the season progresses with its pageant of brilliant hued
flowers... is fast passing..."  (Ada Hayden) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To view the Sierra Club List Terms &
Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp



- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Make your voice heard! Find out how to get Take Action Alerts
and other important Sierra Club messages by email at:
http://www.sierraclub.org/email