The science and/or practice of soil cultivation and farming
Questions tagged [agriculture]
46 questions
20
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2 answers
Does the Earth only have 60 years of harvests before the top soil is lost?
According to this 2014 Scientific American article by Chris Arsenault
Generating three centimeters of top soil takes 1,000 years, and if current rates of degradation continue all of the world's top soil could be gone within 60 years, a senior UN…
Selene Routley
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16
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Is rice water a good fertilizer?
When rice is washed, the wash water becomes whitish due to the starchy powder in the skin of unwashed rice. I've often heard or read, usually in water-saving, money-saving, or gardening tips, that the water used to wash rice is beneficial for plants…
Lie Ryan
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1 answer
Does human survival depend on bees?
I see several websites claiming that without bees, mankind will be extinct in four years. Does human survival depend on bees?
Citing Albert Einstein's saying to the effect that mankind would
become extinct four years after honey bees disappeared…
Jan Vladimir Mostert
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12
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2 answers
Can Tifton 85 grass produce cyanide gas?
Today I read something quite unexpected:
Preliminary tests revealed the Tifton 85 grass, which has been here for years, had suddenly started producing cyanide gas, poisoning the cattle.
[...]
What is more worrisome: Other farmers have tested…
Sklivvz
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12
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2 answers
Does Iowa have more farmland suitable for growing corn and wheat than Canada?
Stephen Haber ("professor of political science, professor of history, and professor of economics" at Stanford) claims in a 2014 podcast:
the state of Iowa has more farmland suitable for growing corn and wheat than the entire country of…
user62611
12
votes
1 answer
Does the USDA burn food every week?
In this recent Big Think video, The colossal problem with universal basic income, the presenter, Douglas Rushkoff, made a claim, at about the 40 second mark, that the U.S. Department of Agriculture burns food every week.
The US Department of…
David G.
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12
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1 answer
Has selective breeding increased the sugar level of fruits?
It has been claimed that selective breeding has resulted in fruit that is high in sugar and just as bad as eating candy.
Examples:
They have selectively bred fruit trees
to much higher (sweeter sells better)
sugar content fruit then your
…
going
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Is demand for biofuels causing degredation of the environment in third world countries?
Is there any evidence that demand for ethanol and other biofuels in the west is causing lasting environmental damage to third world countries.
Furthermore is this demand also taking away valuable fertile land that would otherwise be used for food…
going
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12
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Is buying organic vs. conventional products better for the environment?
From http://www.goldengatexpress.org/2013/04/07/true-organic-food-benefits-environment-sustainability/:
Another reason to choose organic products is that the environmental footprint attached to organic food is smaller than that of conventionally…
Renee
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11
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Did the Neolithic Revolution increase infant mortality rates?
I was reading this article, and it's honestly better cited than a lot of things I read, but one of the claims it includes contradicts my expectations. Specifically, this claim:
In the best-selling book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind…
Kamil Drakari
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10
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Do cows need their tails when ploughing?
I was watching this documentary about North Korean defectors, and one of the claims struck me as very odd. One of the defectors claimed that the CIA was largely responsible for the famines in North Korea by sabotaging their economy. She says the…
Ryan_L
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10
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Are a third of the proteins we consume dependent on synthetic fertilizer?
In July 1997, Vaclav Smil wrote an article in Scientific American on humankind's use of the Nitrogen Cycle (emphasis added):
Synthetic fertilizers provide about 40 percent of all the nitrogen taken up by [cultivated plants]. Because they…
Barry Harrison
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9
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Does organic food have less heavy metal contamination than non-organic food?
Watching CBS morning news on December 6, 2011, it was claimed a way to reduce heavy metal consumption (especially inorganic arsenic) was to buy organic food. the CBS website has the clip here, the claim is made at 2:30.
Is there any proof organic…
erdiede
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9
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1 answer
Are farm bankruptcies in the US "at highs not seen since the Great Depression"?
A June 29 Vox article quoted a Democratic party notable saying:
“Trump’s failed trade war wreaked havoc on industries across the country. Farm bankruptcies are at highs not seen since the Great Depression, consumers paid higher prices, and…
Fizz
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9
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Do yaks get shaved?
Many programmers have heard of the phrase yak shaving. In real life, do yaks literally get shaved?
This answer to a question about shaving dogs has someone claiming that yaks do get shaved:
Whatever you call it, removing the hair from a yak can be…
Andrew Grimm
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