The sub-title of this blog is an old saying — originating from Mexico — that reads “Sin Maíz, No Hay Paíz”, translating as “without corn, there is no country“. That goes to the heart of the vital importance that corn has always held for the people & cultures of South & Central Americas.
But I think there’s an even more important phrase that we should be using: “Sin tierra, no hay vida” or “without soil, there is no life.”
No human life that is. Some parts of nature would carry on working OK, I’d hazard a guess, but we as a species would be long gone. And in view of the cluster-fuck disaster that we’ve inflicted on this planet over the past few hundred years (since we discovered fossil fuels & then plastics) that might not actually be a bad long-term outcome. For the Earth. Less so for us.
There are some studies that claim we only have approx. 60 years of top-soil left. Some give even less time before the soil becomes sterile, useless dust. If that frankly doesn’t scare the shit out of you, then you may want to check your pulse. That we have The Orange Stain in the US talking about digging up & drilling almost down through the entire state of Alaska is just the epitome of the late-stage capitalism that has brought us and the planet to the brink. We (the ‘grown-ups’) shouldn’t have to depend on the (stunning, awesome, smart, courageous) children such as Greta Thunberg to stop this death spiral.
We need to completely change how this planet operates; starting with an acceptance that capitalism and its close cousin, neo-liberalism, is the root cause of the many problems we now face. Eat the rich?
